Alaska Bears

[WickedLady]

I like bears. I think they are fantastic critters. I wouldn't want them wandering around my yard but I love seeing them in the wild and when I read something like this....well, I want to wring some necks and destroy some political careers.

[avalen]

they must really have a problem with the bears to get so drastic with means to
control the population of them. I always thought the polar bear was a bigger
threat.

[retiredhappy]

IMO Sarah Palin is a danger to all wildlife. She is so very proud that she is a hunter. I just don't understand how anyone can get joy out of killing something. Hunting to eat is one thing - hunting for "fun" is another.

[Nasoosie]

YOU SAID IT!!!!

[AlmostThere]

Wow! Having lived in Alaska, I'm amazed at what people get by in print and more amazed that the readers believe it!
Never would anyone agree to snaring wildlife, and certainly not large wildlife, as a legal means of hunting!!
Secondly most of the general population have no idea what it's like surviving in a state the size of the entire lower 48. My children's school district covered 26,000 sq miles! Subsistance hunting and fishing is needed by allot of folks up there. Commercial fishing keeps fish on our grocery shelves and is a highly dangerous occupation. People with jobs and any sized family, need the extra meat as it's very expensive to live in that state! Most everything is either flown in or barged the 1500 miles.
Sarah Palin is one of thousands of women to hunt in Alaska. Children at a young age are tought to use a gun. Many take gun classes to learn if they live near a large enough city, but most are taught by parents.
Shame on the news media constantly using her and her family to gain ratings and sell magazines.

[OutandAbout]

Thank you Lenora. It's time for the media to stop their senseless bashing of Gov. Palin just because it amuses them and sells their papers. Most of what they print has no merit whatsoever. If the media want to print an article ,as the above, they should really do the research, and not just repeat words from the "environmental groups" that do not. I have read about how expensive it is to live in Alaska and what the citizens have to do to live there. hunting is a way of life, not a "fun" activity. OK, off soap box.

Linda

[mitch5252]

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Wow, Lenora - I was trying to compose a reply in my head...you did it FAR better and more eloquently than I ever could have! Good job! Although I don't know when, or if, it has been passed into law, snaring is now 'legal' in a certain, specific area, and supposedly under somewhat strict rules. Critics claims that the law(s) cannot be monitored adequately. The purpose is to help bring back the moose population, which has significantly dwindled in the recent past. The moose's main predators are wolves and bears.

"News" articles with flaming rhetoric are always questionable, in my mind - rather like those emails we all get with dire warnings and to forward the email to every living person on the planet!!!

Here's a little more tame article explaining the move:

http://alaskadispatch.com/tundra-talk/news/1214-snaring-bears-starts-

I would NEVER kill an animal - any animal, but I respect the rights of hunters everywhere, as long as they follow the rules. Many hunters do not follow the rules and instead follow those that allow for their personal needs/wants, including several members of my immediate family. And what in the world does Sarah Palin have to do with it - she's been governor for just over 2 years??

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[Bethers]

Palin is a major threat to wildlife - and due to pressures put upon her because of her allowing the aerial shooting of wolves - she is resigning. And I'm glad. Just because she's a woman doesn't mean I could support her in any way, shape or form. Maybe that article is biased, but I wouldn't put anything past her when it comes to what she allows to be done to wildlife - that is NOT a threat.

Sorry - don't want to take this political - but couldn't help myself. I agree with Karen's post above 100 percent. Palin is in favor of hunting and doesn't care if it hurts the animals - plain and simple.

BTW, Bears only kill baby moose - and I mean BABIES - usually only in the first couple days of their lives. They are not a threat after that to moose. Got that at Denali - where there is NO hunting and NO helping either of the animals.

The animals that are thought in some places to be problems - wolves - are thought to be a problem to the caribou. Guess what? Even that can't be found as "fact" at Denali. When the wolf population is low (like now) the caribou population is also - should expect the opposite. A few years ago when the wolf population was high - so was the caribou population - therefore, it seems there are lots of other factors at play.