(X-POSTED)

[lbluepaw]

Defenders of Wildlife has produced a powerful flash video depicting the horror of aerial gunning, with a strong warning to potential viewers because it graphically shows wolves being killed from airplanes. This video depicts a brutality that can no longer be ignored

Comments

[john_pullinger]

I hate that wolves are killed. I hate to a lesser degree that Defenders of Wildlife have taken a shock approach rather than a more credible and well-founded standpoint such as that taken by Dr.Victor Van Ballenberghe (http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/wolf/alaska/vic.pdf). It strips an objection to the aerial hunting of credibility and authority when people ring up the governor going "it's cruel so you shouldn't do it". Even though I agree wholeheartedly, that kind of approach in politics doesn't work nearly as well as going and getting scientific corroboration to throw at them. They don't mention in the video that the public take of wolves in Alaska has been at a steady nigh-1,500 for at least seven years, yet they don't seem to show too much concern there, only when the government is responsible and not the public. Strange, isn't it?

With that said, I'm completely against the aerial killing plan. Artificially boosted game levels should not be used as a historical basis for maintaining those levels. Historically, game levels were even lower than they are today, and so a true ecologist would be trying to return to those levels, which don't benefit humans so much, and not trying to inflate them even further. I could rant and ramble all day about this, but I have to run to Animal Behaviour, I hope I made sense. *Growls at the wolf control situation in Alaska and makes his way through the cold to Murray Hall*

-John