Friends of Animals to Intervene in Alaska’s Shooting of Wolves
Once autumn snowfalls permit the tracking of wolves, Alaska will begin its second aerial wolf-shooting program, intending to kill more than 500 wolves this winter.
147 wolves died in the winter of 2004 under Alaska’s aerial wolf control scheme—all to appease thrill-seeking hunter-pilot teams and moose hunters who boost their hunting opportunities by shooting the competition.
Last year—on November 4, 2003—the Alaska Board of Game and Department of Fish and Game reinstituted aircraft-assisted killing as a method of suppressing wolf populations at artificially low levels. There had been no such state-sponsored shotgunning of wolves from low, slow-flying aircraft, or by land-and-shoot killing, since the late 1980’s. Alaskans voted by wide margins in 1996 and 2000 to end same-day uses of airplanes for public wolf hunting and trapping.
This year more than 200,000 people have joined Friends of Animals and organizers in 28 states, the District of Columbia, Germany, Japan and Great Britain to hold Howl-Ins in protest of Alaska’s disgraceful conduct. Participants and supporters have signed postcards pledging to boycott Alaska’s $2 billion-a-year tourism industry until the aerial wolf-shooting scheme is cancelled.
Persistence will be the key to ending aerial predator control programs.
So from November 6, 2004–April 30, 2005, Friends of Animals will launch our second wave of Howl-In protests, this time to impact the summer 2005 tourism season. We continue to challenge the legality of Alaska’s wolf-killing program in the Superior Court in Anchorage.
To spread the word, Friends of Animals advertisements will soon appear in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Mother Jones Magazine, and other publications. We also have a compelling, 60-second TV spot that can be viewed via our website, www.friendsofanimals.org, and that will attract public attention to Howl-Ins.
We ask for your support of FoA’s interventions and Howl-Ins for wolves in Alaska. To hold a Howl-In, send an e-mail to: howlin@friendsofanimals.org, or call our Connecticut headquarters: 203-656-1522.
Please also write Gov. Murkowski and tell him you’ll boycott travel to Alaska until his wolf control campaign ends.
Address: Gov. Frank Murkowski
P.O. Box 11001
Juneau, AK 99811
E-mail: governor@gov.state.ak.us
Phone: 907-465-3500
Fax: 907-465-3532
Kindly support a tourism boycott of Alaska to put economic pressure on the people responsible for establishing the killing policy: the Murkowski administration. Your financial contributions to FoA strengthen our efforts to empower Alaska’s wolves.
28 Comments
On October 25, 2004, Glenn Kirk wrote:
Aerial wolf eradication is a despicable and cowardly act of cruelty against nature. Murkowski’s support of this hunting perpetuated crime should cause his reputation and his career to be damaged irrevocably.
BAN WOLF KILLING IN ALASKA!
Glenn a. Kirk
earth: environmentalists against recreational and trophy hunting.
virginia
On October 26, 2004, E. Munn wrote:
What on earth are you people thinking of letting this inhumane wolf hunting go on. These animals are Gods creatures and deserve to live as much as we humans do. Time to take a stand on this terrible hunt and stop it for good.
On October 27, 2004, Priscilla Feral wrote:
It’s Alaska Gov.Frank Murkowski’s administration that’s responsible for the aerial wolf-shooting. Friends of Animals is challenging the legality of the wolf-killing program in Superior Court in Anchorage, and we’re organizing Howl-In protests starting Nov. 6, 2004 to boycott travel to Alaska until the aerial wolf shootings are cancelled. We invite readers to join our Howl-Ins by sending an e-mail to: howlin@friendsofanimals.org
On October 27, 2004, Wendy Schneider wrote:
Shame on you (Governor Murkowski). We have family up in Alaska and we have decided not to be tourists in your state regardless of family and friends…….We usualy travel and vacation at many spots but we won’t do that until you put an end to the “killing fields.” Shame on your state.
And don’t even think about drilling for oil!
Wendy
Schneider
On October 27, 2004, Eileen Walker wrote:
To visit Alaska (actually, to live in Alaska) has always been my dream. Until the wolves are no longer hunted, my dream will be on hold.
Eileen Walker
On October 28, 2004, Jeremy wrote:
I strongly agree with what everyone else has said here about this issue.. “sport” hunting in any way shape or form is wrong! And aerial hunting of wolves in Alaska is an atrocity, something the people of that great state should consider very closely the next time they head to the polls to vote for Governor!
On October 29, 2004, Rose lamb wrote:
I’m shocked and dismayed over such an act of cruelty. If there was warrant for removal of a “killer” wolf, then a hunt and trap effort would be understandable. But to sky-hunt and kill at will, without the animal having a chance is vile. The people of Alaska should be ashamed to have the world at large know that they are permitting this act of ungodly behavior. This makes me ashamed to admit they are a part of the USA!!
On October 30, 2004, Cindy Minde wrote:
To Whom it may Concern,
I had to sit down and write out what I was feeling towards all these so called human beings that take a precious life every day and not feel any remorse. This is written to Govenor Murkowski, and all the hunters who think that what they are doing is in their best interest and not the wolves of Alaska. I just don’t understand what could possess anyone not to shed a tear or feel sad watching another life die right in front of them.
I am writing on behalf of all animals in this world of ours. Yes, ours. This is a place where God made Man and Animals, which I believe we’re Animals too if I am correct. I do not support hunting, trapping, abuse, or any realm of sadistic behavior. I believe that we are here together and we should respect each others way of life. Some Animal forms have 4 legs, Some have only 2. We all eat, smell, see, think, feel pain, mourn, cry, feel happy ect…We all act a like in a manner that show sophistication and intelligence. Only the 4 legged Animal seems to show loyalty which is something we have yet to really concieve. They stand by their pack and defend what is theirs. We stand by ours by showing them how to disrespect life. We don’t have the right to always make everything ours. But humans seem to have that way about them. Everything we see we want. That is the ONE difference between us and them, We are selfish and take and take whenever we feel the need. They only take what they need to survive. WE all have young we take care of and have to feed. We all bathe and bathe our young, We all hunt for food to feed our families.We all need shelter from rain and cold. We all sleep and start a new day. So please tell me what the difference is between a being with 4 legs and a being with 2 legs. Because I am confused. I don’t seem to understand the difference. The only thing I do understand is that we as humans find it to be a thrill to hunt down an animal and take its life away from it just so we can hang it’s head on our wall or wear the fur that once kept it warm. But not one time do you shed a tear when you see a small wolf pup or a small bear cub hiding behind a tree and watching his family get massacred. Not one time do you feel any emotion for taking his family away. Not one time do you even care what happens to this little one. Is there anytime you ever feel remorse for taking a life just because it is different? You call yourselves humans? You don’t even have respect for yourselves when you do these things. How can they have respect for us when you are destroying the trust between to worlds that need to learn to live together? Their lives seem so simple yet they have more fear in them than we will ever know. Each and every day they awake they have to constantly be looking behind their backs. This is not life. This is just existing. When will it stop? When you have taken the last of them. When you can give me an honest and expectable answer, Then that may be the day I have more respect for humans, But until then My respect lies with the 4 legged Animals, They are the ones I trust. They are the ones who have REAL TRUE VALUE OF LIFE! Stop the killing of our precious and magifienct animals. They have just as much right to be here as we do. It’s inhumane and cowardly the way you are destroying our Beautiful Wildlife.
Sincerely.
Cynthia Minde
On October 31, 2004, Ellie wrote:
I wonder, are there really killer wolves? From what I’ve read there hasn’t been even one case of a wolf attacking a human for 150 years in North America. Maybe in some areas, they may attack livestock from time to time; but when wolves were reintroduced after near extinction it was part of the deal that farmers be paid compensation if wolves attacked farmed animals. In the wild they’re just surviving on wild prey.
Either way, I think their lives and their territory should be respected.
On November 1, 2004, Priscilla Feral wrote:
Dr. Gordon Haber, who has studied wolves in Alaska since 1966, says he has “not seen the slightest hint” of aggressive or dangerous wolf behavoir among Denali National Parks’ wolves. In FoA’s Spring 2004 ActionLine report titled “Wolf Behavior Around People in Denali National Park,” Haber writes: “Other than in some responses to intruders at dens and rendezvous sites, the fearless behavior I have observed in Denali over the decades continues to feature about the same often-curious, typically relaxed and trusting demeanor (much more laid-back than typical dog behavior), for the most part as if the wolves are viewing people neither as a threat nor as prey.” Haber adds: “Any wolf-people problems in Denali are most likely to originate from avoidable people mistakes, not unnatural, dangerous wolf behavior.”
Please support a tourism boycott of Alaska to help change public policy, and to put economic pressure on the people responsible for establishing it: the Murkowski administration.
—Priscilla Feral
On November 1, 2004, Ellie wrote:
Yes, I enjoyed that article—Doctor Haber’s research is most interesting. His studies dispel the myth that (all) wolves have a natural fear of — or are aggressive toward— humans. I don’t know if other wolf populations were studied, i.e., taking *all relevant factors into account.
I’ve personally met people who mistakenly judge dogs to be wolf hybrids if they are fearful of humans. Some shelters even use this criteria in an attempt to justify killing them. But if wolves are naturally trusting of us, then the innate fearfulness of some dogs is perhaps another of many problems resulting from domestication.
On November 2, 2004, Ron Short wrote:
I am a wilderness person and dog-sledder who has spent years in the wilderness with the wolves and other critters. I am/was a hunter as well, strictly for necessity. Hunting/shooting prey from snowmobiles and aircraft is a cowardly, lazy way to hunt. To do it for fun is despicable. I have no use for stupid politics and politicians and hope to never see this type of hunting done while I am out there.
On November 8, 2004, Lee Ridley wrote:
If there is really such a shortage of food in the United States of America that the wolves are stealing the very food from your mouths, then maybe you should look into birth control (for humans). At least then there would be less fools like govenor Murkowski, less hunters and more wolves. I think that would be just fine.
On November 8, 2004, Susan Marbella wrote:
I have just inherited a nice sum of money, making my dream vacation to Alaska a reality. I have decided not to go, because of the proposed wolf hunts. This is by and far the stupidest trick you politcians have come up with yet. People want to visit Alaska to SEE the wildlife, not Kill it. You have cooked your own goose, no wolves no tourisim. Get It? Governor, you are an idiot!
On November 16, 2004, Ann Marie Painchaud wrote:
To Whom it May Concern,
Think about the reason they want to kill the wolves so that the hunters can go and kill other animals. This is cruel and inhumane to kill a living animal of any kind. What about the people who are killing other living breeds of animals should’nt something be done about them.
On November 17, 2004, Jeannie Bellm wrote:
One by one all of the most beautiful creatures that roam wild in Alaska will be gone…and for what earthly reason except for the pleasure of some people who like to kill and brag about it…bet you would feel different if you were the one the hunter was shooting at…this is not the way that God wanted us to treat his creatures…to kill for the fun of it…the wolves were almost extinct and with the help of some devoted people, were saved, only to be killed again…how very sad that we have come down to this level of thinking…Please rethink this statagy…God created all creatures for different reasons and if we upset that balance, we destroy his plan and then what kind of people are we?
On November 18, 2004, Cathy Halbesma wrote:
I will never be able to understand how a person could take the life of an animal.It is such a cowardly act.I will always remember a story i read.The man being interviewed had hunted wolves from a plane.There was a pack they were following from above and when the wolves realized that they had no chance of reaching cover the starting jumping and snapping at the plane.The sight of them fighting for their lives that day didn’t stop him at the time but he said he was never able to do it again.We must keep fighting as the wolf has.One opinion changed is one step closer to a better world for wolves and all other animals.Peace everyone.
On November 22, 2004, Christa Q. wrote:
Dear Governor Frank Murkowski,
Humans have fallen so low. And some humans have fallen even lower than others. Ever since the incident with Satan in the Garden of Eden, it’s all been a ride downhill. Hasn’t the war ended already? Wolves do not need “control.” If the wolf pack is prospering, less pups will be born and less pups will survive, as is the case with rabbits and hares. If the wolf pack is not doing well, more pups will be born and more will survive. Therefore, life will remain balanced on its own. When we settled America, were the wolves out of control? No!
If you must allow hunting, then ban the unfair, shameful shooting from airplanes and foot-hunters. Let the hunters fight hand-to-tooth combat with the wolves in order to take them instead of cheating. What you people can’t seem to understand is that the wolves will help the hunters to prosper by taking the weak, dying deer so that the strong deer can survive. If the wolves’ race is torn apart—even slowly—then the sick deer will eat the food of the strong deer, and it is the weak that will live. Hunters want big, strong young bucks, not skinny, ill ones. The wolves will weed out the sick for you, and the healthy deer that the wolves can not take down can be left to the hunters to take from.
I have always longed to go to Alaska and see my brothers, the wolves. Now I can’t support your government in good conscience by paying you to murder the wolves—magnificent animals who, proven by studies, experience the same emotions that humans do. If there will be another war, it will not be wolves versus humans, as it once was in the terrible years when wolves were exiled from the “lower” States. The war will be between people like me and you, and if the war goes on and on and on, then so be it; we will not give up the fight. We will always fight for the wolves, who cannot fight for themselves.
Sincerely, Christa Q. (last name not listed on this particular version of the letter)
(This letter will be sent to the governor.)
TO PEOPLE WHO ARE READING THIS:
We should make bumper stickers about boycotting Alaska and put the money towards renting out billboards about it.
On November 24, 2004, Christine Holzmueller wrote:
I am appalled at the continued killing of wolves in our nation. In the 21st century it is hard to believe that we as a nation continue to annihilate wildlife because they act as nature intended. What is even more unbelievable is the deceitful nature of Alaska’s Board of Game and Dept. of Fish and Game…hunting wolves down..by helicopter no less..is inhumane, unjust and should be a crime. Who has the right to decide that wolves, a species that has been nearly wiped out and continues to have low population levels in every region they inhabit because of these abominable actions.
I love the beautiful and uninhibited nature of Alaska…but I will NEVER visit this state as long as wolves continue to be murdered.
On November 28, 2004, Lisa Miniter wrote:
I am disgusted and outraged at the degrading way that Alaska’s Fish/Wildlife & Game Commission has decided to inhumanely kill wildlife via aerial shootings, due to the supposed “danger” moose face from a another wildlife species.
And I will NEVER visit Alaska from a tourism standpoint, as long as wolves are murdered in such a cowerdly way to satisfy the urges of “aerial hunters” who do this for their own ego-filled kicks that’s masked as a “quest to save a moose population”.. that even in the remotest way, is nowhere near in danger of extinction due to the foraging ways of how wolves have been surviving for thousands of years.
On November 29, 2004, jennifer constable wrote:
I personally think that any person who would want to hurt these wolves should be taken off this planet. The wolves are only doing what comes natural to them. They need food to survive just like we do. I believe that there is no reason to hunt and kill any animal because most people kill for the plessure of it. The Alaskan wolves should be let alone to do as they please. I would hate to ever meet any person that kills wolves.
On November 29, 2004, Ruby Fitzgerald wrote:
I think it’s simply terrble for people to be doing what they are doing. Wolves do not hurt people if people do not bother them. I have read many times that wolves only kill the sick and old animals they wish to eat. By killing the population of wolves to small numbers, the cycle of the wildlife in Alaska will not go on as it was supposed to. I can’t believe people have gone this far as to start killing beautiful and harmless animals for no reason. It’s disgusting how we still do these horrible things in the 21st century. It’s different if we are killing for need. Ancient people may have killed animals with no mercy, but we have supermarkets! Little by little, all the wild animals and their homes will be destroyed by us. And we will have no way of getting them back. We have no reason to kill these wild animals for no reason. You might say that people want the pelts of the animals to wear, but what happens if all the wolves are gone? All we will have is a bunch of wolf fur coats, wraps, and nothing else.
On December 1, 2004, Edie Stehwein wrote:
Governor Murkowski, it sickens and saddens me that you are allowing aerial wolf shooting with the intention of killing more than 500 wolves this winter. I was scheduled to visit Alaska this summer (2005) for the first time. I have cancelled my plans and will not even consider visiting Alaska as long as wolves continue to be murdered.
On December 1, 2004, Kathy O wrote:
I do volunteer work with wolves. I know these exceptional animals and have experienced their souls. Yes, they are predators, but they are not wasteful in their predation. They are organized, family-oriented creatures whose behavior is something we could take lessons from.
Killing these wolves in the manner that is being done in Alaska is barbarous and not worthy of humans or lupines.
It is my dream to visit Alaska but there is no way that I would even consider traveling there until this despicable practice is stopped forever.
On December 3, 2004, Rene Breier wrote:
I have visited Alaska and would love to go there again. Of course I wont go there unless wolf killing stops. I have left numerous messages for Chief Wolf Murderer Murkowski by phone and in writing. It is inexplicable why Alaskans think they have a right to decimate wolf populations to increase moose for their own consumption. How utterly despicable and cowardly to sight wolves from the air and kill them. Wolves are amazingly beautiful intelligent animals. they are clearly superior to some humans who think it’s ethical and moral to destroy such a magnificent animal, father of all dogs. Maybe these insane hunters should be locked up without their guns and let a few hungry wolves loose on them. I am SO ANGRY!!!! Boycott Alaska. Yes.
On December 4, 2004, cynthia wrote:
In my research it seems that the Governer was elected in Nov of 2002 which means now he has only 1 more year to go untill re-election. Maybe we should also focus on him NOT being re-elected. I have read two statements by him. 1. One of the reasons he started killing wolves is that they were eating all of the game and that the people who depend on this for food were starving. 2. Killing the wolves would promote the increase of game for the tourist to come into Alaska and spend money.
I think these reasons counterdict each other.
Could there be a hiden reason for him to pass this, since most of the Alaskan people voted against this?
Politicians do not want to hear about how beautiful the wolves are so we need to give them black and white arguement in our fight to help these animals. Or get the real reason behind the trading of laws passed!! The wolf killings are not kind and neither should we be in helping the wolves. The power is in numbers with the Alaskan(voters)people to help.
On December 7, 2004, Josh Klarsfield wrote:
I am not a hunter but I can understand the logic behind the practice. By this I mean that it is inarguably more ecologically sound to hunt your food for a whole year than to go to a supermarket and buy it. Have you ever driven across this great nation and witnessed how much is dedicated to pasture.
Even now ranchers are allowed 15 min per head in national park land and want the right to kill wolves and mountain lions who threaten their livestock there. I personally think it’s horrible. A true animal rights activist or proponent of a more ecologically responsible world must recognize the hunters’ world view not only because we and they seek to protect in perpetuity the same lands and ecosystems but also for lobbying reasons.
With respect to the aerial wolf hunting program I think its a joke. What a ridiculous program, only a hunter with no guts would track a wolf by air and shoot it down. Further I would think that wolf would not be consumed and would be kept solely as a trophy, the concept of which is lost on me and anyone else with a heart.
On December 7, 2004, Meri R wrote:
Dear Governor Frank Murkowski and voters of Alaska:
The following is an expression of my opinion of the totally senseless, inhumane, gutless method of murder you have chose in your no longer great state of Alaska.
“Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.”
Chief Seattle, 1854
Manly men shouldn’t be so cowardly as to hunt a beautiful, defenseless animal from airplanes or commit other cruel acts towards wolves or other animals. You’ve taken it upon yourselves to declare war on nature. You in the end will be to blame and you in the end will have nowhere to live and nothing to eat. You will have destroyed it all.
Greed is always a driving force and it’s sad to see that you and your state place greed above life, ethics, morals, and LIFE - yes it needs to be stated twice!
I am talking you and your practice up to all I know and happily can tell you that I have in the past 2 months swayed over 100 people from visiting your state and going somewhere where they don’t believe in this insanity.
One day you will have inhumanely allowed all your wolves killed, then you can all go on to kill all the other animals, fish, birds and whatever else you and your hunters get the rush and thrill of murdering. Then who will you be turning your weapons on - each other? Think about this - who but you hunters will be left to be hunted?
Always remember, the creator is watching you and what goes around comes around. Sometimes it just agonizingly takes way too long for it to come around - but I hope I’m still alive to see that happen.
I hope that you are defeated in your next election. By the way, you are a Governor, you are NOT the Creator.
Meri