[img_assist|nid=2448|title=Sarah Palin|desc=Getty Images Photo |link=none|align=right|width=175|height=117]UPDATED 10/1/2008 1:32 p.m. 

The 501(c)4 environmental group Defenders of Wildlife will begin airing a new television ad in Colorado this week attacking Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin for supporting aerial killing of wolves as governor of Alaska.

The ad, which has already been running in other swing states, will begin airing on Denver broadcast stations just before the first vice presidential debate between Palin and Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Defenders of Wildlife spokesperson David Kirk said as the ad has brought in more than $1 million in contributions since it began running elsewhere, the group will "continue running (the ad in Colorado) as long as we keep getting money from it."

McCain's campaign did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment on the ad Wednesday.

But Kirk pointed to an independent focus group study that found the ad was very effective at moving viewers of all political stripes towards Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's campaign. The study, conducted by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, found the ad to be much more effective than any ad released recently by either presidential campaign.

"This is the first ad in over a month that seems to have broken through," said Glenn Kessler, president and CEO of HCD Research, in a press release.

The ad shows wolves being hunted from planes as an announcer states that  "Using a low-flying plane, they kill in winter when there is no way to escape. Riddled with gunshots, biting at their backs in agony, they die a brutal death."

"Do we really want a vice president who champions such savagery?" the ad asks.

Besides Colorado, the ad will also start running in Wisconsin, Virginia and Missouri, according to a Defenders of Wildlife press release.