Alaska’s wolf-control program deserves to be killed itself

On November 23, 2004, Ellie wrote:

These control programs are so dishonest. Thanks, Priscilla, for your very strong presentation of the facts, including Coleman’s assessment of hunters.

On November 25, 2004, David Butler wrote:

Having a biological connection to human hunters for more than three million years I feel a connection to past hunter-gathers, wolves as a part of evolution of life on this planet. My summer spent in the Yellowstone Ecosystem caused an epiffany with grizzlies and wolves and has changed my whole outlook of life, mine and others. As a school teacher, daily, I see “wolf” behavior in my students. Most of the behavior is learned from parents and other adults (appropriate and not). There are many lessons to be learned from wolves and nature. It’s sad and upsetting to see adults, organizations and wolves, grizzlies and other wildlife in such conflict. How can the state of a Alaska (ie. aerial wolf control)and wildlife organizations be at such seemingly dimetrically opposed ends of the earth on how to manage? Where’s the hard science? Where’s the scientific proof? The emotional costs are staggering and the financial costs borne by local citizens through taxes and out of state hunters through licenses fees diverted to lawsuit offense/defense seems like such a waste. Not to mention, the resources spent by wildlife and conservation organizations are going in a direction which doesn’t seem like the efforts get on the ground. That is, monies and human effort don’t go to the target species. It all seems so unfair… Fairness is a person-made idea and has nothing to do with nature. It’s survival of the fittest. Some-How, humans want to put “fairness” into nature… db

On November 28, 2004, Cindy wrote:

Dear Priscilla,
I can’t believe it is that time again. I fight everyday on my network at Care2 to help the Wolves. I just can not understand what they think is right. They sell license to kill moose and yet still blame the wolves for them in decreasing numbers. It is nothing more than for them to get their kicks out of hunting. If you can call running them to exhaustion and then being 100 feet in the air while they shoothunting. I will do what is ever needed to help our wolves.

On November 28, 2004, Ellie wrote:

Hi David,
I’m not sure I understand what you mean by wolf

behaviour. Nature may not be fair— but wolves, and our hunter-gathering ancestors killed to survive, not for some idea of fun. I don’t think we can place “survival of the fittest”, or “might makes right” outside of this context. Very few human societies need to hunt in order to survive. For the rest of us, meat eating is a choice; and certainly, sport hunting does not qualify as something ‘natural’.

On November 28, 2004, Robert Striker wrote:

REAL MEN DON’T SHOOT WOLVES!

Re: Alaska Board of Game Votes to allow hunters to shoot up to 900 Wolves
from Airplanes

U.S. Citizens using airplanes to shoot down defenseless wolves on Alaskan snow fields, personifies America today. The government’s sanctioned killing of 900 wolves in this manner is shocking. Before Bush came to power, this would never have been tolerated by the American public. The Public’s complacency now is not all that surprising when you consider U.S. Citizens now turn a blind-eye to American forces in Fallujah shooting down unarmed civilians, targeting hospitals and forcing emergency care patients into the street to die. One must wonder what is the mental state of Americans who get-off by shooting unarmed civilians in Fallujah or defenseless wolves from airplanes trying to cross Alaska’s snow fields in winter.

What is the mental state of the Alaska Board of Game that voted for this killing, the aerial shooting of 900 wolves? Is a hunter a real hunter, a real man, if they use an airplane to run down a wolf to exhaustion, then shoot it at point-blank range?

If this is aerial slaughter of 900 wolves is allowed to take place, Americans should consider the current mental state of their country.

R. Striker

On November 29, 2004, Ellie wrote:

Yes indeed! We have become a morally bankrupt society that sanctions killing defenseless humans and non-humans. I am an American who is completely ashamed of this mentality.

On December 14, 2004, Morgan Adkins wrote:

I see you will not publis comments from people who do not agree with you. That is your right;but I feel your ad that is running here in Alaska is way of base, and is full of half truths and lies.
For your information my wife is 3/4 Yupik Eskimo. Her Morther and Father are 1/2. The people here are mostly Native. We live off the land . We shut down the out of state hunters and guides.

We are in a battle to get the herds back. But our Preditor popultion is too Large; and must be reduse, for all to servive. My father inlaw saw 3 wolfs this past weekend. I saw fresh tracks last week. WE have too many wolfs here. If you like them so much why don’t come here and take some back to your home state. I am sure they were their at one time if they are not now. Maybe you should post other veiw point rather than disccrimatory.I shall be back to visit an I shall tell others about your site. It does have some good points, But all side should be heard.

Lastly, I live in Aniak, a small village on an Island on the Kuskwim River at the mouth of the Aniak River. If you wish to see Wolfs , Fell free to visit Aniak. We don’t have much in 4 star hotels but we have a fine B&B here. An I am sure we could find you someone to show you around . And maybe even see a Wolf if you are lucky.

On December 14, 2004, Roy wrote:

I’m amazed at how stupid and selfish people can be toward wildlife and hunting. I live in Alaska, not too far from were the next proposed aerial wolf hunt is slated to take place. (I understand bears are going to be eliminated as well.)I’m not against hunting and, in fact, truely enjoy the taste and healthiness of wild game in my diet…i.e. moose/caribou. But we don’t live in the world it was 100 years ago… or even just 25 years ago years ago here in Alaska where there just wasn’t that many hunters out here trying to ‘bag’ thier year’s meat. The populaion of Alaska has grown greatly over resent years and so has, therefore, the numbers of hunters. In times gone by, when man’s population impact with hunting was only like that of a spec of sand on the beach, the numbers of prey type animals killed didn’t effect any balance in nature of these prey animals to any real degree. Therefore concern for the numbers of preditor animals, wolves/bear, weren’t an issue. Only the misbeliefs of unknowing/unenlightened people that feared these preditors, thinking they were lurking around every willow bush… stalking across mountain valley and through the spruce forests, salvitating for the chance to devour a man that they’d attack (so they thought)at every opportunity they could find! That was the only times, for the most part, preditor animals were killed. And ‘Mother Nature’ never had any problems keeping a balance of both preditor and prey animals through eons of time. Sure, there’d be years of few and years of many, of each type of critters. But in the long run… in the big picture, a balance. Now-a-days though there’s just too many hunters out here vying for the prize of an animal or two or three. And we’re not hunting on foot with spears or arrows or clubs any longer. We’re using powerful 4 wheeler ATV’s and/or snowmachines and high power rifles to bring ‘em down! Isn’t it obvious that the more hunters we allow to hunt, the more of these prey animals (caribou/moose) are going to be harvested? So why then should the preditor animals have to be the ones to be thinned out (blatently killed) so as to allow more prey animals to survive for we human hunters? Why is it that the preditor animals have to be sacrificed when they’re just doing what nature made them to do? Nature will controll thier numbers as well as the prey animal numbers if simply left alone, letting mother nature do her thing. Seems to me that the obvious thing that needs to be done is to limit the numbers of human hunters from flying around out there banging moose and caribou left and right. And with this program they’re literally flying around killing the preditors. All just because the precious man-hunters have thier ‘sport’!? Their so badly needed meat that they are so much relying upon getting to survive? I, of course, say that in the most ficicous way… it’s not like 95% of these hunters really NEED to get this meat to survive thier hardships in live. Most hunters are pretty comfortable in their lifestyles and their eating habits!
Get real people!!!!!!! We are not Gods over nature. Do we always have to do things to suit ourselves… and to heck with everything else? Are we that so self-centered as human beings? It would seem so!

On December 15, 2004, Ellie wrote:

As humans, we make our own cholesterol, and other vital nutrients, while carnivores do not. Hence the overload, and illnesses we experience on a meat based diet. There are very few places on this earth where adequate plant foods are not available.

On December 16, 2004, Jean wrote:

This country is going to hell Watch and see. No one knows what they are talking about When will you all ever learn? For years humans have messed with nature, Now its her turn!

On December 16, 2004, Morgan Adkins wrote:

Comment sent to Friends of Animals sent week of Dec 6th, 2004

I don’t think you know what you are talking about. People in Alaska love and care about the Wolves; But the Packs are too large. Anti-Fur activists have killed the Fur industry here. As well as the Black and Brown Bear are growing in numbers, so the Moose population has crashed in most Alaska areas. We who LIVE in “BUSH ALASKA” live off the land and the water. WE see what is happening with our animal population. The meat from the moose and caribou does not just feed the wolves and bears, but the people of the villages and towns. A t-bone steak for me cost $10 dollars, sausage and ground beef is the same HIGH cost. So you see we live off the land and the health of the herd is necessary for survival to me and others. So when someone from the lower 48 thinks they know better and want to intervene and dictate how we residents of Alaska should live and co-exist; than we who live here, I take exception to their statement. We don#8217;t tell you how to live and co-exist in your area.

On December 17, 2004, Ellie wrote:

Hi Morgan,

To say you love wolves but support killing them makes no sense at all.

As Daniel Hammer explained in another thread, wolves are not over-populated; and the male-female ratio of moose are responsible for the decrease in the moose population.

If moose were not hunted, this ratio would not be off balance.

Also, I don’t agree that your choice to eat meat—either steak or moose— is a matter of survival, since healthy, and far less expensive plant based foods are available.

Ellie

On January 18, 2005, Gordon wrote:

Ellie, Not sure where you are from , but I don’t think you really know the size of Alaska or how hard is to get plant based food or even grow it sometimes, there are place that pay as much as 7 to 10 dollar pound for tomatoes , 4 to 5 dollars for gas, ect Shipping is very high inside of Alaska for most of the state, can only reach by airplanes. Some areas there is not much work for them to buy food , they have to live off the land, For some of the people moose or caribou is there only food, maybe if they are lucky to live near one of the bigger rivers then they get fish in the summer time to dried for their winter food. Before you pass judment on the people of Alaska please look at all sides of issues,

On January 21, 2005, Priscilla wrote:

This blog posting came from Thomas J. Classen in Fairbanks, Alaska:

A lot of what Gordon writes above is true, but there are exceptions. I have seen some great vegetable gardens in the Brooks Range, but usually the person has a green thumb. They also need a warm building to give plants a start before the snow is off the ground. This is usually not available to most Native families, thus their dependence on animal products. Some villages have a fairly good store, but not much fresh plant food available, and prices are high. If oil money is available, this is not a great problem. For example, the people living in Point Barrow, which has regular air line service, fair better than a remotely located village.

I have not been to every village, but it would be safe to say that 99% of them are on or very near a water source, and routinely fish.

On the plus side, transportation is subsidized by the government, and there is a lot of welfare received by people in villages. There are also numerous State programs designed to ease the burden of life in a remote village.

Thomas J. Classen

Fairbanks, Alaska

On March 10, 2005, San wrote:

It is truly slaughter. What really disgustes me is that these people are shooting them from helicopters And for no reason other than trophy. I live in NY and every since the wolves have gone deer are overcrowding us they are even in the citeis like Syracuse. It has come to the point wher we HAVE to kill them to keep their numbers under control. Saving the wolves in YElwostone was only a tiny truimph. UNless we phsyically do something we’ll never get our message across. Peopole think of us as “enviromentalists” and that all we do is whine and complain. I for one want my children to see a free wolf!!!