Inuit group denounces EU decision to ban import of polar bear parts
A European Union import ban on polar bear trophies from two regions in Canada's Arctic has raised the hackles of the Inuit organization, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
The Inuit fear the recently announced ban on bears from the Kane Basin and Baffin Bay areas, between Nunavut and Greenland, will hurt the lucrative sport hunting industry.
They say hunters from Europe will not want to come to hunt if they cannot take home the hides and trophies.
The decision also comes just six months after the United States banned the import of polar bear trophies.
NTI second vice-president Raymond Ningeocheak said the federal government should have done more to fight the European decision which was based on information from Nunavut and Canadian government biologists.
And Ottawa should have worked harder years ago to reach a joint management agreement with Greenland to control its hunt, he said.
But Environment Minister Jim Prentice said he is just pleased the ban did not include all of the country's polar bear regions.
The partial ban is a sign the Europeans have confidence in Canada's management of the bears, he said.
'I would like to think that we will come out of there with a consensus on some things that need to be done.' — Environment Minister Jim Prentice
The situation with the bears of Kane Basin and Baffin Bay will be discussed at a federal round table to be held in Winnipeg in January.
"I would like to think that we will come out of there with a consensus on some things that need to be done," Prentice said.
The European Union may even lift the ban once it can see more is being done to protect the bears, he said.
WWF supports import ban
Meanwhile, the EU ban has been applauded by World Wildlife Fund Canada.
The polar bears in these two regions are threatened by overhunting and thinning ice, said Peter Ewins, director of species conservation for the group.
"This is one of the precautionary steps that needs to be taken until such time as those populations do recover to a level which can sustain a sustainable harvest," said Ewins.