Wildlife Group Expands Reach of Anti-Palin Wolf Ad

WASHINGTON — These are not the typical wolves of political ads _ not the menaces depicted by George W. Bush in 2004 or John McCain just a couple of weeks ago. These animals are bloodied, gruesome victims.

As depicted in a Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund ad, they are Sarah Palin's prey. The commercial denounces, in graphic form, the aerial hunting of wolves in Alaska, a practice Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, has supported as the state's governor.

The wildlife group is expanding the reach of the provocative ad. Starting this week, what had been limited to certain markets in Florida, Michigan and Ohio will now air in Colorado, Virginia and Wisconsin.

It also will air in Missouri in time for Thursday's vice presidential debate in St. Louis.

The ad displays dark images of Palin against footage of wolves being hunted down in the snow from low-flying planes. A wolf's carcass is shown tied to the wing strut of a plane.

"As Alaska governor, Sarah Palin actively promotes the brutal and unethical aerial hunting of wolves and other wildlife," the ad's announcer says. "And Palin even encouraged the cruelty by proposing a $150 bounty for the severed foreleg of each killed wolf, and then introduced a bill to make the killing easier."

The loaded language aside, the facts of the ad are accurate, although it leaves out the motivation behind the state policy.

Palin supports the aerial hunting of wolves as part of a state-sponsored predator-control program intended to increase the number of moose and caribou in several areas of Alaska. Rural residents, who rely on hunting to survive, had complained there wasn't enough game to hunt and eat.

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The program began under her predecessor, Gov. Frank Murkowski, and continues with her support. Private citizens are permitted to shoot wolves from the air or conduct land-and-shoot hunting of wolves in five rural areas of the state. More than 700 wolves have been killed since the program began almost five years ago, state officials say.

Last year, Palin's office announced the state would offer cash to kill wolves. Incentives included offering volunteer pilots and aerial gunner teams $150 for turning in the forelegs of freshly killed wolves.

The state said the legs could help biologists determine a wolf's age, while the money helped hunters and aerial teams pay for gas and expenses. A Superior Court judge later blocked the payments after conservation groups argued the money amounted to an illegal bounty.

Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, which has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president, is a nonprofit 501(c)4 corporation that can operate outside the strict limits governing political action committees. It can raise money in unlimited amounts from individual donors and can run ads that refer to political candidates as long as they don't specifically advocate their election or defeat.

The ad has received widespread notice on the Internet and has been an effective fundraising tool for Defenders of Wildlife. The group says it raised $600,000 in the six hours after it was released in mid-September and says it now has raised $1 million.

The group is aiming the ad at suburban women and moderate independent voters.

The ad follows closely on the heels of a McCain commercial that depicted Obama researchers and investigators combing through Palin's background as a pack of wolves.

Hunter or hunted, it all depends on the ad.

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Pemberton reported from Anchorage, Alaska.

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On the Net:

Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund: http://www.defendersactionfund.org/

Comments

[solanus]

Cruella de ville; if she doesn't scare you no evil will

[GiggidyGeshmoygen]

palin and her posse go up in a helicopter and find a whole pack of wolves -

then they chase them across the snow til the wolves are exhausted and can no longer run -

the helicopter ride is loads of fun and can last up to an hour depending on how close they keep on the tails of their $150 targets -

at this point the whole adventure becomes target practice and it's just a matter of somebody chopping off the front paws -

[Barbara2423]

This ad was so effective, I donated for the first time.

[Mysticalsister]

It's the NRA and the hunting industry that is behind this law. Pilots charge $500 dollars an hour to take hunters out to kill the wolves, which they chase down by plane or helicopter until the animals are so exhausted that they lay panting on the ground while being shot with high powered rifles from the air. The hunters are not restricted to shooting adult animals either -- they have been known to slaughter cubs in their burrows, as well. Wolves have not over-bred in Alaska, and despite a claim to the contrary, there are large herds of moose and caribou in Alaska. The NRA and the bush pilots have lobbied heavily for this "sport" under the guise of helping indigenous people find food.

It's a great big money making lie. And it's a crime against nature. But Sarah Palin likes to be liked by her fund raisers more than she cares about doing what is right. Which is why she filed a law suit keeping polar bears off the endangered species list.

Even the Bush administration thinks polar bears should be classified as endangered, so that should tell you something about Sarah Palin.

[Manx]

How could any thinking person consider voting for a ticket that includes a woman like Palin who gets cheap thrills from shooting innocent wild dogs from an airplane? Disgusting!

[AlphaDoc]

Truly grotesque. Seeing this ad left me speechless and teary-eyed. Yes, I knew about the practice of hunting wolves from the air, but seeing it is powerful indeed. There is a wolf lying here at my feet while I type, and she is the sweetest and gentlest creature imaginable. Shame on Palin and all those like her.

[Emerald1943]

This is one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen! I cannot abide cruelty to any animal and this takes the cake!

If they were aiming at a certain demographic, I guess I fit the bill! I intend to send this link to every Republican I know!

Obama/Biden '08

[tililek]

This is no different from those 'canned hunting areas' where hunters with powerful guns can kill old and wounded animals who are also drugged so those hunters can show off their bravery and prowess.