(The photos are from Defenders of Wildlife, defenders.org.)
Todays Detroit Free Press had a huge article about global warming wreaking havoc on thousands of animals. It said 3000 flying foxes dropped dead falling out of trees in Australia, butterflies that lived in high altitudes of our continent have vanished, and many more species will disappear in our lifetimes due to global warming. Knowing I’m part of the human population that has created this makes me ashamed. Yet we have state’s governors working themselves into a frenzy to obliterate every last wolf if they have their way.
There has been a campaign for quite some time to stop the aerial killing of wolves. It started and continues in Alaska. Many Alaskans want it stopped, and people all over the country have petitioned Alaska to stop it. Alaska has a new governor and it’s become even worse for wolves there. The issue has finally made it to Alaska’s ballot to stop aerial hunting once and for all.
Defenders of Wildlife disclosed that Alaskan officials earmarked $400,000 in public, or taxpayers dollars, to launch a campaign of lies trying to defend its aerial hunting policy. It’s the wilderness for God’s sake. Where are these animals supposed to live? They serve a purpose, a very important purpose.
The Discovery Channel aired a special from Yellowstone Park. A ranger took the TV cameras to watch wolves. The park is thriving due to their return. The ranger showed rows of different types of brush and trees that were being eaten down by animals the wolves feed on. He pointed out how the wolves helped balance the park in many ways. They are a good thing and welcome there.
As far as livestock, there was a special on the National Geographic channel not long ago that chronicled researcher, Shaun Ellis, who has literally given his life to the study of wolves. He has proven that wolves are family oriented, stick together, and have their own territory. Wolves that might attack rancher’s cattle were deterred by simply broadcasting the howl of another family of wolves. The new invading wolves stayed away for good not wanting to disrupt the territory claimed by the other wolves. I think human beings could benefit greatly from studying wolves. They “RESPECT” one another, yet we shoot them from planes and helicopters.
There is another serious viewpoint to the politics of these wolf hunts. This inhumane hunting practice undermines the efforts of others. Our own Senator Carl Levin created a bill to stop the clubbing of baby seals in Arctic Canada. Why would Canada listen to us about seals when like barbarians, we hunt wolves this way? It isn’t about the hunters or hunting. It’s about the politics of being a horrible example to the rest of the world, and where our credibility takes another bite. America does this all the time. We point out wrongdoing elsewhere and have garbage in our own back yard to clean up, including wars, and threats of wars. Who will listen to a people who allow these things to happen? All we’ve done to exact change in this country in the past 7 years is to vote. When we do see demonstrations against politicians anymore, we are looking at other countries, not America.
This wolf witch hunt hit me and hopefully many others at a time when I am just fed up with killing. I’m already disheartened that so many animals we grew up with, that have been around for our lifetimes may just disappear. As humans we have done enough damage to the earth and everything in it. Yet we pursue more killing and once again it’s coming again from our leadership. It’s a leadership that is so out of touch with citizens that it pays no attention to petitions and outcries from the public. Isn’t this thirst for blood getting a little stale? In retrospect, the wolf commercials from the last election certainly depicted the wrong villains.
And there are worse than Sarah Palin, Gov. of Alaska, Idaho’s Gov. Butch Otter has worked his gun toting constituency into a frenzy against wolves. That state launched a ballot initiative to remove ALL wolves. What type of intelligence is this? And it comes from a governor of a state? It’s a lynch mob who uses technology to try to wipe out an entire species of animal. They obviously haven’t bothered to learn about or care enough to explore all venues for control, if control is even needed. It looks like sport hunting to me. Wyoming wants to follow this mob. The Bush/Cheney administration is pushing to hunt them in our, “OUR” national parks too.
It’s easy to see our states are no longer united. When federal legislation that was put in place by us and preceding presidents for protection of these animals is repealed by this determined, uncaring machine of a government, then the states will each have their way. This is just an example of how divided our states are already and will become even more so in the future if we keep dismantling the federal government like extreme right wing ideologists would like and have pretty much done.
I don’t like the face of this so-called moral, but militant, hostile America. I like the old vision of open plains, majestic mountains, clean water and air, animals in their natural habitat and citizens that actually act like moral beings. The message that we, “will know them by their deeds” has been neglected for far too long. The proposed deeds of this handful of governors without conscience and the Bush administration says much about their inability to have empathy, or concern for living in harmony with nature, a basic sin for this country from the beginning.
Representative George Miller of California has introduced the PROTECT AMERICA’S WILDLIFE bill, (PAW) Act HR 3663. Write, e-mail, or call your reps and tell them you want this bill supported. It will ban the use of airplanes and helicopters to kill wolves nationwide.
http://www.rallycongress.com/letter2congress/698/?gclid=CNmHspeIlJACFQdfgQodXEeO5w.
http://www.yellowstone-natl-park.com/wolf.htm
http://www.blogsmonroe.com/world/?p=52
On Septemper 10th 2001, the world was at peace with us weren’t they? Then on September 11th WE decided we’d change all that. My friend your eye site isn’t so good…….
In your peaceful world, our friends from around the world, who held us in high regard, tried to knock down the trade towers, blew up the cole, declared war on us on national TV, etc, etc, etc. It appears you would believe that when we decided that almost 3,000 lives were enough and that 18 UN resolutions that were being violated shouldn’t be tolorated any longer is when by our actions we pissed off the world. Apperently this caused you mental anguish and you now feel shameful at being American.
My friend we haven’t done everything correctly the last seven years, but we’ve been a whole lot more right then anyone else. This is the best place to live in the world. Name a better place?
No argument other nations have done wrong. You’re doing exactly what I said we do, immediately point fingers elsewhere. I’m talking about us here. You digress.
America is what it is. And it’s only the best because you think so. So good for you Keith. I don’t happen to like it all that much right now. Lets see, other places… Rhodes, Greece, Positano, Italy, Oslo, Norway, lots of places are just as nice. I didn’t know America was like a club that sticks together even in crime. I thought our forefathers expected comment, expected dissention when things weren’t honest. They sure gave us an awful lot of freedom to do so. If they didn’t expect us to disagree with the direction of our country than why all the freedom. Might as well call it a dictatorship.
You pointed the finger not me. I was simply poiting out what you forget. We’re dealing with less then an ideal situation and all you want to do is feel “shameful” about us…. My Goodness what’s it like to live like that.
You’re going to have to tell me what “crime” we are sticking together through..I’d really be interested to hear.
I meant to point the finger at us Keith. That was the whole point. Clean up our own backyard before we point fingers elsewhere. You turned right around and pointed out the elsewhere.
And yes I do feel shameful for politics to be involved with the extermination of an entire species of animal! What that has to do with our war situation is that it is just more bloodletting. We should not have let any of it happen.
Our crime is living in an ideal instead of admitting to reality and striving to improve and progress from our mistakes. It creates the additional crime of apathy in a country that was created to do just the opposite. Apathy begins when hope fades. It’s not a good thing for our country.
No hope fading here. It’s a choice to be hopeful.
I know Keith. The fact that you take the time to comment is commendable. It means you read, blog, are connected and interested. This is what I want everyone in America to do, whether we agree or not. Just be interested, informed, in this there is hope. Thanks.
[...] impressed with the Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin, who is a massive trophy hunter, supports areal wolf hunts and fur-lover of note. Hearing her slam every good thing that Obama stands for, like change and [...]
Palin is a liar. She didn’t sell the plane on Ebay. It didn’t sell there. Instead a private citizen bought it. It is now used to fly around wealthy hunters in and out of Alaska. Oh and check out Sarah’s new plane ur um jet that holds 100 people, and she’s not even VP yet. http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/JetBlue_to_operate_Sarah_Palin_s_new_campaign_plane.
There is tons of crap on the woman but no one cares about issues in this country. It’s about image. How stupid are we? We certainly can’t be hurting too badly to ignore the issues.
WOLVES kill mostly for fun. Our fore fathers killed them off for a reason. I am getting really sick of these tree hugging yuppies that helped put the wolves back on the Endangered Species List. WE need to take a role and help support men like Ron Gillett. This is a word of advice for all those yuppies out there!
Ben, you’re so uninformed it’s frightening. You never bothered to watch the special about wolves. If that’s not up to par as a credible source, our own U.S. Dept. of Agriculture conducted a 3 year study of radio collared wolf packs living on the edge of a cattle field. Those wolves crossed through the cattle yard every night. In three years time, 8 head of cattle were found dead.
Like most, you confuse coyotes and wild dog packs with wolves. Wolves honor each others territory and do not fit the same profile as coyotes. They are a big part of Native American heritage and until settlers like you describe came along, wolves didn’t have a bad wrap here.
Get educated like most of the treehuggers.
Wolf management is a necessary practice needed to keep the wolves’ population in check. Too many wolves means great livestock and game losses. We need to kill some.
idiot not need kill nature wolves i love all animal not need hunter is dumb
Night Jumps Queen:
The wolf repopulation program in this country was never allowed to reach its full potential to begin with. There aren’t too many wolves. There may be too many coyotes, wild dogs, but not wolves.
Wolf management or any animal management wouldn’t be necessary if people/hunting industry wouldn’t tamper with it. You didn’t read all the blogs on wolves. Our own USDA did a 3 year study of collared wolves tracking their path through cattle fields every night. Massive cattle kills? Hardly. Only 8 cattle were killed in 3 years with wolves cutting through the fields nightly. And a good guess is that those cattle were sickly. Ranchers find a dead cow and blame it on wolves automatically.
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