Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District
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Measure filed to protect polar bears from trophy hunting
15 May 2007
In the last 10 years, over 800 polar bears have been killed by hunters to decorate American homes. U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Frank A. LoBiondo (R-N.J.) filed legislation in the House that would end the practice and help stop the decline of the iconic marine mammal, now threatened by global warming. A companion measure is expected to be introduced today in the Senate by U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).
The Polar Bear Protection Act would restore the moratorium on the importation of all marine mammal trophies that was established by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. It would close a loophole created in 1994 that allows the Secretary of the Interior to issue permits for the importation of polar bear trophies from Canada.
"Polar bears are being threatened by humans on two fronts: sport hunting and habitat loss due to global warming," said Inslee, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee and Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. "We need to address both."
"There is clear, scientific evidence that the habitats of polar bears and other Arctic species are being threatened by global warming. As these irreplaceable species become increasingly endangered, it is our responsibility to make every reasonable effort to protect them," added Congressman LoBiondo, a member of the Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus.
In recent years, warming global temperatures have caused the sea ice habitat of polar bears to recede. There have been reports of the animals drowning, starving and even resorting to cannibalism.
In 2005, the World Conservation Union listed polar bears as "vulnerable" for the first time. Experts say they may go extinct within a century if climate change continues at the same rate.
In December, the Interior Department took initial steps toward listing the polar bear as a threatened species due to the loss of habitat to climate change. Inslee has been a leading congressional proponent of protecting the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act.
Three leading animal protection and conservation groups, The Humane Society of the United States, Defenders of Wildlife and the International Fund for Animal Welfare, support the Polar Bear Protection Act. "It is unthinkable that these animals, already in such jeopardy from the effects of global warming, would be subjected to additional human-caused killing," commented Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society.