Skip to content

Trappers will be in Thompson for fur tables Dec. 18-19

The Lac du Bonnet-based Manitoba Trappers Association is expecting about 200 trappers, many from remote communities, to arrive at St Joseph's Ukrainian Catholic Hall on Juniper Drive next month for the annual fur tables, one of Northern Manitoba's si
GB200910311259981AR.jpg
Phil Patchin, with Manitoba Conservation's Lane Boles chatting off to his right, gave attendees at the Manitoba Trappers Association's Thompson fur tables a demonstration last December of how to prepare a beaver pelt.

The Lac du Bonnet-based Manitoba Trappers Association is expecting about 200 trappers, many from remote communities, to arrive at St Joseph's Ukrainian Catholic Hall on Juniper Drive next month for the annual fur tables, one of Northern Manitoba's signature business and cultural events, says Cherry White, the association's administrator.

The number of trappers who show up fluctuates a bit from year to year. Last year saw a good turnout with 219 trappers in town for the fur tables, up from 201 in 2007 and 198 in 2006 and 176 in 2005, while the total value of the furs that changed hands at the 2008 annual event was $314,876, according to figures provided by Manitoba Conservation wildlife manager Daryll Hedman. In 2007, the value of furs sold was $226,929.

The total number of furs that trappers brought to the fur tables last year was 7,721, with most - 4,813 - being marten pelts, which were sold for a total of $231,024 or $48 each.

The price for marten was up slightly last year from $45 apiece at the 2007 fur table, but well below the 2006 price of $90 per pelt.

Wolverine furs were the most valuable individually, at $300 apiece last year; $50 more than in 2007, but only 10 were sold during the fur table. Timber wolf furs were the second-most valuable last year at $200 a piece and 34 were sold during the event. The price for lynx furs rose from $100 each in 2007 to $150 each in 2008. Bear went for $80, in 2006, but only a few were sold.

There were four buyers at the fur tables last year, up from only three last in 2007, but down for the normal complement of five. North American Fur Auction and Fur Harvest Auction were buying on consignment last year, while two, including the Northwest Company, were paying trappers cash for furs. The event has a huge multiplier effect a week before Christmas for local merchants with so many trappers in town with wallets full of cash doing their Christmas and other shopping.

The event is important enough in terms of local revenue spin-offs that a number of public and private sector entities in Thompson cheerfully sign up every year to help the Manitoba Trappers Association put on a signature Northern event.

This year, the City of Thompson will kick in up to $250 for coffee and tea for the trappers, while Mayor Tim Johnson will speak at the opening at 9 a.m. Dec. 18. The city is cost sharing on the hot beverages with the Thompson Chamber of Commerce, Thompson Unlimited and the Thompson Regional Airport Authority. In 2006, Manitoba Hydro picked up the tab for the trappers for the two-day rental of St. Joseph's Ukrainian Catholic Hall, while the Burntwood Hotel offered free use of their boardroom for the Manitoba Trappers Association board of directors meeting. Canada Safeway donated boxes of oranges and candy.

The Thompson fur tables was one of several such events initiated in late 1970s by the province to help Northern trappers get better prices for their raw pelts. The two-day table is traditionally held a week or so before Christmas, and has had over 300 trappers attend in some years.

The Thompson fur tables are currently the only such event in Canada. Licensed Manitoba fur dealers gather annually in one hall and inspect each trapper's lot of fur. Each dealer provides a quote for the lot and the trapper selects the best price. In this way, the trapper benefits from the on-site competitive demand for their furs with the basic premise is to concentrate buyers in one area to promote the spirit of competition.

The Manitoba Trappers Association represents about 10 per cent of the total number of trappers in the province on its membership roll. There are an estimated 6,000 trappers in Manitoba and the industry generates between $10 and $15 million annually.

The five-year average on wild fur sold at the Thompson fur tables from 2002 to 2006 was $ 403,603, while 235 trappers, on average, attended the annual event. Some years there is an influx on the second day of the event because many trappers have to wait for hours to sell their furs on the first day to buyers. Many, arriving by train, sometimes, but not always, wait until the second day to show up at the fur table.

The average price for marten last year was $90, while weasel and beaver had also increased, with beaver climbing between eight and 10 percent to $32.

The federal government eliminated its grant to the trappers association more than 15 years ago, while the annual grant from the provincial government hasn't increased in more than 20 years.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks