12 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



times. All of these except the silver fox are now off the market because 

 of a restrictive close season established by law to allow them to recuper- 

 ate in numbers. None, except the silver fox, is bred in captivity. 



The sea-otter, because of its aquatic habits, extreme scarcity and 

 remoteness from populous neighbourhoods, has never been domesticated. 

 I'he chinchilla, a rat-like animal, found principally in Bolivia, is also 

 being exterminated and no attempt is being made to rear it in pens. 

 The Eussian sable has been subjected to a few half-hearted experiments 

 in domestic breeding, but without success. Mr, Vladimir Generosoff, 

 an American agent of the Eussian Department of Agriculture, states 

 that no serious attempts to breed the sable will be made by the pea- 

 sant trappers who are so poverty-stricken that they cannot raise suflB- 

 cient capital for ranch equipment. He hopes to secure the co-operation 

 of his government in conducting breeding experiments with these 

 valuable animals. 



The best sable are found in the forests of the Vitim and Olekma in 

 the province of Yakutsk, one of the remotest parts of Siberia. It is 

 evident that only the Eussian authorities can secure a sufficient number 

 of excellent wild specimens to conduct a practical experiment. In the 

 meantime, in preparation for the time when the Eussian sable ■wall be 

 available for breeding in Canada, experiments should be conducted with 

 the Canadian sable, which is very closely related to the Eussian and 

 very similar in habits. 



Because of its ubiquitous character and its fondness for living near 

 human habitations, the silver fox has been subjected to more domesti- 

 cating experiments than any other valuable fur-bearer. When it be- 

 came known that it was simply a pelage colour of the common red fox, 

 experiments were multiplied with the cheaper red foxes to gain ex- 

 perience in breeding the species. The breeding of the fox in captivity 

 is proceeding on an increasingly large scale and no doubt exists now 

 regarding the possibility of domesticating it. 



