Here we go again, Aerial hunting in Alaska

Wolf control programs are ill-advised


By KAREN DEATHERAGE

(Published: December 6, 2004)
Alaska is attempting to minimize public outcry over the massive aerial wolf killing programs under way on tens of thousands of square miles in the state. The vast majority of Alaskans are opposed to aerial and same-day wolf killing, and residents have twice voted to ban it.

The state is misleading residents when it claims it needs to rebuild moose and caribou populations to provide food for Alaskans. The facts show the Alaska Board of Game is unnecessarily trying to inflate moose and caribou populations to historically high numbers, which will ultimately result in the same eruptions and subsequent crashes that occurred in the late '60s and '70s. There are nearly 175,000 moose and more than 1 million caribou in Alaska. No areas exist where moose or caribou are biologically threatened or endangered.

The governor's appointees claim that "managing predators is the most effective and efficient, and often the only, way to restore wildlife populations." A $300,000 study commissioned by the state "Wolves, Bears and Their Prey in Alaska" by the National Academy of Sciences, disagrees. It found that many of the biological relationships assumed in Alaska's predator control programs are not well understood and stated that insufficient information exists to conclude that such programs increase prey populations.

These programs are purported to be for local subsistence users, yet the Department of Fish and Game's own data show that nonlocal and nonresident sport hunters take as much as 75 percent of the moose harvest in Unit 13 (Glennallen), 68 percent in Unit 16B (Cook Inlet), 54 percent in Unit 12/20E (Tok) and 85 percent in Unit 19B (central Kuskokwim).

Unknown to many Alaskans is that wolf control without the use of aircraft has been occurring in Interior Alaska for nearly a decade. Liberalized seasons, bag limits and other methods are being applied in at least five areas, including near Fairbanks, where moose calves and cows are killed because predator control has resulted in unnatural explosions of moose populations in that area. Biologists fear this overpopulation would cause extensive habitat damage. In some of these areas, hunters can kill up to 10 wolves per day beginning in early August, when pelts have no value. Chasing wolves with snowmachines and then shooting them point-blank is also permitted to radically decrease the number of wolves.

The Board of Game is now targeting brown bears in its control efforts. Next spring, hunters will be able to bait and kill 60 percent of the brown bears in one area. The state is even considering offering a financial incentive (bounty) for the killing of brown bears under this program.

All of the current wolf and bear killing programs are being conducted using extremely controversial methods. Alaskans voted to ban aerial or same-day airborne wolf killing by private hunters in two statewide referendums. Aerial and same-day airborne wolf killing is unsportsmanlike and leads to abuses, as we may have just seen with the two men recently charged with killing wolves using aircraft outside the control area.

Before the Murkowski administration, Fish and Game was opposed to private hunters engaging in state-sponsored predator control. More recently, Fish and Game biologists have advised against aerial wolf killing in one area and provided no recommendation for two others. The concerns of these biologists and Alaska voters have been ignored by Gov. Murkowski and his Board of Game.

The state suggests that these programs are working, despite the fact that they (1) go against the wishes of Alaskans (2) completely ignore sound science and (3) are primarily for the benefit of sport hunters. With that in mind, exactly what is it about these programs that is working?

Karen Deatherage is the Alaska program associate for Defenders of Wildlife. For more information about Alaska's aerial control programs, visit savealaskawolves.org.

Defenders estimates that approximately 2,500 wolves will be legally killed next year through the use of aircraft, snowmachines, snares and leghold traps. This represents nearly a third of Alaska's estimated wolf population.

wow.that makes me sad :( I love wolves :wub: ..hmm..what do you think about all this silverwolf76?

This first line of caught me here. Now I am still kind of confused about this but, is it saying that they have Wolf Killing Programs? :blink: :blink:

Yes Alaska is currently killing wolves as a means to boost moose populations. Moose population figures are in my previous post so I am not going go get in to that here. What really pisses me off is the means by which they are killing the wolves and the real reasons behind it. Alaska is allowing aerial hunting, which is shooting the wolves from aircraft, and land and shoot, which is where they will chase the wolf with the aircraft untill the wolf drops from exaustion, land the plane and shoot the wolf. 900 wolves are going to be killed in this manner over the course of the next few months.

So why not just put the Moose's in a national preserve or something. Or why not just trankalize(sp) the wolves and off them to a preserve. There are so many different ways that they could avoid killing wolves.

Its all about money. 80% of the people applying for the permits to hunt wolve are out of state hunters. With more moose more people will go to Alaska to hunt and more money will be made from the sale of permits

alaskawolfkill.com This pretty much sums it all up.

.kerwoodwolf.com/SLAUGHTERSLIDESHOW. (warnig graphic pictures) Fore life to end like this is just wrong!

ChronoT009 wrote:

Chrono, you're 17 years old already. How can you be so naive?

Although I am afraid you will ignore my advice, but I'll give it anyway. Read Farley Mowat's 'Never Cry Wolf'. In addition to its literary value, that book uncovers the **real** reasons behind most such 'wolf population control' programs (some of which Silverwolf summed up in his last post).

Thanks Old Wolf I'll be sure to check that book out sometime.^_^

Chrono, you're 17 years old already. How can you be so naive?

Well I was just thinking about many different ideas. <_<

Well I still haven't seen the slide show yet, <_< but I hope that it gets up soon.

This post has been edited by ChronoT009 on Dec 12 2004, 07:49 PM

Thats evil. But why do they have to kill them!?! Can't they import them into other states and release them there? Can't they!?! ARGH!!! *tear*

:lol: I can see it now, Wolves in California....wait....do they already have wolves in Cal.? :blink:

Unfortunately there are no wolves in California yet. There will be some as wolves disperse from Idaho through Oregon. The only wolf habitat tha California has is in the exterme northern part of the state and it will support a projected population of about 400 wolves.

Well that is nice that there is a few wolves up there.^_^

By the way, I forgot to mention an interesting fact: Farley Mowat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farley_Mowat), the author of "Never Cry Wolf" (see my previous post^), is one of very few Canadian citizens ever banned from entering the U.S. I will leave it for those of you who care to find out why.

I signed the petition. :)

They are killing wolves to keep a "steady" moose and carobu population in Alaska right?Well if we went by their logic we would have to kill about a third of the human population to keep fish,cow,and many other speices used as food from dying out. <_<

What is up with all these maniacs killing wolves lately?! It's crazy! Who gives a crap about moose(well i sorta do, but wolves deserve better!)



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