Norwegian polar bear hides sold as local despite Canadian origin, investigation reveals

A Norwegian retailer has admitted relabelling Canadian polar bear hides as “Norwegian” to appeal to Chinese tourists, according to an investigation by public broadcaster NRK. The practice exploits a legal loophole allowing the import and sale of foreign hides despite Norway’s decades-old ban on polar bear hunting.

Norway prohibited polar bear hunting in 1973, but the trade in imported hides remains legal. Canada, the only country permitting the export of fresh polar bear pelts, supplies the majority of hides sold in Norway. However, a 2022 inspection by Norwegian environmental authorities found 23 of 37 pelts in a Bergen souvenir shop lacked required Canadian origin labels.

Retailer Kjetil Sørensen told NRK he removed origin markings to market the hides as Norwegian to Chinese buyers. “I didn’t want them to see that the pelts came from Canada,” he said. The practice is not illegal under current regulations, though critics argue it misleads consumers.

Norwegian authorities lack tools to verify pelt origins after border clearance, as individual hides carry no traceable codes. Polar bear researcher Dag Vongraven called for a halt to imports until stricter oversight is implemented. “There’s no guarantee these bears were hunted sustainably,” he said, noting reliance on Canadian self-reporting for legality and sustainability claims.

Sørensen, who stopped importing new pelts after the 2022 inspection, defended his remaining stock as a future “pension fund.” “When imports are banned completely, my inventory’s value will double,” he told NRK. A secret recording obtained by the broadcaster also captured a shop employee claiming some pelts came from illegally hunted bears—a statement Sørensen dismissed as a misunderstanding.

Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, under Norwegian administration, hosts its own polar bear population, but hunting there has been banned since 1973. Canada remains the primary global exporter of polar bear hides, with China and Norway as leading importers.