# Shooting wolves from planes. Yes or no? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 8, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692 "2008-09-08T22:34:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/21 "2008-09-09T04:37:26Z")
The article doesn’t go into any detail regarding the government agency that deals with this and that is the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Those are the people who determine the need for thinning the wolf population. Any debate regarding this should involve this department’s views and research. None of it was presented. This isn’t an article, it’s an election year hit-piece by a liberal magazine. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/22 "2008-09-09T04:39:43Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Obviously you have to test it, [which involves using the office time machine to go back 7300 years or so, plant it in the star that was where the Crab Nebula is, then hop to 1054 and watch from Tahiti.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SN_1054) That is standard sunkiller testing procedure and, frankly, I’m disturbed that you didn’t already know it. > > Once you know you have the basic design down, a sunkiller bomb has three purposes: > > 1. Obiterating one’s enemies home planets in an interstellar war when it’s clear you have lost. > > 2. Giving humanity the posthumous middle finger when it’s clear that your immortality treatments have failed–i.e., you have died. > > 3. Keeping the Fantastic Four out of your damn business. Just think though, the sunkiller bomb would be a pretty great way to break up with your girlfriend. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/23 "2008-09-09T05:51:16Z")
Actually it is a real dangerous thing for the hunters to do if they have a pilot that is not real good at low level flying… If the pilot is trying to shoot also, the odds go way up for death for the humans… The wolves of Alaska do not stay much in the wide open so the flying is mostly done in areas where a short lapse of attention ruins the airplane and those in it. Also if you get too low and close the wolf or coyote can bring you down. When the animals get really panicked and you are buzzing him close, he, thinking you are some monster bird of prey, will in desperation, attack and that means jumping at the plane. A 100 # wolf hitting the gear leg of a slow flying Cessna 172 or a Piper Super Cub is way more than enough to rip the gear off and knock you out of the air… Hunting from small planes is way dangerous… ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/24 "2008-09-09T07:44:27Z")
Science isn’t a matter of being _liberal_ or _conservative_. And Palin ignores the pleas of scientists. 172 of them. It’s in the article. Even wolf lovers such as myself understand that a balance needs to be maintained and that balance sometimes requires culling. According to this article, Palin does not understand or concern herself with the science of that balance. Shallow as a saucer. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/25 "2008-09-09T07:50:28Z")
Shooting wolves from planes? Well, if you say so, but where are you going to get a cannon large enough that will fit on an airplane? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/26 "2008-09-09T09:38:06Z")
> [@5-HT](#): > > I don’t support this because I like wolves, but I have to admit that shooting them from planes sounds pretty awesome. Shooting wolves _at_ people _from_ a plane would be even more awesome. Hmmm, no references to The Thing, or nuking them from orbit. Yet. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/27 "2008-09-09T09:53:36Z")
I say we take off and nuke the… oh. Oh. Well that’s bolloxed it up then. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/28 "2008-09-09T10:03:19Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > Hunting from small planes is way dangerous… It would be if I was the pilot. ( _steep bank left_ Oh, sorry Mrs Palin. ) ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/29 "2008-09-09T10:17:47Z")
If there is a need to keep the population in check, and so long as they don’t drive populations too low to be sustainable, i see no issues. I’m not one to deliberately wound an animal, but it happens. Nature doesn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/30 "2008-09-09T10:26:06Z")
> [@CutterJohn](#): > > If there is a need to keep the population in check, and so long as they don’t drive populations too low to be sustainable, i see no issues. I’m not one to deliberately wound an animal, but it happens. Nature doesn’t care. Oh, and picking them off from the air is perfectly natural? I guess there must be some big eagles around those parts… carrying big-assed rifles. Palin could at least have the decency to hunt these creatures using eco-friendly traditional methods, but no, convenience is far more important. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/31 "2008-09-09T10:28:00Z")
So the reason to kill wolves is to protect deer/moose is so that hunters can kill them? Sounds like Sarah Palin could be great mates with the “scientific” whale killing mob. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/32 "2008-09-09T12:24:03Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Science isn’t a matter of being _liberal_ or _conservative_. **And Palin ignores the pleas of scientists. 172 of them. It’s in the article.** \ (Bolding mine) Yes, friend **Zoe** , the article does state that 172 scientists petitioned Palin. Are these 172 scientists molecular biologists, astrophysicists or perhaps nuclear engineers? Conveniently, the article doesn’t go into detail. The scientists whose job it is to evaluate wolf population, the Alaska Fish and Game Commission scientists, have determined that population control is needed. They did this long before Palin was governor, and they will in all likelihood continue to recommend population reduction long after Palin is no longer the governor. As **Magiver** stated above: “This isn’t an article, it’s an election year hit-piece by a liberal magazine.” ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/33 "2008-09-09T13:38:27Z")
> [@Stealth\_Potato](#): > > Shooting wolves from planes? Well, if you say so, but where are you going to get a cannon large enough that will fit on an airplane? 😕 The [AC-130 “Spectre” gunship](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_AC-130)has several cannons mounted on it, notably a 40mm Bofors gun and a 105mm howitzer… The only way I’d support shooting wolves from planes is if the aircraft were WWI or WWII era fighters and “shooting” meant using wing or fuselage-mounted machine-guns to strafe them. Trying to hit a wolf-sized target from 500 feet in the air, firing a rifle from an aircraft which is flying at 200km/h? The chances of not making a clean kill of the animal are far too high for my liking. Helicopters are a different matter entirely, though. I’ve got not problem with helicopter hunting, and would like to try hunting wild pigs or deer from a chopper one day… ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/34 "2008-09-09T13:52:57Z")
I have no problem with the hunting of wolves, as long as it’s done _humanely_, use enough gun, hollowpoint ammunition, and try for a one-shot kill, if you wound the animal, it becomes your responsibility to track it and dispatch it as humanely as possible, needless suffering is to be avoided hunting from a plane, sorry, doesn’t pass the humane test so it’s unacceptable ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/35 "2008-09-09T14:09:22Z")
> [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](#): > > (Bolding mine) > > Yes, friend **Zoe** , the article does state that 172 scientists petitioned Palin. Are these 172 scientists molecular biologists, astrophysicists or perhaps nuclear engineers? Conveniently, the article doesn’t go into detail. > > The scientists whose job it is to evaluate wolf population, the Alaska Fish and Game Commission scientists, have determined that population control is needed. They did this long before Palin was governor, and they will in all likelihood continue to recommend population reduction long after Palin is no longer the governor. > > As **Magiver** stated above: “This isn’t an article, it’s an election year hit-piece by a liberal magazine.” You can read the letter [here](http://www.alaskawolfkill.com/Palin_Letter.html); it was sent to Governor Palin in 2007. Most of the scientists appear to be in relevant fields and their objections to the current policy have scientific bases. They aren’t being sentimental, but believe the most recently enacted predator control policies would unfavorably affect both predator & ungulate populations. (The wolves & bear compete with sport hunters; livestock protection is not an issue.) The Alaska Department of Fish & Game is run by a Commissioner. Denby Lloyd is the most recent appointee. Guess who appointed him! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/36 "2008-09-09T14:23:53Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The article doesn’t go into any detail regarding the government agency that deals with this and that is the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Those are the people who determine the need for thinning the wolf population. Any debate regarding this should involve this department’s views and research. None of it was presented. > > This isn’t an article, it’s an election year hit-piece by a liberal magazine. Yes and no. Palin has allowed it to continue, based upon recommendations from AF&G. There have been citizen ballot initiatives over the years to prevent aerial wolf hunting, but after the mandatory waiting time the State has just ignored them and gone back to the practice. The latest initiative of this sort just went down in flames in the August primary election. My objection to this practice is that it is done solely for the benefit of moose/caribou hunters. The Board of Fish and Game is staffed with hunters, which is like having foxes determining whether or not the chicken coop should be locked. Hunters feel they should not have to compete with wolves for game, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/37 "2008-09-09T14:53:09Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > Shooting wolves _at_ people _from_ a plane would be even more awesome. > > Hmmm, no references to The Thing, or nuking them from orbit. Yet. How about shooting wolves at coyotes while flying on the back of a person? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/38 "2008-09-09T14:59:33Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > You can read the letter [here](http://www.alaskawolfkill.com/Palin_Letter.html); it was sent to Governor Palin in 2007. Most of the scientists appear to be in relevant fields and their objections to the current policy have scientific bases. They aren’t being sentimental, but believe the most recently enacted predator control policies would unfavorably affect both predator & ungulate populations. (The wolves & bear compete with sport hunters; livestock protection is not an issue.) > > The Alaska Department of Fish & Game is run by a Commissioner. Denby Lloyd is the most recent appointee. Guess who appointed him! That’s nice but this letter came from a couple of wildlife photographers and it was directed at the Governor and not the appropriate agency. It lacks credibility. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/39 "2008-09-09T17:46:01Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Yes and no. Palin has allowed it to continue, based upon recommendations from AF&G. There have been citizen ballot initiatives over the years to prevent aerial wolf hunting, but after the mandatory waiting time the State has just ignored them and gone back to the practice. The latest initiative of this sort just went down in flames in the August primary election. > > My objection to this practice is that it is done solely for the benefit of moose/caribou hunters. The Board of Fish and Game is staffed with hunters, which is like having foxes determining whether or not the chicken coop should be locked. Hunters feel they should not have to compete with wolves for game, apparently. My family lived in Alaska a short time and it it hard to underestimate the popularity of hunting up there. Because food can be very expensive, many people use hunting to supplement their family’s groceries. Eskimos were especially into moose hunting in the area we lived. The state government places the concerns of hunters very high on its agenda. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692/40 "2008-09-09T19:33:42Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > Shooting wolves **at** people **from** a plane . . . is exactly the image I had in my mind when I saw the thread’s subject. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-wolves-from-planes-yes-or-no/462692.md?page=3)