from the eye hole to the bottom of the skin. Such nutria pelts have 

 practically no commercial value, and it is unprofitable to pelt and 

 market such skins. The same is true of cut or punctured skins because 

 this damage multiplies many times in processing the pelt. 



THE NUTRIA FUR MARKET 



Large quantities of wild- caught nutria skins reach the fur trade 

 market. These skins come from the Gulf Coast marshes of the United 

 States and the swamp and lake areas in South America e B ut today, 80 to 

 90 percent of these raw furs (domestic and imported) are being exported 

 to the European fur markets. The few nutria furs being consumed in the 

 United States are low-grade skins used principally for linings in cloth 

 coats o 



Few ranch-raised nutria pelts produced in the United States have 

 reached the fur market. In April 1957, approximately 5>00 ranch-raised 

 processed nutria pelts were examined in New York City. There were also 

 500 or more raw nutria pelts available for inspection. The color, an 

 important feature, was far from uniform. Generally speaking, these 

 ranch-raised nutria pelts were not superior in any outstanding way to 

 the regular run of the best grades of South American or Louisiana wild 

 nutrias. 



The present situation is not caused by the raw fur prices, but is 

 due primarily to the processing and manufacturing costs which make a 

 nutria fur coat a luxury. Until these costs are reduced, there is little 

 possibility of an increase in the prices paid for raw nutria pelts and 

 an increase in the volume of nutria fur business in this country. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT 



The author is especially grateful to American Consuls stationed in 

 South America who reported to the State Department on nutria production 

 and markets for the fur. Particular thanks are due South American 

 Government officials stationed in Washington, D. C. who gave first-hand 

 information and written reports on nutria developments} to Herbert L. 

 Dozier, whose reports on nutria production, U. S. Animal Field Station, 

 Cambridge, Maryland, have been most helpful; to managers of Federal 

 Refuges where nutrias are established, for their infer mat ion j to Armand P. 

 Daspit, former Director, Division of Fur and Refuges, Department of Wild 

 Life and Fisheries, Louisiana, and B. T. McCauley, former Director of 

 Game, Washington State Game Commission, for their information on nutria 

 production and developments in Louisiana and Washington. Sincere thanks 

 are due Colin C. Sanborn, of the Chicago Museum of Natural History, for 

 his advice on species. 



