Alaska plans to resume aerial shooting of predators: what is known

Alaska plans to resume aerial shooting of bears and wolves for population control, aimed at increasing the number of caribou and moose.

This was reported by The Guardian, UNN.

Details  [1

According to media reports, the updated program would allow hunters to kill up to 80% of the animals on 20,000 hectares of state land. Environmental groups that oppose what they call the “barbaric” practice of shooting wildlife from helicopters are more concerned with sport than scientific practice, in part because hunters want caribou populations to increase as they are trophy animals.

Alaska's practice of indiscriminately shooting predators from helicopters is inhumane and senseless. There is no scientific evidence that this slaughter will increase moose and caribou populations, and a growing body of evidence that it disrupts the healthy predator/prey balance in the wild

The report comes after the Biden administration effectively upheld Trump-era rules that allowed other inhumane hunting practices on federal lands in Alaska, such as killing bear cubs in dens.

“Intensive management”

Alaska allows Alaska Game Agents to kill any brown bear, black bear, or wolf on some state lands. About 100 bears, including 20 cubs, were killed by helicopter in 2023.

The latter program would allow aerial hunters to kill 80% of wolves (until the population is down to 35), 80% of black bears (until the population is down to 700), and 60% of brown bears (until the population is down to 375). While supporters of the practice say that eliminating predators helps increase caribou populations, an October report on the state that examined predator killing practices came to a different conclusion.

According to a state report released in October, the main reasons for the decline in caribou numbers are disease, lack of nutrition, and harsh winters. At the same time, 65% of the animals died of starvation or dehydration.

Critics say the state also says it does not know the full impact of these practices on bear populations because it did not estimate the number of brown bears before authorizing the killings. More than half of the brown bears killed in 2024 were adult females, raising further questions about population recovery. Meanwhile, Alaska refuses to allow photographs of the slaughter, independent observers to be present, or subject the program to scientific review by the federal government.

This practice has other consequences as well: The National Park Service has halted more than 20 years of research on wolf behavior in the nearby Yukon-Charlie National Wildlife Refuge because the resident wolf population has declined.

The population of wolves in the neighboring Denali National Park has also plummeted, which has had a negative impact on tourism, a source of revenue for the state.

The number of tourist dollars from people seeking to see these predators in the wild dwarfs any increase in hunting fee revenue the state hopes to generate

Recall 

Deadly bird flu has been found in a dead polar bear in Alaska, the first known case of infection in an endangered Arctic animal. The bear's tissues tested positive for the virus.