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From SCI
Polar Bear Listing Will Spawn Misinformation

One fallout of the recent polar bear listing will be misinformation. The listing will not affect the number of polar bears harvested each year, but will ban the import of polar bear trophies from Canada into the U.S.
This ban is due to the recent listing of the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, the listing was primarily due to projected loss of arctic sea ice caused by global climate change. The FWS has never identified sustainable sport or subsistence hunting of polar bears as a problem for the survival of the species. But this fact did not stop the Humane Society of the United States from claiming that the FWS recognized “the need to stop the import of hundreds of sport-hunted polar bear trophies from Canada.” Be wary of statements in the media about the reasons for and impacts of this listing. SCI will continue to keep you apprised of the polar bear situation.
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