Speak out against inhumane hunting practices

To the editor,

Alaskan residents have the opportunity to voice their opinions regarding the effort by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect native carnivores from the inhumane practices currently authorized by the Alaska Board of Game. To clarify, these changes in no way impact the ability and right for ethical hunters to continue to provide sustenance for their families. However, practices such as bear baiting, trapping, and aerial gunning on the National Wildlife Refuge lands would be no longer be legally sanctioned.

The amendments being pushed in Congress by Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young are trying to prevent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from instituting new rules to prevent certain predator controls. Bear baiting involves feeding of bears in advance of hunting seasons, so that they become accustomed to certain areas where trophy hunters can easily kill them. Trapping involves the use of indiscriminate steel-jawed leg-hold traps and snares, which are painful devices that ensnare target and non-target animals alike. Aerial gunning refers to the shooting of animals from aircraft.

Please support the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and their efforts to stop the killing of black bear, wolf, and coyote mothers in their dens. These practices are inhumane and unethical and only benefit trophy hunters looking for an easy kill.

In addition, programs that allow for the inhumane killing of Alaskan wildlife cost the state of Alaska a great deal of money, at a time where the financial situation for Alaska is quite dim. The Alaska Dispatch News reported, in an article in the March 16 edition, that the State government spent $376,000 on predator control during 2013. Your tax dollars at work! This does not address money lost to the state when tourists boycott visits to Alaska because of a decrease in the wildlife that is one of the main reasons tourists visit this state.

I encourage you to submit comment in support of the proposed rule to the Fish and Wildlife Service by April 7. Urge them to apply a ban on baiting bears, killing wolf and coyote moms and pups in dens, and aerial hunting. This is a progressive step to obtaining better management of Alaska’s wildlife.

Go to Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov In the Search Box, enter FWS-R7-NWRS-2014-0005. Click on the Search button and on the resulting page, you may submit a comment by clicking on “Comment Now!”

On behalf of Alaskan Wildlife, thank you.

Angie Lewis

Palmer