It’s incredible to see just how enormous the furry fandom has become. Linsay Lohan tried to sell an NFT of her fursona recently and even famous musical artists like Lil Nas X have a fursuit. One of its biggest successes however comes in the form of its largest convention: Midwest Furfest.
In 2018, Midwest FurFest managed to bring in 10,989 attendees, beating a record previously set by Anthrocon to become the largest furry convention in the entire world. While in-person events stalled due to COVID-19, the convention is set to return this year. However, it looks like it is already facing controversy due to one of its chosen vendors for the dealer’s den.
Don’t Hug Cacti is a well-known fursuit making company within the fandom, having over 15 years of experience in creating the fuzzy animal costumes the fandom is often recognized for. Having created over 750 fursuits, they would seem like a perfect choice to have at the dealer’s den if it weren’t for one person associated with the company.
On September 25th, 2020, user @qutens_ made a post to Twitter with a link to a document detailing the alleged actions of Lucky Coyote who is also known as Blonde Foxy within the fandom. Lucky Coyote is the co-founder of Don’t Hug Cacti and with allegations including everything from committing acts of sexual assault, grooming and engaging in inappropriate contact with minors, and even sexual contact with animals, many furries have been concerned that it is allowed to attend events.
As the document states, it contains allegations from:
“[T]he individual testimonies of victims who feel comfortable enough to speak out, along with first hand accounts of the abuse she gave to both people and animals.”
While the company has previously commented on Twitter that “DHC does not condone any immoral or illegal activity” and has stated that “Blondefoxy is not the owner of DHC,” a later Tweet stating that Don’t Hug Cacti intends to seek legal recourse for the “false accusations” has been read by many furries online as an admission that Lucky Coyote is still heavily involved in the company.
Now, a whistleblower has stated that Don’t Hug Cacti is set to vend at Midwest FurFest is sparking controversy online. A vendor at the convention, Sarahcat Fursuits, shared a screenshot of an email vendors were send on Oct. 17. It shows a map layout of the dealer’s den alongside a list of vendors where Don’t Hug Cacti LLC. is listed.
It has also been pointed out that another convention, Biggest Little Fur Con, also has Don’t Hug Cacti listed as a vendor at their next convention. BLFC had 5692 attendees at its last in-person convention in 2019 which is a large number of people who could be potentially exposed to the alleged abuser.
There’s no official word yet on if Don’t Hug Cacti will be allowed to vend at either event going forward. Midwest FurFest and Biggest Little Fur Con have been reached out to for comment.
UPDATE Oct. 18, 12:52 pm CST: While we have not received an official comment, Midwest FurFest publically released their dealer’s den listing without Don’t Hug Cacti present.
Midwest FurFest Under Fire For Hosting Alleged Abuser In Their Dealer’s Den
