Critters in AK or opponents in the Lower 48-- Palin just loves ariel hunting

Ariel hunting-- the odious practice of shooting wildlife with high-powered rifles from 500 feet in the heated comfort of an aircraft-- is one of the more controversial "conservation" measures promoted by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Just watch:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=30272870

Now, any one who calls this cowardly practice "hunting" or "sport" renders an insult to the ethics of real hunters and sportsmen everywhere. First, where I hunt, we would never consider taking an animal in a manner where, if the animal is wounded, it could not be tracked and, if necessary, quickly dispatched to alleviate the animal's pain. It's simply part of the Hunter's Ethic.

Ariel hunting makes this well-neigh impossible. Since aircraft can seldom land in the Alaskan wilderness, most wounded animals die in unspeakable pain.

Second, let's call a spade a spade here. These people hunt bear and wolves from the air because, in a fair ground hunt, the bears could theoretically fight back. They hunt from the air because they're bed-wetting cowards.

It's no surprise then that a politician who would advocate ariel hunting would start off her campaign with a barn-burning speech smearing her political opponents, then announce to the world that she is no longer speaking to the media or the American People outside of the environment of scripted, tele-prompted GOP political events.

Ain't life grand...Squeeze off a few rounds at the majestic animals down below then peal on back to the airport for a steak and a beer, all the while patting yourself on the back for your intrepid hunting skills.

In the alternate universe of Republican campaign spin, this is what passes for courage.

aerial?

That's cruel.

I bet she skins dalmatian puppies, too!

delete

air hunting (predator control) is undertaken by the Department of Natural Resource officers and not recreational hunters. A disgusting practice yes, but not something Palin herself does.

It's a raw power and ego trip.

We've known about this for over a week now. :boring:

...armed only with a serif font, monospace.

None of that sissified, proportional sans-shit.

Oh.

I thought you said "Arial hunting..."

is to keep the predator populations down so that the moose and caribou populations go up. And the reason they want to keep the moose and caribou populations high is so there are enough of them to hunt.

Aerial shooting of wolves and bears isn't considered hunting, it's just population control.

sw

NOT just for Fish and Game wardens.

The state exploits a loophole in the AHA to allow private hunters and private pilots, rather than Alaska Department of Fish and Game personnel, to “control” wolves from the air or chase them to exhaustion and shoot them from the ground.

are ever to have some credibility with the likes of people like me, who understand that hunting and owning firearms aren't the devil's playground.
I am an environmentalist who has spent a good lot of time in the wilderness and I understand the synergy of gun ownership and hunting, but if you guys who consider themselves real hunters and sportsmen don't expose these horrid people, you will be lumped with them. I sort of blame Hemingway for this great white hunter mentality although I love him as an author.

duck hunters; good of you to bring this up.

:hurts: