Alaska Wolves: Publications and Facts

Gray Wolf Fact Sheet

Video

Easy targets against fallen snow, wolves can be gunned down from airplanes or chased to exhaustion, then shot at point blank range. Watch our videos to find out what aerial hunting of wolves is really like. Warning: Contains graphic footage of aerial hunting of wolves.

Photographs

These pictures were taken in January of 2007 and were obtained from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game through an Open Records Act request. If you use these images please credit the source as the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The state contends that the aerial wolf hunting occurring in Alaska is not hunting but predator control. Defenders of Wildlife believes that the use of private hunters and pilots flying fixed wing airplanes rather than professional Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists using helicopters makes this an aerial hunting program. The hunters use their own planes, pay for their own gas and get to keep the pelts.

Warning: The following are graphic images from an actual aerial wolf hunt:

*These are Photoshop files (.psd), right-click and choose the proper option depending on your web browser to save them to your computer.

Alaska's Predator Control Program Maps

Currently, 6 of the 8 approved predator control programs in Alaska are being implemented. A map of each of the active predator control areas is provided below. A map of the most recently adopted program can be found on the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website.

Petitions

In 2004, Defenders twice petitioned the Interior Department to protect wolves under the Federal Airborne Hunting Act. To date, the Department of Interior has failed to amend its regulations to close the loophole in the Federal Airborne Hunting Act.

Read our petitions and learn more >>

Issue and Scientific Reports

Predator Management in Alaska - A Critique
In January of 2008, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game published several documents regarding its predator control programs. This paper is a review of these materials.
Showdown in Alaska
A 1996 report by the Wolf Reform Coalition about wolf control in Alaska, including information about legislation and elections on this issue.
Guidelines and Standards for Predator Control in Alaska
An evaluation of Alaska's predator control programs in relation to the NRC's recommended biological standards and guidelines.
Letter to Governor Frank Murkowski
Letter and resolution from the American Society of Mammalogists asking Alaska Governor Murkowski to strengthen the application of science-based management to sound policy decisions for the wildlife and citizens of Alaska.

Links

Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Alaska Board of Game
Wolf Song of Alaska