Why Trapping and Hunting are Necessary

In an age where humans and animals come into conflict more than ever before, wildlife management through responsible, regulated trapping and hunting is invaluable.

Read the full article here.

Yup, Southerners Sure Do Eat Raccoons!

A recent AP article, “What’s For Dinner? How About Raccoon?”, highlights the fact that eating raccoons is a large part of the culture and tradition of many people in the southern U.S.  And it isn’t just about habit, apparently.  Those who eat it regularly say that ‘coon meat is ‘just plain good’!

There are a number of benefits to a culture that embraces eating natural, wild animals as a major part of its diet.

“Raccoon meat is some of the healthiest meat you can eat,” says Jeff Beringer, a furbearer resource biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

“During grad school, my roommate and I ate 32 coons one winter. It was all free, and it was really good. If you think about being green and eating organically, raccoon meat is the ultimate organic food,” with no steroids, no antibiotics, no growth hormones.

In addition, the raccoon meat market helps trappers obtain an added value for the coons that they trap for fur, and raccoon populations remain healthy and relatively disease-free when kept in balance with their habitat via sustained harvest.

In the wild, raccoons typically live five or six years. Populations that grow too dense can be decimated by disease, especially when temperatures drop, Beringer says.

“The animals huddle together, passing on the infections. In the winter, we sometimes have massive die-offs. If we can control the fluctuations in the populations by hunting and trapping, we can have healthier animals.”

The demand for raccoon meat continues to be high in Missouri, and eating varmint meat is apparently on the rise across the pond in Britian as well.  Perhaps a meat market for ‘coons can be developed in other parts of the country?  I’d be willing to try it.

Read the full article here.

Montana’s January Fur Auction Slow, but Things Should Pick Up

Local fur auction results appear to following an overall downward trend in the fur market realized in the NAFA and Fur Harvesters auctions earlier this month.  The Montana Trappers Association held the first Western States Fur Auction in Columbus, MT last Sunday, and a lot of fur was difficult to sell.  In fact, a lot of fur never made it to the auction.  Most trappers appeared to be waiting things out after seeing the low prices offered in the major auctions.

Only 57 lots of fur were offered, and of these, only 46 lots sold.  The rest did not meet minimums placed on the fur by sellers.  Four fur buying companies were present, and three actively bid on items.

The big question at the auction was how bobcats would sell, and overall, they didn’t.  The high bobcat fetched $325, the low $100, but most cats didn’t meet the seller-imposed minimums.  While some cats sold, this was a far cry from last year’s auction in the same location, where cats topped at around $1,000.

One highlight of the auction was a collection of nice, well furred pale coyotes from north-central Montana, which sold at a $30 average, much higher than expected with the down coyote market.  Other coyotes hit much lower averages.

Raccoons sold at very low levels, if at all.  Most beavers sold low as well.  Overall, the rest of the fur offered sold at very low prices, with the exception of red fox, which didn’t fare too poorly at prices upwards of $24.

Despite the market downturn and the obvious skepticism of some buyers, fur did sell, and the MTA is looking forward to the next auction.  The auction is a good fundraiser for the association, and a great way for trappers to get together during the season and share stories, knowledge, and get to know each other better.  The auction was well attended by MTA members and volunteers looking to help in any way possible.

The next Western States Fur Auction will be held in Columbus, Montana on March 15, 2009 at 8:00 am at the Stillwater County Fairgrounds.  Receiving dates are March 13 and 14.  Trappers and MTA members are anticipating a much larger quantity of fur, as well as more trappers and fur buyers attending this time around.

And as far as bobcat fur prices are concerned, some of the major cat trappers in the West are indicating that a strong market is expected to develop later this year.  It probably won’t be near the highs seen last year, but a $500 bobcat doesn’t seem to be out of the question, especially for those big, heavy, well-spotted toms.

Trapping and Wildlife Management in Kentucky

Hayley Lynch recently wrote a great article printed in the Bowling Green Daily News, focusing on the role of trapping in wildlife management in the state of Kentucky.  She interviewed personnel from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, and revealed some interesting information about their role in promoting trapping as a wildlife management tool.

“Trapping is used as a management tool to both increase populations and reduce populations,” said Laura Patton, furbearer biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Kentucky’s otter restoration could not have happened without foothold traps.”

Traps can be used to eliminate problems when populations become too high in an area, or when nuisance animals cause livestock loss or property damage.

My favorite part about the article is the explanation of Kentucky’s cooperative program that helps both trappers and landowners:

Farmers or landowners experiencing damage from furbearers may search Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s fur trapper database at fw.ky.gov/app/trapperlandowner.aspx to find a trapper in their area during the regular trapping season. The database helps pair up trappers looking for a place to trap, and farmers looking for no-cost help with nuisance wildlife. Nuisance wildlife control operators are permitted to remove nuisance animals outside of furbearer trapping season. Operators charge a fee for their services. A listing of permitted operators is available at fw.ky.gov/app1/nuisancelookup.aspx.

More states should take advantage of such a great program.

You can read the whole article here.

Fur Market Update: FHA January Sale Results

Results are in from the January 9, 2009 sale from Fur Harvesters Auction, Inc. Prices and sale rates were fairly low, but considering this week’s NAFA sale results, the FHA auction was by no means a disaster.

Since FHA offers a number of rare and unique furs from northern North America (wolverine, wolf, arctic fox, etc.), which are almost always in demand, they are probably in somewhat better shape than many other auction houses during periods of poor market performance.

Still, many items sold at very low levels.  Of the 10,549 coyotes offered, almost none were sold.  Similarly, raccoon only sold at 8% of the available 24,000+ furs.  Nothing sold at 100%, although timber wolf came close with sales rates of 94% and 84% for Arctic and Eastern goods, respectively.  Muskrats sold fairly well, with averages of $3.35 and a high of $6.90.  Still, 30% of muskrats offered remain unsold.

Similar to NAFA, FHA held on to a large percentage of their fur, hoping for better prices at the next auction, when fur will not be held back, in an effort to establish new price levels based on market demand.

Overall, the fur market is still slumping, and lots of trappers, buyers and auction houses are holding on to their fur, hoping for future advancement.   The encouraging news, however, is that there is still a market for wild fur.  Like every market, it has it’s ups and downs, but people are still buying fur, and eventually, things are bound to improve.

See the FHA auction results here.

Fur Market Update: NAFA January Sale Dismal

Results are in from yesterday’s NAFA auction, the first major fur auction of the year, and an important indicator of future market conditions.

Overall, prices were low and only the best items sold.  Most sections of fur did not sell anywhere near 100%, and NAFA held on to a lot of fur in hopes of getting better prices for it in February’s auction.

Four species were offered for sale: raccoon, beaver, coyote, and muskrat.  All sections of raccoon and coyote sold at levels less than 50%, and beaver sold at extremely low levels as well.  Muskrat sold okay, but at low relative prices, and western ‘rats only sold at 60%.

It appears that warm weather in eastern Europe, combined with a slowing global economy, is beginning to have its impact on the fur market.  Few buyers were present at the auction, and activity was discouraging.  NAFA ended up holding a lot of fur for the next auction, but in February, don’t expect the same holding policy to take place.  In February’s auction, NAFA will likely sell everything, with no minimum price, which will give us a much better idea of the actual value of all sections of fur.

Around the U.S., many fur buyers are on hold, not accepting any more fur until market conditions change.  I’ve heard word that local fur auctions in Oregon and Nevada have been cancelled or delayed.

The fur market is in a bit of a slump, but certainly isn’t dead.  There is still a demand for wild fur, and many buyers are still in the market.  The Montana Trappers Association is still holding a fur auction in Columbus, Montana this weekend, and expects a decent turnout from fur buyers from a number of different states.  I’ll be sure to post results from this and other auctions as they become available.

Click here to see the NAFA January Auction Results.

Fur Market Update: Gloomy Outlook Ahead of Major Auction Dates

The latest forecast in the fur market doesn’t look good.  A Vancouver Sun article describes the recent drop in fur sales with a quote from North American Fur Auctions’ vice president Dave Bewick:

“The wheels fell off in September,” Bewick said in an interview. “And nobody’s really bought any fur from us, nobody’s really inquired about fur and nobody really knows what fur is going to be worth this year. The whole economic situation in the world is in a bit of turmoil right now the fur industry is certainly part of that.”

You can read the whole article here.

NAFA holds its first major fur sale on January 7th, while Fur Harvesters Auctions holds its sale on January 9th.   These sales will play a large part in setting fur prices for the rest of the season.  We’ll be sure to relay the results here on Trapping Today as soon as possible.