Elko Daily Free Press from Elko, Nevada • 59

SECTION Thursday, September 10, 1992 ELKO DAILY FREE PRESS, Elko, Nevada 9 Fur is making comeback new parka is really necessary. Benoit shrugs and notes the temperature outside, a relatively mild 4 below zero. "Depends on whether you want to be warm," she says. In Canada's Northwest Territories, where winters give new meaning to words like "brutal" and "cold," anti-fur protests from environmentalists and animal-rights activists have had minimal impact on fur sales. But in the world's more moderate latitudes such as Europe and the United States, industry sources blame the protests, along with economic hard times and a string of mild winters, for a five-year decline in fur sales.

By Donald Smith National Geographic For AP Special Features YELLOWKNIFE, Northwest Territories Doreen Benoit casts a practiced eye on the goose-down parka that has been brought into her shop for "northernizing." "Coyote," pronounces the young Canadian woman. "That's what you want for the ruff around the hood. Or fox. Wolverine is overrated and really expensive." The customer from the United States, where wearing fur is an act of insensitivity in some circles and politically incorrect in others, asks if adding a strip of animal hide to his This year, industry sources contend that the animal-rights movement has run out of steam and fur is coming back. "We see a lot of factors pointing toward the industry having a pretty good year," says Carol Wynne of the Fur Information Council of America, headquartered in Herndon, Va.

"It wont be gangbusters, but it should be much better than it has been." "There is a demand for the product," says Stephen Sanders, chief fur-buyer for Marshall Field's of Chicago, which markets pelts worldwide. "We're seeing strengths especially in Europe: Spain, Italy and Germany." Sanders says some U.S. and European clothing designers are adding fur trim to their fall collections, a development he sees as a harbinger of full fur garments in the next year or two. Activists in the anti-fur movement discount these industry reports as wishful thinking. They say the fur business is on the ropes.

After a peak of $1.8 billion in 1987, fur sales in the United States dropped almost 45 percent to $1 billion last year, according to Fur Information Council estimates. In Denmark, the world's top fur exporter, 9 0 A (iuidt Sric photo) In front from left, Dave Rachford, Jerry Kasari, Wally Jordt and Ron White with the results of a hunt in the Ruby Mountains last year. In back, from left, are guides Bill Gibson and Todd White. EI in- i 1 2r' -1 --i about 1,000 breeders have gone out of business in recent years. People have questioned the morality of humans using animals at least since the Greek historian Plutarch raised the issue 2,000 years ago.

Beginning in the mid-1950s, protests against the bludgeoning of baby harp seals in Canada riveted public attention on the animal-rights dispute. Anti-fur protests in the 1960s focused mainly on trappers and hunters, but later widened to include farm-bred animals such as mink. Tactics have included picketing fur salons and, more recently, social events where furs are worn. Some fur-draped opera patrons have found themselves doused with ketchup. A recent anti-fur campaign in Italy featured a poster depicting a baby mink staring pitifully at passers-by, lamenting, "Somebody else is wearing my mother's coat." The fur industry has always played down the effects of such campaigns.

But the protests clearly have taken a toll. Last year, European Community environmental ministers agreed to ban, beginning Jan. 1, 1995, both leg-hold animal traps and imports of skins of animals caught in such traps. The industry has responded with its own publicity campaigns, intended to show that the fur trade is 1 I IK, 11 These proud fishermen, above, were pictured by Lisa Robinson showing off their catch during last month's fishing derby sponsored by Newmont Gold Company. From left, are Curtis Robinson, Josh Turner, Za-chary Robinson and Dustin Robinson.

At left, Curtis struggled to hold up his first fish. 2 Jr. Ik th (Jack Pelfrs photo! From left, Susie and Mardis Dorsa showed off their catch of trout from Brown Canyon this spring. Fish wildlife highlights and some marine mammals. The agency has some 700 field units and installations and oversees 91 million acres of national wildlife refuges.

Single copies of the 80-page report are available free from the Publications Unit, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior. 130 Arlington Square, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Va. 22203.

The telephone number is (703) 358-1711. and interesting to people who want to know more about our country's conservation programs," said John Turner, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. As the primary federal agency for fish and wildlife conservation, the service has major responsibilities for migrator' birds, nationally significant freshwater and anadromous (sea-run) fisheries, endangered species, neither environmentally unsound nor unacceptably cruel to animals. The Montreal-based Fur Council of Canada, made up of 22 groups ranging from trappers to retailers, has taken the lead in trying to shore up the industry's image. "We're trying to get across that there's nothing wrong with this product, and there's a lot right with it," says Alan Herscovici, chairman of the Fur Industry Adjustment Committee, jointly sponsored by the Canadian government and industry.

If industry representatives such as Herscovici are correct, and the market is bouncing back, they can expect to hear even more from people like Dan Mathews of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal-rights group headquartered in Washington, D.C. "We'll continue public confrontation of those people who still continue to wear fur coats that they've bought in the past," says Mathews. The sea turtle that attacked a boat full of biologists, the harmless-looking mussel that is menacing the Great Lakes, the museum that was running a scam for illegal animal trophies and the sneaky attempt to fool female sea lampreys into choosing sterilized mates are just a few of the items highlighted in Fish and Wildlife '91, the annual report from the Interior Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The report covers the agency's major fish and wildlife conservation programs.

Among other topics, the report offers information on new national wildlife refuges, fish restoration programs, and listing and recovery efforts for endangered species. "We hope this report will be useful Dtr BLL SPECIAL 0 SV i MV I -efi A i PANCAKE II BISCUITS II HAM SANDWICH GRAVY EGGS $jj25 $99 $99 (Jon I'riart photo) Dain Uriarte of Elko has been busy with his fishing pole this summer. He's pictured above with a rainbow trout he pulled from the Spring Creek Marina with his fly pole and below with his catch from the Ruby Marshes. MONDAY NIGHT I TUESDAY NIGHT T-Bone Steak 1 ib. 1 0.50 Mexican Special 7.95 c.h.; Chile BrUeno.

Cheese Enchilada. Taco Seafood Fettucine o.O Fee0 TwoFoiThePnceoione WEDNESDAY NIGHT THURSDAY NIGHT Steak Scampi 9.95 Prime Rib Dinner 7.79 Mixed Grill 10.75 ntKlprTaii 50 Lam6 Chop. Filet Mignon Salmon Steak Luua'c' la" FRIDAY NIGHT SATURDAY NIGHT Stuffed Red Snapper 8.50 stuffed Pork Chops 7.50 with Shrimp and Crab Beer Batter Prawns 9.50 Rib Steak i it 9.50 NIGHTLY SPECIAL Q95 Crab Legs (Jick Pfttr photo I Zone feers and last year's buck taken in Area 6. ft- iv- tM RRFiKFASTRIIRRITn YOURCHOICE BISCUIT GRAVY, TACO SALAD OR 1 99 HAMBURGER, FRIES DRINK I SHRIMP IN A BAG 025 with French Fries Why Wait For Winter? We clean all types of furnaces, air ducts, wood stoves, fireplaces and chimneys. Fully licensed and insured Complimentary inspections Installation We feature Kid's Menu Ice Cream Fountain Daily Specials Beer Wine Salad Bar Fast, Friendly Service Breakfast Anytime Cimarron West Family Restaurant 1400 Mountain City Highway 753-8328 Open weekday 6 a 0 p.m..

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