Iqaluit (May 15/06) - Inuit leaders and organizations are lashing out at decisions by two conservation groups to classify the walrus and polar bear as species at risk.

Two weeks ago, the World Conservation Union listed the polar bear as a "vulnerable" species and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) said the Atlantic walrus is a species of special concern.

"We were blindsided by the announcement," Jose Kusugak, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said of the union's move.

He's concerned the decision to list the polar bear as vulnerable is more about getting attention on climate change than the polar bear's condition.

"It seems that out of the blue they're doing it by forecasting or fortune telling."

Despite several calls, no one from the union was available to comment Friday.

Kusugak said Inuit are worried that climate change will disrupt traditional land use, but said labeling the polar bear as vulnerable would not do anything about the greenhouse gas emissions that are the root of climate change.

"It's like acupuncture," he said. "The pain is in the Arctic, but where you put the needle is the United States and southern Canada where the (pollution) is."

Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated also opposes the polar bear's designation. In a news release, the organization said the Nunavut population of the animal is the world's most tightly managed.

Also last week, Rankin Inlet North MLA Tagak Curley blasted COSEWIC for listing the Atlantic walrus as a species of special concern. Citing declining stocks, a study released by the committee calls for the Inuit walrus hunt to be more tightly managed.

The move is a recommendation to the federal environment minister and has no legal impact unless the minister decides to follow COSEWIC's advice.

The committee says it incorporates aboriginal traditional knowledge into its research, but Curley said he has "no confidence that it did so in this case."

"It is simply irresponsible to suggest that the harvesting activities of Canadian Inuit are to blame for any decline that may have occurred," he said in a news release.

Curley wasn't available for an interview.

Jeff Hutchings, COSEWIC chair and a professor of fish biology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said listing the polar bear as a species of special concern could be good news for Inuit hunters in the long run.

"Should the government accept this assessment, the only thing that's required of the government is to come up with a management plan," Hutchings said in a telephone interview. "It doesn't mean the end of hunting."