Tell President Obama to Stop the Merciless Killing of Wolves!

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Sunday, January 16, 2011

 

Dear President Obama,

 

Today, we are writing you to express our concern for the wolves of the United States of America.  They are brutally hunted and, with your help, we ask that you make hunting wolves illegal.

 

There are two main areas in which wolves are constantly hunted: Alaska and the Greater Yellowstone region.  The Greater Yellowstone region consists of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. 

 

In Alaska, the most common form of murder is aerial hunting.  In the winter, hunters will fly out with a pilot in a small, low-flying, slow-flying plane in search of wolves.  When a wolf pack is spotted, the plane will practically dive-bomb the pack and separate a few wolves from the rest of the pack.  The plane will then chase the wolf in the deep snow, hailing the poor creatures in a case of bullets, causing them a slow, painful, and bloody death.  The planes will also keep the wolf running until they are so exhausted, they collapse and the hunters then shoot them at close range on the ground.  After the wolf is dead, the hunter will most likely cut off the left foreleg of the wolf to present to the Alaskan government for a bounty of $150.  Many wolf lovers%u2019 wonder: is $150 the price of life?

 

In the Greater Yellowstone region, wolf-hunting derbies are hosted.  Money prizes are given out to those who kill the most wolves.  Companies surrounding the area of the derby usually donate the prize money and host the event.  As a result, more than 200 wolves have already been slain for money.  The reason people host these events are because the farmers in the area truly believe that wolves are the reason so much of their livestock dies each year.  A graph from National Geographic Magazine in January 2010%u2019s Wolf Wars article shows the percentage of livestock killed each year (out of 125,000 heads of sheep) by wolves is only 1% or 1,300 heads of sheep.  This number might look large in terms of lives taken but when put next to the number coyotes kill, the wolf size in microscopic in comparison.  Each year, coyotes kill a whooping 25.3% of 125,000 heads of sheep.  This 25.3 % is equivalent to 31,600 sheep.  Look at the chart below for the number of sheep killed by other animals.

 

Animal

Percent

Number of sheep

Wolf

1%

1,300

Coyote

25.30%

31,600

Bear

1.80%

2,200

Cougar

1.40%

1,700

Dog

1.10%

1,400

Fox, Eagle, Bobcat

6.50%

8,100

Weather

22.60%

28,300

Disease

11%

13,700

Lambing complications

9%

11,200

Old age

5.80%

7,200

Other

7%

8,700

Unknown

7.70%

9,600

 

As you can see, the killing of the wolves is just horrible and piteous.  Our sponsor, The Weekly Howl, is a website dedicated to saving wolves that some people have seen but not everyone.  People don%u2019t deserve to be in the dark.  And neither does the plight of the wolves.

 

We thank you sincerely for taking time out of your day and thinking about my offer.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

The Weekly Howl and other signers from the Care2 Petition Site

www.weeklyhowl.com