Sarah Palin Champions Barbaric Aerial Hunting of Wolves
2008 September 3
Just another way Governor Palin shows she is pro-life!
This past weekend I wrote about Gov. Sarah Palin, and her views that polar bears do not need to be placed on the Endangered Species List. Now it is time to consider her equally troubling view of wolves.
Despite strong scientific, ethical and public opposition to aerial hunting, Governor Palin has…
- Proposed paying a $150 bounty for the left foreleg of each dead wolf.
- Approved a $400,000 state-funded propaganda campaign to promote aerial hunting.
- Introduced legislation to make it even easier to use aircraft to hunt wolves and bears.
Technorati Tags: SarahPalin, Election08, Wolves, Environment,
What the hell are you guys on to be thinking half this? Wolves are controlled to protect the animal population. A dramatic increase in predator populations can wipe out all those “cute animals” you seem so willing to protect. It is the same with Canada’s seal hunt, a preventative measure to maintain balance within nature.
When these animals breed uncontrollably, there is an impact on their habitat. When wolves outnumber deer, moose, carribou, they will wipe out those herds in a given area. When seals breed like rabbits, when they eat food supplies other animals depend on as well, they hurt the populations of other animals. REAL conservationists kill animals when their population erupts to protect other animal populations, doesn’t anyone but a few here know this?
PETA funds terrorist efforts against HUMANS, against people they believe hurt animals. What do they do? Kill animals given to them for adoption purposes since they believe it would be better for the animal to be dead then in “servitude” to a human “master”.
Pathetic, absolutely pathetic…
You dolt. The reason the moose and caribou are declining is because humans are the ones killing them. If they live off the land, and that’s how they get their food, how many people kill the moose?
Oh, and wolf packs prune the prey population. They only go after the old, sick or young. Not the strong that need to spread their genes. Humans are the one that wants to hunt the biggest and baddest moose, probably for the rack. A wolf pack can live off ONE moose for a while.
Do some more research.
What a sad and pathetic world we live in. What no one seems to care about or realize is that we are ALL losers, regardless of party affiliation.
While we argue over meaningless elections and issues we can’t change, whether you and I are “liberal” or GOP, Mother Earth will no doubt continue her barrage of hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis until all of human kind is gone, or at least culled down to the “fittest”.
How very arrogant “man” has become to deem their species of more importance to “god” than any other. Or to assume that “god” would support one party or another!
How many cultures have been wiped out at the pinnacle of their “power”? Yet we seem doomed to repeat history!
Wake up people! Stop fighting about EVERYTHING, and try to get along while you still have time to do it!
I pray that the best of us will survive.
animalover2 – Please don’t respond with facts. We are trying to make an impression on people that will just believe the story without understanding what is behind it.
We better go find some other way of bashing Palin now. Maybe we can tap her phone or something.
It’s not hunting for the hell of it, you idiots. It is population control, just like any other type of hunt. They use planes because the areas are so remote.
Why would they have a bounty for each wolf killed? What, you think that Palin just really hates wolves? Why can’t liberals read more into an issue, instead of jumping to moronic conclusions.
It’s so terrible to hunt wolves, but it’s perfectly okay to eat that cheeseburger. Maybe because there isn’t a youtube video about killing cows.
Iam new to this subject:However… What population of animal is being protected Via Arial hunting its seems a bit unsporting,
The only other predator besides Bears would be humans.
Best regards Washington state
The bounty on wolves claim is political mis-information to try to smear Gov. Palin. No matter what your politics, it’s not fair to anyone to allow lies about either side to circulate on the net. I researched this claim on the Alaska Legislature site and submitted it to Snopes.com.
If you look at the official Alaska site, the bounty was proposed by the Alaska Dept of Fish & Game (not Gov. Palin) to be used within a certain remote area where the wolves were decimating the caribou and moose herds as a means to protect help protect the herds. The wolves in this area are overpopulated and each spring during calving season they are killing off most of the newborn calves, homing in on them by the scent of blood. The wolves not only endanger the prey species in the area, but are invested with lice due to overpopulation. Wolves are difficult and expensive to control in this part of Alaska, so the bounty was proposed to help offset some of the expense. The proposal was never implemented. Bounties were historically paid to entice people to help control Wolves but they were ended in the 1970’s. It is also notable that they do not issue “hunting licenses” for wolves only “control permits” because the sportsmen have no interest in them and they are not used for food. There are also some areas in Alaska where wolves cannot be killed at all because there is no threat to other wildlife.
While I am an avid animal lover and wildlife conservationist, I also realize there will always be hunting. Some areas of the country depend on hunting for a good portion of their food. Alaska has a long history of shooting wolves from low flying aircraft in the most remote areas (not everywhere). I am not advocating nor condemning this method because I understand the argument from both sides. Shooting from low flying aircraft is not something people do for “fun”. They must remove the door from the plane and fly in sub-zero temperatures during winter months when the wolves can be tracked. The wildlife management reports I read, indicated that “wound & injure rates were very low” and they reported wound & injure rates associated with other hunting methods as well. The report also states one of the main reasons for collecting the forelegs is to ensure that animals are actually killed not just wounded. I think law makers have a responsibility to make and enforce laws that require humane hunting practices. As I read the 144 pages of the report I was impressed at the amount of thoughtful study and detailed information that it contained and that they actually are concerned with “wound & injure” rates, lice etc. – and that they outlawed shooting of wolves in areas where they are not a threat. I’m not saying they are perfect or can’t be improved upon, but I don’t believe this is as big an issue as some are trying to “spin” it to be.
Even as a conservative, I have to admit that this is awful. This type of hunting is cruel and shouldn’t happen. I can’t believe that I found myself even criticizing her in my blog at http://preservetherepublic.wordpress.com/. This is the first legitimate attack on Palin that I have seen. I still have to vote for McCain because of my beliefs on abortion. I see both the right and the left as being inconsistent on those two views. I am pro-life all the way around for animals and infants.
I have to admit that watching videos of this practice turns my stomach, but there would surely be consequences to many animal species, including wolves and humans, if effective wildlife management practices were banned. Let us not forget what happened in this country when horse slaughter was banned. The resulting surplus of horses has resulted in plummeting horse values, and horses being abandoned and neglected in record numbers. Now, perfectly healthy and well trained horses are selling at auction for less than $200, and some are being purchased by kill buyers for shipment to Mexico where there are no industry controls, and the barbaric cruelty being employed is beyond this writer’s imagination. I would have to say that there has never been a worse time to be a horse in this country. These are the unintended consequences of well meaning animal activists that failed to look at the big picture.
Before anyone starts sending hate mail, please hear me out. Wolves and bears are top line predators, meaning that there are no natural predators to control their numbers. If you love animals, you must think about the consequences to other animal species if they are allowed to overpopulate in any given area. In a worst case scenario, disaster ensues for the overpopulated predator species as well. When their natural food sources become scarce, they will savage and prey on not only each other, but humans and domestic animals as well.
Aerial management may seen unfair and barbaric, but consider the alternative that was used before airplanes were available. They were poisoned with strychnine baits. Poisoning likely affected non targeted species as well – such as eagles.
Alaska has attempted other management methods in the past. See: http://www.wc.adfg.state.ak.us/management/control/predator_management.pdf
Now let us discuss the impact of these predator species on humans. There seems to be a misconception that managing the population of these species is merely an attempt to preserve moose and caribou for sport hunting. On the contrary, the very lives and existence of approximately 16% of Alaska’s populaton is at stake. These are the native tribes that have depended on wild game as their main source of sustenance for thousands of years. It’s not like they can become vegetarians in these regions. I might argue that the continued existence of rural native Alaskan people is at far greater risk than the wildlife.
Taken from http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=5791&page=36 :
“The first humans in the Western Hemisphere are believed to have come from Asia across the Beringian land bridge into Alaska 12,000-15,000 years ago.” It is their home, too. For those that argue that the problem is simply too many humans in Alaska rather than too many wolves and bears, let me point out that there are approximately 635,000 residents or about 1.1 persons per square mile – in an area that is twice the size of Texas and one fifth the size of the lower 48 states. In the lower 48, there are approximately 79 people per square mile. Plenty of elbow room! The state’s population ranks 47th in the nation. “Human activities have had less effect on the ecosystems of Alaska than elsewhere in the United States. Conversion of land to agricultural use has been minimal, as is the extent of land alteration through mining and petroleum development.”
My conclusion: Perhaps you don’t care about the tribes of people who are the last remaining ancestors of the “First Americans”. Do you not care about all of the other animal species at stake when bears and wolves overpopulate? Is there no concern for livestock, dogs, cats, and human children that are attacked when these predators are allowed to diminish too much wild game in a given area? And finally, have you no concern for the affect on the wolves, themselves, when they overpopulate? Aside from them preying on each other when food sources become scarce, it leads to a natural progression of disease and starvation among them.
Posted by Bronco in the Daily Interlake: “The waxing and waning of species populations are regulated by nature and she seems heartless and cruel in her choices at times. Forget romantic notions of her preserving only the animals we hold dear and erasing the invasive and ugly ones. Fish and game management agencies throughout the country have been employing well thought out agendas that have led to game populations that exceed those before we set foot here hundreds of years ago. Those agencies have people in them who are concerned for our wildlife, not butchers who rejoice in their deaths. It’s unfortunate for the wolves, I agree. They are beautiful, intelligent, animals that mate for life and have strong family values. But left to propagate unattended they will follow the course of all species who find their numbers swelled to overpopulation. Mother nature introduces disease and starvation.”
Before we jump on the bandwagon and condemn the people of Alaska while sitting at computers in our urban homes, let us educate ourselves about the issues first.
Maybe next time she goes arial hunting, someone will push her out of the helicopter =)
I can understand the need to kill predatory animals because they are a threat to wildlife, livestock, pets and people. But gunning down wolves from a plane because you want to up the numbers of the caribou for hunting season just seems wrong to me. But then again, I am not a hunter, nor am I an Alaskan resident whose state economy is, in part, dependent on hunting tourism. I am simply an animal lover, who got very upset when they saw the wolf video on CNN Anderson Cooper 360. I am also NOT an idiot, and decided to search out the facts about this issue rather than be told what to think by…
Well, I must have hit some hot buttons, because I see my last post was deleted – what the hell happened to free speech or does that only apply if I curse Palin and and bash McCain? That’s the problem with so many people in America – they don’t want to hear anything that doesn’t agree with their point of view even if it’s the truth.
(Editor’s note. As mentioned before on this blog, I need to remind my readers of a point about their role as commentors on this site. Much like a newspaper that does not run every letter to the paper, there are times when comments are not appropriate to be printed.
I have a responsibility to insure accuracy (as best I can) over issues that have major consequences?
For example if a comment paints Iraq as being responsible for 9/11 (it was not) do I allow that to be published knowing that far too many thought it to be true, and it added to the national mood that resulted in a war? False information repeated endlessly has a way of becoming the truth. Do I want to be a part of the echo chamber of lies? We all witnessed that very thing, as we all know too well, and now continue to pay the price for being lied to as a nation.
When charges fly in hate filled messages about Barack Obama and his faith, and readers try to paint him as a radical Muslim do I have a duty to stop the lies since Obama is a Christian? (Forget for the moment that religion should not even play a role in the first place when deciding a leader for our nation.) Do I have a higher responsibility to the First Amendment by allowing dreadfully false comments to be posted, or to the facts about the man who could be our next President if we do not allow lies from preventing it?
If someone were to verbally gay-bash in a comment to a post should I have ethical qualms if I delete it? Or should I consider all conversation to be equal and part of the larger dialogue that can now happen as a result of the internet age we live in?
These questions have gripped me for some time and I have mixed answers. Am I a blogger AND a gatekeeper? If I am a gatekeeper then do I undermine the civil rights I champion when fighting for freedom of speech?
As we journey down the technology road these are issues and questions that need to be addressed. I know that this blog is but a drop in the ocean, and yet I feel a duty to act in a responsible manner. For the most part I have very few examples of the shallow end of the swamp posting here on my blog. Most of that type are not reading my liberal blog from Madison.
i really think mc cain should use his brain mabey even a little when he choses his vice presideent running mate. i mean seriously he should know better than to chose a barbaric wolf killer!!!!!!! SARAH PALIN, GO TO F****ING HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ll give her a pass on this one as I am not an alaskan nor a hunter but i do understand the fear/hate many rural people, ranchers etc. have for predators such as the wolf. Airplane (the main means of transport in many parts of the state) hunting is not a sport it is an eradication program and how and how much is up to the people of that state.
On the other hand her experience and backgroound hardly make her a regular small town 50’s type person and in no way makes her qualified to be president of the U.S.
“1 Jenny
I see Palin is the “sport” hunter’s paradise governor. It is hard to see why one would push for this sort of “hunting” except for the purpose of tourism. Does that make it moral? NO! It is one thing to hunt for food. It is another to hunt for thrill.
…”
Awesome post, the entire thing. Well said.
After knowing what I know on Palin……….I’m for Obama.
John Mcain, screwed it up for himself when he choose for Palin.
God forbid I wouldn’t want that cold hearted nasty animal hunter so call woman for vice president.
Is not just the hunting of animals is all the facts I read on her.
I am woman hear me roar!
Ask WHY they are doing AERIAL hunting of wolves??? If a HUNTER wants to legally track down and kill and animal, that is their perogative. I am not a hunter but I do enjoy shooting skeet. I understand there are people who find killing animals for sport “fun” but what sport is there in aerial hunting???
Nature has a couple of basic laws — “survival of the fittest”, and that the predators multiply in relation to their prey. Here comes man (again) to deplete the numbers of the predators so the prey animals over-graze the land and then we have a whole new plethora of ecological problems!
Why do wolves have to be hunted aerially? THAT is my question. HUNT on foot, NOT in the air.
Of course none of you stop to think about why they are doing this. It is not for fun. Sadly, if they didn’t do this, Alaska will be overrun with wolves, killing all the other animals that they prey on. Is that somehow better? Why don’t people check their facts before jumping to conclusions?
Aerial wolf killing in Alaska started in the late 40’s before Palin was born. It has been and remains a sensitive issue in Alaska where the state is divided on “Wolf Control” methods. From what I can tell the aerial harvesting is restricted to a 20,000 sq mile area of prime hunting land that it ultimately responsible for a significant amount of revenue to the turist and hunting and trapping industry. The state covers almost 660,000 sq miles so this is a very small sliver of the Alaska pie. To put this even more into prospective there were only 7,500 wolves harvested over the past 5 years in Alaska. How many cows, pigs and chickens were killed today in the US?
General Aviation is also a major industry in Alaska. In most cases it is the primary source of transportation. In the south we drive pickups, in Alaska they have Super Cubs and DeHaviland Beavers on floats and skis (man I would love to do that!). Palin’s husband is a pilot and flies a Super Cub. She is a hunter, raised on the North Slope of Alaska and probably knows a great deal more about wildlife management and conservation than all of her oposition combined.
“You liberals” “You people”
Ferrel says “we” care more about animals than unborn babies. I disagree. Both matter to me. Unfortunately the divide between liberals and conservatives is so wide people on both extremes forget there are people in the MIDDLE. If the sole issue of politics was abortion, I’d gladly cast my vote for McCain/Palin. But politics and issues are not as easy as that. While I support the right to life, I also support teaching more than abstinence in schools. (My thought behind this is an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of “cure”. While abstinence IS the BEST option and should be taught as such, it is not the only option chosen. More prevented pregnancy = less abortion.)
I’m not sure who Leshia is calling Muslim in her post, but Obama claims Christianity. Both Obama and Palin are great speakers and worth listening to. I love how Palin cut the fat off spending as far as the luxury jet and personal chef in Alaska. I even read she cut her own salary when she was mayor by about $4k one year! I don’t like how she feels some people are not worth being told or even given rights because they are terrorist suspects. We are talking about people already in custody! Yes, it’s hard to maintain due process in regards to people labeled as evil but the “innocent until proven guilty” and “due process” are part of the values that make America a great nation. To bypass these things is not living up to the spirit of who we as a nation say we are.
While Palin’s remarks concerning “community organizers” in her acceptance speech were meant to show how she feels her background is more relevant to White House office…it hit me as quite a bash on non-profit organizations. I have volunteered for several organizations which fall under the “community organization” label. The people leading these programs DO have responsibilities. They are the ones getting their hands dirty and doing more than talking and writing. Community organizers have to network to keep their organization running; funding is almost always an issue. The hours can be crappy and the rewards are generally more emotional than monetary.
As far as book banning, I’d like to see a REAL (not guessed out) list of which books were in question. It’s hard to know what to make based on the question of “how do I…” alone. Were there porn filled books on the shelf or are “The Color Purple” caliber books in question?
And now…the hunting. I understand wolves can be seen as “pests” who effect caribou and moose herd numbers. The trouble I have are both with the aerial aspect of hunting (which is less likely to result in a “clean” kill compared to traditional hunting) and the lack of support for protecting polar bears. Caribou and moose populations are not in danger. Polar bears are. These two things together don’t add up. Protect caribou and moose but not polar bears?
Middle ground America wants answers. We don’t want senseless action. Can a woman have a career and still be a “good” mom? YES! Tons of women balance these two! This aspect should be a non-issue. However, I don’t want Palin to tell me in one breath to grant her children privacy and tell me in the next to look at how her son is shipping out on 9/11; how she’ll be an advocate for special needs because of another son or look how her daughter chose pro-life and is getting married (by shotgun or choice, who knows?).
Look but don’t ask is a touchy way to go. If you want me to look, I’m going to have questions. Questions like: How are you defining “victory” in the Iraq war? What sort of advocacy? Funding for therapy (doubtful though since she said we have too much government and earmarked spending already)? Sympathy? And wow, I wish you would not even point at Bristol! I’d like to give her privacy; why didn’t you just pull out your own medical records to prove rumors wrong instead of dragging her into this?
There is no way I am voting for McCain.
She’s a psychopathic bitch!
The more I get to know humans, the more I like animals.
The death of “little helpless fawns, elk, rabbits, etc…” is part of the natural process if the bears and wolves are doing the killing. You won’t see them flying above with little rifles in their hands. And animals don’t kill other animals for sport.
And Peta is a violent domestic terrorist group?? You’ve got to be kidding me. Yeah, just like to folks at Food not Bombs who were arrested and charged in MN because they were offering vegetarian meals to protesters, right?
Trees and other plant life, btw, provide necessary oxygen in order for you to breathe and even exist on this planet.
If it is true-good! There are way too many wolves and bears in Alaska. They barbarically kill little helpless fawns, elk, rabbits…etc. Plus they exale carbon dioxide contributing to global warming. I’m sure we have Al Gore’s support on this one.
You liberals are desparate
Have you hugged a tree today?
I agree with Ferrell Gummit. I guess it is great that these people are sterilizing themselves as some twisted way to “save the Earth”. Keep up the good work…
Oh and NEWSFLASH PETA, horses like to run, Polar Bears like to swim, and sooner or later you guys are going to get caught paying off those domestic terrorist who blow up labs and research centers. With the FBI building a case, it is only a matter of time before you will be wearing orange jumpsuits and complaining that the prison doesn’t have that vegan diet you starve your children to death on. Stay classy you guys…
I am not a hunter, nor do I live in Alaska. So I have no understanding about the draw of hunting. But I know there are some folks that consider it a “sport”. So okay, I’ll give them that. Umm….where’s the sport in that?? That’s just sick.
Once again this proves that we give more of a damn about animal rights then the rights of the unborn…
That is truly disgusting…
Imagine what laws she would pass against animals!!!! What a sick and disgusting person!!!!!!! i hate her!!!!!!
This is DISGUSTING.
Any one who hunts is plain SICK!
Sarah, go to f***ing hell!
I see Palin is the “sport” hunter’s paradise governor. It is hard to see why one would push for this sort of “hunting” except for the purpose of tourism. Does that make it moral? NO! It is one thing to hunt for food. It is another to hunt for thrill.
In an age when we look back at what harm we (the human race) have done to the balance of nature and try to resolve issues we created, it’s sad to see Profit>All Else still exists in some people’s minds.
We barely managed to save bison as a species at one point in our nation’s history; we are attempting to put wolves back into National Parks; Polar Bears are headed for disaster but some want to ignore the impact we have (waiting until the last possible moment to save an entire species is hardly a good plan). I mention only a few of the most popular species. There are a few with the smallest chance of recovery as with the Ivory Billed Woodpecker [listed as extinct but one male was possibly sighted in 2005 in Arkansas (complete story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory-billed_Woodpecker). What does it take to learn from history?
Mrs. Palin seems to have the Profit>All Else mindset on many fronts. Apparently Gas/Oil>Natural Resources too…
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/archive-65426.html
I don’t feel our nation can risk the possibility of her becoming Vice President or even President were something to happen to her running mate.