Bill allows import of old polar bear hunt trophies from Canada
H.R. 6251 — To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to allow importation of polar bear trophies taken in sport hunts in Canada before the date the polar bear was determined to be a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. · Filed by Nicholas Begich (R-AK) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Nov 21, 2025 · Reported out
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
The bill changes the Marine Mammal Protection Act. It lets Americans bring polar bear trophies into the country. The trophies must come from Canada hunts before February 18, 1997, or before May 15, 2008. The bill tells the Interior Secretary to give import permits for these trophies. Normal checks that protect endangered species are removed.
Who it affects
Trophy hunters who killed polar bears in Canada can now import their trophies. The bill weakens rules that protect polar bears. Wildlife protections become less strict.
One thing to notice
The bill removes the requirement that imports cannot harm threatened species survival. It also removes the Interior Secretary's power to decide each case.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans.
- Nov 21, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Nov 21, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
- Apr 16, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
- Jul 15, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Jul 15, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Voice Vote”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- Marine Mammal Protection Act — A law that protects ocean animals like polar bears from harm
- threatened species — An animal at risk of dying out in the wild
- import permits — Official papers that allow goods to come into a country
- Interior Secretary — The government official in charge of wildlife and public lands
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,175 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,206 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-17.
“Bill allows import of old polar bear hunt trophies from Canada” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr6251/simple Report an error