Aerial Wolf Hunting Back I do not hunter, but at the same time I support hunters and hunting. I have never had the desire to kill wild creatures for "sport" and never had the need to hunt them for game. At the same time I recognize that hunting is necessary for conservation and to maintain a healthy balance in nature. In fact hunters are among the most ardent and effective conservationists.

According to the AP, Superior Court Judge Sharon Gleason this week reversed her own earlier ruling and denied a request by Connecticut-based Friends of Animals to immediately halt an Alaska population control program that allows shooting wolves from the air.

The program aims to increase moose and caribou populations in five areas of the state and began in 2003 in response to Alaska residents complaints that predators were killing too many moose.

Gleason had previously ruled that the program did not explain why alternatives such as sterilization or habitat destruction would not work. The program created new regulations that list alternatives it considers unfeasible.

Alaska has the largest population of gray wolves in the United States with between 7,000 and to 11,000 wolves. About 400 wolves have been killed under the program with about another 400 kills planned for this year.  ¶ Saturday, February 04, 2006