Fur coats can be seen in fashion shows by high end designers such as the one pictured here by Prada

Fur has always been considered a luxury product and often comes with an extravagent price tag attached. Therefore economic incentive seems to be a principle driver for fur farms (Wierzbicki et al., 2007). Canada’s fur trade contributes nearly $1 billion  to the Canadian economy annually and there seems to be continued economic growth. The number of ranch-raised fur pelts increased from 2,279,810 pelts in 2009 to 2,601,335 pelts in 2010, up 14.1%. The value of ranch-raised fur pelts increased 31.0% to $192.5 million in 2010 compared with 2009 (Statistics Canada, 2010).

Fur farms are seen to be economically successful, however there are other various measures that producers to maximize yeilds. To cut costs, fur farmers pack animals into small cages, preventing them from taking more than a few steps back and forth. This crowding and confinement is especially distressing to solitary animals who may occupy up to 2,500 acres of wetland habitat in the wild (Lounsberry et al.,  2017)