Sarah, Get Your Gun

Whatever you think about Sarah Palin, if you care about animals, you should be aware of her position on aerial hunting. Dr. Patty Khuly, on Dolittler, has a great post on this hockey-mom's pastime, but suffice it to say, that it is a sport that does not exactly jive with the animal conservationists among us.

According to Khuly, the practice involves flying low in helicopters and shooting your prey from the air. We know that Ms. Palin can both bag and "properly" dress a moose, so we can assume she is a pretty good shot from above. Aerial hunting is often used to cull large herds, but Khuly is pretty sure that Alaska is about as uncrowded as it gets.

You might also note that helicopters are used to round up wild mustangs into government pens, where they are held until they are ideally adopted. Needless to say, the practice is terrifying to those animals being rounded up. I can imagine it is equally frightening to those are being hunted.

Khuly also notes that Palin's stance on drilling in the Alaska wilderness is in direct opposition to the protection of endangered species as well as preservation of others like the polar bear.

To be fair, Palin does admit to consuming the moose she is capable of expertly filleting, which in theory makes her practice no more barbaric than shooting and eating a deer or wild boar. It is also possible that the wild open spaces of Alaska make the use of a helicopter practical for the weekend hunter, but it seems to me that those moose are in wild open spaces specifically to avoid being hunted.

Frankly, the anti-abortion stance, special needs child and pregnant teen daughter are all Palin's personal business with which I am not going to tamper. Far be it for me to pass judgment on any one's personal beliefs and actions.


Anyway, the gun-toting image is for me, the most frightening. As one who marched in Washington with the Million Mom March, I strongly believe that the only people in our society who should have guns are law enforcement officials and you will have a hard time convincing me otherwise.