Sarah Palin's record on hunting wildlife.....

[Rangerdavid]

anyone seen this commercial yet? OMG!! its just cruel and barbous treatment of animals.

YouTube - Brutal: Sarah Palin's Record on Aerial...

I think I'll pass on her, or anyone she's running with, for any office........ let alone Pres, and VPres........

[tripp]

There's an English word that comes to mind... but I won't use it in good company.

[PriuStorm]

I have not seen the commercial, but I have seen the videos where this footage is drawn from. Yes, barbaric.

There is a non-political video documentary type video on YouTube, posted one year ago on this issue.

The aerial hunting is the systematic reduction of the larger predators to very low levels apparently to increase the game (caribou, elk) available for sport hunters but under the guise that it is for the subsistence hunters (Alaskans who rely on wild game for meat).

Alaskans have decidedly voted to ban aerial wolf hunting TWICE. The video goes into detail about why eliminating the predators is bad (i.e. too many caribou, etc. will decimate the landscape). It also shows that more than half of the game shot in Alaska is from non-residents (i.e. sport/trophy hunters), not for subsistence.

Using 1950's 'technology' of predator population control and ignoring the science learned on eco system, herd and predator control/balance in the decades since aerial wolf hunting was used for these purposes is just a really dumb idea. And Sarah Palin apparently supports this.

Edit: Oops, forgot to link video (~10 min video)

You Tube

[Godiva]

From what I've read, there is the possibility that too many predators are being eliminated in certain areas and the prey populations may sicken due to too many numbers, disease and not enough food. I also read that the areas in question were less for subsistence hunting and more for rich tourist hunting.

Apparently there was a report of some kind that stated the opposite of what the Alaskan government reported. Might have been polar bears. The true findings of the report were....revised as they did not support the policies the Alaskan Government wished to pursue.

[MegansPrius]

Salon had a pretty good article on this:

Her deadly wolf program

With a disdain for science that alarms wildlife experts, Sarah Palin continues to promote Alaska's policy to gun down wolves from planes.

The controversy over Palin's promotion of predator control goes beyond animal rights activists recoiling at the thought of picking off wolves from airplanes. A raft of scientists has argued that Palin has provided little evidence that the current program of systematically killing wolves, estimated at a population of 7,000 to 11,000, will result in more moose for hunters. State estimates of moose populations have come under scrutiny. Some wildlife biologists say predator control advocates don't even understand what wolves eat.

Gordon Haber is a wildlife scientist who has studied wolves in Alaska for 43 years. "On wildlife-related issues, whether it is polar bears or predator controls, she has shown no inclination to be objective," he says of Palin. "I cannot find credible scientific data to support their arguments," he adds about the state's rationale for gunning down wolves. "In most cases, there is evidence to the contrary."

Last year, 172 scientists signed a letter to Palin, expressing concern about the lack of science behind the state's wolf-killing operation. According to the scientists, state officials set population objectives for moose and caribou based on "unattainable, unsustainable historically high populations." As a result, the "inadequately designed predator control programs" threatened the long-term health of both the ungulate and wolf populations. The scientists concluded with a plea to Palin to consider the conservation of wolves and bears "on an equal basis with the goal of producing more ungulates for hunters."

[NaptownPrius]

It's better to let the herds overpopulate and then slowly stave to death through the winter.

or we could feed them all....






"The cuter the critter, the sweeter the meat."

[McDonald]

Thank you for posting this. Even though I am vegan, I can somewhat understand that some people hunt (on foot) for their meals, but this kind of hunting and watching those animals rear up in pain not knowing what happened, oh god it makes me so ill.

[Godiva]

I read the footage was actually scientists shooting wolves with sleeping darts for a study.

The actual footage was way too graphic showing a wolf getting shot clean through with a lot of blood splatter.

Wolves do a service by taking out the sick and infirm. When man starts to mess with the balance all sorts of things happen.

You'd think we would have learned our lesson.

Today I was listening on the radio to how noise pollution from ships is harming marine mammals. They're going deaf and getting hit by ships. They proposed the ships going slower. It would provide three things:

1. Less noise

2. Less greenhouse gases

3. More time for whales to get out of the way.

[daniel]

What's interesting is that the Defenders of Wildlife board of directors, which voted to endorse Obama solely because of Palin's barbaric cruelty, is made up of both Republicans and Democrats.

Republicans who respect the environment oppose Palin so strongly, that her mere presence on the Republican ticket is enough for them to bolt from their party.

[hyo silver]

Originally Posted by Godiva

...Wolves do a service by taking out the sick and infirm...

Farley Mowat told us this with Never Cry Wolf in 1963. So it's not like we don't know the wolf makes the caribou stronger, it's just that there's more money in 'sport' hunting.