Looking for seals fur US

[Jfish 0]

Looking for some seal's fur. I watch Davie M all the time and he ties a lot of patterns that I like that have the seal's fur. It looks like a very nice dubbing but I'm having a tough time finding it. Anyone know where I can get some? Preferably in the US or someone that has either cheap or free shipping?

 

Thanks

[Gene L 0]

Don't think it's legal to possess, except maybe by Native Inuits. I've never seen it for sale.

[Piker20 0]

Really? you guys can't have seals fur? How does that apply to flies with the swaps? What if you receive a fly in a swap thats over endowed with fur??

[rockworm 0]

I am sure I have seen seal dubbing for sale in the USA. I know Feathercraft has a seal/arctic ram blend and Mike Hogue was selling a dispenser box of real seal for $25 last fall. I bought my last supplies from Paul Smith http://www.haresfeet...com/sealfur.htm in Newfoundland. He collects baby fur when it is shed- so no animals are harmed. He will also custom dye for you.

[mvendon 0]

Hi Jfish,

 

Try John McClain at Feathers MC, Dette Trout Flies (not many colors though), or Dave McNeese for seals fur dubbing in the US. For trout flies, you really want to use baby seal fur, since fur from mature seals is too coarse and long for smaller flies. It will still work, but the finer hair is that much easier to work with. I personally don't know if any of these folks have baby or mature seals fur.

 

Regards,

Mark

[Jaydub 0]

feathersmc.com

[skidoosh 0]

Looking for some seal's fur. I watch Davie M all the time and he ties a lot of patterns that I like that have the seal's fur. It looks like a very nice dubbing but I'm having a tough time finding it. Anyone know where I can get some? Preferably in the US or someone that has either cheap or free shipping?

 

Thanks

 

Why not just go with SLF - which was designed as a seal fiber substitute? Or Angora goat is another possibility. You could probably find it or even order from Cookshill in the UK. There are some easier options, I agree Davie has some nice materials.

[Jfish 0]

I am sure I have seen seal dubbing for sale in the USA. I know Feathercraft has a seal/arctic ram blend and Mike Hogue was selling a dispenser box of real seal for $25 last fall. I bought my last supplies from Paul Smith http://www.haresfeet...com/sealfur.htm in Newfoundland. He collects baby fur when it is shed- so no animals are harmed. He will also custom dye for you.

 

I sent this guy an email to see if he'll ship it to me in the brown color.

 

I may get the SLF for now from the Bluequillangler. They ship free after $5 and I can't seem to find anyone close to that.

[Piker20 0]

IMO the sub isn't quite as good for smaller size flies. The angora wool is good but different. So is icelandic sheep wool. If you're tying in split loops then the real baby seal will give you the text book look it sounds like you're after.

[mvendon 0]

I am sure I have seen seal dubbing for sale in the USA. I know Feathercraft has a seal/arctic ram blend and Mike Hogue was selling a dispenser box of real seal for $25 last fall. I bought my last supplies from Paul Smith http://www.haresfeet...com/sealfur.htm in Newfoundland. He collects baby fur when it is shed- so no animals are harmed. He will also custom dye for you.

 

I sent this guy an email to see if he'll ship it to me in the brown color.

 

I may get the SLF for now from the Bluequillangler. They ship free after $5 and I can't seem to find anyone close to that.

 

I tried emailing Paul twice in the last six weeks from where I work, and at home, and have yet to receive a reply. I'm guessing his PC crapped out, he no longer sells anything, or something else happened. He sometimes wouldn't get back to you for several days, but would reply. I bought from him last back in 2007. I just buy it over in the UK where it's very common, in just about every color, and just about all of it is baby seal.

 

Regards,

Mark

[Stippled Popper 0]

Really? you guys can't have seals fur? How does that apply to flies with the swaps? What if you receive a fly in a swap thats over endowed with fur??

 

Some of you may be familiar with a recent occurrence when someone tried to send one of the boxes in the Mystery Fly Tying Materials swap run from

this site between the U.S. and Canada. Here is a link to the page I found a rather lengthy list of furs and feathers which were confiscated by U.S.

Authorities for various items which were "Exported in violation of Licensing, Declaration, Clearance, & CITES Requirements" Confiscated Materials List .

There is no seals fur on the list. However, the list included fox, coyote, deer, grouse partridge, pheasant, turkey duck, rabbit, raccoon, bear, and gray junglefowl. I

suspect some or most of it would have been permitted if Licensing and Declaration requirements had been met. But who knows. I am just guessing. But

I'll bet that had there been any seals fur in the box, it would have been confiscated.

[Peterjay 0]

Maybe something's changed recently, but the last I knew, importing or selling marine mammal products is illegal in the U.S. under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Unless you have specific information to the contrary or you're an aboriginal subsistence hunter, it would be wise to err on the side of caution. BTW - regarding Dave McNeese: he's already been busted at least once for dealing in illegal materials. Federal wardens don't screw around, and the fines are brutal if you get nailed. There isn't a fish on the planet that cares whether you're using genuine seal fur or a substitute. Atlantic salmon tyers have been getting by with substitutes for decades, and their work is as beautiful as it ever was.

[Jaydub 0]

There are legal sources of seal (and polar bear) in the USA. I believe they must prove the material is pre-ban, such as from an old rug or article of clothing. They are few and far between though. As for Dave McNeese, yes he was busted for some polar bear years ago. I doubt he's dumb enough to do that again, considering he's on the authorities radar.

 

I'd suggest using a substitute. If you really want the real thing, buy from a reputable dealer inside the USA. I wouldn't order it from Canada or the UK.

[Peterjay 0]

Yeah, there are ways to legally possess grandfathered seal's fur, but you'd better be ready to provide bombproof documentation of every place that material has been since it last adorned the body of a live pinniped. And if one step along the way was less that 100% legal or not properly documented, (like illegally imported documented material) you're still screwed. Whether legally documented material can be sold or not is a question best left to someone who has a legal research team. (There's a name for people who get legal advice from dealers or online forums - I believe they're called "inmates.") Just because something is for sale and labeled "legal" doesn't make it so. Considering the wide array of superb legal materials that are available today, there's absolutely no reason to take a chance on contraband. Stuff like polar bear hair, seal fur, and heron hackles were in wide use years ago because they were the best (and sometimes only) materials available at the time. There are plenty of substitutes around now that just as good.

[FrequentTyer 0]

I have often seen seal fur for sale by reputable dealers at fly tying shows, and I know of at least one online source that regularly sells it. The legal issues around this are complex, and shipping it internationally or even between states is an entirely different set of issues. I think it is well summed up by the following quote from the Animal Law web page: http://www.animallaw.info/

 

"There are very few U.S. federal statutes concerning fur animals. Laws such as the Lacey Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Fur Seal Act and the Endangered Species Act deal with protecting animals in the wild, and do not concern fur farms. The U.S. has a Fur Products Labeling Act, which mandates that garments containing fur be properly labeled..."

 

For what it is worth, the substitutes IMHO are okay,but not anything like the real seal dubbing. There are things I would not touch like condor or eagle feathers. Seal is in a different category. But given the possible issues with shipping, I would not use it in a swap fly.