Gale Norton Gives Green Light to Alaska Wolf Slaughter

Interior Department Rejects Defenders of Wildlife Petition to Implement Federal Airborne Hunting Act

(04/08/2004) - WASHINGTON – Defenders of Wildlife today announced that Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton has rejected the organization's petition to clarify that Alaska's airborne wolf killing program violates the Federal Airborne Hunting Act (FAHA). Defenders spokespersons said the organization is exploring legal options to force the Secretary and the State of Alaska to comply with the law.

"The Airborne Hunting Act doesn't let you mow down predators from the air just to radically reshape the entire wildlife profile of a whole area," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife.  "We are looking actively at legal actions to stop the Bush Administration from rubber stamping this program and allowing Alaska's illegal wolf killing to continue."

The Alaska Board of Game has greatly expanded the aerial and land and shoot wolf killing programs to include over 30,000 square miles of Alaska where up to 500 wolves will be killed.  The program is an attempt to artificially boost moose populations for hunters, despite the fact that insufficient scientific data have been gathered on the number of wolves and moose in this area. Aerial gunners can kill males, females and even wolf pups as part of the program.  More than 130 wolves have been killed so far this year.

Aerial gunning involves either shooting from aircraft, or land-and-shoot killing in which shooters in aircraft chase wolves or other wildlife in deep snow until the animals are too exhausted to move, and then land nearby to make the kill.

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 last June overturning the most recent ban.

The Federal Airborne Hunting Act was passed in 1971, largely to put a stop to aerial wolf killing in Alaska.  According to the 1971 report of House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, which reviewed the bill:

"Testimony presented at the hearings indicated that in the State of Alaska alone, over 1,000 wolves have been killed in each of the past 4 years.  … Your committee feels it is most unsportsmanlike to hunt from aircraft and that the reported bill … would … hopefully put an end to this abominable practice."

"The FAHA was passed amid public outrage over aerial wolf killing in Alaska. Even several hunting groups agreed, as aerial gunning falls so far outside the norms of ethical hunting and 'fair chase.'  Now we have come full circle and once again Alaska's wolf population faces death from above," said Schlickeisen. "The Bush administration is shirking its responsibility by not implementing the federal law."

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Defenders of Wildlife is one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and habitat, and was named as one of America's Top 100 Charities by Worth magazine. With more than 450,000 members and supporters, Defenders is an effective voice for wildlife and habitat. To learn more about Defenders of Wildlife, please visit www.defenders.org.

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Contact(s):

Brad DeVries, (202) 772-0237
William Lutz, (202) 772-0369