Russia to Allow Subsistence Hunting of Polar Bears
By Christina Erb
April 17, 2007 For the first time since the Soviet Union banned polar bear hunting in 1956, Russia is proposing to allow the Chukchi people to hunt the dwindling species.
While it seems like a counterintuitive method of preserving the polar bear population, subsistence hunting is an accepted form of management in the United States and Canada. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service statistics show that about 40 polar bears are legally killed each year by Alaskan natives.
Its an overall positive step for Russia, said Rosa Meehan, chief of the marine mammal program in Alaska for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Polar bear poaching is rampant in Russia and little infrastructure is in place to curtail illegal hunting on the Russian side of the Bering Strait, Meehan explained. Pelts are sold for thousands of dollars and meat is considered a forbidden delicacy.
Subsistence hunting is expected to help eradicate the poaching epidemic by allowing impoverished villagers to legally access food. One bear can feed an entire village, said Meehan.
Sean Cosgrove, a senior representative with Sierra Club, said that while the grassroots environmental organization recognizes natives right to subsistence hunting, they are concerned with polar bear management and enforcement policies.
With global warming, all bets are off. You cant have a controlled, well-managed hunt if you dont know what their habitat is going to be like in ten years. Its clear these polar bears are suffering now, he said.
Brendan Cummings, an attorney with the Center of Biological Diversity, also described the factors surrounding subsistence hunting as problematic.
Canadas quotas are too high, Greenlands laws are murky, and Russia is clearly over-hunted, he said, adding that stronger regulations need to be enforced worldwide.
It clearly needs to change. Even in the absence of global warming, the global economy in polar bear trade is undermining conservation. Its clear weve got to do something different, Cummings said.
The U.S.-Russia Agreement on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population is expected to bilaterally conserve polar bears shared between the two nations and ensure that subsistence hunting remains sustainable. A joint commission will oversee legal hunts and establish quotas for native villagers in both countries.
The agreement, however, is not yet in full effect; it is awaiting bureaucratic support from both sides, Meehan said. Moscow officials say that once a census is carried out and an annual quota is set, subsistence hunting could begin this year or the next, according to The New York Times.
Scott Schliebe, polar bear project leader for U.S. Fish and Wildlife, declined to set an exact timeframe.
Polar bears travel long distances over vast icy expanses in search of prey. But the melting ice caps are diminishing their habitat, making it harder for them to find food and shelter. Many now wander along the coastline.
Al Gores documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, and the recent fame of Berlins baby polar bear, Knut, has catapulted polar bears into the spotlight.
According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife statistics, polar bear population worldwide is up to 25,000. In the Bering Strait, theres no concrete number, only guesswork, and Meehan said that its somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 bears.
These days, Id say 5,000 is quite an estimate. We just dont know, she said, adding that the number will change once U.S. and Russian governments direct personnel and financial support to the project.
Ski & Snowboard Resort Guide
From the best in après ski to the toughest piste in North America, we've got the goods.
The Travel Source
Customized content made for the culinary, adventurous, and hip traveler in all of us.
Golf Guide
Compare courses, research green fees, and explore the nearest links as TeeBone lures you into a quick afternoon escapeor a weekly golf trip.