The Fur Trade in Canada

This press release makes me unreasonably happy:

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YELLOWKNIFE (November 22, 2011) The GNWT is doubling the number of fur pelts trappers can claim under the Grubstake program, from 200 to 400 pelts per trapper. This enables the most productive trappers to receive additional start-up funding in the fall of 2012.

“The increase to the pelt threshold is in direct response to requests from our productive trappers,” said Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, David Ramsay. “Wild fur from the Northwest Territories is in demand from buyers around the world, and this increase will provide eligible trappers with funds to defray a portion of their start-up costs at the beginning of each trapping season. It will also stimulate increased production of wild fur.”

Under the Grubstake program, a payment of $5 per pelt of any fur-bearing species is paid to all trappers who ship at least 20 fur pelts to auction, now to a maximum of 400. This payment is in addition to the guaranteed advance and prime fur bonus that are paid to eligible trappers through the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Furs Program. Grubstake payments occur in the fall prior to the start of the new trapping season and are based on production from the previous year’s fur harvest. 

Trapping season in the NWT runs from October to June, the period when fur is most market-ready. Trappers who participate in the program must have General Hunting Licenses or be land-claim beneficiaries. Fur can be brought to the wildlife officers at local Department of Environment and Natural Resources offices to be entered into the program.

Through the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Furs Program, the Government of the Northwest Territories works in partnership with NWT harvesters and the fur industry to support and promote the traditional fur economy. In the 2010/11 fiscal year, the program invested $121,709 into the NWT trapping industry.

For more information, please contact:

Alayna Ward

Manager, Public Affairs and Communications

Industry, Tourism and Investment

Government of the Northwest Territories