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For Immediate Release
Alaska Set To Resume Aerial Wolf Killing
Aircraft "Land and Shoot" to Begin Again Despite Voter Bans
ANCHORAGE , AK -- The Alaska Board of Game is poised to resume the barbaric practice of aerial killing of wolves, despite the fact that Alaskans twice banned the practice in statewide votes. Last summer, Governor Frank Murkowski overturned the most recent voter-enacted ban, allowing the Board of Game to issue permits to hunters for aerial killing, where the animals are chased by airplanes until exhausted and then gunned down, either from the air or on the ground.
"This is a cruel and unethical practice that has no place in modern society," said Karen Deatherage, Alaska Program Associate for Defenders of Wildlife. "Imagine a wolf running through the deep snow, chased by an airplane, terrified, exhausted and unable to stand as the plane lands and the animal is gunned down."
The number of wolves killed legally in Alaska through trapping and hunting has increased dramatically with more than 3,600 wolves killed in the past two years. Through extended hunting seasons and liberalized bag limits, the Alaska Board of Game has been allowing wolf killers to take more and more wolves in an effort to provide more moose and caribou for hunting.
"Do we really want to turn the only place left in America where wild animals exist as they did thousands of years ago into one big moose and caribou feedlot for sport hunters?" said Deatherage.
The citizens of Alaska have twice voted in statewide measures (1996 and 2000) to ban the aerial killing of wolves. Nonetheless, Governor Murkowski signed a bill overturning the most recent ban. The Alaska Board of Game is meeting this weekend to discuss proposals for implementing increasing aerial killing, including the use of multiple planes to corral whole packs of wolves. The Board of Game will also be refining the permitting process at this weekend's meeting, which will allow hunters to kill hundreds of wolves.
"This action will once again plunge the state into controversial airborne wolf killing that could lead to tourist boycotts that are sure to damage Alaska's fragile economy. No matter how the state tries to minimize it, Alaska will be an aerial shooting gallery in the eyes of the nation," said Deatherage.
For more information on Alaska's plan to resume aerial killing of wolves, please go to Alaska Wolves.
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Defenders of Wildlife is a leading nonprofit conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 430,000 members and supporters, 90,000 in California alone, Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues. To stay current on hot topics in wildlife conservation, subscribe to DENlines, Defenders of Wildlife’s electronic update and action alert network. To subscribe to DENlines or for more information on Defenders of Wildlife projects, please visit www.defenders.org.
