Opponents of Alaska's predator control program were in the Alaska Supreme Court on Thursday arguing that the program violates the state constitution.

The hearing was another effort by opponents to stop the program, where more than 1,000 wolves and 600 bears have been killed to boost moose and caribou numbers.

Michael Frank, a lawyer for Defenders of Wildlife and the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, told a three-judge panel that the program is not what the state constitution delegates had in mind.

He said when they determined that Alaska's resources should be managed on a "sustained yield principle" they did not discriminate between prey and predator animals, and neither should the state.

Assistant Attorney General Kevin Saxby said there has always been an understanding that some animals are preferred over others. He says if the sustained yield principle was applied as an absolute, then programs such as rat eradication and pike removal would be in jeopardy.