FUR-FARMING IN CANADA 55 



conditions, when thousands of skins may come on the market season 

 after season, matching will be easy, and the best fur stores can carry in 

 stock enough silver fox to warrant the featuring of the stock. 



An opportunity is now presented to the ranchmen to 

 Organizations •, • , , ,• . ,. , 



Among Producers unite into a strong co-operative association to pro- 

 tect and promote the industry. Frauds could be ex- 

 posed, breeding records kept, thieves arrested and prosecuted, legis- 

 lation secured, the product advertised and the whole market situation 

 studied. The publication of inexact and fanciful statements by pro- 

 moters of stock companies is also injurious to the industry's future. 



The better protection of the stock from thieves can be achieved 

 in two ways. First, the provincial trespass laws could be amended to 

 increase the fine for trespassing near fox ranch property.'" Second, 

 the criminal code could possibly be revised so as to cause the exte- 

 rior fence of a fur-farming ra-^ch to be regarded in law similarly to the 

 walls of a barn or dwelling, and anyone found inside the fence would 

 be guilty of burglary and might be trapped or otherwise captured. 

 These amendments, or others of as effective a nature, might be secured 

 if representations were properly made to legislative bodies by a strong 

 organization. 



Because of the mixing of various strains of foxes, it is diificult to 

 secure reliable " performance " records of stock. The only " perform- 

 ances "'" worth noting in foxes are the prices of the pelts of the an- 

 cestors, and such features as fecundity, beauty and weight of the pelt, 

 and size. Well-organized provincial associations could keep perfonn- 

 ance records, and the various provincial organizations could co-oper- 

 ate with the Federal Department of Agriculture for registration. 



Quarantine is a question that may, at any time, become of prime 

 im})ortance. Thus, if disease breaks out in any district, the Fed- 

 eral Department of Agriculture, if requested by a strong association of 

 breeders, might be induced to undertake a quarantine. 



The whole problem of the protection of wild animals and the jws- 

 sibility of propagating them in captivity are broad questions that re- 

 quire more attention than has been given them in the past. A Dominion 

 Furriers and Fur-Farming Association organized along similar lines 

 to the Canadian Forestry Association, and like the latter, publishing its 

 own journal, could do much to promote a healthy interest in protecting 

 and propagating wild life. The organization of provincial associations 

 would be the first logical step in such a movement. To establish a per- 



See Appendix V. 



