Fur Harvesters Auction Inc. sells polar bear hides to buyers who want the skins for rugs or for taxidermy displays. The auction house has reported that demand for the hides has been rapidly increasing within the past five years. They sold 80 hides at an auction last January, and one was sold for the record price of $11,000.

This isn't good news for the bears. Polar bears are currently classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and they quite possibly will soon be classified as endangered. This classification resulted after studies predicted that nearly two-thirds of the world's polar bear population will wiped out by 2050 due to decline in Arctic sea ice. 

The Fur Harvesters Auction Inc. website asserts that "no furbearing species is endangered or threatened by fur trapping," but hunting polars bears for their skins will only accelerate the bear's move towards extinction. It's irresponsible to hunt polar bears for decorative purposes when the bears are already in distress due to global warming.

Sign the petition to ask Fur Harvesters Auction Inc. to stop selling polar bear hides. 

Photo Credit: amerune