| West
Yellowstone- A majestic bull buffalo was shot
today on Forest Service land (Red Canyon) outside of
West Yellowstone, Montana. Two Gallatin County Sheriffs,
two Highway Patrol officers, one Yellowstone National
Park Ranger, six Montana Department of Livestock agents,
two Fish & Game wardens, one confused buffalo and concerned
activists and media were on site.
Mike
Mease, a videographer said, "DOL agent, Shane Hedges,
and Gallatin Deputy, Rob Burns, flat out lied to me
and told me that no killing would take place today."
Mease continued, "They would not allow media or concerned
citizens to get close enough to document their actions.
It was as if they had something to hide."
The
bull was a remnant of the Yellowstone herd that was
decimated by the DOLŐs slaughter of 1,084 buffalo during
the winter of 1996-97. He had been living in this area
for over two months and was repeatedly hazed by the
Montana Department of Livestock.
This
action makes a mockery of the Interagency Bison Management
Plan.
"According
to their own plan, every attempt will be made to capture
and test bison that leave the Park," states Darrell
Geist of Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers. "Why this bull
was not tolerated by the Montana Dept. of Livestock
is another indication that despite whatever plan is
in effect and regardless of the facts, this livestock
agency has little or no tolerance for wild bison being
on lands that are their birth right."
Montana claims that such measures are necessary to prevent
bison from transmitting brucellosis to cattle and plans
to spend over 45 million dollars at taxpayer expense
in the next 15 years to haze, capture, test and slaughter
bison on public lands. While Montana insists that bison
are a threat to cattle and the state's brucellosis-free
status, there has never been a documented case of transmission
from bison to cattle in a natural setting. Bison, elk
and cattle have co-mingled for over 40 years in Jackson,
Wyoming without one documented case of brucellosis transmission
from native wildlife to domestic livestock.
Mease stated, "Montana continues to capture and kill
these animals because they have no tolerance for bison
in the state. The real reason for the slaughter is rooted
in a bureaucratic power struggle for control of public
lands. The only losers are wildlife, the American public,
and the local economy."
Buffalo
Field Campaign volunteers defend the buffalo on their
traditional winter habitat and advocate for their protection.
BFC is the only group working in the field every day
to document and stop the slaughter of Yellowstone's
wild buffalo.
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