Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) agents used their helicopter for the first time this winter to haze and capture bison on the Horse Butte Peninsula. The capture operation--the second in two days and the most intensive this winter--began shortly after 8am on Wednesday. Agents from the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, Montana Highway Patrol, the Montana Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and the Gallatin County Sheriff's Department assisted in the operation.

Flying above private, National Forest, and Yellowstone Park land, the DOL helicopter rounded up bison from wooded areas where they'd been hiding since yesterday's operation and chased them into the Horse Butte bison trap. In addition to the helicopter the agents employed eight snowmobiles and numerous trucks to capture the bison.

The Horse Butte Peninsula provides crucial winter range for Yellowstone wildlife, including moose, elk, deer, coyotes, gray wolves, bald eagles and trumpeter swans. BFC volunteers observed moose and elk in the immediate area just prior to today's operation. There has never been a documented transmission of brucellosis from wild bison to livestock. Even if buffalo were capable of spreading the disease, there are no cattle on these lands from mid-October until mid-June, making brucellosis transmission impossible.

All bison captured and slaughtered this winter were bulls, which are incapable of transmitting the disease. According to a DOL press release issued yesterday the six bulls captured Tuesday will be slaughtered. Test results for the seven captured today have not been released. Buffalo are indiscriminately slaughtered because the brucellosis test used by the DOL detects antibodies rather than infection. The majority of the bison that test "positive" and are killed don't actually carry brucellosis.

Most bison that test positive at the capture facility test negative under the more accurate post-slaughter necropsy. BFC volunteer Meghan Gill, "There is a concern not only with the accuracy of the test but with the honesty of the results. The DOL has no oversight when conducting these tests and may be skewing the results. They haven't shown themselves worthy of trust."

According to recent genetic studies, management strategies that do not take sex ratios into account can lead to decreased levels of genetic variation, inbreeding and numerous other problems. Because bison herds are generally led by the older members of the group, removal of older bulls-like those captured this week-can negatively impact social structure and social bonds and have permanent harmful effects on the population.

Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers defend the buffalo on their native range and advocate for their protection. Video footage available upon request. Still photos may be downloaded from: www.geocities.com/buffalofieldcampaign

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