Alaska Is Killing Predators—and Losing in Court

Alaska’s wolves and bears are not enemies or obstacles to be eliminated—they are essential to healthy ecosystems and deserve protection, not persecution, a fact underscored by a recent court decision in which a judge ruled that the state violated the Alaska Constitution by attempting to reauthorize a wolf-killing program without proper scientific review.

Yet for years, Alaska officials have pursued aggressive predator-killing policies under the state’s Intensive Predator Management (IPM) program, authorizing aerial gunning, trapping, and large-scale killing of wolves and bears to artificially boost prey species for hunters. These programs are extreme, unnecessary, and increasingly opposed by the public.

That’s why we are grateful to Anchorage Superior Court Judge Una Gandbhir for standing up for the rule of law and for wildlife. In a recent decision, Judge Gandbhir ruled that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game violated the Alaska Constitution when it attempted to reauthorize a wolf-shooting program on the Kenai Peninsula without reviewing updated scientific data. The state tried to revive a brutal predator control policy first approved in 2012—even though it hasn’t been used in more than a decade and isn’t needed today.

Moose populations on the Kenai are healthy. Even state officials admit no predator control is anticipated in the foreseeable future. Still, Alaska pushed to keep the wolf-killing program “on the books,” without new population surveys and without meeting basic legal requirements. The result: a clear constitutional violation and more than $115,000 in taxpayer money ordered to be paid in attorney’s fees.

This ruling comes as Alaska faces growing backlash over predator killing statewide. Under IPM, state officials have already slaughtered hundreds of wolves and bears, including dozens of brown bears and cubs, despite massive public opposition and repeated legal challenges. Time and again, courts have found these programs rushed, unlawful, or unsupported by science.

The pattern is clear: Alaska keeps pushing predator killings, keeps losing in court, and keeps wasting public resources—while iconic wildlife pays the price.

We call on the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Board of Game to change course:

1: Stop aerial wolf shooting.
2: End large-scale bear culls.
3: Dismantle predator-killing policies that ignore science and the Constitution.

Judge Gandbhir made it clear: the law and the facts matter. Alaska must finally listen—and end predator killing for good.

Sign this petition to tell Alaska Fish and Game: Protect predators. Respect science. Follow the law.
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Sources

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/wildlife/2025/12/31/judge-finds-alaskas-bid-to-reauthorize-wolf-shooting-program-on-kenai-peninsula-is-unconstitutional/

https://peer.org/alaska-misuses-federal-wildlife-aid-on-killing-predators/

https://trustees.org/wildlife-management-or-managing-ourselves-a-look-at-predator-control-practices-in-alaska/