So I’ve been resisting posting about this, but after receiving 7 emails from alert and astute mockdockers INSISTING that I not ignore this story, I’m going to talk about it.
Ok. So Ashley recently made a commercial for the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, in which she rips on Sarah Palin for promoting the aerial killing of wolves. I’m not posting the video here for three reasons: first, because even though she looks puffy in it, she looks reasonable enough that I can’t mock her appearance, and secondly, because watching wolves be shot makes me sad, and thirdly, because I don’t want to directly cause more hits for it. You guys are all resourceful enough to find the video. It’s pretty much EVERYWHERE.
But here’s my issue with this whole ad. NOWHERE in the ad does Ashley bother to say WHY the wolves are being killed. The overpopulation of wolves in Alaska is threatening caribou and moose, which are not only depended on by many Native Alaskans for food, but are also the very creatures that overzealous environmentalists holler about saving whenever someone mentions the possibility of drilling there. Sooo…do they want the caribou and moose to survive or don’t they?
In the video, footage is shown of a wolf being shot from a plane, with Ashley saying somberly, “Using a low-flying plane, they kill in winter when there is no chance for the wolves to escape.”
Let me try to explain this to you reeeeeeeeally slooooowly, Ashley. When population control people are shooting at wolves out of a plane, they don’t WANT them to have a “chance to escape.” See how that would be kind of counterproductive to the whole killing process?
Now, before all you animal lovers get all mad at me, let me just say how much I love and adore wildlife (except for snakes). But I also love and adore cows, and I still accept that they are slaughtered in order to feed us. I hate that wolves have to be killed, but if they are killing off a food supply for HUMANS, then that kind of takes priority. Could I ever shoot a wolf from a plane? Hell no. I couldn’t slaughter a cow either. But I get why both of those things have to happen. The one thing I would take issue with is that there should be measures taken to ensure that the wolves are actually KILLED, and not left to suffer with gunshot wounds which didn’t finish the job.
But here’s the most hypocritical thing about the video to me. While Ashley sheds plenty of tears over wolves that tear apart caribou and deer and moose on a daily basis, she doesn’t blink an eye over legislation which allows late-term abortions. You know what’s more brutal than shooting a wolf? Ripping a fully-formed fetus out of a uterus. I don’t even wanna TALK about how they do that.
I’m really not trying to be all political about this. I just don’t see how the bleeding of her heart can be so discriminating.
Palin responded back to Ashley’s tirade in a statement today – the full text of which is after the jump.
Palin’s response:
“It is reprehensible and hypocritical that the Defenders of Wildlife would use Alaska and my administration as a fundraising tool to deceive Americans into parting with their hard-earned money.”
“The ad campaign by this extreme fringe group, as Alaskans have witnessed over the last several years, distorts the facts about Alaska’s wildlife management programs. Alaskans depend on wildlife for food and cultural practices which can’t be sustained when predators are allowed to decimate moose and caribou populations. Our predator control programs are scientific and successful at protecting vulnerable wildlife. These audacious fundraising attempts misrepresent what goes on in Alaska, and I encourage people to learn the facts about Alaska’s positive record of managing wildlife for abundance.”
“Shame on the Defenders of Wildlife for twisting the truth in an effort to raise funds from innocent and hard-pressed Americans struggling with these rough economic times.”
Amen Sister, Amen Sister. I would like for these animal rights activists to get their priorities straight. I don’t understand how you can be so concerned with animal rights when you are also pro-choice. I don’t mind in our free country giving people the right to make their own choices, but don’t then take away my tasty meat. Just consider killing wolves as “pro-choice” and get over it.
Amen from me, as well. Inducing the birth of a child, and then killing it before it is born (or maiming it and leaving it to die without so little as a blanket) is horrific in the way that few things are.
Ashley’s worried that the wolves don’t have a chance to escape? They can run, at least — a poor baby curled up in its mother’s womb can’t even do that. Talk about being truly defenceless!
Ashley, you ignorant Bitch! Go live with them so you can feel their life experiences.
Wow… I knew there was a reason i liked you guys.
I an am animal activist, but I understand why control killings occur. I just don’t like to think about them that much, or any other animal killing for that matter, which is why I’m a vegetarian. And I share your thoughts about how she is pro-choice, but weeps over wolves that are killed for the sake of not only human productivity, but the populations of other animals.
I wonder what she would say if she were confronted with the thought of wolf abortions.
Would she cry or celebrate?
Hypocrite.
I’m not sure what to say….I am exceptionally pro choice and very pro animal rights. My college roomate was raped in our apartment during our last semester and needed the “right to choose”. Who wouldn’t? Killing for sport and not for necessity is another thing all together..
This is the only time in my life that I have actually supported something Palin has said. Ashley Judd is just stupid, it is that simple.
Beachchick – any reason why your roommate couldn’t have used the Plan B pill? Not trying to start an argument – I’m just curious. Particularly in cases of rape, you KNOW you don’t want a pregnancy as a result, so why not use Plan B? Why wait till you’ve actually got a heartbeat?
Population control? The only reason they need to “control” the population is because they want enough caribou and moose for tourists to come kill for sport, rather than the natural process of a wolf killing its prey. You fail to mention how grisly and painful aerial hunting is, and that it often leaves pups without their mothers. Oh and mentioning about the wolves having no chance to escape? Hunting is much about the sport, and the chase. Shooting from an airplane is NOT fair game. Often the wolves don’t even die right away, but suffer, because it is not easy to get a clean shot from a flying plane. Even my father who is quite a big hunter, but also a wildlife lover finds this whole practice quite repulsive. It seems a little ridiculous to justify killing wolves just so we can have people come kill for sport.
Oh and the rape? Many woman who are raped are incredibly terrified and really have no idea what to do. I had a friend that was for a while too scared to admit she was even raped. You aren’t in the clearest mindset after being raped, so its not like every woman automatically thinks that she needs to go run to her local pharmacy and get the Plan B pill.
Oh, and that Sarah Palin you talk so fondly of, had it so woman had to pay for their own rape kits in Alaska. Thats over $1,000.
Population control? The only reason they need to “control” the population is because they want enough caribou and moose for tourists to come kill for sport, rather than the natural process of a wolf killing its prey.
———————————————————
I have to disagree. The reason they have to control the population is NOT for sport. It is to keep the balance AND a supply of food for the people. All states and the federal government have various population control on various animals. In a lot of cases thousands would die a more painful death without it. And you say this is a sport from an airplane? This is not a sport. It’s called culling and it’s necessary. They intentionally keep them from escaping because they need to be culled. It’s NOT hunting and it’s NOT a sport. Think about the fact they are killing because it is needed while your father is killing for fun. And you want to defend that.
Plan B wasn’t available over the counter until recently, and in some states pharmacists are legally able to use the so-called “conscience clause” to refuse to dispense it, calling it an abortion pill. Also those same pharmacists also use that clause to refuse to dispense birth control pills, calling them an abortifacent using lies and bad science.
I actually never told you why my father hunted Bob. He actually hunts for the meat, and uses all of the animal. He doesn’t hunt solely for horns, fur, or other single parts of an animal. Rather than eating meat from a grocery store (like the VAST majority of meat eaters), he eats meat from animals that he hunted. He chooses this rather than animals that were killed by someone else in a shady factory farm. Also, he is a nature photographer and write and very much appreciates the lives of the animals and is aware and thankful for the life he takes. Sorry to say, but thats not for “fun”. Thats more honorable than most meat eating people.
I personally am a vegetarian, but I don’t hold that harsh of judgement of meat eaters, as long as they understand and respect what they are doing. In fact, I respect a hunter more than the average meat eater, because the average meat eater never has to deal with the reality of what happened to the animal before it ended up on their plate. And as Mockarena put it, she herself couldn’t do it. That sentiment is precisely why I became a vegetarian. If I can’t deal with what happens to the animal for my benefit, why should I deserve to it eat?
Amen Sarah. I don’t like the vast majority of hunters I know, mostly because they kill the animal as a trophy first, and a source of meat second. I hate walking in to people’s houses to find animals heads on the walls.
We humans wouldn’t be so respective if a bear started decapitating humans, stuffing their heads full of old fur, and hanging them on trees, now would we?
I would like to thank Mockarena, even though everyone may not always agree with the subject matter. This was a rough subject to write about and I give her a lot of credit.
Thank you Megan! Not to mention that the wolves killing prey is because of their instinct, and necessity to live. We are the only beings that kill intellectually knowing that we are causing the animal pain, or as you said Megan, simply as a trophy. It is pretty eery to walk in and see parts of animals mounted all over, I have a friend whos bf has several different animal parts in every room, ugh!
Thanks Maureen! Appreciate the sentiment. I still take issue with people whose hearts bleed more for animals than for humans. Especially the really vocal ones like Ashley – who will literally cry big giant crocodile tears over wolves but then scream at the top of her lungs about how perfectly ok it is to terminate a LATE-TERM pregnancy. That makes no sense whatsoever to me.
Besides, I take issue with Ashley for EVERYTHING, because she’s a name-dropping blowhard.
I still don’t buy the hypocricy Sara. I seriously doubt that your father will only eat meat from animals he has killed. I also seriously doubt that he has to kill these animals to survive. He can survive I’m certain, without killing these poor animals, after all you even don’t eat meat so he doesn’t have to kill for the food. So it’s OK for him to kill but not for animal conservationists to kill. The native people in Alaska live off the land as they always have and the growing wolf populations are taking their food sources away. This is about feeding people and keeping the animal population in check. Too many people want to use it as if Sara Palin is going out clubbing baby seals.
when did I say my dad needed it to survive? I don’t belive human beings need meat to survive by any means. All I am saying is that at least he hunts for his meat and took the life of an animal that was living life on its own terms, not shoved in a factory farm in tight quarters, never to see the light of day. That IS more dignified and deserves more respect that the average meat eater. It STILL wouldn’t be my way of life. I don’t eat meat for moral reasons, and because I feel connected to animals. I don’t expect everyone else to abide by that.
Wolf population growing? No, the human population is growing, and we build on what was their land and say they are now overpopulating it, or eating “our” food source. It was all theirs before it was ours.
OMG, “It was their land before it was ours” are you kidding me?
Well I guess they should have posted “No Trespassing” signs.
Feel free to get off their land but as for myself I think I’m going to stay and eat more meat. We could try living in the water but that belongs to the fish so that would be wrong.
When I say Hillshire You say Meat.
Hillshire….. Go Meat!
I’m sorry to actually LIGHTEN the conversation here but Ashley’s picture makes me want to shove my foot in her mouth. Not because she loves animals more than humans or that she’s a complete idiot or because she’s puffy. Simply because she’s practically asking for it.
We call the stuffed and mounted deer head in our home office Johnny. We really enjoyed Johnny fajitas, Johnny strip steaks, Johnny summer sausage, Johnny roast, and ground Johnny. But we don’t eat the brains, eyeballs, tongue or neck, so my husband felt perfectly fine having his head and neck done by a taxidermist. Adorable and delicious.
Sarah is a moron.
But she’s OUR moron, Steve.
Sarah’s a regular contributor to The Mock Dock, and can always be counted on to create controversy, and/or tell you that you’re racist at every possible opportunity. 
About the Pill being an abortifacient … it’s not a lie, it IS an abortifacient. Look at the “literature” inserted along with your prescription if you don’t believe me. It’s neither lies nor bad science, it’s one of the ways it “prevents” pregnancy.
Oh, and about humans being the only animals that kill for sport? Wrong again. My brother-in-law lives in a semi-rural area up in Northern California, and his neighbor raises sheep. Last year, there was a cougar that came in several nights in a row and killed several sheep for sport. Didn’t eat them at all — just killed one, then another, then another, for about three nights. Apparently young male cougars do that sort of thing, according to their vet and to the wildlife control agency.
It’s all very logical, people. Wolves that drive the caribou population to extinction are cute and cuddly. Babies, however, are a menace to society and exterminating them is considered a “healthy reproductive choice.” See? Logical.
I did see that Nancy Pelosi came to Trashley’s defense today, though. She promptly announced that “500 quintillion wolves are killed every day this policy of protecting the caribou is in place.”
Hatchetwoman, there is no debate about cats being creatures that do kill and play with their prey, and often not even eat it. But I do not believe they have the intent and understanding that they cause another being pain. You can’t honestly compare a human being flying from a plane shooting a wolf with a gun to a cougar in its natural habitat, killing another animal. One is out of instinct, one is not. Aside from that, cats physically DO need meat in their diet, humans do not.
I highly doubt that the guy in the plane with the gun is saying, “MMMWAHAHAHA!!!!” when he pulls the trigger! No one wants to have to thin the herd, but sometimes it’s necessary. Around here in PA we sometimes have to allow the hunters more than 1 deer a season, because if we don’t, the deer starve to death, because their food supply becomes depleted. For the record, I do think that mounted heads are creepy, but since the heads aren’t necessary for food, I guess to each his own.
Sarah:
Get a clue. Its amazing how much BS you put on this blog. Stick to yor veggies and we will eat our steaks.
This forum is about what a joke Ashley Judd is. You have to know that she was an Obama backer and that this is an attempt to discredit
Sarah Palin.( maybe its time to more on, the election is over) Its not okay to cry about killing a wolf and to support the killing of a fetus in any situation. Her video never mentions that the wolves are killed to keep the population down because they kill the food that people eat. We know why, because the video would then be the joke that it is.
Its your choice to eat veggies. You must know that you are also eating something that is an actual living thing. I guess the whole world should just eat veggies! Yes, that sounds pretty stupid doesn’t it. So maybe you should stop eating altogether and keep your BS off the blogs.
I just nearly spit coffee out my nose for that last comment, Mock.
By the way, humans do need meat in their diet. I read where if they don’t get enough meat, they become irrational, confrontational and downright annoying.
Bob, I love you! It is a fact that humans are meant to eat meat, hence the human incisors. billyp – totally on the mark about the video, and how it was spun by the media. I love animals, and hate that population control is a necessity. Human lives should always be the #1 priority. I’m absolutely pro-life, and believe that no matter how small or early on that life may be, it deserves a chance to flourish. And yes, Sarah, I believe that animals have rights too, but not at the expense of a human’s.
Make sure you check out Ashley Judd on Larry King live tonight at 9pm Eastern time
She will be discussing the eye on Palin campaign, and wolf ads.
Actually, Sarah, humans cannot survive without salt. Cultures who hunt and eat animal flesh get their salt through the eating of meat. They do not need to supplement with salt. Cultures who are purely agrarian or don’t otherwise eat meat must either supplement with salt or trade with cultures for salt and/or meat. This is a fact — if we don’t have access to salt and eat a purely vegetarian diet, we will die.
You can make the argument that salt is plentiful in our time, which is true, and that therefore we do not NEED to eat meat. That’s also true. However, the bottom line is that human beings need salt to survive, and if there is no supplement (like a salt mine or salt lick) available, a purely vegeterian diet will not suffice.
That is a good point hatchetwoman. I was as you said though, referring to our current time and availability to other foods that provide us with what we need. I am fully aware that my choice to have a vegetarian diet is a privilege. I am allowed to have the freedom to do what feels right for me, and I know that in many areas people do not have that option. As I said though I am not trying to push a vegetarian agenda, its what works for me. If people want to learn about it I am fine with talking about it, but I am not trying to convert.
I’m pretty sure I’d be a whiny, sulky convert anyhow.
I have to tell you, one of my husband’s nicknames for me is “My little carnivore.” I would eat meat every day if it weren’t for the Catholic “no meat on Fridays” thing. Actually, it’s a good thing that the practice is still in place, because I’d probably have gout otherwise. There’s just nothing better than a steak. Unless it’s bacon. Really good bacon, made at a meat market or farm shop, not packaged by Farmer John.
Wow! I know the common saying is that “ignorance is bliss”, but now I see why this country has been going down-hill.
No, we are NOT talking about wolves OR being pro-life. . . we have resorted to wasting our time making fun of people we don’t like. That’s impressive. No wonder we’ve been involved in a meaningless war. We think there is a greater controversy between wolves being killed and being pro-life, than there is between being pro-life and sending our 18 year olds off to war. Hmm…
Maybe we could use our efforts in a more constructive way, to put the country back together. And, somehow I don’t think that happens by taking hours to blog insults at one another.
Oh gee, Lana came to a site called the MockDock and is amazed that people are “making fun” of others.
Lana, as you say ignorance is bliss. Let me point out some of that ignorance.
1 You came to a site called “Mockdock” not “Constructive Effort Dock”
and take issue with making fun of people. (Ignorant)
2 You say “Now you can see why the country is going downhill” as if it is everybody’s fault here at this site. (Ignorant)
3 You say we are wasting our time. I’ll “waste” my time in any way I feel like it. As of yet I have not received instructions from your office on what to do with my time.
4 You continue to use the word “We” as you’re bitching. Got a turd in your pocket?
5 You seem to have the gall to appoint yourself the f##king Queen to dictate what we should be doing in order to save the country.
Let me finish with something constructive.
Construct your lips in such a way as to plant them firmly on my backside. Then take your silly ass irrelevant self down the web to find, per chance, someone that may give a s##t about what you think.
“Oh, and that Sarah Palin you talk so fondly of, had it so woman had to pay for their own rape kits in Alaska. Thats over $1,000.”
Here is an article on the above myth:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2008/09/24/old-media-pushes-false-rape-kit-charge-against-gov-palin
Great link, jinjer! Thanks for posting.
Sarah will hate that. 
I don’t believe that harboring more sympathy for animals than humans makes anyone a bad person. I proudly defend wildlife more than humans because we have the advantage of cognitive abilities and speech. I think we have already held a high priority on this planet otherwise we wouldn’t be so overpopulated to the point that we are shoving other species to the brink of extinction. What have we done for this planet other than exploit it for its natural resources (e.g.wildlife, crops, minerals, etc.) for our own selfish needs? Until further notice, we are the only planet in the ENTIRE universe that can sustain life, why not save as much species as we can other than humans?
Wow. That’s warped.
But here’s a thought. Since we’re so overpopulated and all, perhaps you should offer yourself up for sacrifice to a hungry wolf? I can think of no prouder demonstration of your defense of wildlife over humans.
Just an idea.
Wtf. Humans are just humans. We are NOT any more special than any other creature. By killing the wolves, we are disrupting nature! They’re not doing anything wrong, other than hunting what they need to survive. This has happened many times in the past BEFORE US, and it’s worked out just fine, now hasn’t it?
And pro-life? Pfff. Whatever. You don’t even support it if the woman gets raped, I bet. >:|
Wow rawr. Way to dig up a totally ancient post and then sound like a complete idiot on it.
Pfff. Whatever. You probably would rescue a drowning wolf cub at the expense of a drowning human child, I bet. >:/
One thing that seems to have been forgton is spaying/nutering. This has been don in the past for wild life control. It is more time consuming but this was a time where they could have pulled their heads out of their a** and spent the extra money.