ANNUAL REPORT, 1940-41 



11 



Bear 



Beaver 



Fisher 



Fox (Cross) 



Fox (red) 



Fox (silver or black) 



Fox (white) 



Lynx 



Marten 



Mink 



Muskrat 



Otter 



Raccoon 



Skunk 



Weasel 



Wolverine 



1937-38 



496 



235 



1,463 



2,426 



24,912 



201 



47 



1,284 



1,709 



22,766 



343,972 



3,737 



13,194 



61,576 



79,853 



5 



1938-39 



363 



1,366 



1,467 



2,164 



22,366 



131 



142 



785 



074 



111 



893 



764 



493 



89,100 



93,488 



3 



2 



25 



508 



3 



9 



1939-40 



295 



33,530 



1,382 



981 



19,925 



101 



36 



514 



1,790 



36,518 



689,706 



4,101 



14,493 



74,176 



95,832 



2 



1940-41 



274 



21,605 



858 



722 



15,059 



67 



91 



383 



1,439 



38,976 



739,224 



3,931 



11,973 



72,005 



53,719 



2 



From reports received from various licensed fur dealers it has been possible for 

 the Department to estimate that trappers received a total of $2,677,211.26 from the 

 catch of fur during 1940-41, an increase of some fourteen per cent over the previous 

 year, and which increase may be assigned to the general improvement in muskrats, 

 both take and market value. 



The product of licensed fur farms, comprised wholly of fox and mink, disposed 

 of during the year by such fur farm operators had an estimated value of $1,246,847.66, 

 an increase of almost $200,000 over the previous year, making the value of the total 

 fur production of the Province in 1940-41 the sum of $3,924,058.92. 



FUR FARMING 



The propagation of fur bearing animals in captivity continues to be an industry 

 of considerable economic importance, particularly during war time, as a large per- 

 centage of the fur production is exported thereby establishing valuable foreign 

 exchange. Due to the prevailing uncertainty as regards future markets and the rising 

 cost of feed some recession was recorded, though 1841 fur farms were licensed during 

 the calendar year of 1940, the period covered by such licenses, a reduction of only four 

 per cent. 



The subjoined comparative table shows the total breeding stock retained on 

 these licensed premises as at the first day of January in each of the four years therein 

 enumerated, and from which it will be noted that these operations are restricted 

 principally to silver fox and mink: — 



