- Polar Bears & Conservation
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- About the Polar Bear
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- Adaptions to Cold
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- Inuit & Polar Bears
- Bear Attacks
- Polar Bears in Zoos
- Myths & Misconceptions
- Hunting Seals
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- Name That Bear!
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- Polar Bear Evolution

Harvesting/Hunting

Of all the threats to the welfare of polar bears, both real and imagined, hunting and killing them leads the list. Unregulated hunting of polar bears was ended more than 30 years ago by an international agreement among the polar bear nations. But legal hunting continues to kill more than 700 polar bears a year. Most harvesting is conducted by indigenous peoples for whom hunting is an important cultural activity and a source of income.

In the United States, only Alaskan natives can hunt polar bears. While there is no legal requirement for a quota, many native areas take only male bears. In Danish Greenland, natives take polar bears in subsistence hunts for food and hides. In Norway, polar bears are protected from all forms of hunting.

Canada allows natives to hunt polar bears under a quota system that divides permits among native communities. However, Canada is the only nation that allows sport or trophy hunting by non-natives and non-citizens. This enables native hunters to sell their permits to sport hunters for large sums, a windfall for communities that have no other source of income. To take their trophies out of Canada, U. S. hunters must obtain an import permit from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which, in turn, requires that Canadian quotas be based on sound management principles. To set quotas, wildlife managers must conduct accurate population surveys of polar bears. In the past, lack of data has allowed quotas to be set at dangerously high levels. Thus, it is important that Canada carry out a timely and accurate census of polar bear numbers to allow quotas to be set at safe and realistic levels.

In Russia, polar bears have long enjoyed protection from hunting of any kind. As Russia shares a population of polar bears with the United States, the two governments and native groups in the Russian Far East and Alaska drafted and signed an international treaty, ratified by the U.S. Senate, which allows hunting by Russian natives and places quota restrictions on both U.S. and Russian natives. The treaty calls for the application of game management principles and allocation of quotas between villages. A major problem in the Russian Far East is the lack of adequate law enforcement. As a consequence, poaching of polar bears has become widespread. In 2002, an estimated 250 polar bears were killed by poachers. For the treaty to be effective, poaching must be stopped.

The key to the regulation of hunting according to game management principles is a reliable knowledge of polar bear numbers. Population estimates for the Circumpolar North range from 16,000 to 35,000 bears. The figure of 22,000 is accepted as a working number. Scientists agree that in many areas, data are lacking entirely. For serious protection of polar bears, the five polar bear nations must conduct a thorough and ongoing census of polar bears. At present, the polar bear is classified as a threatened species rather than endangered, but careful management is necessary in order for that status to remain.

Additional german informations can be found here.

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