Nunavut hunters worry polar bear pelts losing market value

Nunavut hunters fear that some 300 polar bear hides are aging and discolouring while they remain in storage at an Ontario auction house. (FILE PHOTO)

With the price of furs down for more than a year now, the Government of Nunavut is reviewing the financial support it provides to hunters and trappers.

The GN currently works in partnership with an Ontario-based auction house, called Fur Harvesters Auction Inc., which markets and sells fur that has been harvested throughout the territory.

Under the GN’s fur pricing program, the Department of Environment helps hunters ship their catches to the auction house in North Bay, Ont. The territory also pays a bonus to hunters on every pelt sold at auction.

But Hudson Bay MLA Allan Rumbolt told the Nunavut legislature March 3 that hunters in Sanikiluaq, who sell polar bear hides through the government’s program, say the auction house hasn’t sold a polar bear hide in two years.

That’s left about 300 potentially lucrative polar bear hides languishing in storage in Ontario, confirmed Nunavut’s environment minister Johnny Mike.

“It is my understanding that untanned polar bear hides that are kept in storage for a period of time will age and discolour, turning yellow, and rendering the hide worthless,” Rumbolt said during question period March 3.

“The process usually begins within two years. Further, when this discolouration occurs, it is irreversible, even with treatments such as bleach.”

The GN is aware of the issue, Mike said.

“With the market trending down, the future doesn’t look too bright,” he said. “With that kind of uncertainty, and due to the fact these hides may degrade, we are looking at selling them at lower prices.”

Cabinet should decide later this month how the GN’s fur pricing program can be modified to support those hunters, Mike said.

The GN’s fur pricing program predates Nunavut, established to help revitalize the Inuit sealing industry after market collapses in the early 1980s.

Fur Harvesters Auction Inc. lists no recent sales of polar bear hides in its auction catalogues. In its last major auction, the company sold just half of its seal skin stock (1,240 skins) at an average of $29.60 per pound.

Arctic fox fared better, with all 705 pelts selling at an average of $53.60 per pound.