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How to Do Animal Rights - and Win the War on Animals Chapter 7 Animal Numbers Raised & Killed 7. Fur-bearers Statistics of farmed and trapped fur-bearers are not always available. The United States and Canada publish some information (but do not forget equally big countries like Russia and China) and some information can be got from the fur trade itself. Given this, the following tables show: Table 1. Number of Farmed Mink Worldwide. Table 2. Number of Farmed Mink Pelts in the United States. Table 3. Number of Farmed Fox Pelts on the World Market. Table 4. Number of Farmed Fox Pelts Sold in Canada. Table 5. Numbers of Top Ten Fur-bearers Trapped in Canada. Table 6. Number of Wild Fur-bearers Trapped in the United States. Table 7. Common Fur-bearers Used by the Fur Trade. Table 8. Common Names & Fur Trade Names for Fur-bearers. Table 9. Value of Fur Retail Sales Worldwide. Note on numbers: Not all fur-bearers and pelts (or 'furskins') are recorded in official statistics and therefore the number of animals farmed for their fur are underestimates. For instance, in addition to foxes and mink killed worldwide for their pelts, a few million more are kept as breeders to replenish stock (see notes of Table 2); some animals die too young to produce marketable pelts; and some pelts are sub-standard and discarded before reaching market. Table 1. Number of Farmed Mink Worldwide About thirty million mink are farmed worldwide annually. Eight countries produce nearly 90 percent of them. Denmark produces over a third. However, China's fur industry is growing fast and reached 8 million farmed mink in 2005 (Dying For Fur), second only to Denmark. Table 1. Number of Farmed Mink Worldwide, 1998 - 2002. Numbers are in millions.   1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Denmark 11.9 10.5 10.9 12.2 12.2 Netherlands 2.7 2.7 2.8 3.0 3.0 United States 2.9 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.6 Russia 3.3 2.7 2.2 2.5 2.7 Finland 2.1 1.9 2.0 2.0 2.0 China 1.2 1.5 1.7 2.0 1.7 Sweden 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.4 Canada 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.2 1.2 All Others* 3.7 3.5 3.7 3.8 4.1 World Total 30.1 27.8 28.2 30.6 30.9 Source: based on Furskins. Industry & Trade Summary. US International Trade Commission, publication 3666, 2004. * Other mink farming countries include Baltic States, Spain, Norway, Italy, Germany, Ireland, France, Iceland, Belgium and Argentina. Table 2. Number of Farmed Mink Pelts in the United States The United States produces about 2.5 million mink pelts annually, fallen from around four million 20 years ago (over this time the number of mink farms decreased from 1,042 to 307). Farmed mink account for about a third of the total US pelt production (see Table 6). In addition to the figures in the table, over 600,000 additional female mink (that is an extra 25 percent) were farmed as breeders in 2003 to produce the year's crop. Thus in recent years a total of about three million mink per year are farmed in the US. Table 2. Number of Farmed Mink Pelts in the United States, 1985 - 2003 Year Number of Pelts 1985 4,171,000 1986 4,096,000 1987 4,122,000 1988 4,453,000 1989 4,604,000 1990 3,366,000 1991 3,268,000 1992 2,900,000 1993 2,620,000 1994 2,623,000 1995 2,803,000 1996 2,783,000 1997 2,993,000 1998 2,938,000 1999 2,813,000 2000 2,666,000 2001 2,565,000 2002 2,607,000 2003 2,549,000 Source: based on Mink. National Agricultural Statistics Service, US Department of Agriculture, 2004. Table 3. Number of Farmed Fox Pelts on the World Market About five million fox pelts go onto the world market each year. Finland is the world's biggest producer of farmed fox pelts, about half the world's supply. China and Russia are also leading producers. The number of China's farmed foxes is growing annually; it was estimated at 3.5 million for 2005 (Dying For Fur), overtaking Finland. Table 3. Number of Farmed Fox Pelts on the World Market, 1998 - 2002. Numbers are in million.   1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Finland 2.7 2.1 1.9 2.1 2.1 Other Scandinavian* 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 China 0.4 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.2 Russia 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 All Others 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 World Total 4.8 4.2 4.0 4.3 4.5 Based on Furskins. Industry & Trade Summary. US International Trade Commission, publication 3666, 2004. * Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Table 4. Number of Farmed Fox Pelts Sold in Canada More foxes are farmed in Canada than this table suggests. The data for the table are based on pelts "sold"; many sub-standard pelts are trashed before sale and not recorded. Furthermore, a lot of potential data in the source document were blanked out as not available. Also the number of breeding stock for the following year's crop is excluded, which may add an extra 25 percent (for instance see notes for Table 2). The species of fox in the source data were not recorded, presumably they were mainly Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) with some red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Despite the annual decline in the number of pelts produced, according to Statistics Canada, Canadian fox farms increased from 180 in 1999 to 230 in 2003. Table 4. Number of Farmed Fox Pelts Sold in Canada, 1999 - 2003. Year Number of Pelts 1999 24,090 2000 15,880 2001 13,160 2002 10,850 2003 9,530 Based on Fur Statistics 2004, vol 2, no 1. Statistics Canada, Agriculture Division. Table 5. Number of Top Ten Fur-bearers Trapped in Canada People in Canada trap well over a million wild fur-bearers annually, when you take into account animals who for some reason were not counted and other trapped fur-bearing species not listed in this table (eg Table 7). Muskrat, beaver and marten are the most commonly trapped fur-bearers. Table 5. Number of Top Ten Fur-bearers Trapped in Canada, 1999/00 - 2001/02   1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 Average* Muskrat 400,097 207,316 291,323 300,000 Beaver 215,246 221,118 260,421 223,000 Marten 141,129 149,686 119,071 137,000 Squirrel 83,534 63,626 77,053 75,000 Coyote 44,427 54,663 55,427 52,000 Racoon 26,511 30,033 71,749 43,000 Fox 33,733 43,972 48,507 42,000 Mink 40,569 27,754 34,913 34,000 Weasel 38,915 25,803 30,135 32,000 Fisher 16,638 16,109 23,456 19,000 Total* 1,000,000 800,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 Based on Fur Statistics 2004, vol 2, no 1. Statistics Canada, Agriculture Division. * Averages and totals are rounded to avoid spurious accuracy. Table 6. Number of Wild Fur-bearers Trapped in the United States People in the United States trap over seven million wild fur-bearers a year. People trap far more fur-bearers in the US than in Canada (compare with Table 5), perhaps because the United States has a much larger human population and therefore more trappers. The US International Trade Commission report that the United States is the world's largest 'volume' producer of pelts trapped in the wild. Table 6. Number of Wild Fur-bearers Trapped in the United States, 1997/98 Season. Racoon 2,896,000 Muskrat 2,183,000 Beaver 429,000 Coypu 398,000 Mink 190,000 Red Fox 164,000 Coyote 159,000 Otter 29,000 Other 613,000 Total 7,062,000 Based on Furskins. Industry & Trade Summary. US International Trade Commission. Publication 3666. 2004. Table 7. Common Fur-bearers Used by the Fur Trade Here are 32 of the more common species trapped around the world for their fur. Table 7. Common Fur-bearers Used by the Fur Trade. Common Name Scientific Name North American Beaver Castor canadensis European Beaver Castor fiber Bobcat Felis rufus Domestic cat Felis catus Chinchilla Chinchilla lanigera Coyote Canis latrans Coypu Myocastor coypus Domestic dog Canis familiaris Fisher Martes pennanti Arctic fox Alopex lagopus North American grey fox Urocyon cinereoargenteus South American grey fox Pseudalopex griseus Red Fox Vulpes vulpes North American lynx Lynx canadensis European Lynx Lynx lynx Marten Martes americana Pine Marten Martes martes Mink Mustela vison Muskrat Ondatra zibethica Opossum Trichosurus vulpecula North American Otter Lutra canadensis European Otter Lutra lutra Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus Racoon Procyon lotor Racoon Dog Nyctereutes procyonoides Sable Martes zibellina Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris Skunk Mephitis mephitis Stoat Mustela erminea Weasel Mustela nivalis Siberian Weasel Mustela sibirica Wolf Canis lupus Table 8. Common Names & Fur Trade Names for Fur-bearers Science labels each species with a unique two-part name to avoid confusion (see Table 7). But in the fur trade the same animal can be known by different names (sometimes depending on coat colour variation) and this can be confusing. Common confusions of name are: Table 8. Common & Fur Trade Names for Fur-bearers. Common Name Fur Trade Name Coypu Nutria Arctic fox White or Blue fox Red fox Silver fox Polecat Fitch or Ferret Racoon dog Finnracoon Stoat Ermine Siberian Weasel Kolinsky Table 9. Value of Fur Retail Sales Worldwide The retail sales of fur include fur garments, trim and accessories. The worldwide value of the fur trade has increased in recent years despite public opposition to the trade. Table 9. Value of Fur Retail Sales Worldwide, 1999 - 2005. Year US$ 1999 8.2 billion 2000 9.1 billion 2001 9.8 billion 2002 10.9 billion 2003 11.3 billion 2004 11.7 billion 2005 12.8 billion Based on news release of 27 February 2006 by the International Fur Trade Federation. References & Other Useful Sources for this Entry You can find all these on the Web. Andrew Linzey. The Ethical Case Against Fur Farming. 2002. Hsieh-Yi, Yi-Chiao, Yu Fu, B Maas & Mark Rissi: Dying For Fur: a report on the fur industry in China. EAST International/Swiss Animal Protection SAP. January 2005 (revised April 2006). Similar to Fun Fur? A report on the Chinese fur industry, by the same authors. The Socio-Economic Impact Of European Fur Farming. European Fur Breeders Association / International Fur Trade Federation. Undated but latest figurers are for 2004. International Fur Trade Federation (IFTF) web site. Furskins. Industry & Trade Summary. US International Trade Commission. Publication 3666. 2004. Fur statistics (2004): Statistics Canada, Agriculture Division. How to Do Animal Rights - and Win the War on Animals. © Roger (Ben) Panaman, April 2008. All rights reserved.