A Flat Fur Market and the Reasons Why

A few tiny strands of hair that I had collected off the wire spun between my forefinger and thumb as my eyes strained looking for clues as to what once held them. Yep, it was beaver fur and the flattened, condensed circle of snare loop at my feet was proof that I had almost caught one of those elusive rodents. “Almost.” The same “almost” I had dealt with three or four times in the last week when seeing my snares look very similar. Why couldn’t I catch one of these devils?

A couple of weeks earlier while out checking raccoon traps one morning, I had just pulled a nice sized boar coon from a trap near a water location when I decided to inspect a large beaver dam further to the south. I discovered the telltale drags from the water to nearby chew trees. I’m not a swimmer and really have never had the desire to be baptized in cold water setting #330’s for beaver, but the obvious beaver sign from water to trees enticed the idea to try some dry land snaring for fun and the challenge of a different kind of trapping than I had been used to. Beaver and raccoon alike weren’t worth much so I might as well try and learn a new craft. The thought of catching my first beaver quickly became an obsession. One that I termed “Operation Beaver Snare” which left my wife rolling her eyes at every mention as I excitedly darted out the door to check traps each day for the next few weeks.

Excitement quickly turned to frustration by the end of the first week when all of my well planned snare placements showed no signs of being touched. Flat tails continued to chew on trees around the area as if to tiptoe by my cable and then snicker at my feeble attempt as they munched away littering bark shavings mere feet away from my strategically placed ambushes. The second week offered no change. I changed things however, moving snares around, adding even more snares on established runs out of the water and near active chew trees, not to mention reading everything I could get my hands on about beaver snaring. More than once in my reading, different authors would recount just how hard snaring for beaver can be. How could a rodent be so smart?

By the end of that second week and into the beginning of the third week, I finally had some of my better placed snares stretched out and knocked down. I thought my 9-10 inch loops had been sufficient, but each cable showed signs of a beaver’s escape leaving telling 4 to 6-inch loops of nothing. I reset the traps even closer to the ground with smaller diameter catch loops after talking with a friend and fellow trapper who described to me how a beaver’s sleek and sometimes slender body style allows them to slide through the trap with slow enough constriction of the wire along their body to never let the cable squeeze down enough to catch them as the end of their body narrows. This made sense and his suggestions were certainly worth a try to this struggling snare maker.

Twice a day, before and after work, I would check my snares and the results were always the same. Nothing. It got to the point that I was resigned to the idea of “Operation Beaver Snare” being a complete failure for 2014. But then a skiff of snow fell on November 28th and the light dusting revealed their movements the night before. A beaver had been coming out of the water and began chewing on the base of a different tree a few feet up from one of my snares. I had previously placed a snare between two trees that showed signs of movement but this day the drag marks paralleled the facing of my snare within a foot. He was going right by it on the way to another tree. I didn’t even need to reset the hanger as I had enough wire to turn the snare loop 90 degrees so that it hung over the new trail. That night after work I drove to my set locations with the same defeated feeling that it was pointless to check them because nothing would be caught.

One thought gave me some hope however and it was that one snare I had moved that morning. My first experience of walking up on a beaver in the dark came moments later as that snare and “Operation Beaver Snare” was finally a success and a big one at that! The scale held a 65-pound monster beaver hanging in my shop that night and a lot of self taught lessons had been learned in trapping.

It’s simple for me, I enjoy trapping and like many of you reading this article I will continue to set traps each year no matter what. Still the thought of “I hope all this work is worth it?” creeps into our minds as we make sets, check them daily and skin critters. It’s only natural after all. There is money to be made and the sale of fur is an important part of the process that offers profit, justification, and self-satisfaction. Last year’s fur markets haven’t satisfied anyone however. Buyers, sellers, auction houses, and garment makers alike have all fallen on tough times since about the third week in November of 2013 when fur prices dropped significantly and haven’t improved since. But why?

Like any market the worldwide fur market flows up and down from year to year based on supply and demand. That much we already know but where are things now and what’s the outlook for the future? Let’s visit the recent past to give us some perspective on the present and the future. The North American Fur Auction (NAFA) held in February of 2013 a record-breaking sale with over 700 buyers present and 100% clearance on many items. Some furs such as muskrat brought record high prices. Eastern Central raccoon held an average of $21.04 with a top price of $42 at that auction and coyote from our region averaged $36.27 for example. A cold winter in Russia and China in 2012-2013 helped create demand for fur along with harvests in some key areas coming up short for the season prior to that year. Fur was in high demand and nothing gets prices headed upward better than rumors of shortages.

Russia and China drive the global fur industry. Secondary to those two countries, Greece, Europe, Ukraine, Korea, and North America also put pressure on the market. Notice a few of those countries mentioned that have been in the news in the last couple of years for economic downturns or instability? First let’s start with Russia and where things began to go wrong. Russia ranks as the No.1 outlet for wild fur. Russians love fur garments and even though a large amount of fur is sent to China and Greece as well, a lot of those furs are manufactured into garments that are ultimately sold back to Russian retailers. Russia’s winter conditions help drive demand as well as other cold climate areas where fur is popular such as Ukraine and China. In warmer years demand is lower because retail sales of fur is lower. That traditionally has been the major influence on global fur markets but recently things have changed and dealt the market even more significant blows.

A good supply from high fur prices contributing to record sales in 2013 combined with speculation of a milder winter in 2014 and demand not being as strong began a downward turn in prices for the fall of 2013. In 2014 Russian leaders chose to invade Ukraine and financial sanctions were placed on Russia by other world leaders to attempt to sway Russia from further advance. Then world oil prices dropped which was a major source of Russian income. As a result of these factors, the Russian Ruble (Russia’s currency) dropped near 60% of its value. The devalued ruble can no longer afford higher priced furs at auction as Russian buyers can’t afford the hit. Inflation and economic problems have hit both the Russian and Ukraine consumer and fur garment sales have stalled out in that region.

As Russia goes so does China in terms of the fur market. China has a huge population, cold temperatures during the winter and a large number of wealthy people able to afford valuable furs. But their buying habits of North American fur depends on Russia. The Chinese do most of the world’s labor intensive work of manufacturing fur garments. They out compete North American and Russian fur manufacturers for fur because they pay their workers less and can produce garments at lower costs and thus sell for a lower price. They in turn manufacture most of the coats and hats for Russian and Chinese buyers. When those markets quit buying, China’s appetite for North American fur tanks.

If you’ve watched the news in recent weeks then you know that another large fur buyer, Greece, has fallen on hard times as of late. Greece defaulted on a critical debt payment to the International Monetary Fund forcing its country’s banks to close at the end of June and the future of how to deal with its phenomenal national debt are unresolved. We here may not have ever realized it but Greece is a major manufacturer of fur garments and sells heavily to Russian markets. One city in northwestern Greece, Kastoria, has more than 60% of its 35,000-person population working in the fur manufacturing industry. Now they can’t sell garments to Russians and Russian people have stopped traveling to Kastoria to purchase furs. Higher taxation and risk of being booted from the European Union leave the people of Greece with uncertain economic times.

Canada and the United States sadly just aren’t that big of a consumer of wild furs even though these countries produce a majority of the fur for worldwide markets. Fashion trends in recent decades have shied away from wild fur. I hate to say it but what is considered, “not in style” makes a difference. Anti-hunting and trapping groups have made an impact on things whether we want to admit it or not. Their radical views may not be widely held and may be easily overcome but other fashion styles for the winter months have became more popular in recent times. A push for fur to become trendy again here and in European markets has to be made and should be easy to do. Fur is a natural, renewable resource and in a time when the environment is debated so much, fur should be seen as the best option for “green” attire.

Now that we’ve examined the world market problems, let’s take a look at how these causes hit us here at home in Iowa. Ask any local trapper or any nearby fur buyer and they’ll tell you of grim times. From a fur seller’s perspective I’ll use my own modest little trap line as an example. While it in no way represents a large number, it does show the average hit in prices that a furharvester has undergone here. In November 2013 when prices were still strong, I sold raccoon for an average of $17 per pelt with XXL coon going for $26. Fast-forward to February 2015 (this year) and I sold raccoon at an average of $5.15 per coon with XXL coon going for $11. I skinned and fleshed but did not stretch. To put that in another perspective, I could have sold my raccoon this year for a larger price close to 100 years ago than I did this February. What other commodity can you say that about?

Country fur buyers are sitting on a lot of pelts especially raccoon because of these markets and that effects how they buy from you. Don’t expect a lot of interest in animals in the round as it costs extra for them to skin. Extra heavy and large finished items will command the most interest from buyers. A lot of cash has been paid out buying pelts with no way to turn a profit right now. I spoke with one buyer who continues to make the rounds of a traveling route across southern Iowa and Northern Missouri about his perspective. Don Veirs, president and CEO of Veirs Fur Company is a 12th generation fur buyer and grew up in a fur house. “My ancestors were literally trading fur with the Indians.” Don said, “And this is the worst I’ve seen it in 40 years!” Don has seen smaller buyers be forced to close their doors. “We bought about half as many furs 2 years ago as we did 3 years ago. We still have coon from last year and two years ago. We paid $9-10 on average to begin with last season and by the end of the year were paying a $3 average on raccoon.” I asked Don what he was seeing for trapper numbers, “People that really have a love for the hobby still come and always do. People only in it for the money show up only in years when prices are up.” When I asked him if there were any positive signs for the 2015-16 season Don simply said “No.” but then added that coyote might remain fairly strong.

Almost everything is way down with the exception of the coyote pelt remaining decent and possibly the fox. Iowa Bobcats might still fetch a nifty price but even they have dropped off 25% or greater from the year before. Our Midwestern cats and coyotes just don’t fetch as good of a price as their western heavy pelted cousins. What helps the coyote pelt hold a marginal price is the international trim trade, which uses the individual skins for edges of hoods, sleeves, boots and decoration of garments. Coyote fur as well as cat and better quality raccoon fur make great trim for hoods. Coyote will continue to be the best seller this year when fur season opens up.

It may be meager earnings but one thing I can say for sure was that it was worth all the work and effort when my 9-year old son and his best friend tagged along with me with one morning checking the trap line this last fall. To see the anticipation on their faces as we approached each set and then see the excitement they had each time we found a trapped a coon in one of my traps made trapping what it ultimately is. Enjoyable! So if for nothing else, introduce a youngster to the trap line. Who knows, you might just help foster a new generation of fur harvest.