A Coalition To End Aerial Gunning of Wildlife
Aerial Wolf Killing in Alaska
Alaskan wolves receive no Endangered Species Act protections, and the species has
long been vilified. In the 1940s and 1950s, widespread wolf killings occurred via
poisonings, bounties, and aerial shooting by federal agents. After Alaska became
a state in 1959, poisoning was prohibited by legislative action and bounties were
soon stopped. Aerial shooting of wolves became common in the 1960s. The Alaska
Department of Fish and Game ceased issuing aerial permits in 1972 after passage of
the federal Airborne Hunting Act. The Act prohibits the shooting of wolves directly
from airplanes but left legalize the practice known as "land and shoot" -- where
a hunter can land a plane and shoot the animal from the ground.
Land and shoot wolf hunting remains a controversial practice and it is even opposed
by many hunters. It considered unsportsmanlike, unethical, and impossible to regulate.
It also leads to many other violations of hunting regulations such as chasing,
herding, and harassing wolves.
In 1996 and again in 2000, Alaskan voters banned the practice but both times the Alaskan
legislature overturned these citizen-passed laws. In 2003, the Board of Game approved
several aerial wolf control programs and since then has adopted several more.
Approximately 800 wolves have been killed by teams of private hunters and gunners from
fixed-wing airplanes.
To learn more about this issue and what you can do to help, please visit
http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/imperiled_species/wolves/wolf_recovery_efforts/alaska_wolves/index.php.
Alaskan wolf shot by aerial gunner