The Netherlands Announces Support for Proposal to End Global Trade in Polar Bears

Polar bear (Tim Knepp, USFWS)

The Netherlands, an important and influential country in the European Union, has announced its support for the United States’ proposal (also endorsed by the Russian Federation) to end the international commercial trade in polar bear parts.

The Dutch State Secretary of Economic Affairs, Sharon Dijksma, confirmed the Netherlands support via her Twitter feed earlier today:

 

Dutch support of the U.S. proposal adds to the growing list of European Union countries that now back the U.S. position just as the EU begins to coalesce around a common position in advance of March’s meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).  The United Kingdom, Belgium, Austria, Germany, and Poland are among the European countries that support the U.S. position.

With the addition of the Netherlands to this list, there seems to be a growing consensus within Europe that the international commercial trade in polar bear parts and fur must end.

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