Fur Trade
The Fur Industry
Fur Industry The fur industry is very large around the world and it continues to be profitable for almost all parties involved. Regardless of the anti-fur advocates there still is a lot of buying and selling of these pelts, although the amount has been dramatically reduced over the past few years. After watching the video in class on this subject I felt compelled to go online and look into more statistics regarding the fur trade in Canada. The video itself seemed rather out dated and I wanted to get some more up to date information to see how things have changed over time. I discovered several key differences when researching. First, most of the fur trapping done in Canada is for recreation. Second, there has been a major shift in the fur industry from a first world countries such as Canada to third world China. And lastly I questioned why activists target only people that wear fur and not those that wear leather. They are three very different points, but very important when looking into the global fur trade issue.
The first nations people of Canada play a small role in the Canadian fur trade. Historically the trapping and skinning of animals was how they earned their living in a “the new world”. This has changed quite extensively however, particularly in the past twenty years. The fur trapping industry for both native and non-native people has shifted from being a profitable venture to more of a recreational one. According to the Global Action Network’s quote from the Standing Committee in Aboriginal Affairs, “trappers, native and non-native alike, trap by choice not by need.”1 This in my opinion is still no excuse to kill animals for fun or for just a few dollars. The dollar value that the trappers actually receive from their hundreds of hours of hard work is actually very minimal. Statistics Canada shows that in 2009 the Average cost paid to a trapper for a wild pelt was $90.2 So the economic impact of fur
Fur Industry The fur industry is very large around the world and it continues to be profitable for almost all parties involved. Regardless of the anti-fur advocates there still is a lot of buying and selling of these pelts, although the amount has been dramatically reduced over the past few years. After watching the video in class on this subject I felt compelled to go online and look into more statistics regarding the fur trade in Canada. The video itself seemed rather out dated and I wanted to get some more up to date information to see how things have changed over time. I discovered several key differences when researching. First, most of the fur trapping done in Canada is for recreation. Second, there has been a major shift in the fur industry from a first world countries such as Canada to third world China. And lastly I questioned why activists target only people that wear fur and not those that wear leather. They are three very different points, but very important when looking into the global fur trade issue.
The first nations people of Canada play a small role in the Canadian fur trade. Historically the trapping and skinning of animals was how they earned their living in a “the new world”. This has changed quite extensively however, particularly in the past twenty years. The fur trapping industry for both native and non-native people has shifted from being a profitable venture to more of a recreational one. According to the Global Action Network’s quote from the Standing Committee in Aboriginal Affairs, “trappers, native and non-native alike, trap by choice not by need.”1 This in my opinion is still no excuse to kill animals for fun or for just a few dollars. The dollar value that the trappers actually receive from their hundreds of hours of hard work is actually very minimal. Statistics Canada shows that in 2009 the Average cost paid to a trapper for a wild pelt was $90.2 So the economic impact of fur