Wolf Pup Killing Proposal on National News

[deltecs]

The article stated that proposals to Alaska Fish and Game board include one that permits killing wolf pups in the den.  It seems that Game Management Unit 19 is affected.  I don't have a problem with it, but one can be sure of the environmentalists outcry soon forthcoming.  I personally am unaware of the effects suggesting the proposal but with the wolf problems in populated areas becoming more pronounced, it may be the solution.  Any Alaskans have any input about this?

[Sourdough]

Defenders of wildlife are already up in arms about this.  That is why it made National News, so they can get bad press started about it.  The natives had been doing it for centuries, till the F&G told them to stop.  Now we are to the point that it needs to be done.  The Antis are going ballistic.  We also have proposals in to do the same thing with Black Bears. 

[deltecs]

I knew the natives had practiced this in the past and F&G had regulated against it one time.  Just curious as to whether it has a chance of being reinstated.  This article had none of the antis remarks yet, but I do think it got national attention so they could.

[NONYA]

Id like to get a few little wolf pup hides,make a nice soft bed for my dog.

[Daveinthebush]

  Managing Alaska's wildlife should be done by Alaskans, not rights groups.

[kid_couteau]

Probably not going to be popular with this but so be it

I am against killing pups

Adults that cause problems sure but not pups

Dont seem right to me

Kid

[NONYA]

Pups are lots easier to locate,they turn into full size wolves that kill baby animals every chance they get.

[blackpowderbill]

To many folks today see wolves and other wild animals through the filter of Disney's Bambi and other cartoons and movies of that ilk.
A pest is a pest, weather it is a big mangy wolf or a scrawny little pup, it is a top predator that sees mankind as just another meal of opportunity.
Mankind is the apex of creation and as such should have to make way for no animal.

[Sourdough]

Cute, Cuddly, Little Balls of Fur, grow up to be Not so Cute, and Cuddly.  A Wolf is a Wolf, be it large or small.  It sure is a lot easier to remove them when they are small than to let them grow up.  It's not just the pups they will be killing.  They are for taking out the entire pack, when they are easiest to locate and catch, at the den.

[corbanzo]

They are gonna be against killing anything that is called a pup.  It is just the nature of the game.  For game management, it is a useful tool that actually WORKS.  Unlike most predator control methods that are out there today.  I wish that sourdough could have collected all of those rotten caribou kills in the spring, took them and plopped them right in the middle of each one of those advocates living rooms, and just left it there.  See what they say then. 

If only they had never given us electricity....  then we wouldn't hear what others say...

[corbanzo]

So after I posted that I thought of something:  find some way to bring national attention to wolf kills.  Find a way to make the rest of the US see what wolves do to the other areas around here.  If they see what wolves do, they will have an idea of the actual problem.

[Sourdough]

One thing that has not been mentioned.  The only time wolves stop traveling and stay put, where they can be found for a period of time, is when they are staying around the den and helping with the pups.  That is the best time to take out the highest volume of wolves, not just the pups.  Too bad the pelts aren't good then.

And if this aerial wolf hunting ban passes again, it may be the only way to effectively reduce the number of wolves in Intensive Management Areas.

We need to educate the people in Anchorage about wolves.  They are the ones that will be receiving the media blitzing by Defenders Of Wildlife, just like last time.  DOW knows Anchorage is the key, they don't bother with the rest of the state.  Anchorage has the little old ladies, and the non-hunting public, who are easy to sway.

[deltecs]

So after I posted that I thought of something:  find some way to bring national attention to wolf kills.  Find a way to make the rest of the US see what wolves do to the other areas around here.  If they see what wolves do, they will have an idea of the actual problem.

I mean no disrespect here, but Alaska should determine its hunting and fishing regulations without having to notify and get national consent.  I thought that was States rights to game management, except here and only here, on federal land where the feds manage the game laws discriminatorily.

[Sourdough]

Ha, now they want to make it a Federal Law to ban aerial predator hunting, nation wide.  And their is a good chance it will pass.

[deltecs]

Ha, now they want to make it a Federal Law to ban aerial predator hunting, nation wide.  And their is a good chance it will pass.

Admittedly Alaska isn't the same as when I moved here to get away from all that crap.  Now we are getting it from all sides from people who moved here to get away also, but brought their same failed opinions and decisions too.  The rest of the country thinks that what works or doesn't for them should be applied here too.  This is what I really dislike.  We have done things in this state with much more independent progression than in any other state and it is looked upon with sour grapes.  The national perception of our governor is applauded, yet this states management of things is criticized.  What gives?  Let us handle our own resources in our own manner.  We restrict our involvement within other states and ask they do the same.  I couldn't agree with you more.

[corbanzo]

I was just thinking this over as I was getting tired of thinking about it....  then it came to me.

We can't win.

Buuuuuuuuuutttttttttt.   Others can.

Hunters cannot win when they are talking about game animal preservation.  Because they will just use it as an excuse to say we want more stuff to kill.  Which I know, you know, the experts know, is totally wrong... it's about health in the interspecies relationship. 

Here is what will help.  We need to get away from the wild animal angle.  Most people think Wolf = kill caribou = normal.

So what you do is make them see:  Wolf = killing lots of caribou = less caribou = wolves still gonna kill = wolves kill little doggies and kitty cats and children = NOT NORMAL

So if you can find a picture of a small pet which was mangled by a wolf....  (which I know, you probably aren't now... but as it proliferates....)  that is a marketable image.

[ihookem]

 I'm from Wisconsin and I don't care how many wolf pups Alaskans kill . We are killing them too with big fines if ya get caught, I still don't care. I am surprised to hear about killing bear cubs, are there that many bear up there? I would be glad to get a few up there someday! Advetise bear hunts a little more and maybe the state can bring in some money instead of killing cubs. (but not that I care)

[Daveinthebush]

What the animal rights groups do not know is that wolf control is a "state" wide program.  When a native from a bush village sees a wolf they kill it.  The hide is too valuable and so are the moose that they use for subsistence hunting.  No one knows, low key program that has worked for decades.

[corbanzo]

That is very true... but some of that "program" is changing.  The natives around Alaska are adopting a different lifestyle in many areas, and as such are not so worried about control of their natural and historic resources...  it seems that many natives want to depend on the corporations and tourism instead...  Also, the population in Alaska hasn't changed much in past years, yes, it is growing... but anchorage is growing a lot faster.  People are moving into the cities from the bush, which can mean that in some areas there is less control on those populations than there has been in the past. 

I mean, honestly, it is an unwritten code between any hunter and trapper that if you see a wolf, and are able to kill it, you do so. 

The problem goes back to the ability to do so.  I have never seen a wolf in the wild.  Not one.  I've seen tracks.  I've seen them in movies.  Down here in Seward, their population isn't that high.  But once again, the population of moose isn't that high, and there are no carbou on this side of the kenai pen. so therefor not many wolves.  We do have lots of black bears though, seen plenty of them. 

So in other areas where the problem is greater, you still aren't going to see them that often, they are a very elusive animal.  The are smart, they are fast, and they are mean.  This is why that we need every advantage we can get to help control their population.