Stop Aerial Wolf Hunting in Alaska!

Thank you for caring! Representative George Miller has introduced legislation that would close a loophole in the Federal Airborne Hunting Act. The Protect America's Wildlife (PAW) Act will terminate Alaska's aerial wolf hunting program and prevent aerial wolf and bear hunting from spreading to other states.

Whether you are an American or a concerned citizen living overseas, you can help! If you haven't already done so, please watch our new video, "End Aerial Wolf Hunting" (If you'd like to see the video shown on television, be certain to log in, comment, and vote for it, then feel free to e-mail it to your friends and use the link to embed it in your web site.)

If you don't have time to watch the full, 10+ minute version above, we have just completed a 4 1/2 minute version: End Aerial Wolf Hunting - Short Version

We're also now working on short, teaser-type snippets that include the highlights but do not tell the full story and will post them on YouTube. And, for those of you who don't have a high-speed Internet connection, you are welcome to read the full transcript, including links to all supporting documentation, here.

The wolves need your help. If you are an American, we encourage you to contact your legislators (http://www.house.gov/writerep/) and encourage them to support and/or co-sponsor this bill. It is critical that the legislators know that support for the wolves is coming from their constituents!

Also, even though you may not live in the United States, the wolves of America are an international treasure and you have a right to speak up for them. If you live outside of the United States, please send your comments to Governor Sarah Palin Be certain to include your full name, address, country, and phone number so she will consider it.

Personalized messages are most effective, but please remember:

Be concise - Members of Congress are busy and will appreciate a short, compelling note

Be polite - Overly emotional comments may be discounted.

Be personal - If you have seen, or want to see, wolves in the wild, say so, and mention what they mean to you. IF YOU ARE A HUNTER, please mention it at the beginning of your letter, and describe how you feel about using aircraft to kill predators and artificially boost prey populations to hunt.

Here are some points you can make:

1. Alaska claims that aerial wolf hunting is based on "sound science," but, as the video (or transcript) clearly shows, that is not true. Both Jeff Hughes, the then Regional Director of the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, and Ben Grussendorf, a current Board of Game member, have stated that they can't justify the program because of a lack of scientific data.

2. Most of the benefits are going to urban and trophy hunters, not local subsistence hunters who need the meat.

3. Idaho and Wyoming are looking to Alaska to justify beginning aerial wolf hunting programs of their own.

4. Overhunting, severe winters, inadequate habitat, poaching, and the lack of enforcement are the more likely causes of reduced prey, not predators.

5. The Board of Game ignored both public and science-based concerns in setting harvest goals. They took the artificially high, peak population numbers created after decades of aerial wolf control and poisoning, and used those estimates to set population and harvest targets for each Game Management Unit, thus ensuring that the program would continue forever.

Remember, speaking from the heart will be more effective than listing lots of facts and figures. Keep your comments short and heartfelt, and you will be heard.

Want to do more? Help us spread the word. Please write a letter to the editor to the newspapers in your area in support of the PAW Act. Be sure to include a reference to this web site. Also, send this free E-card to your friends and family to help spread the word: http://www.awimages.com/e-cards/SaveAlaskaWolves.html

We are photographers who are trying to help and thus do not accept donations. If you want to donate to the organizations who are spending their time and resources fighting this fight, please contact:

Alaska Wildlife Alliance

Defenders of Wildlife

If you'd like to see the video shown on television ("End Aerial Wolf Hunting") be certain to log in, comment, and vote for it, then feel free to e-mail it to your friends and use the link below to embed it in your web site and add it to your blogging sites.

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For more information, see:

Copy of the Protect America's Wildlife (PAW) Act of 2007
(Introduced in House)

PAW Act Fact Sheet

Aerial Hunting Q & A

Aerial Control in Other Wolf States

Hunting or Wildlife Management?

Brief History of Wolf Control in Alaska

On behalf of the wolves of America, thank you!

Dorothy & Leo Keeler