News In Brief

Environmental group attacks plan for Alaskan wolf kill

The environmental group Defenders of Wildlife denounced plans Wednesday for an aerial wolf hunt in Alaska, calling it unethical. Alaska fish and game officials have approved shooting of 224 or more wolves from airplanes in a hunt starting Nov. 1.

Wildlife biologist Al Manville contended that the decline in moose and caribou populations in the last few years has not been the fault of the wolves. Instead, he blamed a combination of three successive bad winters and overhunting.