Bag a Polar Bear for $35,000 -- Hunters in Rising Numbers

[leftchick]

Bag a Polar Bear for $35,000 -- Hunters in Rising Numbers Willing to Shell Out for Exotic Trophy
By Jerome Taylor, Coastal Post
Posted on April 14, 2009, Printed on April 14, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/story/136469/

Boyd Warner treasures the memory of killing his first polar bear. It was 2003. For days he had stalked his prey on the frozen wastelands north of Pond Inlet, one of Canada's most isolated Inuit communities deep inside the Arctic Circle. His dog team picked up the scent of an eight-foot adult male and they hurtled over the ice: the hunt was on.

"It was one of those beautiful Arctic days," recalled Mr. Warner. "We'd had about 14 hours of sunlight and were completely surrounded by nature. The moment of death comes quickly for the bear. You might track one for days through the ice but a single shot to the heart kills it instantly."

For wealthy modern-day trophy hunters, bagging a polar bear is the ultimate kill. Fourteen days in harsh conditions, requiring dog-sleds, Inuit guides and a heated tent camp, does not come cheap: the minimum bill comes to $35,000 (£24,000).

Mr. Warner is the man who helps them do it. Earlier this week, the 45-year-old Canadian, whose company Adventure Northwest is based in Yellowknife, sent this season's first group of hunters north to Pond Inlet, where they will track and kill up to six bears. "This is probably the toughest hunt you can ever do," he said. "The weather conditions are appalling and it takes a huge amount of patience. You're living in the Arctic where it can drop to -50C at night and everything is done with sled dogs. It's incredibly grueling.

"This year we have a lot of Mexicans and Americans but you get hunters from Europe, mainly Norwegians and Poles. They are just genuine, ordinary folk with a lot of cash. They respect the animals enormously."

[hlthe2b]

1. Selfish, selfish, selfish, selfish people

I have nothing but contempt for big game hunters like this--killing endangered animals. All to make them more secure with their all-too-small personal "endowments."

[RedCappedBandit]

2. The respect the animals enormously?

Rofl, okay. Fuck hunting for "sport"

[KittyWampus]

3. Aren't polar bears endangered?

[closeupready]

9. It is listed as a vulnerable species.

Why, in the face of that, anyone would even CONSIDER hunting them is unbelievable. Irresponsible in the EXTREME.

[msongs]

4. cowards with guns. why not hunt the bear using their "bare" hands and teeth n make it equal? nt

[hlthe2b]

5. Some of the rabid gun advocates here will tell you...

that there is no difference between a hunting rifle and an assault rifle. So, apparently, it is ok to use an assault rifle to hunt for sport, a seriously endangered species. :shrug: Sometimes I am so ashamed of my fellow humans.

[doctor jazz]

10. Hunting rifles are typically far more powerful than assault rifles.

I'm fine with hunting some species for food, I do NOT consider killing bears or anything else for 'sport' acceptable.

[hlthe2b]

11. re:

"I'm fine with hunting some species for food, I do NOT consider killing bears or anything else for 'sport' acceptable."

I agree totally.

[NashVegas]

6. Big White Men

“I always voted Republican… Republicans are the party of big white men. I’m a big white man, so I vote Republican. When George W. Bush came along, he made clear he represented the party of big white men. So I voted for him… It has only been through the administration of George W. Bush that I’ve come to realize that big white men are the men most to be feared in this world” – John Eisenhower, author, former U.S. ambassador to Belgium, brigadier general, and son of our 34th President.

[closeupready]

7. Scumbags.

:mad:

[Mari333]

8. scum. nt

[sinkingfeeling]

12. The most disgusting thing is that they call themselves 'hunters'. Why don't they just travel to

Churchill with a damn camera? I have a most gorgeous picture of a polar bear standing in its natural habitat.

[cliffordu]

13. This shit could get me interested in gun control.

Humans killing each other? Not so much.