LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Hunters and trappers wanting to learn the skills needed to catch beaver got their chance during an all-day workshop in Fort Simpson on Dec. 15.

Wilbert Antoine, left, and Bob Norwegian watch while trapping instructor Mark Taylor demonstrates how to properly tie a snare wire. - April Hudson/NNSL photo

The workshop began at 1:30 p.m. and was scheduled to go as late as 10 p.m. if needed.

On-hand for the workshop were Mark Taylor from Fur Harvesters Auction in North Bay, Ont.; Scott McQueen and Kelly Pennycook from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; and Francois Rossouw with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

During the workshop, Taylor showed nine participants how to tie snares for beaver and later, how to properly skin a beaver.

"Most trappers rough-skin their animals," Taylor said, referring to the process by which trappers skin quickly and leave a layer of fat on the pelt to be scraped off later.

In comparison, he showed participants his own method, which he called "clean-skinning." In that method, trappers clean as they go, leaving behind very little debris to scrape off later.

Participants were also introduced to the proper process by which to stretch the hide.

They marked out on a sheet of plywood the different sizes a pelt can sell for and then nailed the pelt fur-side down, stretched in an oval from end to end.

Furs are measured lengthwise and width-wise, with those two measurements added together to calculate the size. The fur Taylor demonstrated was expected to dry between 60 and 65 inches.

"You can expect to lose about two inches as the pelt dries," Taylor said.

A number of already-dried pelts were on-hand to demonstrate the different sizes, weights and grades pelts can be.

Weight refers to the density of the fur, with heavy being the most valuable because it is the easiest to shear. Heavy-weighted furs have dense underfur.

Grades range from select - which are above-average in quality, texture and preparation, without defects - to IV and V, which have little to no commercial value.

Pelts are also priced according to their defects, which are categorized under slight, damaged and tainted.

Aside from skinning, stretching and drying their pelts, participants got a lesson in making proper snares, which included bending the wire back on itself and using a device known as a ferrule to secure the wire ends in a small loop.

From there, Taylor demonstrated how to set the snare to properly catch and hold a beaver.

"I don't want to see anyone using these in open water underneath the ice," Taylor warned participants, adding that beavers caught that way will have damage to their fur and will also suffer a worse death.

Instead, the snare should be set so the beaver will suffocate under the ice.

Taylor said that although the workshop focused on beaver processing, the Fur Harvesters Auction also holds workshops on marten and wolf pelt-handling, among others.

"The (participants) here requested beaver, so that's why we did that," he said.

Trappers who wish to sell their furs can generally do so through the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Furs fur marketing service run by the GNWT.

In general, trappers can receive up to $50 for a beaver pelt.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.