Palin Shows No Love for Baby Wolves

On a beautiful Alaskan summer morning in July of this year, a litter of 4-week-old wolf cubs were napping in the safety of their natal den, cuddled together, little bellies full of mother's milk when suddenly they were roughly pulled, half asleep, into the light of day and one by one, had their brains blown out by a bullet to each one of their tiny little heads. Who could do such a thing? A group of Alaskan state employees who were helicoptered into the wolves habitat at the behest and with the blessing of Gov. Sarah "Terminator" Palin, that's who.

On federal land it is illegal to kill pups in their den (a practice charmingly referred to as "denning") but the mother wolf had made the grave mistake of giving birth to her babies on state owned land, so Palin's posse had the legal right to kill those pups on the spot.

photo credit: First People

The reason Palin and her mighty hunter pals want to kill off most, if not all of the wolves (and bears) in Alaska is to reduce the hunter's competition for the elk and caribou. Even though generations of Alaskans have negatively impacted the caribou and elk population through over-hunting, logging and other human activity, somehow the wolves are being made to pay the price for the decimation of these herds. What state game officials in Alaska will tell you is that it is necessary to kill predators in order to sustain the elk and caribou population, but what they won't tell you is that they kill wolves, bears and other predators in order to artificially boost the herd numbers so there are plenty of animals for the hunters to shoot. Given that only a tiny fraction of the U.S. population must hunt for sustenance and given the fact that our grocery stores are brimming with meat for our dinner tables, why must we mess with the main source of a wolf's diet?

In her all out war against the wolves, Gov. Palin used the power of her office to help defeat a ballot measure in Alaska last month that would have banned the cruel and decidedly unsportsmanlike practice of aerial hunting of wolves. She approved a $400,000 state-funded propaganda campaign to promote aerial hunting and proposed to pay a $150 bounty for the left foreleg of every wolf killed. She is also helping to pass legislation to make it even easier to hunt wolves and bears from aircraft.

And if you are wondering what happened to the wolf cub's mother, well, she, along with the rest of her pack, were killed by the same state employees, only in the mother wolf's case, she died by a bullet (or two or three) shot from a helicopter.

No one can express how I feel about hunting better than Matthew Scully, author of Dominion: The Power of Man, The Suffering of Animals, and The Call to Mercy one of the most compassionate books ever written about animals. He writes: "Such terrifying powers we possess, but what a sorry lot of gods some men are. And the worst of it is not the cruelty but the arrogance, the sheer hubris of those who bring only violence and fear into the animal world, as if it needed any more of either. Their lives entail enough frights and tribulations without the modern fire-makers, now armed with perfected, inescapable weapons, traipsing along for more fun and thrills at their expense even as so many of them die away. It is our fellow creatures' lot in the universe, the place assigned them in creation, to be completely at our mercy, the fiercest wolf or tiger defenseless against the most cowardly man. And to me it has always seemed not only ungenerous and shabby but a kind of supreme snobbery to deal cavalierly with them, as if their little share of the earth's happiness and grief were inconsequential, meaningless, beneath a man's attention, trumped by any and all designs he might have on them, however base, irrational or wicked."

Irony of ironies, Matthew Scully also happens to have penned Palin's successful and effective vice presidential acceptance speech. How strange a world we live in and all its contradictions.

If you want to help the fight for the survival of American wolves, please visit Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to learn more. And here is a video that will show you all you need to know about aerial hunting.

Comments

[liberal lady]

I was in Wasilla this past July and stopped in the Sportsmens Warehouse (sporting goods store). There were many hunting trophies mounted on the walls, and I was appalled to see that there is a GIRAFFE among them! A giraffe head and it's 20 feet of neck! I wondered at the time, who the heck hunts giraffes? It can't be any more sporting than hunting cows. But that was in July. I now know of the infamous Sara Palin and her sense of sportsmanship. I'm guessing that giraffe trophy is hers, probably hunted down at the local zoo and shot from the safety of a hovering helicopter.

[AslanRules]

Most people don’t want to think about what it means to pay bounty on a wolf’s legs, they just want the money! Someone here posted about what the office might look like where you turn those legs in…bloody, hairy, stained paperwork…and where do they put the legs after the bounty is paid? Who carts them away, incinerates them. etc.

Typically, we don’t want to think about the “logical conclusion” of selections or decisions we make…and we have to start doing that.

[greenwriter]

Sarah Palin is positively medieval in all her views, especially in her seemingly endless cruelty toward animals. What kind of a mother is this? We already knew that Ms. Palin proudly doesn't believe in evolution or global warming, and thinks that rape and incest are sacred acts of creating life. No wonder she also believes that the end of the world is coming within our lifetime -- she's helping to usher it in! In any other country, Ms. Palin would be reduced to shrieking her madness from the lunatic fringe of politics. Here, she's the celebrated heart and soul of a major political party. What has happened to our country?!!

[enveg01]

Thank you for this piece that unmasks Sarah Palin for who she is. How a mother of five could have such a lack of compassion when it comes to animal suffering escapes me completely. How sad that this is the best the Republicans thought they could offer us for the VP spot. We should all be scared sh*tless if the Republicans win come November.

[Karin I]

I am so glad to finally find this anywhere in the news sites-why isn't it on the tv? I feel this truly addresses the character of Sarah Palin-not only does she encourage killing wolves and is not even an answer for helping caribou and moose populations. I remember watching "Never Cry Wolf" where Farley Mowat proves that wolves do not sustain themselves the majority of the time on those animals. Wolves mostly kill sick and old large animals when they are available. In the spring wolves sustain themselves on mice. I really hope that this is brought out on the "news"-people feel very strong about abuse of animals (especially dogs and animals in the dog family) and this is clearly a case of abuse. Wolf numbers are kept in check with the game available -if no food is around then wolves will die. I just feel ill over this issue and the fact that she asked the librarian how to remove books from the library is a very scary thought for me----

[Roryfreedman]

Regardless of party affiliation, Sarah Palin is an alarmingly poor choice for Vice President. Her utter disregard for wildlife and the environment is just one of the many reasons she is entirely unsuitable for any public office, let alone one of such importance. We are asked to identify with Palin as a typical mom, yet I do not know a single mother who would support such callous and barbaric behavior, let alone partake in such acts herself.

[M.S. Bellows, Jr. - Huffpost Blogger]

OK, the part about Scully writing both a sensitive pro-animal book and a Republican's acceptance speech is so surreal that I've gotta ask: really? Sure it's the same guy? Yow.

[Cheri Shankar - Huffpost Blogger]

It was hard for my brain to process too, but it is TRUE. I am acquainted with Matthew Scully through my advocacy work for animals. His compassion knows no bounds when it comes to the animals and I HIGHLY recommend reading his book, Dominion. It is hard to reconcile the fact that he is helping a candidate that has such opposing views on the treatment of animals. Maybe he feels he can help alter or influence Palin by being in proximity... I don't know.

[PhatP]

Matthew Scully does what all conservatives do all the time. They throw out a part of their own ideology or even abandon their own allies if it means it will possibly help keep them in power or in the money. It happens over and over. Rail against something until it becomes a part of your road to victory or pay day.
Matthew wrote the speech (mainly the bumpersticker parts) weeks before he even knew who McCain was going to choose. So he had the chance to back out. Don't forget that Scully is alone in his animal advocacy position in this world of rightwing politics. His neo con world is based in greed and power lower taxes but more wars.
Mr Scully wrote a book where he spends several chapters attacking hunters and anyone who takes delight in harming oor killing animals. Yet, when faced with losing his place at the rightwing feeding trough he sold out the animals and gave Sarah Barracuda the meal ticket to the White House.
On a quick note...90% of the hunting organizations in the USA are Christian faith based or associated with Christianity in some way. Google it you be afraid ..very afraid. But you won't be confused anymore.

[patianneb]

He is one in the same. He is evidently a devout practicing Christian who believes that the "dominion" granted by God to humans should be defined as one of stewardship, responsibility and decency.
This is in marked contrast to many who call themselves Dominionists (of which P@lin is one) who believe that dominion translates to domination and subjugation. In effect: "The earth and everything in it is mine to do with as I wish -- God said so."

[EDBUCK]

Is Sarah Palin a flashback from a bad acid trip someone had? The disconnect with the Republican Party and the words and deeds of this VP pick are appalling. Shooting wolves from helicopters at taxpayer expense so we can have more moose for hunters to shoot is insane. Why not just shoot fish in a barrel and call it a hunt, much cheaper. What are they putting in the Kool-aide up there.

[11becky11]

I am glad to see more articles about Sarah Palin supporting Aerial Wolf Hunting. I've brought it up in dicussions in blogs, and get called a tree-hugger. The main thing is that in most cases, the wolf is shot from a helicopter or an airplane using a shotgun, and in most cases the wolf does not immediately die. The wolf gets run into exhaustion (with several bullet wounds), and then the helicopter/airplane lands and the hunter shoots the wolf point-plank. This is animal cruelty. I'm not saying I'm a vegan, but cows are killed very quickly for their meat. I think killing wolves and bears in this manner of Aerial Hunting is cowardly. I am frustrated that this story isn't more well-known. Sarah Palin is not just a "hockey mom".

[omtntop]

Cheri. Thanks again for another wisdom filled blog. Mathew Scully is the most shocking part of this report. It blows my mind how fractured and disassociative human minds and hearts can be. I challenge you Mr. Scully to get to the bottom of your confusion and pick a damned side. I'm appalled by you. By your arrogance. By your need to air your schizophrenic thoughts at any cost.

Scientists and psychologists alike look for cruel behavior towards animals as signs of sociopathic and potential serial killer behavior. I for one have zero desire to find out if Sarah Palin's passion for animal abuse will lead to something as sinister or worse against other human beings.

How is anybody in America actually falling for this charade?