The law

You can tan, treat or preserve the pelt of a furbearing mammal in one of two ways:

  • hire a licensed tanner or taxidermist to treat the pelt
  • treat the pelt yourself

You can only keep the pelt for personal use (such as you can’t sell a treated pelt, without the proper licence).

You must:

  • acquire the pelt legally (register the pelt with the ministry or under a valid hunting or trapping licence)
  • provide proof that the pelt was acquired legally to a tanner before a pelt can be treated (such as a trapping licence number or Notice of Possession confirmation)

Tanners and taxidermists must have a tanning licence. Other rules apply to using certain chemicals and toxic substances through the treatment process.

Licensed trappers

You can treat the pelt yourself, without a separate licence or registration. These pelts can be sold, if you legally acquired them under your licence.

Source law

This is a summary of the provincial laws. You can find a complete set of rules related to this activity in:

  • Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997
  • Ontario Regulations 666/98 (buy and sell), 667/98 (trapping)

Furbearing mammals

The rules apply to these animals:

  • beaver
  • bobcat
  • coyote
  • fisher
  • fox (Arctic, red)
  • lynx
  • marten
  • mink
  • muskrat
  • opossum
  • otter
  • raccoon
  • red squirrel
  • striped skunk
  • weasel (least, long-tailed, short-tailed or ermine)
  • wolf

Find a taxidermist or tanner

You may wish to:

  • check your local business listings (such as Yellow Pages)
  • contact your local ministry work centre (for a list of licensed tanners)

Find an ministry work centre