| Today
the Montana Department of Livestock (MDOL) captured
and sent three bull buffalo to slaughter. The wild buffalo
were less than a half mile outside of Yellowstone National
Park. There will not be cattle in the area until next
summer.
The Department of Livestock is using the guise of brucellosis
transmission to kill these American symbols. It is unsure
if the bulls were even tested, which would be the case
if disease was truly the issue. DOL staff could not
answer that question either. None of the State veterinarians
will talk to the public and the information officer
(non- veterinarian) was on vacation. In a state that
is facing fiscal crises daily, last year's Department
of Livestock budget to "manage" buffalo was over 1.3
million dollars. No one at the Forest Service had been
apprised of the DOLŐs actions today.
The
current Buffalo Management Plan proposes to arbitrarily
cap the population to 3,000 animals, based solely on
political pressures, not on any scientific data or principles.
Last month, Yellowstone National Park counted over 4,000
wild buffalo. So, this winter could be as tough as the
winter of 1996-97 when 70 percent (1,084) buffalo were
gunned down and the national public was shocked & outraged.
At a workshop in April 2002 , Dr. Mary Meagher, who
studied Yellowstone's native bison herd for thirty-five
years, said the government imposed bison population
cap of 3,000 is not a biological umber or an indicator
of how bison can use the land to survive. Setting an
arbitrary number for wildlife herds can be very dangerous
because of large, natural fluctuations in population.
The Yellowstone herd is genetically distinct and pure
(James Derr, Texas A&M) and the application of livestock
management serves only to increase the possibility of
these bison losing their long term evolutionary potential.
"In the last five years that the Buffalo Field Campaign
(BFC) has been here, this is the earliest they have
killed buffalo", stated Mike Mease. "These were all
bulls and even the Animal Plant and Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) recognizes that they do not pose a threat.
The fact that cattle left last week and will not return
until June next year just goes to show the world this
has nothing to do with disease control."
The
Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) is the only 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.
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