ANCHORAGE, AK, -- Wolf-appearing animals in bullet proof
vests will be on display near the State�s Board of Game meeting Monday
to protest the Governor�s approval of aerial wolf killing. A rally is
scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday, November 3 on the corner of Aviation
and Spenard, near the Millenium Hotel.
Governor Murkowski�s decision to allow members of the
public to kill wolves with the aid of aircraft defies the overwhelming
will of voters in two statewide elections, and a half-million people
from around the world. His own Department of Fish and Game has a long
standing history of opposition.
For the first time in more than a quarter century,
hunters will be able to shoot wolves from the cockpit of their airplane.
�The number of wolves killed annually in Alaska has more than doubled
since aerial shooting was banned,� said Dr. Paul Joslin, Alaska Wildlife
Alliance wildlife director. �Too many hunters are already being
encouraged to kill wolves because of private bounty inducements,
liberalized bag limits, wolf trapping clinics and legalized chasing of
wolves with the aid of high powered snowmachines,� he went on to say.
Alaska voters thought they had put the matter of aerial
wolf hunting to rest when they voted twice to ban the practice, once in
a 1996 ballot initiative, and again in a 2000 referendum. Governor
Murkowski�s refusal to listen to the voters could lead the state into an
economic downturn.
In 1992, Governor Walter Hickel launched a similar wolf
control program that was so unpopular it sparked a tourism boycott.
Alaska's wildlife-associated tourism industry provides tens of thousands
of jobs and contributes approximately $1.4 billion annually to the
economy.
The bullet-proof wolf rally launches a new �Awareness�
campaign by The Alaska Wildlife Alliance aimed at trying to head off
such a disaster. It is none too soon, as Governor Murkowski�s hand
picked Board of Game will be deciding at its October 31--November 4
meeting where, when and how the aerial killing of wolves will happen
this winter. A photo will be released on Friday, October 31st at
www.akwildlife.org/wolf
Maury Mason
Executive Director
Alaska Wildlife Alliance
(907) 277-0897
[email protected]
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