IFAW Statement Regarding The Delayed Decision For Polar Bear Inclusion In The Endangered Species Act

“Representing over 2 million animal welfare advocates around the world, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (www.ifaw.org) hopes that the Bush Administration’s choice to postpone listing of polar bears under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), will still result in meaningful protections when the decision is announced later this month.
 
The plight of polar bears is unprecedented and very real, and IFAW continues to call upon the U.S. government to address all threats to polar bears – including taking meaningful actions to combat global warming, and closing the sport hunting loophole in the Marine Mammal Protection Act that currently allows Americans to import polar bear trophies from Canada.
 
The global community must take responsibility for the future of polar bears and make every effort to protect this emblematic creature.  There is no time for procrastination or for empty policy solutions.  What this Administration decides in the next month will set us in a direction to help save the polar bear, or watch it slide into extinction.”