Fur Market Report April-May 2024: Subtle Changes Noticed in Fur Trapping This Spring

 

By Serge Lariviére

I attended a Trappers Rendezvous in January 2024, namely the New Brunswick Trappers Convention in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. And I saw as much enthusiasm as always, trappers smiling, friends sharing stories, phones being passed around to share cool pictures, and really, this was a great moment among friends.

If you are going to sell your fur the old-fashioned way, do your very best when preparing and finishing it. Photo credit Jason Houser.

New Brunswick is a province neighboring Quebec to the southeast, and the trapping conditions greatly resemble my home province. There were several big longliners there, guys that take advantage of their retirement from the work force to run hundreds of traps and cover hundreds of miles chasing whatever they prefer to trap, or whatever pays. This year, their enthusiasm was just the same, but many admitted they had slowed down significantly, especially the big volume coyote trappers. New Brunswick has lots of coyotes, but they are Eastern coyotes, and guys that traditionally caught 100 or more were happy just to snare a few of their top locations and catch 20 or 30 coyotes. At the current price of Eastern coyotes, most selling less than $10 once fleshed and dried, it is no surprise that coyote trappers are taking it easy.

Some other trappers went just as hard, but switched their target to beavers. Beaver is the top money animal for trappers right now, with very good prices for skins because of the hatter market. Country buyers are aggressively buying every beaver they can find, some even paying very good prices for “beaver in the green,” beavers that are rough-skinned and frozen.

There is a great deal of trust between a buyer and a trapper when frozen skins are purchased, because the trapper can hide a lot of “defaults.” Some buyers tell stories of purchasing “junk” from trappers they never see again, but others say they have no issues doing such business with trappers they have known for years. Having a country buyer you trust, and being trustworthy yourself, is a prerequisite for doing such business in 2024. But the market is hot for beavers ($20-$45 depending on size), so hides alone make it worth the effort.

Skulls are a hot commodity among collectors. Photo credit Jason Houser.

The one thing that I heard more at that convention, even from beaver trappers, was the talk about “side products.” Many trappers now sell skulls at $1-$2 apiece, some guys talked about local markets for tails, and every beaver trapper discussed the market for carcass or meat beavers, some getting $10-$15 a carcass for bear bait or dog food, while others discussed getting $20-$30 for clean-skinned beavers ready for human consumption. Of course, everyone sells castor glads and many find lure makers to buy oil sacs. I heard several fisher and coyote trappers saying they were saving skulls now to sell after the season. I find this interest in “side products” is a direct result of the many consecutive years of low prices and trappers trying their best to pay expenses while doing what they love.

Supply dealers on location reported sales being just as strong, with maybe the only difference being that more trappers buy supplies, but in smaller quantities. Hard to find anyone buying 10 dozen 220s in one shot, but many newcomers must buy supplies to get started. The lure market is probably hotter than ever, many guys now preferring to buy it instead of getting their own garage smelly by making their own!

In today’s market, the number of commercial baits and lures is staggering. Knowing when and how to use them can be even more confusing! Photo credit Toby Walrath

One buyer commented to that effect, that there is a growing request to buy animals in the round, many of the new trappers being happy to catch animals, but having little or no interest (or space in their apartment/condo/house) for fleshing and putting up fur. I have several friends who fur handle for others that tell me they could do that full time during the season if they wanted to, as the demand is growing each year! They also tell me that they make more money skinning, fleshing and putting up fur than trapping because they have no expenses other than paper towels, especially once they have all the necessary stretchers.

The Trapper’s Fur Market expert Serge Lariviére.

I have argued for several years now that our trade is changing faster than we would like, and many trapper organizations are still catering to the old times of catch, skin, flesh and stretch your own, make your own lures, make your own snares, etc. Supply dealers will tell you — even simple stuff sells more and more, as many of the newcomers to the sport have more money than time so they are happy to buy lures, snares, marten boxes, stretchers, instead of making their own.

Many of these people also are more interested in the “catching” part of trapping than anything else, so once an animal is caught and the picture is taken, they do not really care or expect anything out of it. I hear more and more longtime trappers tell stories of new trappers simply dropping their catch at their house for free because they could care less about the little money they would receive for all the work involved! For us old-timers, we find it almost shocking. But for our industry, this is still good — as long as there are people out there catching prime fur to feed the market and keeping it alive.

Muskrat hides drying by the ceiling on home made adjustable fur stretchers.

Muskrat hides drying by the ceiling on home made adjustable fur stretchers.

Market-wise, little has changed on the global picture. Russia and Ukraine are still at war, and that will keep raccoon prices at bottom levels for at least another year or two. The red fox and coyote markets have stalled, and prices will be the same as they were last year. Wild mink and muskrats will remain at the low end, and beavers will really be your money animal this year. Many folks talk about subtle price increases on martens and fishers, but don’t expect anything to jump up significantly compared to last year. As one trapper put it, there are three species worth trapping right now if you expect to make money on the trapline: beaver, beaver and beaver!

The first international fur auction of 2024 is Fur Harvesters Auctions (www.furharvesters.com) on March 22, 23 and 24 in North Bay, Canada. International buyer attendance is expected to increase compared to last year, and everyone in the trade expects a strong beaver sale, and hopefully some positive news on other key species, as well. Fingers crossed!

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