Answering the first two arguments has always been easy – yes, the biggest threat to polar bears is climate change, but it`s not the only one. Today, 10 of the 19 recognized polar bear populations are likely suffering from current or historical overhunting, and many of these populations have already been classified as “declining” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Given the projected decline in the total polar bear population of more than 70% over the next 45 years, we should act now to strengthen the polar bear populations that have the best chance of survival – all in Canada, which currently allows for the culling of 300 polar bears per year for the international trade in polar bear parts. If Canada wants to avoid future attempts to end its polar bear hunt, Jordan said strict enforcement of wildlife regulations is necessary. The import or export of a stuffed polar bear also requires a permit. If the polar bear is considered a “pre-act” (i.e. it was purchased before 1972), you can sell it. If the teddy bear was purchased in the United States and it is an authentic Alaskan Native craft, you can also sell it. Utah – OK to sell black bear skins. No sale of claws, teeth or gallbladders.

Skulls are legal if we have a permit indicating who hunted them, the date and place, and if we can show the seller a written record of their provenance. Last updated 070802. South Dakota – No sale of black bear claws, teeth or products. Someone called to report that it is legal to sell tanned black bear skins in South Dakota. We will confirm this as soon as time permits. Last updated: 9 May 2013. New York – OK to sell black bear products, including skins, claws, teeth. OK to resell. Sheldon Jordan, director of wildlife monitoring at Environment Canada, said it`s important to be able to track all polar bear parts sold in Canada. Southern hunters pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege of killing a polar bear. Polar bear mats are legally sold for between $16,000 and $35,000, depending on the size. Iowa – OK to sell black bear skins and claws.

The customer must keep a copy of the invoice from us indicating where the item was legally purchased. The latter argument is increasingly difficult to answer because it has created a false choice between protecting polar bears and supporting people. Nevertheless, this is the issue that Canada, which opposes the U.S. proposal, spent most of its time raising with delegates. There is a major reason why the choice is wrong: a ban on international trade in polar bear parts would likely reduce the number of polar bears killed in Canada, strengthen polar bear populations, and make more bears available to live longer. What Canada has really put forward is short-term gain versus long-term gain. Yes, in the short term, some hunters and interior decorators would have lost because they could not sell/buy polar bear carpets on the international market. But in the long term, polar bear populations in Canada and Russia would have been strengthened (Russian polar bear populations suffer from illegal poaching, in part because of the legal market for polar bear parts), which would have given more chances that polar bears could continue to be captured for subsistence purposes in the future. Mississippi – No sale of black bear skins, claws, teeth or products. Last updated: August 12, 2010.

Missouri – OK to sell black bear products. As you may have heard, parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (“CITES” or “the Convention”) last week rejected a U.S. proposal to ban international trade in polar bear parts. I was at the conference in Doha, Qatar, where I was fighting for better protection of polar bears and I witnessed first-hand the discussion and vote that rejected the American proposal. (For more on conventions and polar bears in play, check out my previous blogs, here, here, and here.) Unfortunately, the Convention`s message seems clear; With polar bear populations declining and the estimated loss of more than 70% of all polar bears over the next 45 years, you should act now to buy all the polar bear mats, teeth and claws you can.