The Humane Society of the United States today urged the U.S. House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife to reject a bill that would give hunters permission to import trophies of polar bears. H.R. 1054, sponsored by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, would amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act specifically to allow 41 hunters, who ignored warnings from hunting organizations and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that a polar bear trophy import ban was likely to take place, to nonetheless import their trophies. Import of polar bear trophies was banned on May 15, 2008, when the species was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
"Polar bear protections should not be subverted simply to pacify a handful of trophy hunters who, with full knowledge that the species would likely be listed because of serious threats to its survival, chose to ignore all warnings from the U.S. government and hunting groups, and pursue a bear for their trophy room. It's a self-inflicted problem, yet they are asking Congress for a government bail-out," said Michael Markarian, chief operating officer of The HSUS, as part of his statement to the Subcommittee.
Polar bears are threatened by loss of sea ice, which they require for their survival. Trophy hunting exacerbates the threat of sea ice loss by killing bears who are already struggling to survive in a changing climate. In 2007, the last full year when polar bear trophy imports were allowed, 112 polar bear trophies were imported to the United States
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