OBJECTS OF BREEDING WILD MAMMALS 147 



State legislatures should so modify their laws as to permit the market- 

 ing, under needed regulations, of venison or live deer reared in pre- 

 serves stocked and maintained at private expense. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN 



BREEDERS' ASSOCIATION ON BREEDING 



FUR-BEARING ANIMALS* 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



The possibility of breeding many species for their fur has not 

 been overlooked and spasmodic efforts along this line have been made 

 in various parts of the country for generations. Almost every fur- 

 bearing species has been the subject of experimentation. Fox and skunk 

 farming has attracted most attention, but mink, marten, otter, beaver , 

 and muskrat have come in for a fair share. The field has proved most 

 alluring, as with pencil and paper any sanguine person can, in a few 

 minutes, figure out a large fortune in fur at the market price and well- 

 known normal rate of increase of a given species of mammal. Again 

 and again, it has taken years of work and the expenditure of thousands 

 of dollars to prove that important factors have been omitted in the 

 computations. One well-organized company in Pennsylvania sank 

 $25,000 in three years, only to prove that skunks would eat their young 

 when in close confinement. Skunk farming, however, has, in some 

 cases, proved a partial success, but "Why raise one-dollar skunks in- 

 stead of thirty-dollar marten?" is a question asked by Mr. E. T. Seton, 

 a member of the present committee. 



The nearest approach to success in fur culture has been on the 

 native range of species, where, owing to favourable conditions, protec- 

 tion could be afforded and the animals allowed to multiply until a 

 profitable yield of fur was secured. This method has been especially 

 applied to blue foxes, beavers, and muskrats, and with considerable 

 success. It merits every possible encouragement; but, in most cases, 

 there has been little attempt at domestication and nothing gained by 

 way of permanent control of breeds of valuable fur-bearers. In fact, 

 there seems to have been no systematic attempt to develop a domestic 

 breed of fur-bearing animals. Most of the experiments have been in 

 raising wild animals for fur, and these have usually ceased while the 

 animals were still wild. The fur crop has been expected at once and 

 has usually been the sole object of the experiment 



* Annual Report, 1898. The objects of this committee are: To investigate and 

 report on possibilities, methods and technique of breeding fur animals; and to en- 

 courage experiments in the production and breeding of fur animals. 



