FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game commissioner has rejected calls from petitioners critical of the state’s predator control rules to change the hunting program.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports (http://bit.ly/2dVGcdb ) that 150 Alaska residents signed a petition in August that was sent to Gov. Bill Walker. They sought to have Walker replace lethal predator control with nonlethal methods and advocated for a 5-mile buffer zone to protect wolves and bears around national parks and national wildlife refuges.
Fish and Game Commissioner Sam Cotten issued a response to the petition Thursday, saying he wouldn’t adopt the suggestions.
He says moving or sterilizing wolves instead of killing them would be ineffective and expensive.
Cotten also disputed petitioners’ claims that the program is “unscientific” and “inhumane.”
Lead petition signatory Rick Steiner says the group is “exceptionally disappointed” with Cotten’s decision.
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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com