If we have to spend $45 trillion and freeze in the dark to save the expanding polar bear population, why is it still legal to shoot them and sell their hides for cash?

Demand for polar bear hides soars: auction house - North - CBC News

At the company's most recent sale in January, polar bear hides sold for an average of $5,000, Downey said. One sold for a record high of $11,000.
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Hunters in Nunavik, a predominantly Inuit region in northern Quebec, have killed an unusually high number of polar bears this year, and demand has been cited as a reason.

Hunters in Inukjuak, Que., have told CBC News they have killed at least 60 polar bears since January in southern Hudson Bay. On average over the last five years, fewer than four polar bears a year were killed.