Program Info
This page was last updated: April 5, 2009
For Education ~ Not For Profit
Fur Donations
Donate a Fur and Help Trapping Grow
Now everyone has a chance to help YoungTrappers.com grow to be the largest Youth Trapping program ever created.
We now accept fur donations by trappers of all ages. Maybe you don't have the funds or supplies to help the YoungTrappers.com program. Well now everybody can help contribute to this great cause by donating a fur or two. Just one fur could be the difference of one child getting the gear shipped to him or her to get them started in their trapping journys.
The furs that you donate will be sent to fur auctions where we will get a fair price for the furs. The funds generated by the fur sales will be a huge help with the costs that are involved with this program, shipping packages to children being our largest cost factor.
Show Us Your Support, The Kids Need You!!!
All furs to be donated must be stretched and dryed to prevent spoilage during shipping, read below for the ways to package and ship.
Donate a Fur and Help Trapping Grow
Information for all shippers:  
Clearly identify your shipment both inside and out with your name, address, licence number, postal code and telephone number. If more than one (1) bag is shipped at the same time, mark the bags "1 of 5", "2 of 5", etc. If you have more than one bag, fill in one shipping tag for each bag. All  Otter, Bobcats, Wolves and Bears must have a CITIES tag from the state where it was harvested before it is sold or leaves the state where it was caught.  It is a federal Offense to do otherwise.
We now have 2  ways for you to donate your furs
1. You can ship the donated furs directly to NAFA with your regular NAFA agent and drop offs.  If this is they way you would like to donate the furs please tag each fur with instructions to be donated to YoungTrappers.com. Otherwise we will not recieve them. We have an account set up with NAFA and they will make sure it gets to us as long as the furs are marked properly. The only thing is we will not be able to know who donated what furs.
2. You can also ship your donated furs to TrapsForkids directly and we will ship them to NAFA for you. Our mailing address is for all donations is:
YoungTrappers.com
12266 Puffer Rd
Fife Lake, Mi 49633
231-879-3820
-The quantities written on the tag should reflect the quantities of pelts in each bag.
-Please ensure that your beaver pelts are placed flat in the bag, not rolled. Place them fur to fur, leather to leather. Also ensure that pelts are free of nails or staples.
Your bag should be tied with string. Avoid using staples or wire when ever possible.-
-Paper bags and cardboard boxes are the best method of shipping furs. Never use plastic bags.
-Any notes, etc. enclosed with the shipment should be placed in a small plastic bag and secured to one of the pelts.
 
For any questions on The Fur shipping process please email us at: YoungTrappers@gmail.com
 
Proper Pelt Care
REMOVAL FROM TRAPS
Care should be taken when removing animals from traps especially if they are frozen. Simply prying an animal out of a trap may remove portions of fur and damage pelts. If furbearers are completely frozen in traps, it would be wise to take the furbearer still in the trap to your camp or fur shed and remove it after it has thawed.
TRANSPORTING
Furbearers should be transported in clean burlap or nylon bags (eg. feed sacks) to ensure that they remain clean and that blood or dirt from one animal is not transferred to another. Never place wet furbearers directly onto metal racks of ATV's or snowmobiles or the box of a pickup truck in freezing weather. They will become badly frozen on and difficult to remove without doing major damage to the fur.
CLEANING/STORAGE
In general, ideally furbearers should dry before pelting. Furbearers should be brushed lightly before pelting to remove burrs, mats and dirt, which may stain the fur, and cause cuts in the pelting process. If animals are badly soiled, they should be washed lightly with clean water and allowed to dry before pelting commences. If you cannot skin animals shortly after harvesting, or if you choose to rough skin pelts and flesh at a later date, they should be frozen to preserve quality. Place furbearers or pelts in plastic bags and remove as much air as possible. Tie tightly and place in a freezer. Pelts that are to be frozen should be rolled nose to tail, leather in. Thaw slowly to prevent hair slip before pelting or fleshing. After fleshing and drying, pelts should be shipped to market as soon as possible. If you must store pelts for long periods they should be placed in a freezer. For short periods of storage, keep in a dark, cool dry room. Pelts may be wrapped lightly in newsprint, stored in burlap or nylon bags or hung from hooks or rafters. Ship to market in clean bags or cardboard boxes, never in plastic bags.
PELT SIZES
While it is never wise to over-stretch fur, there are times when pelts will be on the borderline between two sizes when they are placed on the board. Pelts shrink slightly in length during drying, so it may be to the trapper's advantage to stretch these borderline pelts just a little more to bring them up to the next largest size. To accommodate this, having the pelt sizes marked on your boards for each species may be helpful.
Should pelts be open skinned or cased?
Badger: Cased and fur in.
Bear: Open skinned with claws and head attached.
Beaver: Open skinned.
Bobcat: Cased and fur out.
Coyote: Cased and fur out.
Fisher: Cased and fur out.
Fox: Cased and fur out.
Lynx: Cased and fur out.
Marten: Cased and fur out.
Mink: Cased and fur in - it is recommended that saddle be left on but remove all grease from under the saddle.
Muskrat: Cased and fur in - do not over scrape, remove all surface grease but leave saddle on.
Opossum: Cased and fur in.
Otter: Cased and fur in.
Raccoon: Cased and fur in.
Skunk: Cased and fur in.
Squirrel & Weasel: Cased and fur in.
Timber Wolf: Cased and fur out - claws attached.
Wolverine: Cased and fur out.
YoungTrappers.com
12266 Puffer Rd
Fife Lake, Mi 49633
231-879-3820