Speaking Out For Those Who Can't

We can't put an end to human cruelty of animals. But can bring

about change to minify it by the same method used to minify

cruelty to human slaves categorized as property. No, not

a terrible war, but by merely freeing them from the

stigma of property.

I am at war with people that abuse, torture,

and wantonly kill animals,

any animal human or non human, in the name

of impulse, greed, need, interest, religion or personal choice.

J. B. Suconik

Sarah Palin and the Environment

Former governor of Alaska Sarah Palin has an extreme anti-conservation record on issues ranging from global warming, energy and drilling to wildlife and habitat protection.

The History

When John McCain chose her as his running mate in the 2008 presidential election, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund launched a swing state ad campaign to expose her anti-conservation record to the American public.

Defenders Action Fund ran two TV ads across six swing states, highlighting Palin's support for the aerial killing of wolves and the McCain Palin ticket lost all six of those swing states. See Defenders Action Fund's ads from the 2008 election.

She may no longer be governor but her anti-wildlife legacy lives on, which is why Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund is still working to end the aerial hunting of wolves, and to protect the other wildlife and habitat her policies sought to destroy.

Aerial hunting of wolves and bears

Endangered Species

Drilling

Aerial hunting of wolves and bears

As governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin actively promoted Alaska's aerial hunting program whereby wolves are shot from the air or chased by airplanes to the point of exhaustion before the pilot lands the plane and a gunner shoots the animals point blank. The program also targets bears.

	Palin offered a $150 bounty for wolves to entice hunters to kill more wolves in certain parts of the state, with hunters having to present a wolf's foreleg to collect the bounty.
	She actively opposed a ballot measure campaign seeking to end the aerial hunting of wolves by private hunters and approved a $400,000 state-funded campaign aimed at swaying people's votes on the issue.
	She also introduced legislation to make it easier to kill wolves and bears and which would have also removed the aerial hunting initiative from the ballot and block the ability of citizens to vote on the issue.
	The Board of Game, appointed by the governor, which she appoints, has approved the killing of black bear sows with cubs as part of the program and expanded the aerial control programs.

The media and state officials are currently looking into reports that state officials implementing one of the aerial wolf killing programs illegally killed five-week old wolf pups just outside their dens.

Another Palin Falsehood...
"...this is about feeding Alaskans"
--Palin spokesperson

If that's true...

	Why are sport hunter groups the biggest advocates of aerial hunting as opposed to advocates for the poor or hungry?
	Why did Palin’s administration allow out of state hunters to hunt and directly compete with rural hunters for supposed limited resources in most of the areas where aerial hunting was, and still is done?
	While governor of Alaska, why did Palin oppose what is called “rural preference” which would give true rural subsistence hunters priority access over sport hunters to the areas where aerial hunting is conducted?
	Why did she file an appeal in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to block the Cheesh-na Tribal Council from expanding their subsistence hunting in key areas?

Aerial hunting is done by private citizens flown by private pilots in private planes. They get to keep and sell the skins of the wolves they kill. Some even pose for traditional hunting trophy shots.

Endangered Species

Palin has repeatedly opposed the listing of endangered animals under the Endangered Species List despite overwhelming scientific evidence that such listings are warranted.

Polar Bear

The U.S. Geological Survey predicts that loss of summer sea ice - crucial habitat for polar bears - could lead to the demise of two-thirds of the world's polar bears by mid-century, including all of Alaska's polar bears. The Bush administration has proposed listing the polar bears as threatened under the ESA to help protect polar bear habitat from threats such as oil and gas development.

Sarah Palin has actively opposed the listing of the polar bear despite the fact that Alaska's top marine mammal biologists agreed with the federal scientists who believed the bear should be listed. She wrote the Secretary of Interior urging him not to list the bear on the ground it might hurt the state's oil- and gas-dependent economy. After the bear was listed, she filed suit seeking to overturn the listing of polar bears.

Beluga Whales

Alaska's Cook Inlet beluga whales are a unique group of white whales whose numbers have dramatically declined in the past two decades due to pressures ranging from pollution to increased ship traffic. Sarah Palin opposes the listing of the Cook Inlet beluga whales, citing the listing as a threat to oil and gas development, despite their genetic uniqueness and the fact that their numbers have decreased from 1,300 in the 1980s to about 350 today. While governor, she has indicated her intention to file suit to block the listing.

Drilling

Palin is a strong supporter of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a vital wilderness area. It is home to hundreds of thousands of caribou who use the refuge as a calving ground, more than one million migratory birds, and countless other wildlife. It's the most important onshore denning habitat for female polar bears. Palin is also a supporter of drilling in Bristol Bay and other offshore sites despite the risks to sensitive marine wildlife in the area, including the endangered polar bear and Beluga whale.

Sarah Palin Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Paid for by Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund
1130 17th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20036

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee