House Natural Resources Committee Approves Polar Bear Trophy Legislation

October 6, 2011 (Washington, DC) - The U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee yesterday passed a bill sponsored by founding Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus member and former Chair, Rep. Don Young, to allow the importation of legally hunted polar bear "trophies."

H.R. 991, passed by the committee and now moved to the full House, would amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue import permits to hunters with legally taken polar bear trophies from Canada that were prohibited entry into the United States after the polar bear was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on May 15, 2008. 

“There is simply no conservation value in a dead polar bear,” said Young. “The polar bears that H.R. 991 addresses were hunted and harvested legally and should be allowed to be brought back to the United States. My bill has bipartisan support and I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure its passage by the full House.”   

Approximately 41 hunters had successfully hunted a polar bear from an approved population in Canada prior to the bears being listing as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. These polar bear trophies are currently being stored in Canada.

"There are no valid scientific reasons to deny these trophies entry into the United States. With certain polar bear populations at record numbers, sport hunting of these bears has a proven conservation track record that could be enhanced by allowing the importation of the 41 trophies in question," said Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation President Jeff Crane.

In order to import a polar bear trophy, an import permit costing $1,000 is required, with the proceeds going directly towards polar bear conservation. In the last 13 years, almost $1 million dollars has been raised through these permits supporting polar bear research and conservation. 

With passage of H.R. 991, an additional $45,000 could be raised by allowing these affected trophies to be imported into the United States through additional permit fees to use for conservation and research activities for the U.S. and Russian polar bear populations.