Same-Day Land-and-Shoot Wolf Hunting Referendum Certified on Alaska Ballot
"The fact that more than 38,000 people - 15,000 more than required - took action on this issue is a very positive indication that many people feel strongly that this practice should not be reinstituted," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife.
A ban on same-day land-and-shoot killing of wolves was approved by the voters in 1996. The new petition initiative was necessary when the state legislature reauthorized the measure, despite a veto by the governor. In 1996, the referendum that banned the practice passed with nearly 60 percent of the vote.
Schlickeisen noted that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is in favor of the ban. It has stated that tracking and spotting wolves from aircraft, then landing and killing them is the wrong way to address wolf control. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game feels the practice leads to other wildlife abuses, is unenforceable, gives hunting a bad image and is highly detrimental to the long-term support of hunting and trapping in Alaska.
Based on crude state estimates of 7,000 to 10,000 wolves in Alaska, 1,682, or up to 24 percent, were killed in the 1993-94 season when land-and-shoot hunting was in full effect. This figure set a 22-year record high, but still represents only the count of reported kills, with no way to accurately measure unreported take.
"The Alaskan legislature has bucked science, the governor and the will of the Alaskan voters to reinstate this unsportsmanlike practice," said Joel Bennett, Defenders of Wildlife’s Alaska representative. "Now it becomes time for the voters to once again bring common sense and sound wildlife management back to Alaska."
A newly formed group known as Alaskans for Wildlife will run the campaign to overturn this non-fair-chase legislation. To support this effort, mail contributions to:
Alaskans for Wildlife
P.O. Box 201467
Anchorage, AK 99520-1467
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 400,000 members and supporters, Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues.
Contact(s):
Cat Lazaroff, (202) 772-3270
