The Alaska Department of Fish and Game wants permission to gun down wolves and potentially bears near Denali and Lake Clark National Parks. Proposal 75 would add the removal of wolves, brown and black bears to the Intensive Management Plan for Unit 16—which lies between the two parks—and there are only 24 hours left to oppose the proposal.

ADFG employees would be allowed to conduct the killings using aircrafts, including helicopters.

If you’re an Alaska resident, we urge you to submit a comment in opposition of Proposal 75. The deadline to submit public comments is 11:59 p.m. Dec. 27, 2024. Comments can be submitted using this link:  https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/cf9b69c6b1b947f29bcc6226b9072fbd.

Friends of Animals submitted the following comment:

On behalf of our hundreds of Alaska members and FoA’s longtime support for protecting wolves and bears, we oppose the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s reprehensible, dark age-like Proposal 75.

We oppose predator control methods that are solely designed to make moose and caribou hunting more convenient. The so-called “population reduction objective” is ridiculous, unscientific and immoral—it’s intended to entertain hunters by bolstering moose populations—making shooting them more convenient. News flash: The measly 13% of Alaska residents who hunt are not entitled to better moose hunting!

The proposal will restart the aerial gunning of wolves and bears in Unit 16—near Denali and Lake Clark National Parks—two international destinations for wildlife watchers. It intends to reduce wolf populations by 73-80%, an objectionable goal.

FoA’s longtime wolf biologist reportedly warned that unlike moose, wolves have complex family groups. Aerial hunting removes dominant wolves first, leaving a disorganized and vulnerable family, resulting in higher death rates years after the program has ended.

We’ve also long argued that the state’s biologists have established hunting goals for moose that are grossly inflated and unreasonable.

Furthermore, a four-decades long study on the effect of wolf and bear killing on moose hunting concluded in 2022 with the determination that predator control did not improve moose hunting. So not only is the proposal ridiculous, but it’s also misguided.