Hunters grounded

ALASKAN authorities seeking to rebuild the state's dwindling caribou herds have decided to allow airborne slaying of wolves to the extent that their population is halved.

But beset by protests by US wildlife enthusiasts, such as the New York-based Fund for Animals, the helicopter proposal has been temporarily grounded. The fund's national director, Wayne Pacelle, characterised the proposal "a clear indication that Alaskan wildlife decision making is firmly rooted in the 1880s".

The decision to drop helicopter-hunting, however, has dismayed members of the Alaska Outdoor Council, whose vice president Dick Bishop, noted: "We fully support the plan and were not happy when it was suspended."