Shootin' Dogs From Planes?

[Bunz]

On an emotional level, it seems terribly cruel.

Yeah the folks from PETA write a few dozen post cards to the Governor every year. They also have an ongoing tourism boycott on Alaska. In the meantime, tourism is growing every year and those PETA idiots spend money to fly up here and protest themselves.

What I don't know is what would keep the wolf numbers under control if they weren't culled by hunting?

Mentioned earlier was relocation or sterilization, there are probably other methods of controlling number also.

And, are they being killed because they tend to overpopulate, or in order to preserve livestock being grazed in their territory?

See this raises an interesting question, because it is not livestock grazing. But wild animals predation. No to much livestock in Alaska.

 

[Bunz]

Well,

Alaska is big cant they go live in the part people dont live?

Bring them to Oregon, we are 50 percent government land, that no one will ever buy. We can let them live in our forest.

There are thousands that live in areas where there is no human habitation for 100s of miles. They are also in areas of the largest urban center in the state.

The area in question is rural though.

As for relocation, it is much easier said than done in terms of what would be needed to actually pull it off. The logistics are a nightmare and the political hoops are plenty. With no guarantee of success.

 

[PLC1]

Yeah the folks from PETA write a few dozen post cards to the Governor every year. They also have an ongoing tourism boycott on Alaska. In the meantime, tourism is growing every year and those PETA idiots spend money to fly up here and protest themselves.

Mentioned earlier was relocation or sterilization, there are probably other methods of controlling number also.

See this raises an interesting question, because it is not livestock grazing. But wild animals predation. No to much livestock in Alaska.

Is there no natural factor that keeps the numbers in balance? How is it that wolves didn't overrun the whole state before humans started hunting them?

Is it that we are actually in competition with the wolves for a finite resource, the big game animals of Alaska? If so, then that does raise some interesting questions.

By comparison, 128 wolves is nothing compared to the number of dogs that are euthenized to keep their numbers in check.

 

[Bunz]

Is there no natural factor that keeps the numbers in balance? How is it that wolves didn't overrun the whole state before humans started hunting them?

Is it that we are actually in competition with the wolves for a finite resource, the big game animals of Alaska? If so, then that does raise some interesting questions.

By comparison, 128 wolves is nothing compared to the number of dogs that are euthenized to keep their numbers in check.

Well the unnatural factor is the need for people to eat moose and caribou.
If left alone naturally, it would work similar to any other predator/prey poppulation dynamics and the cycles that go along with it.
Wolves eat moose, wolves breed more because of plentiful food. Moose numbers drop. Less moose for wolves to eat, wolves starve eventually.

 

[Pandora]

There are thousands that live in areas where there is no human habitation for 100s of miles. They are also in areas of the largest urban center in the state.

The area in question is rural though.

As for relocation, it is much easier said than done in terms of what would be needed to actually pull it off. The logistics are a nightmare and the political hoops are plenty. With no guarantee of success.

well the ones that are already in non human habitation, why do they have to kill them?

 

[PLC1]

Well the unnatural factor is the need for people to eat moose and caribou.
If left alone naturally, it would work similar to any other predator/prey poppulation dynamics and the cycles that go along with it.
Wolves eat moose, wolves breed more because of plentiful food. Moose numbers drop. Less moose for wolves to eat, wolves starve eventually.

When you look at the whole picture, it's no more cruel for them to be shot than for them to starve. All animals tend to overpopulate, and need something to keep their numbers in check, maybe even human animals.

 

[Here We Go]

When you look at the whole picture, it's no more cruel for them to be shot than for them to starve. All animals tend to overpopulate, and need something to keep their numbers in check, maybe even human animals.

Gad! What about areas where humans overpopulate? Could this be a vision of the future?

 

[pocketfullofshells]

Gad! What about areas where humans overpopulate? Could this be a vision of the future?

if there is can I get the job? man there are alot of people I would mind weeding out

 

[Here We Go]

if there is can I get the job? man there are alot of people I would mind weeding out

Now, that's a Good One!

 

[Bunz]

well the ones that are already in non human habitation, why do they have to kill them?

Well there is only two special areas where aerial hunting is allowed. In other places, it is legal to hunt them through ground methods, and trap them. Then there are places where killing them in any way is illegal.

The goal with this area, is to increase the subsistence resources for locals whereas the high predator poppulations are making it increasingly difficult for humans to secure thier food resources.

 

[Bunz]

When you look at the whole picture, it's no more cruel for them to be shot than for them to starve. All animals tend to overpopulate, and need something to keep their numbers in check, maybe even human animals.

This is an interesting point of debate. Plenty of people argue that if the wolves starve from overpoppulation, than so be it, but it is not the place for humans to do so.

 

[Bunz]

Gad! What about areas where humans overpopulate? Could this be a vision of the future?

Vision of the future? I dunno. But certainly things of this sort have happened in hard times throughout history.

 

[PLC1]

Vision of the future? I dunno. But certainly things of this sort have happened in hard times throughout history.

It has been happening pretty much constantly ever since humans left the Olduvai Gorge, or Eden according to your beliefs. We call it war. It's a vision of the past and of the present, why not of the future as well?

 

[Bunz]

It has been happening pretty much constantly ever since humans left the Olduvai Gorge, or Eden according to your beliefs. We call it war. It's a vision of the past and of the present, why not of the future as well?

Wishful thinking mostly. If past history is any indicator of future event, then it will. I just wish it wasnt that way. I have seen first hand widespread hunger and it is the saddest sight of life.

Honestly, this is a tough issue for me. It is huge in Alaska. I mean a very divisive issue for some people, which in a small state like AK, becomes a hot button one.
Either way, I fully support subsistence use when it is viable and managed properly. I survive on it myself. I dont know how worthy a method it actually is. It is more sporting than one would think really. Quite difficult hitting a wolf sized target from a moving airplane. I just dont know if the ends justify the means.

 

[PLC1]

Wishful thinking mostly. If past history is any indicator of future event, then it will. I just wish it wasnt that way. I have seen first hand widespread hunger and it is the saddest sight of life.

Honestly, this is a tough issue for me. It is huge in Alaska. I mean a very divisive issue for some people, which in a small state like AK, becomes a hot button one.
Either way, I fully support subsistence use when it is viable and managed properly. I survive on it myself. I dont know how worthy a method it actually is. It is more sporting than one would think really. Quite difficult hitting a wolf sized target from a moving airplane. I just dont know if the ends justify the means.

I'm not sure either, but predator control in one form or another is a good idea.

Here in California, the hunting of mountain lions was outlawed some twenty five or so years ago amid much controversy. Since that time, we've seen a drastic decline in deer populations, and a few instances of cougar attacks on humans, which was almost unheard of before the ban. Attempts to reintroduce mountain goats to the Sierra Nevada have largely been thwarted due to predation by mountain lions. Ranchers, predictably, take a dim view of mountain lions amid their cattle.

On an emotional level, the idea of a creature such as the mountain lion running free is positive, and the idea of killing one for sport is a negative to most people. On a practical level, we now have more mountain lions than we need to keep a balance of nature.