Facts & Reports
Statistics
Accurate statistics showing the number of animals killed by the fur trade each year are notoriously difficult to get hold of and published figures from the fur trade may not be accurate.
What can be said with certainty (by using conservative figures) is that, excluding rabbits, more than 55 million animals are either bred and killed in fur factory farms or trapped in the wild for their fur. Many more rabbits are also killed - many of these are bred specifically for their fur.
These extremely large numbers translate to something more manageable. The fact is that more than one animal is killed for every second of every minute of every day of the year. More than one animal a second is killed by the fur trade just for the skin off their backs.
FUR FACTORY FARMING
Information collated by the fur industry and published by the Fur Commission USA (a trade body) provides the following information for the number of mink bred and killed in 2010, by country:
|
Country |
No. Of mink, 2010 |
|
Denmark |
14,000,000 |
|
China |
12,000,000 |
|
Netherlands |
4,800,000 |
|
Poland |
4,300,000 |
|
USA |
3,400,000 |
|
Canada |
2,200,000 |
|
Finland |
2,000,000 |
|
Baltic States |
1,400,000 |
|
Russia |
1,300,000 |
|
Sweden |
1,000,000 |
|
Belarus |
800,000 |
|
Greece |
600,000 |
|
Norway |
600,000 |
|
Spain |
450,000 |
|
Ukraine |
400,000 |
|
Germany |
200,000 |
|
France |
180,000 |
|
Italy |
170,000 |
|
Ireland |
170,000 |
|
Iceland |
160,000 |
|
Belgium |
150,000 |
|
Others |
200,000 |
|
TOTAL |
50,480,000 |
According to these figures, more than half (55%) of all mink bred and killed for their fur come from countries that are members of the European Union.
An example of how the fur trade's figures differ from other sources can be found by looking at statistics for 2009. The fur trade's given number of mink produced in Canada in that year was 2.3 million yet Statistics Canada (see link below) - published by the Canadian government - shows a figure of 1.6 million.
Other official statistics for mink breeding are produced by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and their reports going back to 1976 can be found at their website (see link below). They record a decline in the numbers of mink bred in the US from more than 5 million in 1969 to 2.8 million in 2010.
Fox Breeding.
Using the same fur trade sources the following table can be produced which, again, shows that a half of all fox bred for their fur come from EU countries with Finland accounting for nearly all of them.
|
Country |
No. Of fox, 2010 |
|
Finland |
1,800,000 |
|
China |
1,400,000 |
|
Norway |
200,000 |
|
Poland |
100,000 |
|
Russia |
100,000 |
|
Rest of world |
100,000 |
|
TOTAL |
3,700,000 |
TRAPPING
Most fur from animals trapped in the wild comes from USA, Canada and Russia. Statistics are difficult to obtain and/or unreliable. Any published figures do not include the significant numbers of animals trapped and discarded either because their fur has no value to the trapper or the animals are from endangered species and their deaths could lead to prosecution so the evidence is concealed.
Canada does produce annual statistics recording how many animals pelts are produced and sold each year (see link below). The latest figures are for 2008 when 741,769 wild animal pelts were sold for a total of CAN$16,016,473. This total included 1,997 bears, 151,313 beaver, 9,228 lynx, 9,636 otter, 40,374 racoons and 543 wolverine.
In the US, no federal statistics are produced and the last time a thorough analysis of the number of animals trapped in all 50 states was carried out was for the 1998-99 trapping season.
|
Species |
Number trapped in US in 1998-99 |
|
Badger |
6,750 |
|
Beaver |
333,132 |
|
Black bear |
59 |
|
Bobcat |
24,070 |
|
Coyote |
154,660 |
|
Fisher |
8,441 |
|
Fox, Arctic |
208 |
|
Fox, Gray |
77,334 |
|
Fox, Red |
130,082 |
|
Fox, Kit/Swift |
444 |
|
Lynx |
2,785 |
|
Marten |
9,013 |
|
Mink |
147,598 |
|
Muskrat |
1,426,857 |
|
Nutria |
131,271 |
|
Opossum |
227,365 |
|
Otter |
17,614 |
|
Racoon |
1,846,649 |
|
Ringtail |
4,174 |
|
Skunk |
77,624 |
|
Weasel |
7,941 |
|
Wolf |
1,495 |
|
Wolverine |
505 |
|
TOTAL |
4,636,081 |
The best current estimate is that 3-5 million animals are trapped each year in the US.
CANADIAN SEAL HUNT
Canadian harp seal hunt Total Allowable Catch (TAC) figures set by the Canadian government and total number of seals killed:
|
YEAR |
TAC - HARP SEALS |
ACTUAL CATCH |
|
2011 |
400,000 |
38,000 |
|
2010 |
330,000 |
61,000 |
|
2009 |
280,000 |
91,000 |
|
2008 |
275,000 |
217,636 |
|
2007 |
270,000 |
224,745 |
|
2006 |
375,000 |
354,867 |
|
2005 |
319,500 |
329,829 |
|
2004 |
350,000 |
365,971 |
|
2003 |
289,512 |
289,512 |
|
2002 |
275,000 |
312,367 |
|
2001 |
275,000 |
226,493 |
|
2000 |
275,000 |
92,068 |
|
1999 |
275,000 |
244,603 |
|
1998 |
275,000 |
282,624 |
|
1997 |
275,000 |
264,210 |
|
1996 |
250,000 |
242,906 |
|
1995 |
186,000 |
65,767 |
|
1994 |
186,000 |
61,379 |
|
1993 |
186,000 |
27,003 |
|
1992 |
186,000 |
68,668 |
|
1991 |
186,000 |
52,588 |
|
1990 |
186,000 |
60,162 |
|
1989 |
186,000 |
65,304 |
In the last 10 years more than 2.5 million harp seals have been clubbed to death or shot off the east coast of Canada for their fur. This figure does not include the very many ‘struck and lost' seals that will have escaped with their injuries to die in agony later.
LINKS
Fur Commission USA http://www.furcommission.com/news/newsF12e.htm
USDA http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1106
Canadian fur statistics http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?catno=23-013-X&CHROPG=1&lang=eng
