hey, nicky! :--)

this was a profit-driven enterprise by the Russian-govt -
the whole point of the Balyaev experiment was to reduce the stress on the foxes, who were bred for their fur... by having them be more relaxed and human friendly.

the wild-stock and the then-current captive stock had minimal tolerance for any stress, and the dams would sometimes kill an entire litter, due to some event they perceived as stressful or scary or threatening -
like a carer delivering food as every day, but happening to make direct eye-contact, and the F would kill her neonate pups in response.

so the later generations, with their pied coats, blazed faces, etc, were no longer usable as fur-bearing breeding stock; only the early generations, which were human friendly but still LOOKED like the wild stock, were useful for fur.
all my best,
--- terry

__________________
terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007