Polar Bear Sports Hunting: Canada’s Flawed Interpretation of the International Polar Bear Agreement

Abstract In 1973 the five polar bear range states (Canada, Norway, Denmark, the United States, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) entered into the International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and Their Habitat (“the Agreement”). The Agreement’s intention was to protect polar bears through conservation and management measures including, inter alia, prohibiting the taking of the carnivore. The implementation and enforcement of the Agreement was left to each individual country, resulting in differing management practices and legal frameworks among the signatory states. This is particularly stark in the context of sports hunting, with all nations except Canada outlawing the practice. Canada, striking out on its own, chose to interpret the provisions of Article III of the Agreement in such a way as to allow their provinces and territories to enact legislation to regulate the sports hunting of polar bears. This article argues that sports hunting is not a traditional right of Canada’s indigenous peoples and, therefore, Canada’s interpretation of the Agreement is critically flawed.