BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 3, 2026
Maine trappers and other small business owners are losing a key online marketplace after Etsy updated its policy to ban the sale of most fur products. The change, announced Thursday, prohibits products “made from or containing the fur of animals killed primarily for their pelts.” The ban takes effect Aug. 11. The decision follows a protest campaign by the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade, which organized demonstrations targeting Etsy and its affiliates. “This is going to impact a lot of people,” Joshua Dostie wrote in a post on the Maine Fur Trappers Facebook page. “Most are small-scale operations … that have depended on platforms like Etsy to connect with customers.” Maine has about 4,200 licensed trappers, with roughly half actively trapping each year.