'No' Vote on Plan to Restrict Polar Bear Trade
A proposal to add more restrictions on polar bear trade was rejected by delegates to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species March 7, at the group’s conference, which continues through March 14 in Bangkok. The proposal -- spearheaded…
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by the U.S. and Russia -- would have moved polar bears to Appendix I, a CITES listing of species threatened with extinction and subject to protection, including commercial trade restrictions. The U.S. cited polar bear’s marked population decline and habitat loss in their proposal (here), but faced strong opposition from Canada, Greenland and Norway, “all of which are range states for polar bears,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a release. “As polar bear hide prices have skyrocketed, more bears are being offered at auction, and hunting levels have increased,” said Dan Ashe, head of CITES U.S. delegation, in the release. “A CITES Appendix-I listing would have ensured that commercial trade would not compound the threats of habitat loss that are facing this species.”