Polar Bear News

February 27 was dubbed International Polar Bear Day. And a big day it was with polar bears all over the news. Mostly in conjunction with global warming and the melting of the sea ice, which is displacing them from their homes.

Monica Medina is a former environmental lawyer and a founder of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The organization has offices in 15 countries and works to protect and preserve various species of the world.

“Polar bears are one of the latest of the many species IFAW works to protect. Recent campaigns included work to end commercial whale hunting and curbing the illegal sale of animal products like ivory and tiger skins.”

Medina is IFAW’s Deputy Director for the U.S. office and has plenty to say about the plight of the polar bear, one of the latest species the IFAW is working to protect. They’ve found one of the loopholes in the current US law is that although it is illegal to hunt a polar bear in the US, you can go to Canada, get a permit, hunt a polar bear, and bring it home and mount it on your mantle. The IFAW is starting a campaign to close that loophole.

When asked about the Bush administration looking into making polar bears a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, Medina said, ” Listing is only the beginning. Then you have to do the real hard work of putting in place conservation measures that will make it possible for a species to come back. You look at the bald eagle and the gray wolf and it’s clear that if there’s a political will and a good administration of the law, it can work.”

When asked what she thought is the biggest threat animals face today, her answer was very clear, “The biggest threat is probably us. Without animals, we impact the balance of our ecosystem and our world. Little things like conserving energy can help those polar bears. And if we can connect those two for people, that’s a huge step forward.”