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| Because many marine mammal populations had plummeted due to over-hunting, the United States passed the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, which prohibited the harassment, injuring or killing of all marine mammal species, including polar bears. This prohibited the importation of polar bear trophies into the U.S. by sport hunters. <ref>http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/a_closer_look_at_marine_mammals/polar_bears/what_you_can_do_to_protect_polar_bears.html The Humane Society of the United States "What You Can Do to Protect Polar Bears"</ref> | Because many marine mammal populations had plummeted due to over-hunting, the United States passed the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, which prohibited the harassment, injuring or killing of all marine mammal species, including polar bears. This prohibited the importation of polar bear trophies into the U.S. by sport hunters. <ref>http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/a_closer_look_at_marine_mammals/polar_bears/what_you_can_do_to_protect_polar_bears.html The Humane Society of the United States "What You Can Do to Protect Polar Bears"</ref> | ||
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| In 1973, ] hunting was regulated by The International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (also known as the Oslo Agreement),<ref>http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/bear-facts/</ref> which was signed by the five nations whose Arctic territory is inhabited by polar bears: ], ], ], ] (via its territory ]) and ] (then the ]). This placed restrictions on recreational and commercial hunting (and completely banned hunting from aircraft and ]). | In 1973, ] hunting was regulated by The International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (also known as the Oslo Agreement),<ref>http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/bear-facts/</ref> which was signed by the five nations whose Arctic territory is inhabited by polar bears: ], ], ], ] (via its territory ]) and ] (then the ]). This placed restrictions on recreational and commercial hunting (and completely banned hunting from aircraft and ]). | ||
Revision as of 15:47, 12 November 2007
Polar Bear hunting is the practice of big-game hunters hunting Polar Bears.
Because many marine mammal populations had plummeted due to over-hunting, the United States passed the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, which prohibited the harassment, injuring or killing of all marine mammal species, including polar bears. This prohibited the importation of polar bear trophies into the U.S. by sport hunters.
In 1973, Polar Bear hunting was regulated by The International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (also known as the Oslo Agreement), which was signed by the five nations whose Arctic territory is inhabited by polar bears: USA, Canada, Norway, Denmark (via its territory Greenland) and Russia (then the USSR). This placed restrictions on recreational and commercial hunting (and completely banned hunting from aircraft and icebreakers).
Since 1973, Norway has had a complete ban on polar bear hunting. USA, Greenland, Russia and Canada allow hunting by the indigenous people, on the basis that it is part of indigenous culture. Canada and Greenland also allow recreational hunting.
Canada, which has the largest polar bear population, allows limited recreational hunting. Recreational hunters pay a substantial fee to trophy hunting outfitters to hunt polar bears. In 2005 the Government of Nunavut increased the quota to 518 bears, despite protests from some scientific groups. In 2005 about 50 of that quota was sold to recreational hunters, the rest being hunted by the indigenous Inuit people. The Government of the Northwest Territories maintain their own quota of 72 - 103 bears within the Inuvialuit communities of which some are set aside for sports hunters.
Until 2005, Greenland placed no limit on hunting by indigenous people. In 2005, it imposed a limit of 150 for 2006. It also allowed recreational hunting for the first time.
In 1994, the United States modified the Marine Mammal Protection Act, allowing the importation of sport-hunted polar bear trophies into the country and clearing the way for an increase in polar bear hunting. Since 1994, more than 800 sport-hunted polar bear trophies have been imported into the U.S. In May 2007, legislation was introduced in both houses of the United States Congress (H.R. 2327, called the Polar Bear Protection Act) to reverse the 1994 legislation and ban the importation of deads polar bears.
Many environmental and animal protection groups fear that global warming will have a tremendous impact on the viability of polar bear populations and fear that continued trophy hunting will have further negative consequences.
Global Warming's Impacts on Hunting
Global warming has had an impact on polar bear population health and size and may therefore have an impact on the hunting of this species. Recent declines in polar bear numbers can be linked to the retreat of sea ice and its formation later in the year. Ice is also breaking up earlier in the year, forcing bears ashore before they have time to build up sufficient fat stores, or forcing them to swim long distances, which may exhaust them, leading to drowning. The results of these effects of global warming have been thinner, stressed bears, decreased reproduction, and lower juvenile survival rates.
In the News
- June 16, 2007, Post-Crescent, Kate McGinty, "Congress Takes Aim at Polar Bear Hunting."
- June 15, 2007, Cincinnati Enquirer, Malia Rulon, "Hunters in Polar Bear Fight: Two from Kentucky among those who want to bring back hides."
- June 4, 2007, CBC News, "Nunavut MLAs condemn U.S. proposal to make polar bears threatened species."
- May 17, 2007, WCSH 6, Rhonda Erskine, "Senator Snowe Joins Efforts to Protect Polar Bears."
References
- http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/a_closer_look_at_marine_mammals/polar_bears/what_you_can_do_to_protect_polar_bears.html The Humane Society of the United States "What You Can Do to Protect Polar Bears"
- http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/bear-facts/
- http://www.solcomhouse.com/polarbears.htm
- http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/01/10/polar-bear-hunt050110.html CBC News, 10 Jan 2005, "Nunavut hunters can kill more polar bears this year"
- http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/07/04/polar-bears050704.html CBC News, 4 Jul 2005, "Rethink polar bear hunt quotas, scientists tell Nunavut hunters"
- http://www.animalrights.net/archives/year/2005/000362.html Animalrights.net ("Exposing the Animal Rights Movement"), 28 Sep 2005, "Optimizing Polar Bear Hunting and Fees in Nunavut", By Brian Carnell
- http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/marine_mammals_news/Hitting_polar_bears_when_they_are_down.html The Humane Society of the United States "Hitting Polar Bears When They Are Down"
- https://community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2007_polar_bear_trophy The Humane Society of the United States "Support the Polar Bear Protection Act"
- http://www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/federal_legislation/marine_mammals/2007_protect_polar_bears_trophy.html The Humane Society of the United States "The Polar Bear Protection Act"
- http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/a_closer_look_at_marine_mammals/polar_bears/threats_to_the_polar_bears_survival.html The Humane Society of the United States "Threats to the Polar Bear's Survival"
- http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/a_closer_look_at_marine_mammals/polar_bears/threats_to_the_polar_bears_survival.html The Humane Society of the United States "Threats to the Polar Bear's Survival"
- http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070616/APC0101/70616017/1979
- http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070615/NEWS01/706150410/-1/CINCI
- http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2007/06/04/nu-pbear.html
- http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=60816