Trapping 2023

pupchow · Nov 6, 2023

One set. Day 6. One fox.
The fox visited the set yesterday during the day and climbed all around the set, peering in but not stepping in. This morning at 5:30, the fox must've just charged into it, as I've got two cameras on the set, and no pics/video of it checking it out prior to tripping it. This is a neighborhood chicken thief but a bycatch. Released.

Of note, the fox did some poking around when first caught, but soon settled down to dine on the chicken carcass. Now the set has got that lived in scent. I've reset it, and I'll leave it be for few days before freshening it up. I did use a bit of lure, Milligan's Cat-Man-Do.

ccm75 · Nov 6, 2023

Beautiful animal.
What will you do with the fox?
Is their any kind of fur market these days?
I loved trapping as a kid. I was lucky enough to be there in the late 70's into 80's when the market was booming....

pupchow · Nov 8, 2023

ccm75 said:
Beautiful animal.
What will you do with the fox?
Is their any kind of fur market these days?
I loved trapping as a kid. I was lucky enough to be there in the late 70's into 80's when the market was booming....

The fox was released. This particular set is more of an experiment than a harvesting plan (attempting to catch Wile E.). There is still an active market for fur, but I don't have the resources to make that a worthwhile endeavor.

PaddyHarmonic · Nov 9, 2023

The fur market is pretty dismal right now. The biggest buyers of fur are fighting wars or proxy wars. Also the furs in the fur market can be divided into "mink" and not mink to quite Gary Groenwald of Groenwald fur and wool. Mink is all critters that are used a replacement for farm mink when the price is too high. Coon, otter, muskrat, fox and wild mink. Demand is down supply is way too high. (See massive gov't mandated mink culls because of covid). If you can trap beaver it's a silver lining but no where near what they should be. Prices for now on beaver are high 20s low 30s. $30 in the 70s during the fur boom would equate to $237 coon in today's money. I've heard stories of guys trapping hard for a month or two and buying a new truck cash. You'd have to catch a pile to do that now!

pupchow · Nov 20, 2023

From the one set so far; two reds, two fisher and one gray. And one escapee, a small fisher. The reds are the most hesitant to enter the trap. The fisher don't give a shit. The gray was suspicious but not as skeptical as the reds. One red seemed to be alarmed by the lure but returned immediately. Bait has been bird carcasses, to reduce the likelihood of raccoons visiting the set. No Wile E. seen passing by.

WRT to marketability, it seems ebaay could be the way to go for selling tanned pelts.

I did not know this about gray fox, "Gray foxes are one of only two canid species in the world that can climb trees thanks to their hook-shaped claws. They will climb trees to escape predators and to access arboreal food sources."

Learn about foxes

Foxes are fascinating animals, but sometimes they can cause problems for people. Learn about red and gray foxes, and how you can avoid conflicts if there are foxes in your neighborhood.

www.mass.gov