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© WWF / Clive Tesar

Thanks to our brilliant WWF-UK supporters, we’re working to ensure the long-term survival of this magnificent species. Together, we:

  • Fund scientific monitoring of polar bears in Svalbard in Norway
  • Are developing non-intrusive tracking methods and support research on the impacts of climate change on polar bears
  • Advocate for the protection of their habitats
  • Support projects led by Indigenous communities, monitoring Arctic species populations, including monitoring polar bear denning habitats in the Canadian Arctic
Our Arctic Programme
© Andy Rousenna

Polar Bear Fur Trade and Hunting

Images of polar bears being used as rugs and other kinds of trophies is incredibly distressing.

WWF does not work to support, promote or facilitate the fur trade, and we are strongly opposed to any hunting that puts the survival of a species at risk.

Instead, we advocate for strict limits and regulations on any trade, under international agreements. But a total ban would undermine those agreements and infringe the rights of Arctic peoples, without improving the conservation of polar bears.

This will be uncomfortable for many of us to think about, but currently, the trade does not threaten the conservation of polar bears. The most recent analysis of the trade in polar bear furs found that it had fallen to a very low level.

That is why WWF, along with scientists from IUCN, TRAFFIC and CITES, supported the listing of polar bears under CITES Appendix II, which tightly regulates the trade of polar bear products but does not ban it entirely.

© Copr. 2018 Richard Barrett

Balancing the needs of people and nature

We acknowledge that hunting is a complex issue. As upsetting as many of us might find it, it is often linked to the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities who have hunted polar bears sustainably for food, clothing and other uses since before our recorded history. In some countries, such as Canada, they have legal rights to do so.

Our mission is to protect and restore nature and tackle the issues that pose the biggest threats to wildlife, like climate change and habitat loss.

All our work is based on what the science and evidence tell us is needed. This sometimes requires a careful balancing of the needs of people and of nature.

Q&A

Does WWF support the polar bear fur trade?

WWF does not work to support, promote or facilitate the fur trade. In fact, we support very strict limits and regulations on the trade in polar bear products under current international agreements. 

The most recent analysis of the trade in polar bear furs found that it had fallen to a very low level and, distressing as the trade is for many of us, it is not a threat to the conservation of polar bears. 

Supporting a complete trade ban, when experts say the agreed criteria are not met, would undermine existing international agreements. These agreements are helping to prevent damaging trade in many species. A complete trade ban would also infringe the rights of the Indigenous peoples of the Arctic - without delivering any conservation benefit to polar bears.

Does WWF support a ban on polar bear hunting?

We have no role in regulating or setting the rules and regulations around hunting of species – that is the responsibility of relevant national, regional or local bodies.

We are always concerned about the sustainability of any hunting of wild species and we do not support the hunting of an animal solely as a trophy. 

In some limited circumstances, for example where Indigenous Arctic peoples live in areas of the US, Canada and Greenland, hunting is permitted, if tightly regulated and it does not pose a risk to species survival.

Respect for traditional cultural practices that have been carried out sustainably for many generations is important to ensure both people and nature can thrive.

Is hunting affecting species survival?

We know unsustainable and illegal hunting are driving some species to the brink of extinction and we fight to protect them and their habitats. So as well as focusing our efforts on fighting the biggest threats to species – climate change and habitat loss - we continue to examine and monitor whether hunting is sustainable. 

We keep our position under review, informed by the latest available science. If the science changes, we would adjust our position accordingly.

How is hunting and trade in wild species governed?

The global convention that governs the international trade of species and their protection is called CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). It is an international agreement between governments, set up so the international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.

We will continue to examine and monitor whether any hunting is sustainable, and to advocate and promote sustainability where it is not. We do this by constructively working with local governments, management bodies and Indigenous peoples.