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Stop Bison Slaughter
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February 14, 2008
Dear Humanitarian:
Since 1985, winter in Yellowstone National Park has sparked controversy as the National Park Service (NPS) and the State of Montana have engaged in a wholesale slaughter of American bison who dare to emigrate beyond the park’s northern or western borders.
To date, over 4,200 Yellowstone bison (or America’s bison) have been hunted, shot by agency officials, or captured and sent to slaughter. This winter, nearly 250 bison have been killed, with hundreds more at risk as the snow depth increases and temperatures plunge, which drives bison beyond the protective borders of the park.
Remarkably, despite its mandate to protect park wildlife, the NPS has already captured nearly 150 bison inside Yellowstone near its northern border and sent most to slaughter, with a few calves being relegated to years of confinement in a quarantine facility.
Given the severe winter conditions, it is predicted that more than 1,500 bison may be cruelly hunted or captured and slaughtered this season alone. This blow will decimate America’s only wild bison who have continued to survive in their natural habitat since the near extinction of the species in the late 1800s.
The bison are ostensibly killed because they are perceived to pose a risk of transmitting brucellosis to domestic cattle. There has never been a confirmed case of bison transmitting this disease to cattle under natural conditions.
Moreover, there is no risk near the western border of the park because there are no cattle on public or private land during the winter and spring, when the bison roam beyond the border.
To the north, bison continue to be slaughtered and your tax dollars continue to be wasted because of 250 cows grazing on private land. Though all of the scientific evidence suggests that the risk of transmission is extraordinarily remote and that only pregnant bison pose even a theoretical risk of transmitting the bacteria, the agencies routinely kill all bison (bulls, calves, yearlings and non-pregnant bison) who emigrate near or beyond park borders — at a cost of nearly 3 million in taxpayer dollars each year.
We need your help urgently to save as many bison as possible from this tragic fate. The Animal Welfare Institute has joined with the Buffalo Field Campaign and other conservation organizations to support a National Week of Action to Save America’s Bison.
We ask to contact the following officials to express your concern about the mismanagement of America’s bison. Thurs, Feb. 14: Ms. Suzanne Lewis, Supt., Yellowstone Natl. Park; (307) 344-2022
Fri, Feb. 15: Ms. Mary Bomar, Director, National Park Service; (202) 208-4621
Tues, Feb. 19: Dr. Marty Zaluski, Montana State Veterinarian; (406) 444-0782
Wed, Feb. 20: Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne; (202) 208-3100
Thurs, Feb. 21: Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer; (406) 444-3111
For suggested talking points to be used on each of the calls, please visit www.awionline.org/wildlife/bison/index.htm. This site also contains more information about the bison management controversy.
Thank you for helping AWI save the bison. Please pass on this urgent request to everyone you know; America’s bison need all of us to raise our voices, express our concerns, and demand their protection.
Sincerely,
Cathy Liss
President
For over 57 years, AWI has been the leading voice for animals across the country and on Capitol Hill. Please join us in our ongoing campaigns to reduce the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. Sign up for AWI eAlerts to receive the latest news on what you can do to help us protect all animals: http://www.awionline.org/joinus.
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February 18th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I live in Montana, the Bison are so badly overpopulated they are destroying the park, and now moving in large numbers out of the Park to destroy Paradise Valley. I am one that grew up enjoying the opportunity to visit the Park and seeing the Bison, and hope that all people will get that chance. But there comes a point at which to much of nearly anything is no longer a good thing. I know that 1/3 of the original Yellowstone Buffalo heard came from a ranch in Texas, can we give you a third back, I would sure call it fair, and that would give us at least 2 and maybe 3 more years before we again would be at the disastrous point we are today. The numbers have to be controlled. I love Yellowstone park and Montana, please help us keep it that way, the mismanagement of our parks will not make it a place anyone wants to visit.
February 19th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
T. Butcher, you are wrong. I also live in Montana, and I live with the buffalo and work in and out of the Park. The park is not overpopulated, the bison need to migrate. The elk, before wolves came home, were destroying the vegetation. Now the balance is coming back, but the buffalo need to migrate. Yellowstone is not a complete ecosystem, it lacks winter range and calving grounds. Every other animal that needs to leave is allowed to. Bison are prisoners of cattle politics and land greed. The cattle lords don’t want to share “their” grass, which happens to mainly be OUR public lands. By forcing bison to remain inside these political fences, they - the government and cattle industry- are causing trouble that could be avoided. Wild bison are native to Montana, and they should be allowed to leave the park and reclaim their historic habitat. There are solutions that would protect the cattle industry while also truly protecting wild bison and restoring the land with their presence. You are simply chanting the Government and cattle industry mantra to say the park is over populated. Bison are prisoners of the park, they need to migrate to survive. The park has even said that it could sustain upwards of 7,000 buffalo … but there’s fewer than 4,300 now. The cattle industry needs to take some responsibility for bringing disease, and if you want to talk about destruction of rangeland, look at any cattle pasture. Cows don’t belong here - they can’t survive without human help, they can’t even give birth without the aid from humans.
Wild bison are native. Cattle are not. It’s a simple solution - LET THE BUFFALO ROAM! The more you educate yourself, the more you’ll understand that this is the answer.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:09 am
Stephany ~
Thank You for this thoroughly informative educating comment about the buffalo. It makes so much sense! And, it’s a wonderful thing to learn about your good work!