The Kill

through the snow she runs for her life, followed by a bellowing monster in the sky. her family is scattered and she is all alone. she feels the tiredness in her legs and the pounding of her heart. the cold air sucks the warmth from her lungs, but still she runs and the monster follows. sometimes she hears a crack and something hard whizzes past her head, her shoulders, her flanks. up ahead she can see a harbor of safety. the trees welcome her - run, little one, run, they say. we will protect you. she forces her aching body to move onward. almost there. almost there. she feels a horrendous blast of pain and watches stunned as her red blood flows onto the pristine white snow. another blast of pain and she falls to her knees and then collapses on the snow. the bellowing monster hovers overhead and, as she takes her last breath, she thinks she hears a yell of victory............................

As we speak, Alaska's Governor Palin is permitting the aerial hunting of wolves, which may soon include bears and other wildlife. The governors of Wyoming and Idaho have plans to replicate this atrocity. HR 3663, the PAW (Protect America's Wildlife) Act, was introduced into Congress by the Defenders of Wildlife (http://www.defenders.org) and Rep. George Miller-CA to stop aerial hunting, which is opposed by many hunters because it violates the basic ethics of hunting and fair chase.