A House Natural Resources subcommittee this week will dive into an assortment of legislation from how to control invasive species to the import of polar bears hunted in Canada nearly two decades ago.
The Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will meet Thursday to discuss four bills. The docket includes Alaska Republican Rep. Nick Begich’s H.R. 6251, which would amend federal law to allow the import of polar bear trophies hunted in Canada before 2008.
Alaska lawmakers have pushed for years to grant hunters who legally killed polar bears from designated populations in Canada prior to May 2008 the ability to bring those trophies into the United States.
Because polar bears are protected by Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, however, imports of the animal are limited to scientific research or enhancement of the species’ survival. The animals are also listed under the Endangered Species Act, which does not affect those imports.
