Trophy
Hunting in Canada:
The northern territory
of Nunavut sells trophy hunting licenses to sports hunters. These
licenses are usually sold to older wealthy Americans. These sports
hunters pride themselves in killing rare and exotic species. The
fact that polar bear numbers are low adds to the thrill. It has
become prestigious and 'distinguished' to be able to rave about
killing a polar bear. To take home a trophy of a beautiful and
graceful animal somehow proves their 'manhood'.
Hunters are willing to
pay outrageous fees for this privilege. First off the hunters
have to pay transportation fees. They also have to pay for a guided
tour along with equipment to brave the northern climate. It is not
uncommon for a hunter to pay up to $50 000usd.
But let's not forget the
most important fee. The government is willing to earn the following
fees from polar bears:
$50.00cdn for a
non resident hunting license.
$750.00cdn for a polar
bear trophy.
6% GST on top of the
above fees.
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Grand Total of:
$848.00
For $848 cdn Canada is
willing to sell the life of a threatened polar bear. 700 kills
a year earns the government a whopping $593 600CDN. At the
time of this writing that's approximately $525 000usd or $412 000
Euros.
It seems ridiculous that
one of the wealthiest nations in the world would sell trophy hunting
licenses for such a pitiful sum. It cant even be argued that
the money creates local employment. One of the larger companies that
offers this service is based out of Alaska and is called Alaska
Hunting Safaris. They pride themselves in killing vulnerable
species.
There is no justifiable
reason for polar bear hunting. Most often governments have the
following arguments when it comes to hunting:
1. Culling of the
species to prevent overpopulation.
2. Creates
employment.
3. Creates Income.
The only argument is
that this hunt creates income. From the small fees that are
generated from selling licenses it is obvious that this income is
insignificant. Canada is risking the demise of one of the most
wonderful species in the world to earn a little bit over half a
million a year.
There is no doubt that
charitable organizations would be willing to hand over twice that
sum on an annual basis to prevent the hunt. Of course it would be
too easy for the Canadian government to listen to this common sense
argument.
In the meantime we
should do everything that we can do to terminate this practice.
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