US Fish and Wildlife Services to
shift focus to climate change’s effects on bears
Canada had opposed ban as threats
to hunting economy and Inuit practices
Wednesday 4 May
201617.17 BST Last modified on Wednesday 4 May 201617.45 BST
The US government has quietly
dropped its campaign for an international ban in the trade of polar bear parts,
which would have given the practice the same outlaw status as the elephant
ivory market.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service
has spent several years attempting to ban the overseas trade of polar bear
skins, teeth, paws and other parts from Canada, which permits the hunting of
the Arctic predators.
However, the federal agency has
said it won’t pursue the matter further at an international summit of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), in September.
Instead, the US will focus on the threat posed to polar bears from climate
change.
“Though we remain concerned about
the commercial use of polar bear hides as an additional threat to the species,
we are not pursuing increased Cites protections at this time,” the USFWS said in a
statement.
“We are putting our resources
into working in collaboration with other polar bear range states to address
climate change and mitigate its impacts on the polar bear as the overwhelming
threat to the long-term future of the species.”
The US’s bid to ban the polar
bear trade has garnered support from the UK, Germany and Russia but has been
opposed by Canada, which
insists that hunting is sustainable and an important cultural practice of the
native Inuit people. Hunting can also generate income for communities, with
tourists paying up to $50,000 for the chance to shoot a polar bear.
The parts from more than 400
polar bears were traded in 2013. Polar bears are the world’s largest species of
bear, with males weighing around 500kg (1,100lb).
About 16,000 of the world’s
25,000 polar bears live in Canada. Inuit would have been banned from selling
paws and teeth of polar bears internationally, even after the rest of the
animal had been butchered and eaten, under any Cites ban. The Canadian
government has previously lobbied the US to drop its opposition to the trade.
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