Hi I'm from Queensland Australia and just read in the Brisbane Sunday paper, "The Sunday Mail" see http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/, a twisted article condemning Polar Bear hunting called "This Barbarity is called sport" on page 24 by Jane Fryer. Upon doing a little surfing on the net I found a similar article punblised by the Sun newspaper in the UK, see http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005590173,00.html. Once again the cheapest form of journalism is to pick up an article from someone else that is likely to create a sensation and appeal to simplicity of the masses.

On searching the web a bit on Polar Bears it appears that toxic poisoning (from Europe and the US) and global warming causing the ice caps to melt are a far greater concern to the scientists who really know than this "barbarity" called trophy hunting that probably singled handedly contributes more to polar bear conservation and management than anything else.

I would be interested in hearing from any of those really informed people (hunters/guides/outfitters) in Canada (or anywhere else where polar bears are legally hunted) on the real facts of polar bear numbers, hunting and conservation/management.

Cheers & God bless,
Magnum

We used to use articles like that in our outhouses,it is all they are worth.

Polar bear numbers are considered to be stable if not increasing. The last estimate I had heard was about 25,000 worldwide, of which 60-65% is in Canada. Sporthunting or native harvest, as they are currently being regulated, are not a threat to overall popualtion stability at all. However, your reference to ice-melting is very relevant. Dr. Ian Stirling of the Canadian Wildlife Service has been studying Polar Bears for many years now and notes that pack ice on Hudson's Bay is melting more quickly than it usually does, limiting the time in which Polar Bears can effectively hunt seals. This results in lower body fat mass, which in turn affects reproductive success and overall survival. Pollution is also a factor.