New campaign slams Palin wildlife agenda

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Action should be taken against Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her state over a predator control agenda aimed at killing wolves, a wildlife group's campaign says.

A new Defenders of Wildlife media campaign calls for an end of Alaska's controversial predator control plan that is responsible for the targeting of bears and wolves in certain parts of the state, the Anchorage Daily News said Tuesday.

"Sarah Palin isn't fading into the background, so neither are we," said Rodger Schlickeisen, the president of the group's action fund. "Given her known political aspirations, the American public deserves to know what she's doing in Alaska and about her extreme anti-conservation policies."

The wildlife group's new campaign includes an online video featuring film actress Ashley Judd, who repeats the group's call for an end of the state wildlife program.

The Daily News said Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate, has released a statement criticizing the group's campaign.

"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 governor said.