An Important Warning About Polar Bear Imports

If you are among the estimated 60 US hunters who killed polar bears this season and you now have a bear "stuck" in Canada, don't even think about trying to import it illegally. That is the word we are getting from all quarters in the wake of last week's decision to list the polar bear as threatened under provisions of the Endangered Species Act. That listing decision triggered provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act that make imports seriously illegal. Worse, a court decision surrounding the case made imports illegal right away.

Conservation Force's John J. Jackson, III, is mounting a legal offensive to get already-dead bears into the US, but it is an uphill fight and victory is not assured. You can read an advance copy of Jackson's June Conservation Force Bulletin by clicking on the hyperlink below. It contains a full briefing on the polar bear decision and sketches out his plans to get dead bears into the US and, perhaps, reverse the decision that makes imports illegal going forward. The key message here is this, however: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO IMPORT A POLAR BEAR INTO THE US RIGHT NOW. We understand at least one hunter is currently facing charges for trying to import a bear illegally. The possible penalties are breath-taking. A word to the wise should be sufficient here. - Don Causey, President/Publisher.

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