2 poids 2 mesures

Alors que les esprits se calment un peu après l'incident d'il y a 10 jours qui s'est terminé avec un guide blessé à la tête et un ours tué, on n'a toujours aucune info qui filtre du côté du Gouverneur

photo Sysselmann via Svabardposten

mais je partage ci-dessous un commentaire de Morten Jørgensen qui a écrit un livre très instructif et assez déprimant intitulé "Polar bears on the edge : heading for extinction while management fails"

ça remet un peu les choses en place par rapport aux idées qu'on se fait en général sur la protection des ours polaires que beaucoup de gens croient être un exemple de succès de coopération internationale... just bullshit!

Je copie-colle puisqu'il est le premier à le souhaiter

"Dear friends.

Many of you have written and asked about or commented on the latest killing of a polar bear in Svalbard. Thank you for your concerns. I am currently in Svalbard, working, and only have internet access briefly today. I am therefore due to time constraints sending this collective note that I have put together, in part by scissoring from good colleagues and friends – the contents rhyme with my knowledge and beliefs, they are brief but cover a first response.

The polar bear incident in Svalbard last week was tragic – for the bear (which was killed) and for one guide (who was injured). Having said that, the following should be noted before things are blown out of proportion:

• Since 1973, a total of 130 bears have been shot in Svalbard in so-called self-defence actions (such bears are called “problem bears”, a term that in itself is problematic – but let me stick with it in this comment).
• Of those 130 problem bears, 15 were killed in relation to tourism – the rest were killed by scientists, researchers, other field parties, locals, or the authorities.
• Of the 15 killed in relation to tourism, 3 were killed in relation to organized ship-based cruise tourism. The last one, until last week, was in 2006.

Just for the sake of perspective, consider these facts alongside the above facts:

• In Nunavut, Canada, 515 problem bears were shot in so-called self-defence actions in just 10 years (2007-16). That is almost one bear every week! In 2012-13, in one settlement alone, 16 problem bears were shot. 
• Globally, almost 1.000 polar bears are shot EVERY SINGLE YEAR. The majority of that is legalized hunting, and even supported by the biggest and most prestigious so-called conservationist NGOs (such as WWF, Greenpeace and Polar Bears International).
• In the last decade, almost 10.000 polar bears have been shot. In the same time frame, just over 6.000 rhinos have been shot. Both animals have similar population sizes and recruitment rates. The rhino poaching is rightly causing a regular outrage – where is the discussion of the on-going polar bear slaughter???

Now, don’t get me wrong: The above mentioned 3 bears shot in Svalbard in relation to organized Arctic ship-based cruise tourism are of course 3 too many. Those deaths could probably have been avoided, if the authorities in Norway and also the tour operators would modernize their approaches to polar bear safety. 

• If, instead of basing legislation on fear of bears and the use of guns as deterrents, the Norwegian authorities would base their approach on respect for bears and the use of non-lethal deterrents, deaths of both bears and humans could be avoided. The Norwegian authorities are thus in part responsible also for this last incident and the wounded person and the dead bear.
• Additionally, the Arctic ship-based cruise tourism industry also needs to wake up. Most companies in the industry to not have appropriate and adequate guide training when it comes to polar bear safety management. On top of that, the industry’s growth is rapid and fast in these years, and the greed involved leads to even more under-qualified and inexperienced guides being sent into the field. 

Please feel free to share this text widely.

In haste

Morten"

C'est du gâchis qu'un ours ait été tué dans le cadre d'une activité touristique mais quid des quelques 800 ours tués chaque année légalement, principalement au Canada et Groenland, sans que personne ne s'offusque ??? + environ 200 illégalement en Russie, pays qui avait été le 1er à protéger totalement les ours polaires