Two beloved buffalo were sent to the slaughterhouse this morning after testing positive for antibodies to brucellosis. According to the State of Montana, the bison were tested with three field tests that all detect the presence of antibodies, not an infection! APHIS, the agency in charge of managing the Brucella abortis organism, admits that the tests used are not 100% effective, and that bulls pose little or no threat of transmital.

Six Montana Department of Livestock (MDOL) agents called on three Sheriffs, two Highway Patrolmen, a Fish Wildlife and Parks agent and National Park Service rangers to assist them in the capture and hazing operation. They used ATV's, snowmobiles and horses. During the hazing, they jackknifed their trucks, caused threats to public safety and temporarily blocked access to a housing division. Seven buffalo escaped the same plight due to severe weather conditions.

One of the Bison captured was less than a mile from the Park boundary. The other was a bull on National Forest land whom the DOL refer to as "Bob"-short for bobtail because he has the distinguishing mark of no tail. This bull was captured and tested negative for brucellosis repeatedly in the past three years. Head of MDOL operations, Rob Tierney, expressed awareness of this fact but chose to capture him anyway. It is hard to believe that this bull has "caught" the disease since the last time he was tested. One cause listed by the Montana Department of Livestock for a seroconversion is stress. This could be caused when the buffalo leave the invisible Yellowstone Park boundaries on traditional migration routes in search of food and are repeatedly chased by the Montana Department of Livestock. Those actions are a definite stress on the wild buffalo that they do not need. Brucellosis, a reproductive disease, is transmitted through afterbirth or an aborted fetus. To contract brucellosis, a cow would have to eat infected afterbirth or contaminated grass. Besides the fact that there are no cattle present, the bison slaughtered today were bulls - unable to transmit the disease.

The level of intolerance towards bison is rapidly beginning to mirror what it was five years ago when 1,083 bison were killed in one winter. During that killing season, rigorous tissue analysis revealed that a large percentage of Yellowstone buffalo slaughtered actually did not have the disease and were needlessly killed. That year, lab results from the Ames, Iowa Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed, through a battery of tissue tests, that many of the slaughtered buffalo were actually "culture negative."

The new annual budget for the Bison Management allotted to MDOL, alone, is over one million in taxpayer dollars (source: http://www.liv.state.mt.us/BISON/FY2002BUDGET.HTM). "The operation today not only reflects flagrant intolerance for the bison and disrespect for the entire ecosystem, but a tremendous waste of resources," states BFC volunteer, Meghan Gill.

The Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) is the only grassroots group working in the field, everyday, to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone's wild buffalo. Volunteers defend the buffalo on their traditional winter habitat and advocate for their protection. Our daily patrols stand with the buffalo on the ground they choose to be on and document every move made against them.

Quote:

" The so-called random shooting at the Montana borders is actually eliminating or depleting entire maternal lineages, therefore this action will cause an irreversible crippling of the gene pool. Continued removal of genetic lineages will change the genetic makeup of the herd, thus it will not represent the animal of 1910 or earlier. It would be a travesty to have people look back and say we were "idiots" for not understanding the gene pool." Bison have developed a natural resistance genetically as long as they have enough to eat, limited stress and are not consumed by other disease. There is no magic bullet in wildlife disease, Therefore management is important. Vaccines are one management tool and one component, but genetic structure is necessary for future management. Every animal which is removed from the breeding population can no longer contribute to the genetic variability of the herd."

Remarks made by Dr. Joe Templeton, Texas A& M University, Dept. of Veterinary Pathobiology, to the GYIBC on May 21, 1998

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