Press Statement
Ashley Judd's Statement on Aerial Wolf-Killing
The following is a statement from actress and activist Ashley Judd on aerial killing of wolves in Alaska.
"I am a conservationist. I grew up in Kentucky, Tennessee, and northern California, places with a proud tradition of the kind of wildlife conservation that our country's sportsmen and women, like President Theodore Roosevelt, introduced early in the last century. Like many people in my home states, he was a hunter – one who respected wildlife and disapproved of cruel and unsportsmanlike treatment of wild animals. In one notable incident, he refused to shoot a southern black bear that had been captured for his shooting pleasure. He refused because the animal did not have a fair chance to escape. It is from that incident, by the way, that stuffed toy bears became known as “teddy bears.”
"With rare exception, since then, America has tried to build on that proud wildlife conservation tradition. When it was determined that wildlife needed protected reserves, we created a system of wildlife refuges that gave them a permanent home. When it became clear that some species were being driven toward extinction by human activities, we passed the Endangered Species Act. And when Alaska allowed the airborne hunting of wolves, a gruesome practice that causes great suffering and allows the animal no chance of escape, we enacted the federal Airborne Hunting Act to stop the practice.
"For decades, the Airborne Hunting Act did stop aerial wildlife hunting. But now in Alaska, Governor Sarah Palin is again championing it, and her program last year slaughtered over 100 wolves by chasing them with airplanes in the deep snow, and then shooting them as they struggled. I have learned that all that is necessary for someone to engage in this cruel and unsportsmanlike activity is for the individual to be a state resident, obtain a hunting license and state permit, and engage a similarly credentialed private to fly him in a private plane to an area within the approximate 64,000 square miles (some of it federal public land!) that is available for this activity. The wolf killer can keep the wolf's head and body parts for trophies for him/herself or to sell to others. (Once the governor attempted to also award them $150 for each severed left foreleg of a killed wolf, but that – fortunately - was disallowed by a state court.) For this winter, the governor’s administration has set a goal of killing up to 616 wolves, five times as many as last year. Shockingly, they have said they want to kill 80% of the wolves in many huge areas.
"I well understand that the Palin administration does not call this aerial hunting. It says they are only managing wildlife by killing wolves (they also allow the use of aircraft in a land-and-shoot operation to kill increasing numbers of brown and black bears, including sows and their cubs), so that they can artificially increase the number of moose and caribou available to Alaska and wealthy out-of-state hunters to shoot. And they further claim that evidence shows that wolves (and bears) are decimating moose and caribou populations so that there is an emergency need to save the moose and caribou so that more can be killed by hunters. Their press statements also state that their main concern is allowing poor rural subsistence hunters to find enough animals to kill so they can eat.
"Frankly, their claims are fully disingenuous. The governor’s administration seems to want us to believe that suddenly, after evolving together for thousands of years, predators and prey in Alaska have suddenly become unbalanced so emergency actions like aerial slaughter are needed. But literally hundreds of scientists around the country, including the prestigious American Society of Mammologists, and many scientists within Alaska, say the state government’s supposedly “scientific” evidence is simply not credible. Repeatedly, scientific experts from all across the country have told the Palin administration that, and outlined what is necessary to provide credible scientific analysis, and repeatedly their advice has been ignored. In this situation, I believe then that what Alaska is doing - allowing private hunters to shoot wildlife using aircraft without scientific justification- is simply wrong on all levels of thought and feeling and has no place in modern America. It isn’t “management,” but is simply vicious and unsportsmanlike hunting. I do not say this as someone opposed to hunting, an ancient and even spiritual act that at its best reminds us of our interdependence with all life, but as someone opposed to what is happening in Alaska and could easily spread to other states. Some Idaho officials have already said they want to initiate Alaska-type aerial killing.
"I am deeply opposed to hunger anywhere; food insecurity in this nation of at times obscene abundance is unconscionable. But the main supporters of aerial killing in Alaska are not advocates for the needy, but rather the commercial hunting industry and its allies. I am told that if Governor Palin really believed rural subsistence hunters needed help finding enough prey animals to shoot, she could give them “rural preference” over wealthy, out-of-state trophy and urban hunters. But she has consistently refused to do that, which clearly suggests that that argument is for public relations purposes only.
"Aerial hunting in this country is rightly an issue for the federal government to decide – and it did so by outlawing it in the Airborne Hunting Act. Nonetheless, I am impressed that twice in general elections Alaska voters have restricted even less troublesome forms of aircraft-assisted wildlife killing -- only to see their rejection overturned by the state legislature. Former Alaska Governor Tony Knowles has consistently opposed such killing, as have many Alaska hunters. I believe that all state polls that have asked the question have found that a majority oppose massive aerial wildlife killing programs. Only in a 2008 primary election, in which turnout was seriously slanted in Palin’s favor, did voters decline to pass a state initiative that would have outlawed the practice. And in this case, her government spent $400,000 of public money “educating” state residents on the benefits of her program.
"One might hope that Alaska’s Board of Game, which makes key decisions about where and how to implement the aerial killing program, would reflect the state’s broad range of interests in wildlife. But it is appointed by the governor and is made up entirely and solely of individuals devoted to hunting, trapping and the consumptive use of wildlife. Alaska has a thriving tourist trade, with many visitors coming specifically to view Alaska’s stunning array of wildlife, including wolves and bears. Yet, there is not one voice on the Board of Game that speaks to tourism’s interests.
"Finally, as someone who strongly believes in good stewardship of the land we will leave to future generations, I am concerned that many scientists have said that this aerial killing program could end up manipulating the natural ecosystems in an unhealthy way. They have said to the governor that if the program does succeed in massively eliminating wolves across 60,000-plus square miles, it could both threaten the viability of the predator populations and artificially grow the prey populations to the point that they over browse their habitat and create a situation where – as has happened before – the animals starve to death during a brutal winter. We must remember that all species exist in a delicate web of life, and that if anyone tears even little holes in that web, it can fray with very unhealthy consequences.
"I feel very strongly about upholding our country’s proud wildlife heritage. And I do not think I can do that by remaining silent in the face of the shameful, unscientific activity going on in Alaska. Governor Palin’s enthusiasm for aerial shooting of wildlife insults the integrity of true hunter sportsmen and women by claiming to be a valid and science-based practice. It is not. It is unjustified slaughter.”
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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.
Contact:
William Lutz (202) 772-0269
Jessica Brand (202) 772-0239
