Posted on February, 19 2025

WWF does not lobby for or work to support or promote the polar bear fur trade, and we have been actively seeking amendments to inaccuracies in a recent piece published in The Guardian.

Hunting is a complex issue, often linked to the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and as such we don’t oppose it in all cases. This is not the same as supporting, lobbying, facilitating or promoting the trade in polar bear furs.

We oppose all unsustainable hunting and illegal hunting, including in the Arctic. By far the biggest threats to polar bears are habitat loss and climate change, and we continue to work on conservation and campaigning on these vital issues.

For media enquiries, please contact us at news@wwfint.org 

Further information 

1. Is it true that WWF is working to support the polar bear fur trade?

Absolutely not. WWF’s position – which is founded in science and respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights – has been sadly miscategorised by a recent article in The Guardian. We have sought amendments to these inaccuracies.

2. How is donor funding being used for polar bear conservation?

WWF funding is directed toward scientific monitoring of polar bear subpopulations, developing non-intrusive tracking methods such as eDNA, supporting research on the impacts of climate change on polar bears, and advocating for the protection of vital polar bear habitats. This work is essential to ensuring the long-term survival of the species.

3. How does WWF work with Indigenous communities on polar bear conservation?

Our work in partnership with remote Arctic communities is dependent on a deep respect and trust for traditional cultural practices that have been carried out sustainably for many generations. 

WWF respects the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including the right to manage and use animals that traditionally are a part of their cultures, within the relevant legal frameworks and scientific advice. 

As Arctic sea ice diminishes, polar bears increasingly venture into Arctic communities, leading to more frequent and dangerous encounters between bears and people. These can result in polar bears damaging property, attacking people, causing injuries or fatalities, and being killed in defense of life and property. 

WWF collaborates with communities in a range of ways including bear patrols and  educating residents on coexistence strategies. 

WWF also supports projects led by Indigenous communities on monitoring of Arctic species populations, including monitoring denning habitats of polar bears in the Canadian Arctic, which rely upon communities’ traditional knowledge of their landscapes. 

4. Can you explain WWF’s perspective further? 

WWF’s perspective is grounded in the latest available science and data – which tells us that the most dominant threats facing polar bears as a species are, by far, climate change and habitat loss. 

The Arctic has warmed nearly four times faster than the global average, causing the ice that polar bears depend on to melt away. Loss of sea ice also threatens bears’ main prey, seals, which need the ice to raise their young. The most important factors to improve the long-term survival of polar bears are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving polar bear habitats. This is where we focus our efforts, on the most pressing and dominant threats to the species.

WWF recognises that, in some limited areas, hunting of polar bears can be a vital source of income for Arctic communities, as long as this is sustainable, in line with international regulations by the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), or regulated by national governments. 

However, polar bears are not hunted by Indigenous Peoples primarily for economic reasons, but for cultural and nutritional reasons including food and clothing, and therefore developing alternative income options does not replace this community need. Whilst we recognise this is a sensitive issue, as a science-based organisation we are led by the evidence, and a respect for the rights of Indigenous communities about how to manage and use animals that traditionally are a part of their cultures, for the long term conservation of this magnificent species. 

5. How does WWF approach CITES in respect to polar bear conservation? 

CITES is the governing body for international commercial trade of endangered species. CITES works by subjecting international trade in specimens of selected species to certain controls. The species covered by CITES are listed in three Appendices, according to the degree of protection they need.

Appendix I, is seen as a last resort for species which are in high demand in trade, or species that have undergone catastrophic declines. Appendix II (which polar bears are listed under) aims to ensure countries that are trading the species are monitoring the trade and the species populations, to ensure it is sustainable. WWF agrees with this Appendix II listing, based on the latest available science and data. 

Uplisting polar bears to CITES Appendix I would not prevent hunting of polar bears in Canada which, as we explain above, is not currently a conservation threat to polar bears, and would infringe upon the rights of Indigenous Peoples. WWF’s perspective is aligned with that of experts in the CITES Secretariat and conservation organisations including the IUCN and TRAFFIC. It is also publicly available here.

WWF’s conservation work is grounded in science which ensures our ability to advocate for the most effective solutions to the planet's most pressing and complex threats.