By Serge Lariviére
When our beaver season finally opened where I trap, I had no choice but to set traps right away in a series of beaver colonies established at roadside or worse yet — right in the middle of four-wheeler trails that provide access to key hunting areas. People visit this place to hunt white-tailed deer, and the beavers are seen as a nuisance, even when they set up in the middle of nowhere. I have trapped this property for more than 10 years now, and every year I “negotiate” with the land and roads managers to wait for opening day of trapping season. Anyone who has done any beaver damage control work knows that when the call comes in — the caller wants the problem solved — yesterday!
I know that summertime control means only a set of castor glands to harvest and a carcass to dispose of. Once the season opens, fur is not at its best, but I have the option, I still get the castors, and I can use the carcass for bait. I waited, and my first visit I had 15 beavers in the truck and I felt satisfied. All were large or better, only two in the 20- to 25-pound range, most others probably between 40 and 45 pounds — adults where I trap.
Big beavers make me smile — they cause the damage and yes, they have the biggest castor glands. And for the hatter market, large beavers sell better. I decided that I would skin all of them for the fur market, and I felt good thinking that I could still do this. Even more so because I had my daughter with me, now a wildlife biologist, and we spent two days together trapping and hunting and discussing wildlife management.

The author with his daughter, Veronique, on the successful beaver line. Photo credit: Serge Lariviere
Trapping is a vital tool, sometimes the only tool, that wildlife managers have in dealing with nuisance calls. Deep in the bush here in eastern Quebec, beavers flood roads and hunting trails, instead of cutting valuable timber and flooding fields like they do in other regions. They plug culverts here, as well, and fixing roads in this area is a costly nightmare. Trapping beavers intensively is a smart, money-saving activity for the company. And for me, I still get to trap!
I figure those beavers would bring an easy $10 U.S. for the pelt, probably $10 to $15 more from each for the castor glands if they are big and full, and I get the meat to feed a few friends and use the rest for bait to snare foxes. Good enough for me!
This is a market report, not a trapping tale, but I wanted to remind the readers that price is not the only thing that matters. I spent two days trapping with my busy, 23-year-old daughter. We saw a beaver get caught live, we saw a river otter dive almost right under our feet, and even harvested two white-tailed does for the freezer — her first deer ever. The moral of the story is — it is still fun to be out there, and the benefits of your trapping efforts exceed the value from the money you receive.
Prices for wild fur really have not changed much in the last five to six months. World conditions are still the same, Russia is still at war, the global oil crisis is nowhere near the end. Authorities in the field of energy call it the worst energy crisis in history, and if you drive a pickup truck, you can tell when you stop at the pump. Fuel affects groceries, materials, plane tickets, everything! And most, if not all, trappers drive to their traplines.
Gas is a real expense and in remote regions, it is even worse. Gas where I trap now (a very remote region) is about $8 U.S. per gallon, or if you prefer, one large beaver pelt per gallon! In any case, the global energy crisis impairs the recovery of the trade, and Russia is still out of the buying rooms. The situation has not worsened, but it simply has not changed.
In other words, prices this year will remain pretty much the same as last year, with maybe a slight increase in beaver prices because of the increasing demand for the hatter market. Extra-large beaver pelts that are fully prime may reach $20 to $30, but the overall average is likely to be close to $10 to $15. Some buyers are offering $3 to $5 more per skin for large pelts, so if you have large pelts of decent quality, $15 to $18 may be realistic. The value in beavers continues to be in castor glands — worth again this year at least $100 U.S. per pound for top quality castor glands. Handle them well, do not over-dry them, no cuts, no meat, and that is your money in beaver trapping for very little extra effort.
Other water species — muskrats, otters and wild mink will struggle. Expect $2 to $3 for rats, $3 to $5 for wild mink, and maybe $15 to $25 for river otters. Raccoons, a definite Russian item, struggle again this year, and I doubt anyone has been longlining for them at prices of $3 to $8 U.S. per skin.
Foxes, red and gray, will continue to bring $5 to $10 U.S., and colored foxes, silvers and cross, will easily bring $25 to $35 U.S. because of their limited supply and their demand as wall-hangers.
Coyotes have fallen back to levels that we were familiar with before the fashion craze caused by the coyote fur on Canada Goose parkas. Better coyotes from the West will bring $30 to $40, and Eastern coyotes at $15 to $25. Ugly skins and flat skins simply will not sell.
Top quality bobcats will always sell easily, but the price will likely vary between $200 and $300. Shop around if you have good cats, different buyers have different needs and different requests.
Canada lynx will bring $50 to $100, and martens, the staple of many Northern traplines, probably close to $15 to $30 on average. Fishers will bring about the same as a marten, $15 on average and maybe up to $25 for a nice one.
We will soon enter into another season of international fur auctions, the next one scheduled for March 20-22, 2023, in North Bay, Canada, with Fur Harvesters Auctions (www.furharvesters.com). We all hope that now that the COVID crisis is behind us, we will soon see the end of the Russian war, and that peace brings oil prices down — and fur markets up!