Posted on 08/10/2009 12:24:07 PM PDT by jazusamo
AIRBORNE: Hunts allowed with airplanes only when it's a biological emergency
WASHINGTON -- Alaska's predator control program to kill wolves, which drew renewed national scrutiny during former Gov. Sarah Palin's bid for vice president, is under attack in Congress.
Two California Democrats have introduced legislation that would all but ban the practice of shooting wolves from airplanes to control their numbers. The legislation, introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. George Miller, would force Alaska game officials to declare a biological emergency that shows the imminent collapse of a species without the program.
Even if the state could demonstrate such an emergency, the law would limit aerial hunting to state or federal wildlife employees, barring private contractors that are currently allowed to kill wolves from fixed-wing airplanes.
"What this bill does is essentially makes it impossible for Alaska to manage wolf populations in any sort of responsible way," said Pat Valkenburg, deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "We finally have a program that works and to end it because of the emotional feelings of uninformed people is just not a good idea."
Alaska's Board of Game renewed its aerial predator-control effort seven years ago after complaints from hunters that a healthy wolf population was preventing moose and caribou populations from recovering in some areas, including parts of the state where subsistence hunters depend on game for food. Six areas of the state -- about 10 percent of the state -- have predator-control programs in place for wolves.
(Excerpt) Read more at adn.com ...
This method of wildlife management is not meant to be sport, it is a practical way to manage wolf numbers in some areas where it's extremely difficult to manage them on the ground.
I don't know why Feinstein and Miller think they know better than Alaska wildlife officials how to manage wolves.
Wolf management Ping!
Clear violation of the 10th Amendment
They are from the south and just know better. If you don’t think so just ask them they will tell you they are much smarter than anyone who oppose them, and will use language to tell you so in no uncertain terms. YOU RIGHT WING RABELROUSER!!
Here we have two morons from a failed state telling another state what to do. These folks cannot competently govern their own state or the federal government as demonstrated by their failed policies. They simply do not know what they are talking about, IMO.
Those two idiots think they know more about everything than anyone else. They're two of the staunchest Marxists in Congress, elected by Marxist-dominated districts. They're pacifying their PETA and environmentalist constituents.
Box all the wolves up and ship the critters to Kalifornia!
Exactly! That's the way I see it also.
Again California is trying to tell another state how to manage it’s business.
Time to break up California.
I think they should just up the bounty on wolves, and allow individuals to cull the packs. This would save a lot of money in fuel and aircraft expenses, give individuals more sport and not be such bad PR. Besides, there really is something inherently wrong with shooting animals from the iar, sort of like fish in a barrel.
Yep, they're doing the same thing that Defenders of Wildlife, PETA, HSUS and most other enviro and animal rights nuts do.
Thank you! Couldn’t have said it better myself.
There are remote villages where the children are not allowed outside to play because of the danger of wolves in the area.
Feinstein and Miller need a refresher course on how much damage these predators do to the ranchers and the food supply those ranchers are raising to feed the world!!!
Beyond stupid!!
This reminds me of a story, supposedly true.
The ranchers in a particular state were having trouble with wolves killing their sheep, so the ranchers were killing the wolves.
The feds heard about it and sent some people to the area and scheduled a meeting with the ranchers and some environmental groups.
At the meeting the feds proposed that the wolves be captured, fixed and then released.
One of the ranchers spoke up saying,”I don’t think you boys know what’s going on here. The wolves aren’t screwing our sheep, they’re killing our sheep”.
I think the biggest problem trying to manage wolf populations are the large mostly inaccessible areas, that being the reason they want to use aircraft. I agree with you on the bad PR part of it.
First of all, they are Democrats. But this is really about keeping the negative news focused on Sarah Palin, because they might be able to have a picture of her in a helicopter with a rifle as a stock photo next to their story. Sarah Palin is their greatest fear. That low-pitched humming noise is the gnashing of liberal teeth as they fear they day that she comes into the Lower 48 to campaign for Republicans.
I’m sure that if there was enough incentive, ie planned hunts into back country, drops within known over-populated areas, stuff like that, that there would be a sufficient number of culls, to help. I just can’t understand someone that could shoot an animal from an aircraft. To me, it’s very distasteful and shows no respect for the animal.
LOL!
That’s true. It took place in some meeting on the subject and a rancher stood up and said that.
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