WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to help protect endangered polar bears, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee today approved an amendment offered by U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) to prevent American trophy hunters from killing polar bears abroad and bringing their heads and hides back to the United States. Reed's legislation closes a loophole in the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act by prohibiting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) from using federal money to issue permits allowing the importation of polar bear parts taken from international sport hunting.

"Polar bears are rapidly becoming an endangered species. It is illegal to hunt these bears for sport in the United States. Trophy hunters shouldn't be able to skirt the spirit of U.S. law by killing polar bears abroad and bringing their heads back across the border to America," said Senator Reed, a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior and Environment. "This amendment will ensure that the United States shuts down this practice and prevents the killing of these animals for their heads."

Beginning in 1972, polar bears and polar bear parts from trophy or sport hunting were banned from entering the United States under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). During reauthorization of the legislation in 1994, however, a loophole was created to allow the importation of polar bear heads and hides from Canada. Since that time, more than 800 import permits have been issued.

According to press accounts, polar bear hunts can cost trophy hunters as much as $35,000 for a 10-day guided hunt.

Reed's amendment would restore the ban on importing polar bear trophies by establishing a funding limitation on import permits.

"We cannot regulate hunting in other nations, but we can help stop the slaughter of these animals by not allowing polar bear imports into the United States," said Reed. "Restrictions on these imports helped the species return from near-collapse from trophy hunting in the 1950s and 60s. With the increased threat of global warming, it is essential that we take action to protect these animals."

Except for Alaskan natives who are permitted to hunt small numbers of polar bears for subsistence, trophy hunting of polar bears within the United States is banned.

Five nations in the world are home to polar bears, including the United States, Russia, Norway (Svalbard Islands, Denmark (Greenland), and Canada. Of these nations, only Canada and Greenland allow them to be killed for sport. Out of a population of nearly 25,000 polar bears living in the Arctic, nearly 15,000 reside partially or wholly in Canada.

In 2005, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) moved the polar bear up its list of endangered animals from "least concern" to "vulnerable" for the first time citing that polar bear populations could drop 30 percent in the next 35-50 years and that they could disappear from most of their range within 100 years if global warming trends continue.

Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also proposed listing the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Even if the polar bear is listed, it will not necessarily prevent the import of polar bear trophies. Reed's amendment would ensure that these imports are stopped now.

"While I am pleased that the United States is beginning to take steps to recognize the threats that polar bears face, these actions need to be taken sooner rather than later to ensure their survival," concluded Reed. "I will continue to work with my colleagues to make sure that the United States no longer condones the killing of these amazing creatures for sport."