Trophy hunting can never be justified.  Yet, numerous people believe they have the right to kill wildlife just because they need to satisfy their blood lust and to entertain themselves.

According to experts, this shocking animal tourism craze for the wealthy is on the rise.   It has been reported that over 5,000 polar bears have been killed for sport in the Canadian part of the Arctic Circle in the last several years.

Polar bears are classified as “vulnerable” by the IUCN, and the World Wildlife Fund claims that there are only between 20,000 and 25,000 polar bears left in the wild.

In 2008, the US government declared these animals an endangered species and prohibited US hunters from bringing their trophies back to the US from Canada.

The only country that has banned all hunting so far is Norway, while Russia, Greenland, and Alaska, in America, allow only native communities to hunt bears for food.

Yet, trophy hunters consider the hunting of polar bears “the most memorable”.

Several hunting companies have gone so far, that they used photos of trophy hunters standing alongside slain polar bears to advertise expeditions to the Arctic.

One hunt organizer, Worldwide Trophy Adventures from Nebraska, even offers hunters a second 10-day hunt during prime hunting season “in the event that a polar bear is not taken during the scheduled 10-day hunt”.

On its website, the company explains that the package provides the services of an “experienced Inuit polar bear guide with a dog team throughout the duration of the hunt” and “field preparation of the trophy”. The hunt is complete when a “polar bear is harvested”.

Another one, Ameri-Cana Expeditions, promises “high success rates and good trophy quality”.

According to their website, they’ve been offering polar bear hunts for over 30 years, adding that “hunting is still an important part of the lifestyle of the mostly Inuit population.

Quota systems allow the villagers to supply many of their needs from populations of seals, walruses, narwhal and beluga whales, polar bears and musk oxen.”

This company also offers the services of a taxidermist, explaining that “Your Polar Bear hide, skull, and baculum bone will be shipped frozen from Grise Fiord to a recommended Canadian Taxidermist to be fleshed and cleaned properly. Once properly prepared, your hide can be stored for many years.”

Any American who’ll kill a polar bear during a 12-day expedition will have to pay $1043.83 ($1,375.50 Canadian), apart from the “humble” price of the hunt -- just over $44,000.

Moreover, the horrible menu on the company’s website also offers its customers to ‘harvest’ lions, tigers, ­leopards, elephants, and many other majestic creatures!

How sick is that?

Eduardo Gonçalves, of The Mirror’s Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, states:

“It is well known polar bears are in serious danger of becoming extinct because of climate change. If we want to see them survive, we need to stop the senseless slaughter. How can anyone justify having a polar bear body in their home as a trophy or for so-called ‘personal use’?

As well as dwindling food resources because of shrinking sea ice, polar bears face threats from oil and gas drilling, toxic waste pollution, new diseases as a result of global warming, and busier shipping lanes. The last thing they need is for trophy hunters to go around shooting them for fun just so they can pose for a selfie and have a bear’s head over their fireplace.”

He adds:

“If we want to see them survive, we need to stop the senseless slaughter. The ­Government should ban imports of all hunting trophies right away.”

Sources:
www.goanimals.co
www.dailymail.co.uk
www.unilad.co.uk