Polar Bears as Threatened Species is Challenged

The US Court of Appeals upheld the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2008 decision to list polar bears as a threatened species after the ruling was recently challenged. While the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 prevents hunters from killing the bears in Alaska, congress enacted a loophole in 1994 that allowed polar bear trophies to be imported from Canada. The 2008 ruling made the trophies illegal once again, and animal-welfare and wildlife officials have applauded the court’s decision to uphold it, noting that Arctic drilling and climate change has already decimated the bear population and that they need all the help they can get.