In an effort to protect its dwindling polar bear populations, Russia is planning to partially lift its five-decade ban on hunting the bears in the northern Arctic, the New York Times reported recently.
Full article for the Worldwatch Institute can be found here.
Forced southward in search of food as the region’s sea ice diminishes, polar bears are increasingly venturing into inhabited coastal areas, putting themselves at greater risk for poaching.
The hunting ban was adopted by the Soviet Union in 1956 in response to a sharp decline in local polar bear populations. Since then, the shrinking habitat of the bears has increased the distances the animals must travel to find food, leading to more frequent incidences of human-bear conflict. "The normal life space for the polar bears is shrinking," explained Anatoly A. Kochnev, a biologist with the Pacific Scientific Research and Fisheries Center in the Chukotka region. "They come in search of food on the shore, and the main sources of food are where people live."
The move to partially lift the ban is considered a way to address increased animal displacement due to habitat loss as well as to combat illegal poaching, both issues critical to the bears’ conservation. In a region notorious for active bear hunting, Russian officials estimate that as many as 100 polar bears are killed illegally every year. By lifting the ban in the short term, they hope this will lessen the incentives villagers have to hunt the bears illegally for their pelts and meat, which can fetch high prices in markets.
Legalize polar bear hunting in Russia comes amid growing global discussion about the fate of these charismatic creatures. As Arctic temperatures rise, melting the sea ice that is the natural feeding ground for the bears, scientists say the species could become extinct in the wild by mid-century. Yet both distinguished polar bear scientists in Russia and international conservation bodies such as the World Wildlife Fund support reinstating the limited hunting law.
Is this realistic? After this, what are the chances that polar bear populations in Russia will come back to healthy levels in the wild?