Cheyenne's Howl

Printed in Mountain Messenger on Friday - December 12, 1997

Alaska Emergency

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I had already written this weeks column when I received a letter from the Defenders of Wildlife mentioning an emergency in Alaska. I must share with you some of the contents of the letter. The powerful anti-wolf lobby up in Alaska is back in court fighting to reverse the ban on same-day land-and-shoot hunting that was passed last year. The land-and-shoot policy allowed a hunter to stalk a wolf pack from the air, land, and shoot up to five wolves as long as he was 100 yards from the plane. Until the ban on same-day, land-and-shoot hunting went into effect, hundreds of us wolves were killed this way every year. With as few as 7,000 of my cousins remaining in Alaska, I encourage you to act now to prevent any renewed slaughter. Any contribution made to the Defenders of Wildlife within the next 21 days will be matched dollar for dollar by generous wolf-lovers (who wish to remain anonymous) up to $100,000.

There are those in Alaska who will do whatever it takes to make it easier, cheaper, and profitable to kill us wolves. Some fur buyers have gone so far as to offer a $400 bounty for each wolf killed in central Alaska's Fortymile area. Driven by greed and a deep hatred of us wolves, trappers have set hundreds of wire snare traps to collect as much blood money as possible. Because the new bounty is twice the amount normally paid for a wolf hide, we wolves are dying in record numbers. Already, more than 200 wolves have been killed in the Fortymile area. More than half the total wolf population there has been destroyed.

My cousins there are dying slow, painful deaths. Caught in snare traps that tighten and suffocate them when they struggle to get free, these wolves are enduring terrible agony. And thanks to outrageously low fees, trappers only have to pay $15 for a license to put wolves through this torture. So in other words, wolf haters are pulling out all the stops to wipe wolves off the map in Alaska.

I urge you to send a contribution today so that the Defenders of Wildlife will be able to fight this latest assault on us wolves. It will also help them oppose irrational , unscientific, state-sponsored wolf control and support critical legal efforts to preserve the same-day land-and-shoot ban. Your donation will also help Defenders to work to stop the wolf bounty and to rally public support to protect us wolves on all fronts.

Remember, any contribution to Defenders of Wildlife in the next 21 days, from pennies to dollars, will be matched up to $100,000 by anonymous donors and go directly to help save my cousins up in Alaska. Please send whatever you can to:

Defenders of Wildlife

1101 Fourteenth Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20005

Tell them it is for the Alaska Wolf matching gift fund. Thank you for what ever you can send. It will be a Christmas present cherished forever.

Cheyenne