Canada's Fur Trade at a Glance - Fur Institute of Canada

Canada’s Fur Trade
at a Glance

“It is recognized that on the same area
of land over a 100-year time period, the
value of fur production is higher than
forestry value.”
Fur Institute of Canada
The Fur Institute of Canada, a national non-profit organization,
was founded in 1983 with a mandate from the Federal, Provincial
and Territorial Wildlife Ministers to promote the sustainable and
wise use of Canada’s fur resources.
As a nation-wide, cross-sector umbrella organization, we are
committed to providing information to the media, the general
public and governments relating to the economic, social, cultural
and environmental issues surrounding the harvesting and farming
of fur in Canada.
Fur Institute of Canada
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Ottawa, ON K2P 0G5
For more information visit: www.fur.ca
ISBN: 978-0-9694537-2-7
Copyright 2008 Fur Institute of Canada. Printed in Canada.

Canada’s Fur Trade
at a Glance
The fur trade is part of Canada’s resource-based
economy and one of Canada’s oldest and most
historically significant industries. Four hundred
years following its start, the commercial fur
trade continues to utilize a plentiful sustainable
Canadian resource in a responsible manner
and is an important contributor to the
Canadian economy and ecology.
Photo: Fur Institute of Canada
C a n a d a ’s F u r Tr a d e a t a G l a n c e

Economics
Canada’s fur trade contributes more than $800 million 1
to the Canadian economy. i
Income Values
Canadian trappers and fur
farm owners earn more than
$120 million annually in pelt sales. ii
Government Revenues
Provincial and territorial
governments receive nearly
$1.6 million in annual royalty
and licence revenues paid by fur
trappers. Of this, 42% goes
directly to government managed
wildlife habitat conservation programs.
Canadian Market Values
Estimated domestic retail fur sales: $300 million. iii
International Trade Value
In 2006, fur exports contributed
$226 million to Canada’s balance
of trade. iv
Exports of pelts and fur apparel
exceeded $450 million in 2006,
part of a multi-year upward
trend following a record low
of $143 million in 1992. v
World fur trade activity totalled
$13.5 billion in 2006. vi
Canada’s most important fur markets are China, Russia and the Ukraine,
Europe (Italy, Germany, UK, Greece, France, Spain), Turkey and Korea.
1 There has been great fluctuation in both harvest and price levels over the past 30 years;
the result of various supply, demand, social, environmental and economic factors.

C a n a d a ’s F u r Tr a d e a t a G l a n c e
Photo: Beautifully Canadian / Fur Council of Canada

Employment
The Canadian fur trade directly employs 70,000 Canadians. vii
Roughly 250 families, or 750 individuals and family members per
federal riding are directly reliant on the fur trade for their income.
Full and part-time employment in various
fur trade sectors is additional to spin-off
employment in the supply and services
sector, including: feed and equipment
suppliers, veterinary and research services,
by-product production, marketers,
business services, transport, crafts and
design sectors.
Canada’s fur industry provides high skilled
jobs and is a significant source of
employment income for people in rural
and remote areas.
Photo: IFTF
Active trappers: 60,000 (including 25,000 Aboriginal people) 2
Number of licensed fur farms: 315 viii
Fur-dependent businesses: 815 ix
Regional Significance
Highest number of fur farms are located in: Nova Scotia, Ontario,
Newfoundland/Labrador.
The highest level of fur trapping occurs in: Quebec, Ontario, Alberta.
More than 85% of fur garment manufacturing is located in Montreal.
Canada is home to three internationally attended, producer-owned
auction houses; two in Ontario and one in B.C.
2 Number of licensed trappers in Canada will vary from year-to-year and has ranged
between 60,000 and 80,000 over the past decade.

C a n a d a ’s F u r Tr a d e a t a G l a n c e
Photos: Fur Institute of Canada

Fast Facts
Wild Fur
Trapping occurs in virtually every country in the world; the trapping of
furbearing animals occurs in every region and municipality in Canada.
Fur products are exported to Europe, Russia, Asia and the USA.
More than 25 Canadian wild fur species are listed for use in the trade,
the most common being: muskrat (28%), beaver (21%), marten (13%),
squirrel (9%) and raccoon (5%). x
Beaver garments are the single most important Canadian fur
garment exported. xi
Many Canadian families rely on beaver, muskrat, lynx and other wild
furbearing animals for food as well as income.
In addition to operating their registered private or public trap lines,
professional trappers provide a valuable wildlife control service to private
landowners and local municipalities across Canada.
Fur Farming
About two-thirds of furs produced in
Canada (and as much as 85 percent
worldwide) come from fur farms. xii
In Canada, approximately
1.65 million mink pelts are
produced by fur farms annually. xiii
In addition to fur, farms provide
valuable oil as leather treatments and
fertilizer by-products such as bone
and blood meal.
Photo: IFTF

C a n a d a ’s F u r Tr a d e a t a G l a n c e
Photo: IFTF

Regulation
The farming and trapping of fur animals are provincially licensed and
regulated. Farming and trapping are also consistent with international
agreements such as CITES (Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
and the IUCN (World Conservation Union).
Provincial and Territorial wildlife biologists establish regional
management plans to ensure healthy furbearer populations.
An international agreement signed
by Canada, Russia and the European
Union in 1997 establishes scientific
protocols for humane trapping
standards. The United States signed
a separate, but similar, agreement
with the EU. Following ten years of
testing, implementation of the
Agreement on International Humane
Trapping Standards (AIHTS) began
in Canada in the fall of 2007. The
Agreement requires that wild furs be
taken in accordance with scientifically
verified and internationally accepted
humane systems.
The Fur Institute of Canada is the
official trap testing agency for the
government of Canada and all
Provincial/Territorial governments.
“Trappers receive training,
and trapping is carefully
regulated through
registered trapping areas,
harvest quotas, hunting
seasons, and other
measures to prevent overharvesting
and to ensure
that the best available
methods are used to
promote responsible
conservation.”
Ontario Ministry
of Natural Resources
Research
Since 1984, more than $15 million has been invested in the
internationally recognized Canadian trap research and development
program, coordinated by the Fur Institute of Canada and conducted at
the Alberta Research Council’s Vegreville facility and in conjunction
with veterinarians and professional trappers. xiv
Trappers participate in ecological field studies, wildlife distribution
and population studies, wildlife relocation projects, forestry

Photos: Fur Institute of Canada
Photo: IFTF
management planning, wildlife
vaccination programs, trap testing,
and disease monitoring.
Farmed fur associations have initiated
or contributed to Canadian research
and development in furbearer health,
nutrition, behaviour, housing and
management. The Nova Scotia Fur
Institute (NSFI) in collaboration
with the Nova Scotia Agricultural
College (NSAC) and Nova Scotia
Fur-animal research results
have in many instances
been incorporated into
law and/or trapping and
farming practices.
International Fur Trade
Federation
Department of Agriculture and Marketing (NSDAM) has been
funding published fur research and demonstration initiatives, since
its inception in 1984. The Fur Research Chair position at the NSAC
was created in 1994 and has a national mandate.
C a n a d a ’s F u r Tr a d e a t a G l a n c e

Time-line:
Canada’s Commercial Fur Trade
1497 John Cabot discovers Canada’s east coast
1534 Jacques Cartier trades for furs with Labrador’s First Nations peoples
1608 Samuel de Champlain establishes North America’s first fur trading
post (Quebec City)
1670 Hudson’s Bay Company chartered as the first company to trade in fur
1700-1870 The height of the Canadian Fur Trade
1880s The fashion industry introduces the fur coat
1895 First modern-day fur farm (Prince Edward Island)
1940s Adoption of modern wildlife management
1948 Canada joins the World Conservation Union (IUCN)
1954 Canadian Association for Humane Trapping (CAHT) established
1968 Beginning of the modern-day anti-fur movement
1975 Canada joins the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
1983 Canadian Trap Research and Testing program begins
1984 “Recommended Code of Practice for the Care and Handling
of Farmed Mink”
1987 Hudson’s Bay Company sells its Canadian fur auction business
to Canadian fur producer associations, now known as North
American Fur Auctions
1989 “Recommended Code of Practice for the Care and Handling
of Ranched Fox”
1992 Canada joins the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
1997 Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS)
2007 Implementation of phase one of AIHTS

Photo: Beautifully Canadian / Fur Council of Canada
1890s Alberta fur trader
Photos: Archives/Public Domain
C a n a d a ’s F u r Tr a d e a t a G l a n c e

Today, the success of Canada’s fur trade is as
much a recognition of a centuries-old tradition
of excellence as it is a modern example of the
sound application of conservation principles
and sustainable development.
Photo: Claude Camirand
References
i International Fur Trade Federation
ii STATISTICS CANADA, Agriculture Division,
2006 Census of Wildlife Pelt Production and “Fur Farm Report”
iii Fur Council of Canada, 2006
iv STATISTICS CANADA, International Trade Division, 2006
v Fur Council of Canada, 2008
vi International Fur Trade Federation 2007 report
vii Fur Council of Canada, 2006
viii STATISTICS CANADA, “Fur Farm Report”, 2006
ix Fur Council of Canada, 2006
x STATISTICS CANADA, 1999-2006 Census of Wildlife Pelt Production
xi ibid
xii International Fur Trade Federation and STATISTICS CANADA, 2006
xiii STATISTICS CANADA, “Fur Farm Report”, 2006
xiv Fur Institute of Canada, 2007