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Political Ads

Donald Ludwig

Published: September 22, 2008

A new political advertisement aired on Channel 8 shows how misleading these ads can be.

This ad tells how Sarah Palin voted to allow shooting of wolves from airplanes. It is very graphic. And it is true. But Alaska is a different world.

In an area of 1,000 miles (equal to Orlando to Detroit), are many Native American villages. The people of these villages are allowed to live a subsistence life. That being, they may kill caribou to provide meat for the winter months. One caribou will sustain a family for the whole winter. But when the wolf population increases, the caribou herd is in danger. Wolves will kill for the sport. If the caribou herd declines, or moves away, the families of these small villages have no food for the winter.

The state of Alaska will allow licensed hunters to reduce the wolf pack by shooting from airplanes. An airplane is the only transportation in this 1,000-mile area as there are no roads. With the wolf pack reduced, the villages will not starve over the long winter. Yes, it is cruel. But who should be allowed to survive in this vast area, the wolves or the Native Americans?

Donald Ludwig
Sebring

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