Origin of Fur

The term fur refers to any animal skin or part that has hair, fleece, or fur fibers attached, in either the raw or processed state. Skins of fur-bearing animals are also called peltries or pelts. For the production of furs the skins of more than one hundred different species of hunted, trapped, fur-farmed, or domestic mammals are used. 

Fur farming, or raising animals in captivity under controlled conditions, started in Canada in 1887 on Prince Edward Island. Fur farmers customarily crossbreed and inbreed animals to produce furs with desirable characteristics. The silver fox, developed from the red fox, was the first fur thus produced. Today, so-called mutation minks, ranging from white to near black and from bluish to lavender and rosy-tan colors, each with exotic trade names, are raised on thousands of fur farms, as are chinchilla, nutria, and fox. Fur-farmed animals provide a steady supply of fine-quality, well cared for pelts. The main suppliers are North America, the former Soviet Union, Scandinavia, and Poland. 

Domestic woolly sheep are bred for wool and meat in large quantities in Australia, New Zealand, and other agricultural countries. The skins are byproducts, and their conversion into high-quality fur or leather can be regarded as beneficial waste management. Lambskins and sheepskins have grown markedly more popular in recent years for clothing, automotive seat covers, medical, and other applications. Woolly sheepskins account for about half of total fur production and are processed on an industrial basis. 

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