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.
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.
And that’s because the areas they live in are shrinking due to climate change.
edit: wtf autocarrot?