US Proposal to Ban Polar Bear Trade Rejected at Climate Conference

Canada the only country with a thriving polar bear trade; Inuits and conservationists opposed the ban

A proposal by the US to ban cross-border trade in polar bears and their parts was defeated on Thursday at an international meeting.

The result marks a victory for Canada's indigenous Inuit people over their bigger neighbour to the south.

Delegates at the Cites meeting in Thailand rejected the proposal to change the bear's status from a species whose trade is regulated, not banned.