Sarah Palin: Non Defender of Wildlife

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This is from The Defenders of Wildlife website
Sarah Palin believes in aerial hunting of wolves from defenders of wildlife:
August 29, 2008

Shocking Choice by John McCain

WASHINGTON– Senator John McCain just announced his choice for running mate:  Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska.  To follow is a statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.

“Senator McCain’s choice for a running mate is beyond belief. By choosing Sarah Palin, McCain has clearly made a decision to continue the Bush legacy of destructive environmental policies.

“Sarah Palin, whose husband works for BP (formerly British Petroleum), has repeatedly put special interests first when it comes to the environment. In her scant two years as governor, she has lobbied aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, pushed for more drilling off of Alaska’s coasts, and put special interests above science. Ms. Palin has made it clear through her actions that she is unwilling to do even as much as the Bush administration to address the impacts of global warming. Her most recent effort has been to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, putting Big Oil before sound science. As unbelievable as this may sound, this actually puts her to the right of the Bush administration. 

“This is Senator McCain’s first significant choice in building his executive team and it’s a bad one. It has to raise serious doubts in the minds of voters about John McCain’s commitment to conservation, to addressing the impacts of global warming and to ensuring our country ends its dependency on oil.”

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The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund (www.defendersactionfund.org) provides a powerful voice in Washington to Americans who value our conservation heritage. Through grassroots lobbying, issue advocacy and political campaigns, the Action Fund champions those laws and lawmakers that protect wildlife and wild places while working against those that do them harm.

As a supporter of Defenders of Wildlife and someone who cares about sound wildlife management, I strongly urge you to withdraw your support for the use of aircraft to hunt and kill Alaska’s wolves and bears.

Alaska is well known for its amazing wildlife and stunning natural beauty. It is appalling that your office and others in the state government continue to sanction the brutal aerial hunting of the state’s majestic wolves and bears in nearly 60,000 square miles of the state.

As I am sure you are aware, aerial hunting was outlawed by the federal government in 1972. Yet Alaska officials continue to skirt the law and permit aerial hunting, claiming that this terrible practice is necessary for wildlife management  — an assertion that is not supported by available data on wildlife population numbers.

This unwarranted program often leads to inhumane deaths, with hunters in low-flying aircraft shooting down wolves or chasing them to exhaustion, and landing and killing the animal at close range. In some cases, wounded wolves escape, only to experience a slow, painful death.

This program is an embarrassment to the State of Alaska. Alaska’s voters have twice rejected the use of aircraft by private hunters to kill wolves. It’s past time that state officials listen to Alaska’s citizens and put an end to this brutal and unnecessary program.

Thank you for considering my comments.

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