Black Bear pelts

[bill9044]

I got some info from the esrd today:
As a resident trapper I am not allowed to shoot a bear with a valid hunting license and tag then skin the bear. Stretch and dry the hide then ship it to auction. If you are on a legal trapline which you are the holder you can send in bear hides. It is possible to sell the hide but the hide has to be inspected and. Wait 3 years before it can be sold.

[mark-edmonton]

You are allowed to shoot one with a valid liscence! Registered trap lines can take upto 4 ( I think ) black bears and send them in. It's to protect the assets on the line. Resident trapper doesn't have the same assets to protect!

[HunterDave]

Thanks for the info, Bill.

Mark, north of Red Deer the holder of an RFMA can shoot 6 bear per season on his line

[South west trappin RG]

North of Edmonton on registered lines. Or it might be north of red deer. Not where Iam at.

[mark-edmonton]

6 that's right! I've never done it! But seems like a lot of work to prepa bear skin for fur market! Anyone do it ?

[bill9044]

One instructor at the trapping rendezvous showed us how to skin the bear for Taxidermy. Which I think that is what buyers want. The pads on the paws stay attached and of course the claws do as well. A bit of work. It is in nafa fur handling manual I think.

Also I was curious on the status of the bear because I don't need and can afford to make a rug every year.

[norwestalta]

Can a farmer sell bear and wolf hides?

[bill9044]

I believe that you would still have to have a hunting license and wait the 3 year period for bear. I would call ESRD to confirm. If you have a resident trapping license you could skin and send in the wolf to auction. If you are having wolf problems pm me your area.

[Big Grey Wolf]

A farmer/rancher can shoot problem bears but without a trapping license cannot sell bear, wolf or coyote hides. He can give them to a poor hardluck trapper though. Here is my address.

[norwestalta]

I'll keep that in mind. Haven't caught them in the oats yet but they're there.

[philintheblank]

That seems odd to me, because it says in the trapping regs anyone in alberta can sell a legally harvested black bear pelt and it doesn't mention a 3 year waiting period

Sale of Wildlife back to top

In Alberta anyone may sell the following:

processed (tanned or otherwise permanently preserved, but not dried, salted or frozen) skins of fur-bearing animals;
black bear skins, provided they have been taken lawfully (black bear claws may only be sold if they remain attached to the whole skin);
the skins of most animals, including skunk and raccoon, for which a licence is not required;
skinned beaver carcasses including the tail; or
the claws, skulls and teeth of lawfully taken fur-bearing animals.

I have seen a guy Turning in bear pelts for auction at halfords with his hunting tags still attached, he says he sells all his pelts as he hunts bears for the meat and ale ready has a rug

[norwestalta]

Do they bring much cash?

[bill9044]

I am not try to have a debate but that's what the fish and wildlife office told me. So I'd get it in writing. So when the officer stops you you have a good defence.

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by norwestalta

Do they bring much cash?

The May NAFA sale offered 313 hides and 97% sold. They averaged $80.61 with the top being $490.50.

[norwestalta]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

The May NAFA sale offered 313 hides and 97% sold. They averaged $80.61 with the top being $490.50.

Makes it worth while chasing it out of the oats

[braggadoe]

great article in a recent nafa mag about how they use the very best black bear pelts too make hats.

special for the guards at the royal palaces in the U.K. and such.


would be great to duplicate!

[mark-edmonton]

Used to wear one when I was in Ottawa! Changing of the guard at parliament !

[Big Grey Wolf]

Guys, I say BS to the 3 year wait, I seem to remember something about 3 months before offered for sale. I think the F &W guy got it wrong.

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by Big Grey Wolf

Guys, I say BS to the 3 year wait, I seem to remember something about 3 months before offered for sale. I think the F &W guy got it wrong.

I think that the 3 year wait applied to Resident Trappers and not Trappers with a trapline. If a Resident Trapper is not allowed to put bear hides in for auction then that would make sense to me.

[bill9044]

I asked about resident trapper. I was told the same rules would apply as a hunter. A guy with a line can shoot like 4 to six on his line.

Please someone else call about this matter I would love to have the option.

[Marty S]

As a NAFA agent we ship bears for people every year, raw dried bears. We've been told they must be complete, all parts attached, or no go. We've been told that with bears shot on private land without a licence by AB residents or landowners, one should record the land description and landowners name in case one is ever questioned.

If shot under hunting licence, sell with tag affixed to hide.

So Phil has quoted the regs, it reads that anyone can sell a bear.

I really wonder what happens to the rest of the bears that get shot every year and aren't rugged. I think I know.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by Marty S

I really wonder what happens to the rest of the bears that get shot every year and aren't rugged. I think I know.

I know what happens to many. They get hauled off to the edge of the field and left to feed the Coyotes. Hide and all and it's all perfectly legal.

When I worked for the dutchman he had me dispatch as many as twenty bears a year and those I couldn't find a home for (table fare) fed the Coyotes.
All the farmers I know do the same and a dozen or more bears a year per farm is not unusual.
But just so no one gets the wrong idea, not every farm has bear problems like that. Mostly it's the farms close to large tracts of undeveloped forest land and those along river courses. I would guess that around here only one in thirty farms see significant numbers of bears in their yards. Most of them may see one bear in the yard for every ten years.

And for those who haven't dealt with farmland bears, most are not a problem but when one starts visiting peoples yards you have one logical course of action. Put it down. Scare tactics do not work, deterrents do not work. Fences do not work. F&W will trap and relocate them, but they'll be back in a week or so. Bullets work, and they are far faster, far cheaper and far safer then any of the alternatives.

Farmers are businessmen, they do what they have to do to protect their assets.
As an acreage owner I can afford to let a Bear or two wonder through my yard but a farmer can loose tens of thousands of dollars to one bear, they can't afford to let them hang around.

[bill9044]

Originally Posted by Marty S

As a NAFA agent we ship bears for people every year, raw dried bears. We've been told they must be complete, all parts attached, or no go. We've been told that with bears shot on private land without a licence by AB residents or landowners, one should record the land description and landowners name in case one is ever questioned.

If shot under hunting licence, sell with tag affixed to hide.

So Phil has quoted the regs, it reads that anyone can sell a bear.

I really wonder what happens to the rest of the bears that get shot every year and aren't rugged. I think I know.

If that is the case Marty I maybe bringing a hide or 2 to you

[Marty S]

Not my point Keg, obviously landowners can shoot them and leave them. Just the sport hunted bears was my question, but whatever, so a few get thrown out. What does one do when the freezer gets full? Apparently our government does the same thing with their freezer full of cougars, except they have these neat incinerators.

[BlackArcher]

I'm new to this, so have to ask the question. In order to buy a tanned pelt you require a Fur purchasing licence, or only to buy raw?

Also why is there a fur tax in order to tan a pelt, that seems like it would extremely limit the customer base due to the pelt being worth 3-4 times as much upon sale, correct?

This makes it hard for me to get a good bear for the study floor, since that price is almost on par with my flying back home shooting and tanning it myself.

[Bigmountainrider]

[QUOTE=BlackArcher;2612708]I'm new to this, so have to ask the question. In order to buy a tanned pelt you require a Fur purchasing licence, or only to buy raw?
QUOTE]

To buy a raw hide only, anyone can buy or sell a tanned hide for the most part.