Fundraising Group Sells $1,500 Jeans Featuring Denim Ripped By Lions, Tigers & Bears (Oh My)

Can’t take a selfie with a big cat, due to bans on the practice or the unavailability of an obliging lion? Wildlife fans with deep pockets were able to get perhaps the next best thing to a photo, after one animal fundraising group auctioned off jeans featuring denim ripped apart by wild animals.

“Zoo Jeans” takes animal fashion beyond stripped and spotted prints, with distressed duds that have been clawed and ripped apart by lions and tigers and bears.

A Japanese zoo fundraising group raised $3,500 selling off three pairs of jeans scratched up by big animals, reports CNNMoney. Volunteers at a local zoo wrapped bits of denim around tires, balls and other toys and tossed them in with the animals.

The resulting ravaged denim was then made into four pairs of jeans “designed by” lions, tigers and bears and sold off to benefit the World Wildlife Fund as well as the zoo.

One pair of bear-ripped jeans stayed with the club, ostensibly in some kind of “Sisterhood Of The Traveling Bear Claw Pants” scenario for staffers.

“The wild rips and tears in Zoo Jeans have been created with pure animal instinct,” the group says on its site.

But while the WWF said it did receive the donation, a spokesperson didn’t seem to pleased with the way the jeans were made.

“In principle, we don’t raise money by using animals in this way,” said the director of communications at WWF Japan.

Next hot seller on Etsy: Jeans ripped unintentionally by my cat because he can’t manage to get on my lap without hauling himself up there.

Lion-ripped jeans sell for $1,500 [CNNMoney]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.