Humane Society International, International Fund for Animal Welfare and Defenders of Wildlife have urged the United States to lead the way to end international commercial trade in polar bears, including hides, trophies, rugs and other polar bear parts. The United States has an opportunity to submit a proposal to stop the trade at next year's meeting of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The meeting is set for March 13-25 in Doha, Qatar.
Polar bears in the wild live entirely within five countries: Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Norway, Russian Federation and the United States. There are presently between 20,000 and 25,000 polar bears and the number is decreasing.
Polar bears are completely dependent on sea ice, which they use for hunting prey, reproduction and movement. Ongoing atmospheric pollution is causing oceanic and atmospheric warming, leading to reductions in sea ice. Some scientists have concluded that polar bears will not survive past the end of this century due to the complete loss of summer sea ice.
In 2008, the United States listed the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. This ended the importation to the United States of trophies of polar bears killed by American sport hunters. Although hunters from other countries can still import trophies, the United States was by far the largest importer and American trophy hunters had driven this large-scale commercial killing.
In addition to hunting trophies, polar bear parts
Enviroshop is maintained by dedicated NetSys Interactive Inc. owners & employees who generously contribute their time to maintenance & editing, web design, custom programming, & website hosting for Enviroshop.