US Congressman Don Young of Alaska has introduced legislation to end the ban on importing polar bears trophies to the US. Will you help stop him?
Polar bear numbers increased after the US and other countries adopted limits on hunting and trapping in the 1960s and 1970s. But declining sea ice — which polar bears need to hunt — and other stressors point to a far grimmer picture.
In 2008, the US government listed polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act — and scientists say that two-thirds of the world's wild polar bears could disappear by 2015.
Congressman Young's bill may thrill the wealthy trophy hunters who fund his campaign, but increased trophy hunting could spell disaster for one of the planet’s most beloved animals. The worst part? Representative Young is deceptively pitching his bill as a way to boost polar bear conservation.
But more trophy hunting means more dead bears. Lifting the ban on trophy imports only encourages a market for polar bear pelts and and other trophies.
Help save the lives of imperiled polar bears — Tell your Representative to OPPOSE Representative Don Young’s bill to lift the ban on importing polar bear trophies.
Dear Decision Maker,
As someone who cares about polar bears, I strongly urge you to oppose H.R. 326, Congressman Don Young’s bill to lift the ban on the import of polar bear trophies.
Congressman Young misleadingly touts the bill as a way to boost conservation efforts, but the simple truth is that lifting the trophy import ban would only encourage a market for polar bear pelts and other trophies. And more demand means more trophy hunting and more dead polar bears.
Polar bear numbers increased after the US and other countries adopted limits on hunting and trapping in the 1960s and 1970s. But declines in the sea ice that polar bears need to hunt and other stressors point to a far grimmer picture.
In fact, scientists say that two-thirds of the world’s wild polar bears could be gone by 2015.
[Your comments will be added here]
Polar bears are worth protecting. I hope you will do what you can to oppose H.R. 326.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
