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Chapter 6
Fur Statistics
Summary
- Most farmed furs come from mink and foxes.
- About thirty million mink are farmed annually worldwide (Table 1).
- About five million fox pelts are marketed each year (Table 2).
- Over eight million wild fur-bearing animals are trapped per year in North America (Table 3 & Table 4).
- Racoons and muskrats are the most commonly trapped wild fur-bearing animals in North America (Table 3 & Table 4).
This page provides an impression of the numbers of animals killed for their fur by showing official statistics for farmed mink and foxes (Tables 1 & 2) and for trapped fur-bearing animals in North America (Tables 3 & 4).
Information about the worldwide trade in furs is incomplete because official statistics of farmed animals and trapped animals (eg Russia and China) are not always available. Even when statistics are published, not all fur-bearing animals and pelts (or 'furskins') are recorded. For instance, in addition to millions of foxes and mink killed for their pelts, millions more are kept as breeders to replenish stock, many animals die too young to produce marketable pelts, and many pelts are discarded as sub-standard before reaching market.
Statistics, therefore, tend to under estimate the numbers of animals killed for their fur. Treat the numbers below as estimated minimums.
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 |
* Other mink farming countries include the Baltic States, Spain, Norway, Italy, Germany, Ireland, France, Iceland, Belgium and Argentina. Source: based on Furskins. Industry & Trade Summary. US International Trade Commission, publication 3666, 2004.
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 2. 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 |
* Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Source: based on Furskins. Industry & Trade Summary. US International Trade Commission, publication 3666, 2004.
Number of Wild Fur-bearers Trapped in North America
People in the United States trap over seven million wild fur-bearing animals a year (Table 3). Far more fur-bearers are trapped in the US than in Canada (compare with Table 4), possibly because the US has a much larger human population and therefore many more trappers. The US International Trade Commission report that the US is the world's largest "volume" producer of pelts trapped in the wild. Racoons and Muskrats are the most commonly trapped fur-bearers (also see Table 4).
Table 3. 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 |
Source: based on Furskins. Industry & Trade Summary. US International Trade Commission. Publication 3666. 2004.
Number of Top Ten Fur-bearers Trapped in Canada
Muskrat, beaver and marten are the most commonly trapped fur-bearing animals in Canada and well over a million wild fur-bearers are trapped annually.
Table 4. 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 |
*Averages and totals are rounded to avoid spurious accuracy. Source: based on Fur Statistics 2004, vol 2, no 1. Statistics Canada, Agriculture Division.
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 figures 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.
More Entries about the Fur Trade
Also see entries for Fur Farming, Fur Marketing, Fur Morality, Fur Species & Sales Value, & Fur Trapping.
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