Leonard Greenhough, vice-president of the Saskatchewan Trappers Association, and his wife Elaine, of Makwa, Saskatchewan, brought an educational display of pelts, all harvested from non-endangered species living in Saskatchewan, to the Smoker, hosted by the Battlefords Wildlife Federation, Saturday, at the North Battleford Civic Centre. Two tables were needed to hold the 22 pelts, ranging from black bear, the largest, at one end of the exhibit to a short-tail weasel skin, the smallest, at the other end.
Visitors were encouraged to ask questions, touch the furs and browse through the photo album showing pictures of animals suffering from the diseases that can result when certain populations grow too large for the area and available game. To this end, Greenhough said, the Saskatchewan Trappers Association encourages the harvesting of animals and discourages over-trapping.
Greenhough farms as well as traps and said he did not think anyone could make a full-time living from trapping any more. Prices for pelts can vary considerably with the top coyote skin selling for $324 in February of this year but the average price remaining at around $71. He also had a skunk fur on display and said skunk is becoming popular for use on mittens, the stripes lined up to look very showy on the back of the mittens. He chuckled remembering he bought his wife skunk fur mittens, paying $135 for them and made, for all he knew, from the very skunk pelt he had sold for $2.07.
The Saskatchewan Trappers Association has four sets of pelt displays available and a number of members trained to make presentations at schools as well as at trade fairs and wildlife-related functions.
