Penguin sweater

Penguin sweaters, also known as penguin jumpers,

The project originated with the Phillip Island Nature Park oil spill of January 2000 and was successfully completed, but the knitting pattern and call for volunteers to donate remained available online. Instead of the 100 or so sweaters needed, thousands were sent.^[4] The extra sweaters were stockpiled by the Tasmanian Conservation Trust.^[1] As of 2014, the Australia-based Penguin Foundation is still accepting handmade sweaters but no longer uses these for penguin rehabilitation. Instead, these sweaters are used to dress toy penguins which are then sold to raise money for the foundation.^[5][6]

After a 2011 oil spill in New Zealand, a local yarn shop put out the call for penguin jumpers, and supplied a pattern.^[7] Jumpers were received from all over the world. However, those cleaning and rehabilitating the penguins affected said they neither used nor requested the jumpers: heat lamps were used to keep cleaned penguins warm.^[8] Once they are cleaned, there is little danger of them ingesting oil when preening – one of the rationales given for penguin sweaters – and sweaters may in fact do more harm than good to the penguins.^[9]

A penguin wetsuit has been made for a penguin who lost his feathers,^[10][11] and similar garments are being made for battery chicken rehabilitation.^[12]

Controversy and potential risks

The use of penguin sweaters has been criticized as a potential risk to the health of the penguins, as wearing foreign garments can cause additional stress to the penguins and adversely affect their health. Instead, some wildlife rescues use