Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Hunting Under Attack in Election

Sarah Palin under intense fire from animal rights groups

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has never hidden the fact that she's a proud hunter from her home state of Alaska, first with a famous photo (below) through which many Americans initially came to know of her with a caribou she shot, to Wednesday's photo (above) of the governor carrying a tote bag with the slogan "Real Women Hunt Moose."

But some animal rights advocates and activists have taken issue not only with her hunting practices, but more so her administration's stances on issues in Alaska regarding animal welfare.
Michael Markarian, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, slammed the VP nominee in a blog post, saying Republican presidential candidate John McCain's choice "cemented" his organization's decision to endorse the Democratic ticket of Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden instead.

Markarian's stinging criticism of Palin:

Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R-Alaska) retrograde policies on animal welfare and conservation have led to an all-out war on Alaska’s wolves and other creatures. Her record is so extreme that she has perhaps done more harm to animals than any other current governor in the United States.

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Regardless of your politics, the main message here is one of anti-hunting. Controlling predators by hunting out of aircraft can be a very effective way of protecting livestock. Bounties are another way of encouraging hunters to help control the populations of certain animals. When used correctly, these tools work very well and are necessary to help protect livestock. We can’t afford to lose these options for managing wildlife.

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