30 Fur Farming. 



Another thing to be considered is the natural nervousness 

 of wild animals when placed in restraint, and subjected to 

 unusual sights and surroundings; great care should be taken 

 to avoid anj-thing that might startle them or cause them to 

 take alarm. The young at least if properly protected will 

 soon become tame, and instead of worrying the fat off their 

 bodies, and the hairs off their hides, will grow sleek, and 

 develop a fine pelage. 



When the killing time comes care should be taken not to 

 frighten the animals that are to be kept for breeding 

 purposes. The animals to be slaughtered should be driven 

 into a separate enclosure and out of sight of the others 

 before being killed. 



FOX RAISING. 



Benjamin L. Raynor of Alberton, P. E. I., Canada, and 

 J. Walter Jones of Washington, D. C, have made a careful 

 study of the fox-breeding industry on Prince Edward 

 Island. The report of their investigations first appeared in 

 the ' ' American Breeders Magazine. ' ' It was republished by 

 the "Fur Trade Review" in November, 1912, and is the 

 source of much of the information this chapter contains 

 relative to "fox farming" in the Dominion of Canada. 



Foxes that have been kept as pets and in zoological 

 gardens have never been known to rear their j'oung. The 

 reason for this seems to be the extreme nervousness of the 

 females, who have been known to go about for days with 

 their young in their mouths, putting them first in one place 

 and then carrying them to another, until finally the pups 

 have died from the effects of exposure and handling. 

 Keepers often watch by the pens day and night for weeks 

 at a time, to prevent the mothers from injuring themselves 

 or their j^oung. The females are so wild during the breed- 

 ing season that the ranchers make it a rule to close the 

 ranches in January, and allow no one but the keepers to go 

 near the pens between that time and June when the young 

 are out and playing about. It is stated that during the 

 period that the pups are with the mother the keepers always 

 wear the same clothes, lest a change in their appearance 

 should worry the sensitive animals. 



The behavior of a mother fox on a ranch in Ontario, is 

 referred to as illustrating how little it takes at certain 



