Species Use Database

Species Use Database

polar bear
Ursus maritimus

Used for Food and feed, Collection/display, Ceremony, religious, and ritual expression and Decorative and aesthetic in North America and Arctic Sea

A. Species

Scientific name: Ursus maritimus

Common name(s): polar bear

Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Vulnerable

B. Location of use

Geographic location(s):

  • North America
  • Arctic Sea

Country/Region:

C. Scale of assessment

Scale of assessment: National Level

Name/Details of location: Canada

D. Timescale of use

Start Year: 2012

End Year: 2021

E. Information about the use

How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Type of use: Extractive

Practice of use: Hunting and/or Trapping of live terrestrial and aerial animals

Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal

Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism

Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed, Collection/display, Ceremony, religious, and ritual expression and Decorative and aesthetic

Motivation of use: Basic subsistence, Income generation from trade (individual/household/community), Recreational and Traditional/Cultural/Spiritual

Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law

F. Information about the Users

Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people, Non-local Internal, Non-local External and National / local government

G. Information about the sustainability of use

Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: CITES Non detriment findings; IUCN assessment; anecdotal evidence; indigenous knowledge; ongoing assessment by provinces, territories and federal government via the Polar Bear Technical Committee and Polar Bear Management Committee; COSEWIC.

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Most of the polar bears killed annually in Canada are not exported and considering the severe decline in Canadian exports in the past decade, and very low numbers of polar bears exported as hides and skulls in recent years, it seems apparent that trade does not currently constitute a significant threat to the conservation of polar bears.

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species

No

Record source

Information about the record source: grey_lit, formal_data_stats and expert_knowledge

Date of publication/issue/production: 2022-01-01T00:00:00+0000

Source Reference(s):

Cooper, E.W.T. (2022). Review and Analysis of Canadian Trade in Polar Bears from 2012–2021. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 98 pp. Published on the website of the Polar Bear Range States: https://polarbearagreement.org/highlighted-publications/122-review-and-analysis-of-canadian-trade-in-polar-bears-from-2012-2021

Date of record entry: 2024-04-26