Grey fox (Urocyon cinereogenteus) COSEWIC assessment and update update status report: chapter 11

Special significance of the species

In terms of economic interests, the low rate of capture indicates that the grey fox has little economic value as a furbearer in Canada. Also, prices for grey fox pelts are currently low (e.g. $4.97/pelt in Ontario for the 1997-98 season, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources [OMNR], unpubl. data), and therefore not likely to cause harvesting pressure to increase in the near future. However, the grey fox continues to be of some economic importance in the United States (e.g. the 1998/99 Wisconsin grey fox harvest was worth US $124,444 to hunters and trappers, WIDNR 2000).

In the United States, where a significant amount of scientific work has been done, there are some very sophisticated questions that are starting to be asked (e.g. Henke and Bryant 1999, see Fritzell 1987 for a list of important biological and management questions). However, the situation in Canada is not as advanced. Simple questions about abundance and distribution have yet to be answered, which makes this species abundantly interesting to naturalists and scientists alike. The prospect of being the first to make a significant scientific contribution to the understanding of an organism’s biology is very appealing, and highlights the scientific interest of the grey fox.

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