spectr17
12-27-2002, 05:17 PM
Fur's back, to delight of trappers
By DARYL GADBOW of the Missoulian
12/27/02
Rising demand for pelts felt by Montana hunters, buyers
Ed Hebbe of Deer Lodge, Mike Johnson of Missoula and Dennis Schutz of Stevensville aren't regular readers of Vogue magazine, but they're among the first to know when fur is back in fashion.
The New York Times reported recently that fur sales are booming in New York City, Dallas and other fashion centers around the world, in spite of the lagging U.S. economy and continued protests by animal rights groups.
Had they seen the article, Hebbe, Johnson and Schutz would not have been terribly surprised. All three have been involved in the fur trade for many years - Hebbe and Schutz as trappers, Johnson as a predator hunter who pursues coyotes and foxes for their pelts.
Over the years, they've watched the prices of furs rise and fall with hemlines and other vagaries of fashion trends. Prices for furs, they say, have been slowly rising in the past couple of years after bottoming out three or four years ago.
The big demand in fur by the fashion industry is for the "long-haired" pelts of coyotes, red fox, bobcats and lynx, according to Marvin Fluth of Lewistown, who has been a fur buyer for 30 years. His business, Fluth Enterprises, purchases raw furs from Montana trappers and pelt hunters, and sells them to furriers in New York, California, Europe and Asia.
"Style's got a lot to do with it," says Fluth of the recent rise in prices. "Everybody wants fur-trimmed items now, with trimming of coyote, fox, lynx and bobcat. There's a push for them now because they're trying to finish their winter garments. So demand is high. We send some to Europe because there's cheap labor there. A lot of raccoon is going to Russia. The Greeks are buying 'em, and making 'em into coats, and taking 'em to Russia. The market for raccoon is fairly cheap, so they can afford 'em. A warm coat is kind of a necessity over there in Russia. It's cold. And fur is traditional in Russia. I don't think they have the animal rights activists over there."
Hebbe, Johnson and Schutz frequently take coyotes and foxes in the course of doing predator control work for ranchers.
"Coyote damage is getting out of hand right in the Bitterroot Valley," says Schutz, who's been trapping since the late 1950s. "Sheep are usually the first thing they hit."
Beavers, too, have become so numerous in many locations that they are considered pests. The services of professional trappers like Hebbe and Schutz are often sought by home and landowners, and even government agencies, to control the damage the large rodents can cause in wetlands by gnawing down trees and damming streams and ditches.
However, demand for "short-haired" fur of beaver, muskrat and mink remains relatively low, according to Fluth, which is reflected in the depressed prices for those species.
"Beaver is still pretty low," says Hebbe, who started trapping in Wisconsin in 1948 and has trapped in Montana for almost 30 years. "That's where the problem is. Everyone's got beaver all over the country. But there's no demand for them. Last year, I got an average of about $12 for beaver."
For his coyote and fox pelts, Hebbe says he got an average of about $24 and $28, respectively, last year. The price dropped as low as $15 a hide three or four years ago, he says. He was offered $48 for an otter pelt last winter, which he turned down. He took the otter to a Canadian fur buyer, hoping to get a higher price in a sale scheduled next month.
His bobcat pelts brought $100 apiece last year, Hebbe says. The price was down to about $60 just two years ago.
Hebbe sells his furs at the annual Les Barton Memorial Fur Sale in Deer Lodge, which usually attracts five to seven buyers and many local trappers. Seven buyers attended last year's sale that included approximately 1,500 furs. This year's sale is scheduled Feb. 2.
Johnson, who sold more than 50 coyote pelts last year, got a top price of $56 for one hide of exceptional quality. He had several others that sold for $45 to $50. But he remembers the heyday of coyote fur prices in the '70s, when a prime pelt could fetch $100.
A retired Missoula high school teacher, Johnson sends his pelts to the largest fur auction company in the world, North American Fur Auctions in New York. Schutz is a regional representative of that auction company.
Despite the hype of booming fur sales in the New York Times, Hebbe, Schutz and Johnson are only cautiously optimistic about rising fur prices.
"A lot of Third World countries are getting into the fur market," Johnson says. "I think we'll just see a gradual turn-up in prices."
Hebbe subscribes to the trade publication "Trapper and Predator Caller," which is predicting higher prices for coyote this winter, he says.
"That's what they say," says Hebbe. "We'll see what they pay."
Depending on quality and size, Fluth says he expects to pay the following prices for furs this winter: coyote, $40 down to $5; red fox, $20 to $30; raccoon, up to $15; beaver, up to $20; muskrat, about $2; mink, $8 to $10; otter, $50 to $75.
North American Fur Auctions' market forecast for 2002-2003, furnished by Schutz, predicts a strong market for furs.
"NAFA is quite optimistic for the upcoming selling season," the company's market forecast says. "Not only are the fundamentals of the fur business looking strong, but finally we have some outside help with the weakening of the U.S. dollar, which should bode well for all of our shippers. ... NAFA, the largest wild fur auction company in the world, together with our shippers have shown that through hard work and intelligent promotions, the wild fur market can be turned around. ... It is gratifying to see that the fashion shows, workshops, seminars, visits to designer schools and, most importantly, close working relationships with the world's top fashion designers are showing positive results - higher prices at NAFA."
Throughout his career as a trapper, Schutz says he's noticed a pattern of fur prices.
"Usually," he says, "there's a two-year peak every 10 years. We had peaks in '77-'78, and in '85-'86. Another peak could be now."
"Now that prices are going up," says Fluth, "there's going to be some serious guys out trapping."
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, which regulates fur trapping, sold 2,857 trapping licenses in 2002, according to Brian Giddings, FWP furbearer management coordinator. The number of trapping license-holders has been increasing in recent years, Giddings says.
"We got as low as 1,700 licenses in 1990 and '91, when it bottomed out," adds Giddings. "There are a lot more recreational trappers now, guys, like myself, who just want to get a couple of martens or something, and do it just for fun. And there are a lot more houndsmen now. A lot of them buy a trapping license so they can run and take bobcats. So, there's more and more interest in trapping. If prices are up, that usually generates more license sales."
The number of "serious" trappers might be better reflected by the membership of the Montana Trappers Association, which is about 500, according to Hebbe, the president of the nonprofit organization.
Judging by participation in the association's youth and education programs, there is increasing interest in trapping in Montana, Hebbe says.
The MTA, in conjunction with FWP, conducts trapping education classes throughout the state each year. The classes emphasize ethics of trapping, as well as trapping and fur-handling techniques, and the history of trapping in the state.
In addition, the annual "Trapper Youth Camp," sponsored by MTA, FWP and 4-H of Montana, attracted 60 to 70 youngsters for the three-day event last summer. The third annual camp is scheduled in June near Havre.
"There's incredible interest in trapping," says Hebbe.
But Schutz has a wait-and-see attitude about the rosy predictions for the fur market.
"Some stuff - the long-haired fox and coyote - is picking up some momentum," he says. "But I don't think we're out of the woods in this fur situation. My daughter sent me a Vogue magazine. And if you go through it, you'll only see two or three pieces of fur."
Reporter Daryl Gadbow can be reached at 523-5264 or at dgadbow@missoulian.com.
By DARYL GADBOW of the Missoulian
12/27/02
Rising demand for pelts felt by Montana hunters, buyers
Ed Hebbe of Deer Lodge, Mike Johnson of Missoula and Dennis Schutz of Stevensville aren't regular readers of Vogue magazine, but they're among the first to know when fur is back in fashion.
The New York Times reported recently that fur sales are booming in New York City, Dallas and other fashion centers around the world, in spite of the lagging U.S. economy and continued protests by animal rights groups.
Had they seen the article, Hebbe, Johnson and Schutz would not have been terribly surprised. All three have been involved in the fur trade for many years - Hebbe and Schutz as trappers, Johnson as a predator hunter who pursues coyotes and foxes for their pelts.
Over the years, they've watched the prices of furs rise and fall with hemlines and other vagaries of fashion trends. Prices for furs, they say, have been slowly rising in the past couple of years after bottoming out three or four years ago.
The big demand in fur by the fashion industry is for the "long-haired" pelts of coyotes, red fox, bobcats and lynx, according to Marvin Fluth of Lewistown, who has been a fur buyer for 30 years. His business, Fluth Enterprises, purchases raw furs from Montana trappers and pelt hunters, and sells them to furriers in New York, California, Europe and Asia.
"Style's got a lot to do with it," says Fluth of the recent rise in prices. "Everybody wants fur-trimmed items now, with trimming of coyote, fox, lynx and bobcat. There's a push for them now because they're trying to finish their winter garments. So demand is high. We send some to Europe because there's cheap labor there. A lot of raccoon is going to Russia. The Greeks are buying 'em, and making 'em into coats, and taking 'em to Russia. The market for raccoon is fairly cheap, so they can afford 'em. A warm coat is kind of a necessity over there in Russia. It's cold. And fur is traditional in Russia. I don't think they have the animal rights activists over there."
Hebbe, Johnson and Schutz frequently take coyotes and foxes in the course of doing predator control work for ranchers.
"Coyote damage is getting out of hand right in the Bitterroot Valley," says Schutz, who's been trapping since the late 1950s. "Sheep are usually the first thing they hit."
Beavers, too, have become so numerous in many locations that they are considered pests. The services of professional trappers like Hebbe and Schutz are often sought by home and landowners, and even government agencies, to control the damage the large rodents can cause in wetlands by gnawing down trees and damming streams and ditches.
However, demand for "short-haired" fur of beaver, muskrat and mink remains relatively low, according to Fluth, which is reflected in the depressed prices for those species.
"Beaver is still pretty low," says Hebbe, who started trapping in Wisconsin in 1948 and has trapped in Montana for almost 30 years. "That's where the problem is. Everyone's got beaver all over the country. But there's no demand for them. Last year, I got an average of about $12 for beaver."
For his coyote and fox pelts, Hebbe says he got an average of about $24 and $28, respectively, last year. The price dropped as low as $15 a hide three or four years ago, he says. He was offered $48 for an otter pelt last winter, which he turned down. He took the otter to a Canadian fur buyer, hoping to get a higher price in a sale scheduled next month.
His bobcat pelts brought $100 apiece last year, Hebbe says. The price was down to about $60 just two years ago.
Hebbe sells his furs at the annual Les Barton Memorial Fur Sale in Deer Lodge, which usually attracts five to seven buyers and many local trappers. Seven buyers attended last year's sale that included approximately 1,500 furs. This year's sale is scheduled Feb. 2.
Johnson, who sold more than 50 coyote pelts last year, got a top price of $56 for one hide of exceptional quality. He had several others that sold for $45 to $50. But he remembers the heyday of coyote fur prices in the '70s, when a prime pelt could fetch $100.
A retired Missoula high school teacher, Johnson sends his pelts to the largest fur auction company in the world, North American Fur Auctions in New York. Schutz is a regional representative of that auction company.
Despite the hype of booming fur sales in the New York Times, Hebbe, Schutz and Johnson are only cautiously optimistic about rising fur prices.
"A lot of Third World countries are getting into the fur market," Johnson says. "I think we'll just see a gradual turn-up in prices."
Hebbe subscribes to the trade publication "Trapper and Predator Caller," which is predicting higher prices for coyote this winter, he says.
"That's what they say," says Hebbe. "We'll see what they pay."
Depending on quality and size, Fluth says he expects to pay the following prices for furs this winter: coyote, $40 down to $5; red fox, $20 to $30; raccoon, up to $15; beaver, up to $20; muskrat, about $2; mink, $8 to $10; otter, $50 to $75.
North American Fur Auctions' market forecast for 2002-2003, furnished by Schutz, predicts a strong market for furs.
"NAFA is quite optimistic for the upcoming selling season," the company's market forecast says. "Not only are the fundamentals of the fur business looking strong, but finally we have some outside help with the weakening of the U.S. dollar, which should bode well for all of our shippers. ... NAFA, the largest wild fur auction company in the world, together with our shippers have shown that through hard work and intelligent promotions, the wild fur market can be turned around. ... It is gratifying to see that the fashion shows, workshops, seminars, visits to designer schools and, most importantly, close working relationships with the world's top fashion designers are showing positive results - higher prices at NAFA."
Throughout his career as a trapper, Schutz says he's noticed a pattern of fur prices.
"Usually," he says, "there's a two-year peak every 10 years. We had peaks in '77-'78, and in '85-'86. Another peak could be now."
"Now that prices are going up," says Fluth, "there's going to be some serious guys out trapping."
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, which regulates fur trapping, sold 2,857 trapping licenses in 2002, according to Brian Giddings, FWP furbearer management coordinator. The number of trapping license-holders has been increasing in recent years, Giddings says.
"We got as low as 1,700 licenses in 1990 and '91, when it bottomed out," adds Giddings. "There are a lot more recreational trappers now, guys, like myself, who just want to get a couple of martens or something, and do it just for fun. And there are a lot more houndsmen now. A lot of them buy a trapping license so they can run and take bobcats. So, there's more and more interest in trapping. If prices are up, that usually generates more license sales."
The number of "serious" trappers might be better reflected by the membership of the Montana Trappers Association, which is about 500, according to Hebbe, the president of the nonprofit organization.
Judging by participation in the association's youth and education programs, there is increasing interest in trapping in Montana, Hebbe says.
The MTA, in conjunction with FWP, conducts trapping education classes throughout the state each year. The classes emphasize ethics of trapping, as well as trapping and fur-handling techniques, and the history of trapping in the state.
In addition, the annual "Trapper Youth Camp," sponsored by MTA, FWP and 4-H of Montana, attracted 60 to 70 youngsters for the three-day event last summer. The third annual camp is scheduled in June near Havre.
"There's incredible interest in trapping," says Hebbe.
But Schutz has a wait-and-see attitude about the rosy predictions for the fur market.
"Some stuff - the long-haired fox and coyote - is picking up some momentum," he says. "But I don't think we're out of the woods in this fur situation. My daughter sent me a Vogue magazine. And if you go through it, you'll only see two or three pieces of fur."
Reporter Daryl Gadbow can be reached at 523-5264 or at dgadbow@missoulian.com.