BILLINGS, MT- The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the nation's largest animal protection organization, and the Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC), an organization dedicated to ending the slaughter of Yellowstone bison, strongly oppose the recent decision by Montana's Department of Livestock (MDOL) to kill bison leaving Yellowstone National Park without regard to their disease status.

MDOL is concerned that wild bison, who migrate from Yellowstone every winter and spring to search for food and escape the deepest snow in the park, may transmit brucellosis to domestic cattle grazing on public land adjacent to the park. Despite a lack of scientific justification for this concern, MDOL is implementing a needlessly aggressive policy of slaughtering bison outside of the park without first testing them for the disease.

Prior to this recent decision, MDOL, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, has concentrated on hazing wandering bison back into the park, or killing only those bison who tested positive for exposure to brucellosis. This procedure in itself was problematic. A positive test result only indicates that an animal has been exposed to the disease and has developed antibodies; the test does not demonstrate current infection. Thus, the majority of the more than 3,000 bison slaughtered or shot by state and federal officials since 1985 were not infected with brucellosis nor posed a danger to cattle.

Now MDOL is forgoing even this screening process prior to slaughter. Last week alone MDOL captured 104 Yellowstone bison just outside of the park's boundaries and sent them to slaughter. "The rationale behind MDOL's decision to simply send wild bison to slaughter without even testing them for disease is difficult to understand," said David Pauli, director of the Northern Rockies Regional Office of The HSUS. "No case of brucellosis transmission between free-roaming bison and domestic cattle has ever been documented. But at least the testing has the potential to save many of the bison."

Mike Mease of the Buffalo Field Campaign added, "Bison are already subjected to stressful, physically demanding hazing operations that bring them miles outside of Yellowstone to capture and testing facilities. Now they are being killed merely for crossing an arbitrary line with no evidence that they pose any health risk to cattle. In addition, MDOL officials are not trained in wildlife biology or humane wildlife handling methods. As a result, the bison are subjected to abuse in the capture, holding, and slaughtering process. This atrocity needs to stop."

The duration of MDOL's policy shift is unclear. The current estimated Yellowstone bison population is 3,300, exceeding the 3000-bison threshold above which more aggressive bison management is allowed. Until the population again falls below 3,000, MDOL is authorized to kill bison found outside of the park without testing them first.

Since December, MDOL has sent 170 bison to slaughter.

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