ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A national
animal-rights group has pledged a tourist boycott if the state kills
wolves to boost moose populations for hunters in Interior Alaska. But
villagers in the area say they need more moose to keep food on the
table.
The Alaska Game Board is considering predator control on 520 square
miles near McGrath, 200 miles northwest of Anchorage, to boost the
moose population.
Predator control would help protect moose calves during their critical
first two months of life when up to 60 percent are killed by wolves
and bears. The goal is to increase moose numbers so hunters can
harvest 130 to 150 animals a year.
Steffen Strict, representing the McGrath Native Village Council, told
the Game Board Thursday that the wolf population is out of control
near the village, where a loaf of bread costs $4.50 and residents
count on game for food.
"Moose meat is necessary for feeding
my family," Strict said.
But Priscilla Feral of Friends of Animals, headquartered in Darien,
Conn., said Alaska can count on a tourism boycott if the plan is
approved.
"For every dollar you spend to kill a wolf, we will match in
launching an offensive," she told the board Thursday. She
promised high-profile advertisements in major newspapers urging
tourists to avoid Alaska.
Feral said McGrath is only the first area that will be considered for
predator control. She also questioned the need for harvesting more
moose.
"No one is claiming that McGrath residents are beginning to
starve, or anything close to that," she said.
Community leaders in McGrath and surrounding villages urged the board
to follow through on previous plans to increase the moose population.
Donne Fleagle, speaking on behalf of MTNT Ltd., a village corporation
representing McGrath, Takotna, Nikolai and Telida, stressed the
importance of moose meat to residents.
"There is nothing more important to our people than a healthy
moose harvest," Fleagle said.
She said villagers would be willing to forgo hunting in the area if
they had a commitment to also remove predators and allow the moose
population to build.
Fish and Game Department biologists testified that the 490 moose in
the study area produce about 344 calves annually. Black bears kill
100, wolves kill 90 and grizzly bears kill 43, while fewer than a
dozen die of other causes. Just more than 100 survive, replacing the
98 or so adult moose killed in roughly equal numbers by human hunters
and predators.
Feral and independent wildlife biologist Gordon Haber said the Fish
and Game Department has ignored scientific review that's skeptical of
the situation at McGrath.
Board Chairman Ben Grussendorf of Sitka directed two board members to
work with department staffers to draft a recommendation for
consideration by the board next week.
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