Alan Herscovici, executive vice president of the Fur Council of Canada, announced that Canada's fur exports have risen from $143 million in 1992 to $318 million in 2001, and that market projections look for another 10% rise in prices in 2002.

Internationally, nearly all major designers are said to be using fur again, and younger people are the buyers. This industry cycles with the economy, and disposable income is a major factor in increased fur sales. The general public is no longer intimidated by those who, in the 1970s and 1980s, marched and demanded that no one wear fur. Major cities in the northern half of North America are full of fur clad men and women who pay no attention to the occasional protester. In the US, the FBI and the Justice Department have made it plain that domestic animal rights terrorism is a major target on their list, and law enforcement officers have made life very difficult for those who vandalize or commit crimes in the name of environmental activism. Meanwhile, furbearers in the wild are abundant and in some areas, so numerous as to be nuisances to agriculture and the public health. Beaver, muskrat, fox, coyote, raccoon, otter, marten, bobcat, fisher and mink are all abundant and their pelts are in growing demand. Canadian hair seals are thriving and need to be harvested for the sake of their own, and their habitat's, health. If there is a resurgence of interest in sealskin, it is just in time, as the harp seal herd has grown to some 5 million animals, and is overdue for a record harvest. Ringed and other Arctic seals are also abundant and their hunters need the income from this traditional resource.