| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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| News
Article 1/6/05 |
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| Bison
hunt opponents seek license
By Mike Stark
Billings Gazette Staff
1/6/05 |
More
than 8,000 people have applied to hunt for bison that
wander out of Yellowstone National Park this winter.
Some of those who applied, though, don't actually want
to shoot.
Members and supporters of the Buffalo Field Campaign,
a group that has advocated for protection of Yellowstone
bison, have applied for some of the 10 tags. If their
application is among those drawn in Friday's lottery,
they have agreed not to fill the tag - and clothing company
Patagonia has agreed to reimburse their application fee.
Buffalo Field Campaign's Mike Mease said 25 to 30 people
in his office applied for a bison tag and other supporters
of the organization may have done the same.
"Our e-mail list reaches over 10,000 people so it's
hard to judge how many people were motivated to go out
and purchase it," Mease said.
Last month, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission
approved a bison hunt, allowing 10 animals to be killed
between Jan. 15 and Feb. 15. The hunt will happen outside
Yellowstone's borders in areas used by bison in the winter.
The bison hunt is the first in Montana since 1990.
About 3,500 applied for the last bison hunt. State officials
expected more of the same this time around.
"We knew there was an awful lot of interest,"
said Ron Aasheim of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
After the application deadline passed earlier this week,
state officials counted about 8,200 applicants for the
bison hunt, including 305 from out-of-state residents.
Aasheim said there's nothing to prevent anyone - including
members of the Buffalo Field Campaign who won't use the
license - from applying as long as they meet the basic
requirements.
"If they choose not to use it, that's their prerogative,"
Aasheim said.
Mease said his group doesn't oppose hunting but said a
bison hunt in Montana shouldn't happen until there's an
established wild herd outside of the park, one that's
managed not as livestock but as wildlife.
"It has to be done properly," said Mease, who
added that his group probably will document the hunt and
seek media attention.
Lisa Pike, director of Patagonia's environmental programs,
said the company has supported the Buffalo Field Campaign
through small grants and clothing donations since 1997.
Patagonia will reimburse the cost of the bison license
- $75 for residents and $750 for non-residents - for anyone
who is awarded a tag but doesn't use it, Pike said. The
company has not taken a stance against hunting overall
but objects to the bison hunt near Yellowstone because
it won't be a "fair chase hunt or ethical,"
Pike said.
"It's not a real hunt in the true sense of the word,"
she said.
The hunt is not intended to cull the bison herd. Recent
estimates indicate there are more than 4,000 bison in
Yellowstone.
The bison have been at the center of controversy for years.
Some are worried that bison that leave the park could
spread brucellosis, a disease that can cause abortions
and other problems, to neighboring cattle. Others dispute
that claim and say bison should be allowed to migrate
outside the park.
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