There must be a full moon over Hollywood.  How else can we explain the bizarre behavior that seems to be coming from the gentler sex?  Etta James and Beyonce scrapping over who knows what.  Now, Ashley Judd is on Sarah Palin like bluegrass is on Kentucky.

As we see more celebrities take a stand on all things environmental, including wildlife, it’s no surprise there’s a heated battle from time to time.  This one, however, is a doozy for sure.

Ashley Judd, who was raised in Kentucky and knows how to load and shoot rifles, handguns and shotguns, now has former VP candidate Sarah Palin in the crosshairs.  In a video she released, she says it’s time to stop the senseless savagery of wolves.  From airplanes, hunters are shooting rifles to kill what appears (at least to Ashley Judd) to be an overpopulation of wolves throughout Alaska.  She accuses Alaska’s governor of

Areas where population controls are enforced in Alaska

casting aside science in an effort to champion the slaughter of wildlife.  She then asks for donations for a group called Defenders of Wildlife.

We were introduced to Sarah Palin’s ability to defend herself as she campaigned last year with John McCain, so it’s no surprise she hasn’t bitten her tongue in response.  She insists in a statement that Alaska’s predator control programs are scientific and successful at protecting vulnerable wildlife.  According to Alaska’s Wildlife Conservation site, wolves are not now, nor have they ever been, endangered or threatened in Alaska.  There are between 7,700 - 11,000 wolves in Alaska.  Further, both wolves and bears are predators that target moose, deer and caribou, which happen to be the same as what humans hunt.  80% of the deer and moose that are killed annually are done so by wolves and bears.  Only 9.4% of Alaska’s land is under any kind of wolf control.  This scientific method ensures wolves don’t become overpopulated (thereby risking the safety of humans) and allows the wolves that are there to continue to thrive.

And by the way, if you’ve never heard a pack of wolves howling and crying in the middle of the night, it is by far the eeriest sound known.  And if they ever come close enough to my house that I could see those red eyes, I’d start shooting in a heaven’s heartbeat.  There are breeds and species that are endangered and must be protected, but there are those that we, as humans, must ensure don’t overpopulate or else, we run the risk of attacks on ourselves as well as our domesticated pets.  It’s about priorities.  This is one time Ashley Judd missed the mark.

Links to Human Rights Lawyer and Lawyers.