CANADIAN FURS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20108, 29 March 1928, Page 8

CANADIAN FURS

GREAT PRODUCTION "

NATIONAL RESERVES. Canada is one of the foremost fur producers of the world. Raw furs are the chief commercial product of the wiki, Jife of the northern half of the continent and as such represent the only ecoi.omic return from large areas. From these great natural preserves, or from farms on which fur bearers are raised in captivity, every province and territory of Canada contributes substantially to the total production. A‘. the close of the fur year, June 30, 192';. the number of pelts taken was 3,686,148, valued at 15,072.244M0l-

Kiiice the earliest times furs have played a prominent, part in the economic life of Canada. Thov st ill continue ;o .iorm a considerable item in Ike commerce of the country. In the la-;t twenty years trade in furs has shown a marked increase on he Ncrth Aiiiciican Continent, anid* changes which hive occurred, uue to the war, Lave been commercially advantageous to Canaria.

The European fur centres of prewar times no longer dominate, as strong competing fur markets have been established in recent years at Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and \ ancouver. in Canada; and at New* York in the United States. Millions of dollars worth of furs are handled annually at these auctions, which attract buyers from all parts of the world. The value of Canada’s trade in furs is shown by export and import figures supplied by the Bureau of Statistics. Fur exports have risen from 5,668,000 dollars in 1914 to 20,608,687 dollars in 1927, and imports increased from 3,755,000 dollars in the former year to 13,365,124 dollars in the latter. The value of furs manufactured in Canada in 1925, the latest year for which statistics are available, was 14,142,863 dollars, an increase of 15 per cent, over the preceding year. The number of fur skins treated in fur dressing establishments was 4,190,351.

The major part of Canada's annual catch is taken by trappers. Many thousands of persons are engaged for the whole part of their time during the winter season in taking pelts of wild fur-bearers. The principal species trapped are beaver, fisher, fox, muskrat, mink. marten, lynx. raccoon, skunk, wolverine, wolf, and weasel. Fur farming, particularly the raising of silver foxes in captivity, is now carried on in all the provinces of Canada and in Yukon Territory, and the value of the output of pelts from these farms constituted in 1926 approximately 5 per cent, of the total value of raw fur production in Canada. /Although the fox has proved most suited to domestication, other kinds of furbearing animals are being raised in captivity, namely, mink, raccoon, skunk, marten, fisher, coyote, beaver, and muskrat. Karakul sheep and chinchilla rabbits are also raised successfully. Canada, with its cold, dry winter season, is productive of the very finest furs. In the vast wilderness areas of Canada lies the last great reservoir of wild life on the continent. Great stretches of forest and mountain harbour the wild life which is the main source of our raw furs and by conservation and development the products of these areas will long play an important part in the economic fife of the countrv.