Essay #1 Rough Draft -- Death From Above (working title)

On August 26, 2008 Alaskans were given to vote in favor of or against a measure designed to prohibit the shooting of wolves with use of aircraft. The measure was passed, but still we hear cries against aerial hunting. Although aerial hunting is frowned upon, it is not as cruel as some of the news media would have Alaskans believe because it provides a clear line of sight, it is an effective form of predator control, and it decreases the need for poisons on the ground.

This brings to question: How is it not cruel? Popular media campaigns seem to demonize hunters using aircraft to track and pursue wolves. Something these groups fail to realize is that aerial sport hunting was made federally criminal in 1979. So if not for sport, then why does aerial hunting still exist? Aerial hunting exists in Alaska as a very effective means of predator control.

Imagine yourself living in a small rural community in the wilds of the Alaskan bush. Subsistence hunting is vital for survival of the community. Moose and caribou herds that roam freely throughout Alaska are the foundations of many subsistence diets. Wolves are one of the primary predators that prey on caribou and moose herds. As the wolf population increases, so the herd populations decrease. In an effort to protect the wild herds locals require wolf hunting rights, regulated both through local government and state governement. There are many places in Alaska where it is not feasible to track and hunt wolves on the ground, places like the Brooks Range, the Wrangell Mountains, and the Alaska Range. Utilizing aircraft to track and hunt wolves in these places allows the state to see and follow found wolf packs. In locations that are otherwise inaccessible, shooters can achieve a clear line of sight on their targets, making for a clean shot.

But is a clean shot humane? There are some people who protest hunting as a whole. Those people should live a year in the bush, among the native residents. Hunting is necessary for survival, and aerial hunting of wolves as a means of predator control is the most humane means to protect wild herds from depletion due to wolf attacks. Using poisons on the ground is the alternative we are left with. This method allows wolves to die in an apparent natural way because they would come upon the poisons in their natural feeding places. But poisons are indiscriminate. Poisons have a far reaching effect from the wolves themselves, to other animals that were not the intended targets. One must consider the effects of poisons on plant life, as well as subterranean creatures. Poisons too are capable of leeching into the water table.

Hunting wolves is a necessary measure in Alaska. Utilizing aircraft is the state's way of conducting effective predator control. They conduct the hunts legally and in a way that is the most humane to the animals. There is only a single shot to put the animal down, and there is no worry about the far reaching effects of poisons. The news media and lobbyist groups that find Alaska's current legal measures inhumane are out of touch with the reality of life in the bush.