Fur strictures bring hardships

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European Economic Community restrictions on wild furs will cause suffering similar to that experienced by the Inuit following the 1983 ban of sea fur, an Assembly

of First Nations vice-chief said.

"The practice of trapping by First Nations has provided a sustainable and ecologically sound livelihood for our people for thousands of years," said Ontario regional vice-chief Gordon Peters.

"Trapping is more than an economic supplement to families, it is a way of life on the land."

The latest European regulation, due to take effect Jan. 1, 1995, will ban the importation of fur from countries that continue to use leghold traps or do not trap in accordance with international humane standards.

"The EEC has not considered the socio-economic impact our communities and families," Peters said.

Leghold traps are devices designed to close quickly and tightly on one or more of an animal's limbs. International standards require on-land trappers to reduce animal suffering by using either padded leghold traps to reduce the pain or quick-kill devices. Trappers hunting fur from marine animals must ensure that all traps are set in such a way that the animal cannot resurface for air once the trap is shut.

Approximately 75 to 80 per cent of wild fur caught in Canada is exported to European countries, the assembly reported. Between 50,000 and 60,000 Natives depend on the $600 million trapping industry for their livelihood.

In March, 1983, the European community endorsed a full ban on harp and hood seal fur, effectively killing the Inuit market for all seal skins, Peters said. Inuit communities have suffered, both economically and socially, resulting in increased family violence and suicides.

But European concerns over imports of wild fur relate only to the types of trapping devices, said Jane Vinet, executive director of the Canadian Association for Humane Trapping.

"Abiding by the regulations is do-able if Native trappers take steps to do it," she said.

Natives who rely on fur sales for their living could, however, be in dire straits when the restrictions are imposed, said Cree Trappers Association spokesman Rick Cuciurean.

"Where fur sales account for 50 per cent of their income, the impact could be enormous," he said.

Many of the Cree trappers in the Quebec Association would be unaffected by the restriction because of an income security program enacted under the 1978 James Bay Agreement with Quebec.

But trappers like those in Red Sucker Lake in northern Manitoba would be severely affected by the ban because they have no other source of income, he said.