Trapping is an age-old enterprise. Who really knows when the first trapper came on the scene? Likely it was some dude who needed fur to keep him warm, but couldn’t get quite close enough to that saber-toothed cat to get a spear point to stick. He maybe made a snare out of willow roots and snagged the cat that way. The next step was trading that cat skin to the neighboring tribe for some mammoth jerky — and so — the first trapper created himself.
Trappers have always been an enterprising bunch. They are smarter than muskrats and some coyotes. In the fur markets of today, trappers have to diversify their abilities. To be a truly successful fur harvester, one must do more than just capture the target animal. Marketing the catch is the toughest part of trapping today.
In the days of the fairly recent past some trappers, mostly stateside road trappers, didn’t even skin their catch, but took them to a buyer who bought the critter whole. The buyer skinned and put up the pelts themselves. The fur then went to an auction house where North American and international buyers bid on what they needed for garments and trim. There are no big North American garment makers these days.
There are niche buyers in the U.S. and Canada, but they do not absorb enough fur to have much of an impact on the overall fur market. Canada Goose, which was the largest buyer of coyotes the past decade, has gone fur-free. Correspondingly, their parka sales have dropped. It is easy to blame the drop in sales on COVID, but the Chinese buyer, which drives Canada Goose sales, is a discerning customer. The Chinese like real fur, not imitation junk. The Chinese and Russians are the main players in the current global fur trade.
Fur prices are improving in 2022-23. Wolf and wolverine prices will be good, locally and on the auctions. Lynx should be better on good pelts. Alaska and Canadian marten should be $40 or better for good skins. Beaver? Not so great; even extra large can only expect to bring $25. Beaver castor is a bright spot at $100 per pound. Wild mink will be basically unsaleable. Red fox, $10 for good ones and coyotes will be around twenty-five bucks.
The prices don’t seem to make it very worthwhile to trap. That is where the enterprising trapper comes in. Some trappers have learned how to tan their own pelts. Should that be the case, it can’t just be a home tan product. The tanning needs to be done right, and the end product needs be pretty to everyone’s eye. Or the trapper can have his furs commercially tanned. That is going to cost — “it takes money to make money” — but the end result is a lot more money for your fur and a much larger market. There is a decent market for tanned coyotes, fox and cats in Alaska. Tourists buy some, hat and mitten makers also are a fair market. Beaver sells well in local Alaska markets. Otter, one of the most durable furs, are worth little on the international market, but sell well to hat and mitten makers.
In spite of the terrible market for furs, there will always be trappers out and about. There are guys in the villages who have established lines that have been in use for generations. They don’t trap because they expect to make a lot of money. Most would be overjoyed to break even. Trapping is rarely about the money; it has to do with getting out.
Then, there are the roadside trappers — some of them work well. They load up a snowmachine and run lines far from the highway. Others snowshoe or ski lines out from the road. They spend more money on fuel getting to their line than they expect to make on fur sales. Many of them get their kids out, thus insuring the tradition of trapping will continue.
Then, there is the would-be Daniel-by God-Boone. This guy drives out to the edge of town and sets his traps by the road or in roadside pull-offs. He catches more neighborhood dogs than anything else, thus insuring a continuing healthy crop of anti-trappers.
There will always anti-hunting folks, and people who think it inhumane to kill anything. There is no argument against that. I trapped full-time for 30 years, and still make a few sets. Trapping can be cruel. Life in the woods is cruel. How many of you who read this have seen ravens picking on a moose stuck in the ice, still alive? And foxes eating on bull caribou with antlers locked and unable to move? That is the way of the wild, folks. Trappers need to ply their trade responsibly; check their traps often, and use the most humane methods practicable. Those that oppose trapping, that is OK also.
Trappers were among the first of us. Watch one of those apocalyptic movies where the human race returns to caveman days — trappers will be the last men standing.