Wildlife charity backs policy of exploitation of small number of some endangered species for economic purposes – such as trophy hunting

Wildlife charity backs policy of exploitation of small number of some endangered species for economic purposes – such as trophy hunting.

The wildlife charity WWF has been working to support the trade in polar bear fur at the same time as using images of the bears to raise money, it can be revealed.

Polar bears are severely affected by the loss of Arctic sea ice, which makes seeking prey harder and forces the bears to use more energy. In some regions, polar bears are showing signs of declining physical condition, having fewer cubs, and dying younger.

Despite their endangered status, polar bears are hunted commercially in Canada, the only country that still allows the practice after it was banned by Russia, Greenland, the US and Norway. An annual average of 300–400 skins are exported, primarily to China, where a full pelt sells for an average of $60,000 (£48,000) and is often used for luxury clothing or as a rug.

  • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    2·
    7 days ago

    I’m gonna add some context to this that seems to be missing …

    • polar bears are starving because of the loss of sea ice
    • polar bears are strictly carnivores, not omnivores – so their diet is meat only
    • with the lack of sea ice they are spending more time on land searching for food … so they end up in communities at dump sites … and end up in interactions with humans
    • this has led Greenpeace and WWF to give tacit support to controlled harvests
    • in the last 40 years polar bear populations have declined by 50%, mostly due to climate change (which leads to starvation)
    • stopping climate change will help the bears far more than just stopping hunts

    https://www.earth.com/news/polar-bears-are-suffering-from-an-energy-deficit-due-to-lack-of-food-access/

    https://blog.animalogic.ca/news/can-polar-bear-hunting-being-justified-conservation-organisations-in-great-white-bear-brawl

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/churchill-new-waste-facility-project-1.7049919

  • OutlierBlue@lemmy.caEnglish
    1·
    7 days ago

    polar bears are hunted commercially in Canada, the only country that still allows the practice

    What the fuck?! I’m Canadian and I had no idea.

    • BlameThePeacock@lemmy.caEnglish
      1·
      7 days ago

      We also allow it for grizzlies.

      It’s part of a population control system to make sure they don’t end up in human controlled areas or killing each other due to competing for limited resources.

      Same reason they do this in Africa for elephants.

      There are some 16,000 polar bears in Canada, and if a fifth of those have two cubs every second year that’s a lot of extra pressure on the food supply for them, which is already having issues.

      They’re endangered because there’s not enough food to support a larger population in the areas they live, not because they can’t have babies.

      • Billiam@lemmy.world
        1·
        6 days ago

        there’s not enough food to support a larger population in the areas they live,

        And that’s because the areas they live in are shrinking due to climate change.

        edit: wtf autocarrot?

    • DominusOfMegadeus@sh.itjust.works
      1·
      7 days ago

      I’m trying to go to Canada and I also did not know this. I’ve been active in some Canadian lemmy communities lately, and there are plenty of frustratingly ignorant people there too, I’m sad to say.

  • Tau@lemy.lol
    0·
    7 days ago

    Well, I’m not saying it is not true, but I looked up in internet and no news site has echoed this specific information. The article doesn’t even say how WWF is involved. Where is the proof? It appears to be misinformation against WWF.