More than half the people who commented on Montana's proposed bison hunt approve a hunt. But those in opposition think it will give the state a "black eye."

Of 191 comments received by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 54 percent approved a hunt on wild bison that leave Yellowstone National Park in search of winter forage.
"Local hunters will have the chance to hunt as well as bringing other hunters from other states, which will bring some money to Montana," one supporter wrote.
But others say a bison hunt will keep tourists away from Montana.

"If this barbarous act will actually take place we can assure you that nobody in our family will ever again set foot in your state," wrote an opponent.

The Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission is scheduled to make a final decision on the hunt at its Dec. 16 meeting in Helena.

If approved, the first hunt will run from Jan. 15 to Feb. 15, 2005, with five permits issued through a special license random drawing.

Some people who commented in favor of the hunt also asked that it be open to muzzle-loading black powder rifles and archery hunting. As written, the tentative regulations allow only rifle hunting.

Others asked for more permits. The tentative hunting regulations call for increasing the permits to 25 in future years when the season will run from Nov. 15 to Feb. 15.
Those opposed to the hunt say slow-moving bison used to human contact in the park are easy targets.

"Hunters can have as much fun shooting from their cars at your cattle herds," one person wrote.

"The hunting of these docile, slow moving animals cannot even be considered sport, and represents a barbaric form of hunting," wrote another.

A supporter of the hunt wrote that game hunting provides more "fair chase" than the capture and slaughter by state employees of bison that leave the park in the winter.

Because of the fear that bison will spread the abortion-causing brucellosis virus to domestic cattle, the state of Montana and the federal government try to prevent movement of bison onto land grazed by cattle in the summer.

When bison leave the park for winter grazing, they are hazed back into the park or are captured. Those that test positive for brucellosis are sent to slaughter. Those that test negative can be held in a corral until spring or, if the population is large as it has been in recent years, some are sent to slaughter.

There has never been a documented case of brucellosis spreading from bison to cattle.
The proposed bison hunt is meant to create interest in the species by sportsmen, not to be a significant population control tool, according to Pat Flowers, the FWP regional supervisor in Bozeman.

Sportsman have traditionally been involved in creating solutions to big game conservation problems, Flowers has said.

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