I am told by a couple folks I know in that end of the pipeline that the bulk of these extremely high-end cats indeed don't end up on the gallery racks, but rather the very wealthy, and not just the USA wealthy. China is a current major end-market, as is,(was?), the middle east, Russia, and parts of Europe.
Also, while sable has almost always had a prominent role in high-end fur garments, and they never have commanded what the cats are right now, it takes a lot of marten backs to equal one cat belly. And there is good value in cat backs, but not so much for marten bellies.
Either way, I am very happy for our cat trappers, but also agree that tags are likely to be introduced where they currently are not, and reduced where they are.

Wildlife management should be about numbers and habitat, not fur price value…….but I guess they have to factor what could happen with huge prices. Making a fur harder or almost unobtainable drives the black market.

Kinda like polar bear in Manitoba. The super rich Aisians that come up don’t get how all their money can’t purchase a hide. It was a few years ago that there was a bust with a few international agencies involving big money from Mexico trying to get a P bear out of the country. Never made it past Winnipeg.

This is my impression of our sale---we have a lot of Texas, Oklahoma cats they seem to sell well for the quality and some sell VERY WELL! I no sailed most of mine and of course the beaver. My red fox sold at 40 wish there were as many as when I first moved here, my skunks at 21 and the cat/badger feet for.50$ couldn't sell last years coyotes I had tanned. We had a lot of new people not all trappers that I talked to and showed the neat parts on a Beaver and a road killed Bobcat. I've been at this a long time, it takes me a long time to get going again, its like beaver trapping can't not do it!!

Its a good time to be a trapper!

Shakeyjake has it right. Sound biology should control limits and seasons, not fads or sales. If there is an overharvest of bobcats, the biology will bear that out but to panic because a fur article has increased in price isn't wise management.

There is a time lag of 2-3 years between an increase or decrease in market prices and trapper activity. It takes a season or two of high prices before trappers have confidence enough in the trend to mobilize and harvest animals. Likewise, once a robust market price has been established for a particular species, when that price goes down (as it always will), it takes trappers a couple of seasons to believe that an article they have consistently sold for $X, is no longer bringing that price. Trapper activity and harvest fall off, and the cycle starts all over again.

After 62 yrs of trapping the above two comments are absolutely correct.

I've been doing my fur making business for over 23 years now, I watch the prices here always, and I have never once seen the price of cats stay the same in 3 years time, and I know for a fact that our DWR people go crazy with limits every time the price gets over 300.00 a cat. Our state just up the limits on cats, doubt any one here will see the same limit next season !

And we have great cats as well, think them day's of two to three years it takes to change things are way over in my view, those states not ever seeing limits are about to, the clock runs a lot quicker now than it ever has on fur prices !!

I'm probably wrong but we already may be seeing the averages on cats coming down. I see $500 avg for NM and this weekend at Idaho there were a lot of no-sales on cat lots. I'm sure the best cats still shined but my bet is the average will not be $1000 like some recent sales.

I know, I know, NM and surrounding states not the same as Idaho and surrounding states. We will see when sale averages are posted for Idaho. The real story will be the next two weekends Utah and Oregon.

Would not take to much figuring out who is buying them with these averages, maybe they got enough now and the prices will drop !!

I spoke to one of the Greeks that was at this sale and he's telling me that 90% of these high dollar cats are going into China. What I should have asked is if they stay there or get made into coats and go out of country. But apparently the Greeks were there to tell the local buyer they were working with how much to spend on individual lots.

I had a friend that went to the New Mexico sale and did really well.