| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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| News
Article 4/14/05 |
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| DOL
captures 51 bison
By Scott McMillion, Bozeman Daily Chronicle
4/14/05 |
The
Montana Department of Livestock captured 51 bison north
of West Yellowstone Wednesday, it announced on its Web
site, adding to the 36 animals already captured this week.
Like all bison that wind up in DOL's trap, these animals
will be tested for exposure to brucellosis. Those that
test positive will be shipped to slaughterhouses.
Those that test negative will be marked and released nearby.
Yearlings are being vaccinated for brucellosis this year,
and calves are being shipped to a quarantine facility
at Corwin Springs, where researchers are hoping to establish
a population of disease-free animals.
All these actions have been approved by a joint state/federal
bison management plan.
There has never been a recorded case of a bison transmitting
brucellosis to cattle in wild conditions, but Montana's
cattle are certified brucellosis free and the beef industry
protects that status jealously.
Critics decry the actions just as strongly.
"Wild buffalo are being managed to death and domesticated,"
said Mike Mease, founder of the Buffalo Field Campaign,
a protest group. He called on Gov. Brian Schweitzer to
"end the state's zero-tolerance policy and provide
habitat for wild buffalo in Montana."
Since October, DOL has captured 82 bison. Of those, 40
went to slaughter, 10 to quarantine and 32 have been released.
DOL also has hazed many animals back into the park, including
nearly 300 last week.
Bison traditionally leave the park's western boundary
in the spring, seeking green grass, which emerges a little
earlier outside the park than inside its boundaries.
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