SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 34, ISSUE 20, JUNE 28, 2010
The following extract is reproduced with permission from Sandy Parker Reports, Weekly International Fur News. Sandy Parker has been covering the fur industry for more than four decades. For most of that time he has published a weekly newsletter, detailing results of international pelt auctions, wholesale price trends, business developments and movements in the trade, as well as economic and political activities that may impact on it.
Subscribe now and receive all the latest news, either in print or electronically. Just $150 a year for 48 issues! Sandy Parker Reports, 21219 Lago Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33433; Tel: (561) 477-3764; Fax: (561) 862-7052; SParker@SandyParker.com; www.sandyparker.com
International Fur News
with Sandy Parker
Pelts bring firm to higher prices in Copenhagen
THE BIG MINK SALE THAT ENDED AT KOPENHAGEN FUR LAST WEEK demonstrated that the world market – not just China – is bullish on the fur business for the coming season. Not only was the offering completely sold, but at prices firm to stronger than at its April sale. And, while Hong Kong/China was again the dominant buyer, there was good support from Greece/Russia, Korea and others.
The company quoted mostly double-digit price increases as high as 17% in Danish kroner. Because the kroner had weakened about 10% since April, this translated into dollar prices that were merely firm to about 7% higher. Of the more than 5 million mink offered, over 4.8 million were regular quality. Of those, the 2.3 million males had an overall average of $69.70, compared with $66.40 in April, while the 2.4 million females averaged $52.50, compared with $48.40 in April.
IN THIS ISSUE
China Currency Hike Fizzling?
Opens Door to Trade Sanctions
Big Danish Mink Offer a Sellout
Pelts Bring Firm to Higher Prices
Service Business in Slow Start
For extracts from back issues of Sandy Parker Reports see News Index. Subscribers can access an archive of complete issues at www.sandyparker.com.
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SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 34, ISSUE 19, JUNE 21, 2010
The following extract is reproduced with permission from Sandy Parker Reports, Weekly International Fur News. Sandy Parker has been covering the fur industry for more than four decades. For most of that time he has published a weekly newsletter, detailing results of international pelt auctions, wholesale price trends, business developments and movements in the trade, as well as economic and political activities that may impact on it.
Subscribe now and receive all the latest news, either in print or electronically. Just $150 a year for 48 issues! Sandy Parker Reports, 21219 Lago Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33433; Tel: (561) 477-3764; Fax: (561) 862-7052; SParker@SandyParker.com; www.sandyparker.com
International Fur News
with Sandy Parker
Fur Market Time opens in New York
NEW YORK MARKET TIME OFFICIALLY GETS UNDER WAY THIS WEEK, but vendors report some retailers have already been in to look at the new collections.
The traffic so far is described as normal for this time of the year, but a far cry from the bustle of years ago when the formal showings lasted for two weeks or more. Most of the major retailers have already placed their initial orders at the international fairs and now shop the designer lines in New York for the fashion pieces they need to spice up their stocks
Traffic is expected to pick up this week, at least partly in connection with events scheduled by Fur New York and Saga Furs. FNY will hold its annual dinner party Tuesday. For further info, call Steve Cowit at (212) 594-5744. Saga’s reception, at 5 p.m. Monday, will be held at the showroom of Forever Furs, 224 West 30th.
IN THIS ISSUE
Mink Prices Firm at Danish Sale
Big Offer Moving at 100% Rate
China Still Sets the Pace
Market Time Opens in N.Y.
U.S. Imports Show Slight Rise
For extracts from back issues of Sandy Parker Reports see News Index. Subscribers can access an archive of complete issues at www.sandyparker.com.
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For further information contact Fur Commission USA.
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SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 34, ISSUE 18, JUNE 14, 2010
The following extract is reproduced with permission from Sandy Parker Reports, Weekly International Fur News. Sandy Parker has been covering the fur industry for more than four decades. For most of that time he has published a weekly newsletter, detailing results of international pelt auctions, wholesale price trends, business developments and movements in the trade, as well as economic and political activities that may impact on it.
Subscribe now and receive all the latest news, either in print or electronically. Just $150 a year for 48 issues! Sandy Parker Reports, 21219 Lago Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33433; Tel: (561) 477-3764; Fax: (561) 862-7052; SParker@SandyParker.com; www.sandyparker.com
International Fur News
with Sandy Parker
Sliding euro eases $ prices at Finnish sale
THE EURO’S WEAKNESS WAS NOTED LAST WEEK AT FINNISH FUR SALES where, in reporting silver and blue frost foxes rose 10% in euros over March, the company pointed out that the currency had weakened by that much since March. In other words, the foxes were merely firm to March in dollar terms. That also meant that the big bluefox collection which brought 5% more in euros was actually 5% easier in dollars.
This was the Finns’ final major sale of regular-quality pelts for this season and the offering was nearly completely sold. With 550 buyers from all markets in attendance, officials described it as a record crowd for a June auction. Hong Kong/China was the dominant buyer in most categories, with support from Greece, Russia, Turkey, Korea and other markets.
Mink prices were described as slightly higher in euros, compared to recent international levels.
IN THIS ISSUE
China Labor Costs Increasing …
… but No Big Impact on Furs – Yet
Pegged Currency Is Still Stable
Sliding Euro Eases $ Prices
Foxes Firm at Finnish Sale
For extracts from back issues of Sandy Parker Reports see News Index. Subscribers can access an archive of complete issues at www.sandyparker.com.
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For further information contact Fur Commission USA.
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The 1972 U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act bans imports or sales of all marine mammal products, regardless of the conservation status of the species, negatively impacting the economies and cultural traditions of indigenous peoples in the High North.

Key reads: Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada. Reports on Seals: Links to the latest management plan, the government’s response to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans report on Seals, and more. Also from the Department: Understanding Seals and Sealing in Canada andInformation to Media: Atlantic Canada seal hunt myths and realities (PDF format, March 2005). For all breaking news on sealing, visit the website of theSeals and Sealing Network.

Is the Seal Hunt Humane?
Improving humane practice in the Canadian harp seal hunt. A report of the Independent Veterinarians’ Working Group on the Canadian Harp Seal Hunt, August 2005.

Animal welfare and the harp seal hunt in Canada. Daoust, P. et. al, The Canadian Veterinary Journal, 2002 September; 43(9): 687-694.

Sealing in Nunavut : A Profile
Provided by the Fisheries and Sealing Division, Nunavut Department of the Environment

Nunavut, Canada’s newest Territory has a population of 27,000 people (23,000 of them Inuit) living in 28 small communities in an area covering 1,000,000 square kilometers, more than twice the size of Texas. For thousands of years, seals have been a vital resource for survival in a very demanding environment. … more.

IT IS ILLEGAL IN THE U.S. TO OWN ONE OF THESE PLUSH TOYS. CAN YOU GUESS WHICH ONE? It is legal in the U.S. to own the one on the left, illegal in the U.S. to own the one on the right. Why? Because the toy on the right is made from sealskin, a natural, renewable resource harvested since time immemorial by the indigenous peoples of the Arctic. … more.

Support for the Seal Hunt in Canada June 1, 2010: Canadians say “Yes” to environmentally-friendly seal hunting. Fur Institute of Canada press release. (Outside link) From Understanding Seals and Sealing in Canada, Department of Fisheries and Oceans. When asked initially, four in ten Canadians (40 percent) say they support the seal hunt, either strongly (9 percent) or somewhat (31 percent). However, the majority of Canadians (54 percent) express initial opposition to the hunt with roughly equal proportions either somewhat (28 percent) or strongly (26 percent) opposing it. Five percent of respondents do not offer an opinion on this question. Perceptions about the current seal population and sustainability concerns are critical factors in a person’s decision to either support or oppose the seal hunt. Support for the seal hunt increases to majority levels when Canadians are informed that the current federal policy on seal hunting requires that no nursing seals are hunted, that it is done in a humane manner, that the quotas are set at sustainable levels and that no large commercial vessels are used. Two-thirds of Canadians (68 percent overall, 22 percent strong support) support a seal hunt that is conducted within these criteria. Only one-quarter of Canadians (26 percent) continue to oppose the hunt, either somewhat (17 percent) or strongly (9 percent), under these conditions.

RESOURCES

MMPA – the Act + Government Resources
Articles and Opinion Pieces
Books
Websites
Resolutions

MMPA – the Act + Government Resources:

Marine Mammal Protection Act. PDF format, 117 pages.

National Marine Fisheries Service, includes overview of MMPA, annual reports to Congress, MMPA reauthorization, MMPA Buletin, and more.

Dept. of the Environment, Environmental Policy & Guidance, MMPA

Articles and Opinion Pieces:

Hunters fear seal bans will hurt industry, by Stephanie McDonald, Northern News Services. (Aug. 13, 2007)

Newfoundland Seal Hunt: Isolated outpost in the eco-wars, by Simon Lono. (Apr. 3, 2006)

(Nunavut’s) Greens not opposed to aboriginal sealing, says candidate. CBC News. (Jan. 16, 2006)

Dead wrong, baby; Animal-rights movement hits new low. By Brian Jones, editor, The Sunday Telegram, St. John’s, Newfoundland. (Dec. 9, 2005)

What Motivates Seal Hunt Protest Groups? By Myles Higgins, first published by Canada Free Press. (September 2005) Outside link to Man In Nature.

Sleek seal is fashion’s “in” skin : Body-conscious buyers drive price of pelt to record high. National Post report, reproduced with permission. (Jan. 4, 2005)

Nunavut flips over jump in seal price. Pelts set record at auction. By Bob Weber for the Canadian Press. (Dec. 27, 2004)

Seal skin fashion to boost Canada’s fur trade. The BBC reports from the 22nd North American Fur and Fashion Exposition. (May 5, 2004)

Humane? Canada seal hunt centers on question. Video of hunters used in battle between government, activists. By Miguel Llanos, MSNBC. (Apr. 23, 2004)

So What’s Wrong with Clubbing Seals? Boris Johnson, MP and editor of The Spectator, for the Daily Telegraph (UK); retitled here as “Who will defend the seal-clubbers?” (Apr. 15, 2004)

PETA’s War on the World’s Dispossessed Rich Lowry, editor ofNational Review, considers the damage done by fur opponents to the sealers of Canada. (Feb. 7, 2003)

Deep Impact : The Shades of Gray Series Series of seven articles by The Phoenix New Times on the North Pacific gray whale, its socio-economic importance to the varied people who live along its migration path, and the politics behind everything from supplying whale meat to Siberian fox farms, to building a giant salt plant in Baja California. (October 2002)

How Can Anyone Kill a Seal? How Can Anyone Possibly Kill a Whale? ”These are natural questions from people who have spent their lives in populous western cities. To the peoples from northern regions, these questions provoke no more concern than the question, ‘How can anyone ever kill a pig or a cow?’” Statement from the West Nordic Council to mark its theme for 2001, “West Nordic Hunting Culture”. Outside link to “Man In Nature”. (Apr. 27, 2001)

Wake Up Call Tina Jagros, director of the Canadian Outdoor Heritage Alliance, warns that campaigns against sealing are every resource user’s problem. (2001; Outside link to Man In Nature)

The PR Problems of Canada’s “Other” Seal Hunt : The Inuit, who depend on seals for food, seek a market for the skinsBy Ruth Walker. “Ever since the first contact with “the West,” going back to early European explorers like Martin Frobisher in the 1570s, the question for the Inuit has been, ‘What can we sell to the world?’ As dependent on imports as ever, the people of the new Canadian territory of Nunavut, in the eastern Arctic, are asking the same question today. But one of the potentially most promising answers – expanding the sealskin trade – is entangled in the international politics of hunting.” Outside link to the Christian Science Monitor, with permission. (May 1, 2000)

National Animal Interest Alliance Highlights Human Rights, Animal Welfare Includes Animal Law Conference Resolution specifically addressing the MMPA. FCUSA press release, Mar. 7, 2000.

Coming to Terms with the Arctic. By Lisa Mastny. By melding ancient hunting traditions with modern political technique, Arctic indigenous peoples present a baffling challenge to environmental diplomacy. As the Arctic ecology itself begins to change, the need for a common understanding is growing increasingly urgent. This article first appeared in the January/February 2000 edition of “World Watch”, published by the World Watch Institute, and is distributed by FCUSA with permission. (PDF format; January 2000)

Greenland Pushing for Seal Fur Exports; Environmentalists Maintain Opposition From the Dallas Morning News, reproduced with permission. Dec. 22, 1999.

The Strange Politics of the Marine Mammal Protection Act By Okalik Eegeesiak, President, Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, and Sheila Watt-Cloutier, President, Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Canada. July 26, 1999.

Court Finds IFAW Video Evidence Inadmissible Canadian court refuses to consider a video of alleged transgressions by sealers submitted by the International Fund for Animal Welfare. FCUSA press release, Apr. 21, 1999.

Saving Society from Animal “Snuff” Films FCUSA commentary includes information on staged film of sealing cruelty. (Dec. 15, 1998, updated July 4, 2000)

The Rise and Fall of Animal Rights By Alan Herscovici, a Montreal-based writer and consultant specializing in environmental issues, author of “Second Nature: The Animal-Rights Controversy”, and chairman of the Canadian Fur Industry Adjustment Committee. October 1998.

The Tuna-Dolphin Controversy By Michael Scott, senior scientist with the Dolphin Programme of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. Outside link to “Man In Nature”. (August 1998)

Self-Service: Swollen Sea Lion Herds Push Fish and Fishermen to the Brink By Mick Kronman, Pacific Bureau Chief, National Fisherman magazine. Outside link to “Man In Nature”. (May 1998)

Books:

Seal Wars! An American Viewpoint. Janice Scott Henke analyses the protest movement’s multi-media campaign to “save” the seals and the consequences on seal populations, the environment and the human communities involved. (Independent Publishers Group; ASIN: 091951961X; Out of print)

Second Nature: The Animal Rights Controversy. Alan Herscovici outlines a “second nature”, a new relationship between man and his environment that can avert the environmental catastrophe the ecology movement has so rightly warned us of. (ISBN 0-88794-149-4)

Websites:

AMIQ Institute (focused on Pribilof, Commander Islands)
Canadian Sealers Association
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
High North Alliance
Inuit Circumpolar Conference – Canada
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Nunavut: Canada’s Inuit Territory Provided by Nunatsiaq News
Seals and Sealing Network
West Nordic Council (Vestnordisk)

Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada

• Reports on Seals. Links to the Department’s latest management plan and to the Government of Canada’s response to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans report on Seals.
• Understanding Seals and Sealing in Canada
• Information to Media: Atlantic Canada seal hunt myths and realities (PDF format, March 2005).

Resolutions:

Universal declaration on the ethical harvest of seals (April 2009)

National Animal Interest Alliance [NAIA] Law Conference resolution on the MMPA (March 2000)

SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 34, ISSUE 17, JUNE 7, 2010
The following extract is reproduced with permission from Sandy Parker Reports, Weekly International Fur News. Sandy Parker has been covering the fur industry for more than four decades. For most of that time he has published a weekly newsletter, detailing results of international pelt auctions, wholesale price trends, business developments and movements in the trade, as well as economic and political activities that may impact on it.
Subscribe now and receive all the latest news, either in print or electronically. Just $150 a year for 48 issues! Sandy Parker Reports, 21219 Lago Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33433; Tel: (561) 477-3764; Fax: (561) 862-7052; SParker@SandyParker.com; www.sandyparker.com
International Fur News
with Sandy Parker
New York Fur Market Time shaping up
EFFORTS TO REVIVE JUNE MARKET WEEK IN NEW YORK appear to be bearing fruit, judging from manufacturers participating and retailer reaction. Spearheaded by the Fur New York organization, the event is scheduled for the week of June 21, when a number of leading manufacturers say they will be ready to introduce their new collections.
For many years, Fur Market Time in the Big Apple was a two- or three-week affair, featuring formal runway shows in manufacturers’ showrooms or in top hotels. However, buying patterns have changed in recent years, with retailers tending to buy closer to the selling season. In addition, many retailers now travel to Hong Kong, Milan or Montreal for those fairs, but still visit New York later on for certain fashions and stock fill-ins.
Considering that many retailers will be coming to New York between now and October, FNY is trying to re-package Market Time as an event that will again make the market more viable.
IN THIS ISSUE
Chinese Prices Head Higher
Wage Hikes, Short Labor Cited
N.Y. Market Time Shaping Up
N. Amer. Mink Whelp Normal
Wild Fur Eases at North Bay
For extracts from back issues of Sandy Parker Reports see News Index. Subscribers can access an archive of complete issues at www.sandyparker.com.
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For further information contact Fur Commission USA.
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FUR COMMISSION USA COMMENTARY, JUNE 4, 2010

(Revised June 5, 2010)

Moral Acceptability of Fur Stabilizes; Animal Testing Draws Nearer : Gallup

Men and women divided on animal issues

By Simon Ward, Communications Director, FCUSA

According to Gallup’s latest “moral acceptability” poll, published May 26, the proportion of Americans who find “Buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur” to be morally acceptable has remained stable for the last two years, consolidating its recovery after three years of decline.

Since the poll began in 2001, the majority of respondents have always expressed acceptance of fur. This is unremarkable since almost all Americans eat meat and wear leather (fur with the hair removed). Sheepskin boots (sheep fur) are big sellers, while the finest examples of our iconic cowboy hat are beaver felt.

But this acceptance is not overwhelming, and it also fluctuates over time. From a high of 64% in 2005, fur’s positive rating began falling, to just 54% in 2008. It then recovered sharply in 2009 to 61%, and settled back to 60% this year.

Of the 16 issues polled, the most comparable with fur is the acceptability of “Medical testing on animals”. Since both issues concern the use of animals, trends in the two sets of results show expected similarities (see chart). Indeed, as with fur, 2008 marked the low point of support for animal testing also.

A small disparity between the results still merits special consideration, however.

Prior to last year’s survey, fur had been less acceptable than animal testing every year except for two, in which it was ahead by just one percentage point. In 2004, when fur inched ahead for the first time, FCUSA called it “mildly surprising”.

“Society deems an activity ‘moral’ or ‘immoral’ based largely on the perception of need – of the end justifying the means,” we wrote. While warm clothing is easy to justify, and can even be a life-or-death choice, steadily falling costs (to the consumer, not the environment) of petrochemical synthetic clothing have reduced society’s sense of absolute “need” for natural fibers like fur.

Animal testing, in contrast, has led to treatments that have saved millions of human lives, and new treatments emerge each year. While some people are convinced all animal models can be simulated on a computer, for the rest of us – including almost all medical researchers – animal testing is as “necessary” as it gets.

So in 2009, we were even more perplexed at Gallup’s findings, as a 4-point gap opened up between fur (61%) and animal testing (57%).

But in 2010, balance has been restored, with 59% finding animal testing acceptable, just 1% fewer than approve of fur.

If this is the result of a far more proactive approach to public relations by the medical research community in the last couple of years, then kudos to them. But at the end of the day, we are still nonplussed how anyone can approve of fur but not of animal testing.

Gender and Animal Issues

This year, Gallup’s report highlighted those issues which most sharply divide the sexes. If its findings are truly representative, they are surprising to us, and apparently to Gallup also, and warrant the attention of everyone involved in communications and education for the fur clothing business.

“The sharpest differences between men and women on these issues are not found on abortion or other reproductive matters, but on three issues that involve the ethical treatment of animals,” it reported.

Along with fur and animal testing, the third animal issue polled was “Cloning animals”.

The greatest disagreement was over fur, with 73% of men finding it morally acceptable versus 48% of women. That’s a staggering difference of 25%.

The second greatest difference of opinion was over cloning animals, with 43% of men approving, versus 19% of women – a gap of 24%.

And in third place came animal testing. Sixty-nine percent of men approve, versus 49% of women, a difference of 20%.

In contrast, the gap between men and women on abortion was just 5%, with 41% of men approving and 36% of women.

Gallup makes no attempt to explain these yawning chasms in opinion, inviting the clichéd and glib conclusion that women really are the more caring and compassionate sex.

Another glib explanation might be that males in today’s society remain more in touch with nature, and its cycle of life and death, than females. Many more men than women are involved hands-on in commercial or recreational hunting, fishing and animal agriculture. Through these activities, they achieve a greater comfort level with benefitting from animals, including from their deaths. Maybe.

Whatever the reason, we should all strive to be sensitive and smart when it comes to our complex relationship with animals. Less than 3% of the our planet can support crops, while petrochemical synthetics are unsustainable and polluting. Humans will always depend on animals for food and fiber. The balancing act we must achieve is between compassion for individual animals and compassion for the environment as a whole.

Moving Forward

The fact that natural-fiber fur clothing for cold weather is even included in a poll on morality is regrettable, since it ingrains in the public perception the idea that fur should be a moral issue. (We urged Gallup years ago to reconsider its inclusion, but were ignored.)

We work with what we’re given, however, and at the end of the day, a positive response of 60% is respectable, especially given the advent of such confusing petrochemical products as “eco fleece” and “syn-chilla”!

But it could be much better overall, and should be much better among women.

Looking to the future, we need to capitalize on society’s growing understanding and acceptance of sustainable use and the need to care for the environment.

Imagine if Gallup rephrased its question as follows: “Which is more morally acceptable: clothing made from petrochemicals; or clothing made from natural, renewable, biodegradable fibers produced by recycling food production waste, or maintaining healthy stocks of wildlife in balance with habitat?”

Even without flashing photos of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the positive response for fur, a natural fiber, should be overwhelming.

See also:

Moral acceptability of fur rebounds: Gallup. FCUSA commentary, June 23, 2009.

Gallup: Young Americans find fur more “moral” than research. Is public relations the key? FCUSA commentary, Sept. 1, 2004.

FCUSA special feature: Sensitive and Smart.