Download PDF

“While there has been a lot of positive momentum in polar bear conservation recently, this is a real setback,” said Andrew Wetzler, Director of NRDC’s Wildlife Conservation Project. “It keeps some of the most important populations of polar bears squarely in the crosshairs. We will continue work to find a new way to protect polar bears from this unsustainable hunt.”

A 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey conservatively estimated that the total population of polar bears would decline by over 70 percent in the next

NRDC

45 years as global warming literally melts their habitat. Science-based estimates like these led the US to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2008. Nonetheless, Canada still allows the killing of 300 polar bears a year for international trade and trophy hunting, despite evidence that over half of the polar bear populations in Canada may suffer from overharvest.

NRDC is joined by a large group of international NGOs in pushing for this proposal that includes Animal Welfare Institute, Defenders of Wildlife, Eurogroup for Animals, Humane Society International, International Fund for Animal Welfare, ProWildlife and Species Survival Network. The proposal had sought to “uplist” the species to the more highly protected class 1 status under the international treaty. It lost by a vote of 48 - 62 with 11 abstentions.

Check the Switchboard blog for commentary and analysis from NRDC’s Zak Smith who has been participating in the CITES conference all week.

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.3 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.

Click here to see all news from this author/company

Media Contact Name: NRDC
Media E-mail:
Media Phone: 312-651-7909
Media Web Address: http://www.nrdc.org/media/2010/100318.asp

About the author:

Frances Beinecke, NRDC President: NRDC is the nation's most effective environmental action organization. We use law, science and the support of 1.2 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things.

http://www.nrdc.org/

Filed Under: ENVIRONMENT, Featured, PRESS RELEASE

RUSH PR NEWS newswire and press release services at rushprnews.com / Anne Howard annehowardpublicist.com

Content- Legal Responsibility - All material is copyrighted - You may repost but you MUST link back to the original post on your page and acknowledge Rush PR News as the news source. Rush PR News is not legally and/or morally responsible for content of press releases, opinions expressed or fact-checking.

Rush PR News cannot be held legally responsible for material published and distributed through its newswire service or published in its press-room and therefore cannot be sued for published material. Third-party must be contacted directly to dispute content.

Rush PR News is not the contact for material published.