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Northwest Territories fur a hit

Andrew Livingstone
Northern News Services
Published Monday, February 8, 2010

NORTH BAY, ONT - NWT trappers made a big splash at the Fur Harvesters Auction in North Bay, Ont., last month, selling all 12,638 muskrat pelts available for a total of $64,620.

Beaver pelts were a big seller as well, with 777 of the 831 pelts available being sold. The sales helped NWT furs top $100,000 during the Jan. 9 auction, with the majority of furs being sold to buyers in China and Greece. The average price of a muskrat pelt sold for $5.20 this year, about 20 per cent higher than in the past.

Bob McLeod, minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, said the high sales of NWT furs is an encouraging sign for the fur market.

"These results will keep our harvesters on the land and our trapping sector healthy," he said.

The Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur program helped support and promote the furs during the auction. The program provides NWT Trappers with access to the international fur auction market for fur harvested in the territory. The program also actively markets and promotes fur at international venues through other harvesting jurisdictions and the private sector.

Trapping helps diversify the economy, McLeod said in the legislature on Monday, adding there are more than 800 trappers in the NWT, the highest number since the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur program began in 2002.

"Trapping is not easy work," he said. "But it is rewarding work and it allows our people to get out on the land - just as their ancestors have done for centuries - and make a few dollars while they are at it."

McLeod said the next auction will be Feb. 19 in Seattle, Washington.

- with files from Elizabeth McMillan

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