Yellowstone National Park started shipping many of its famous wild bison to slaughter Wednesday to drive down the size of the park’s herds and respond to concerns by the livestock industry over a disease carried by the animals.
Thirty animals have been shipped to slaughterhouses, and officials plan to send an additional 120 in the next few days. The bison were weighed and tested for disease for research purposes, and the remaining animals were crowded into holding pens to await shipment.
The park’s actions are driven by a 2000 agreement with Montana officials that requires it to control its bison herds. The meat will be distributed to American Indian tribes that traditionally subsisted on bison.
“Nobody here wants to be doing this,” park spokeswoman Jody Lyle said. “It’s time for a change.”
About 150 of the animals have been captured this winter trying to migrate out of the park in search of food at lower elevations in Montana. Ranchers worry about bison infected with brucellosis, a disease that can cause cattle to abort their young.
There have been no recorded bison-to-cattle transmissions of brucellosis, and critics say the slaughters are unnecessary. Captured bison that test negative for it are not spared.
Tens of millions of bison, also known as buffalo, once roamed North America. Commercial hunting drove the species to near-extinction in the late 1800s before conservationists — including former President Theodore Roosevelt — intervened when only dozens were left.
Yellowstone is home to one of the few remaining wild populations. Millions of tourists visit the park each year to see the animals, a top attraction at the nation’s first national park. The animals also are the symbol of the National Park Service.
Since the 1980s, worry over brucellosis has prompted the killing of about 8,200 park bison, most of them sent to slaughter. In recent years, officials have tried to emphasize public hunts that occur just outside the park’s boundaries.
The park had 4,900 bison at last count, well above the 3,000 dictated under the agreement.
During the past decade, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and his predecessor moved to allow bison into areas adjacent to the park. Yellowstone administrators have supported those efforts, but they say they are bound under the 2000 agreement to keep the bison herds in check.
Alternatives — such as transferring some Yellowstone bison to lands outside the park — are under consideration but unlikely to take effect soon. Park workers could hold back from slaughter at least some captured bison calves for potential future placement elsewhere if the opportunity arises, park spokeswoman Amy Bartlett said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Animal slaughter is a form of responsible herd-size management. I live near another government “park” which has a buffalo herd. Every few years they auction off excess animals for slaughter purposes.
IT’S SAD THAT THEY’RE DESTROYING MOTHER NATURE’S CREATION.
If these animals are, in fact, infected with brucellosis, WHY is it OK to send the meat to American Natives for food??
I could see it being OK IF they were, in fact, HEALTHY, but diseased meat is another matter altogether. How about giving this diseased meat to these Officials to eat instead? Let’s see how they fare eating diseased meat.
What is the reasoning behind giving diseased meat to Natives? Is the plan to cause death to Natives?
The US has MILLIONS of acres available that could be utilized to home these herds, and they also have the resources to make sure these animals are healthy. Seems like a much better option. If, and when, herd growth is abundant enough- and HEALTHY- then allowing others to harvest and eat the meat is appropriate.
But to give diseased meat to people to eat is absurd. Makes one wonder about their real agenda…
Were you raised by vegans, or just think meat is something that grows in factories? Pork often has Trichinella spiralis. Chicken often has salmonella. E. coli shows up in all kinds of meat. That’s why you’re supposed to cook meat. This is no different. The danger is from LIVING bison interacting with LIVING cattle. And I’m sure all the cattle ranchers fighting the government over federal lands would be happy to hear you want to cut them off from even more lands. But I suppose you don’t care if hamburger jumps to $12/lb, do you?
Frank! For heaven’s sake – didn’t you read the report? Put yer glasses on buddy! The bison are all found to NOT be brucellosis-infected. This disease scare is perpetuated by cattle men who don’t want their grass being eaten by wild bison – buffalo – instead of their cattle. The disease is relatively easy to control, and anyway, as Wendy so correctly pointed out – other meats CAN carry diseases – but let’s face it – how many people out there eat their meat RAW?
Brucellosis isn’t likely to affect those who may perchance eat the meat from a supposedly infected animal – it results in cows aborting their calves. Read up on it.
I agree with you. Why give desease meat to any one. If cattle was deseased, then the herd would be put down, not given to people to harm. Something smells in that article.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the government would issue hunting licenses to Indian tribes, and let them live more like the way they used to? They used more than just the edible meat of the animal to make everything from clothes to tools. I think this would give them a sense of pride that might help them overcome the miseries of the past and present.
I think a lot of tribes do manage their own bison herds, but even they can’t hunt on federal lands. Remember, we’re not talking about bison in America in general here, we’re talking specifically about Yellowstone Bison.
You are bloody right! Let’s get rid of that 2000 Agreement with Montana!
The feds, and BLM in particular, seem to have a consistent practice of bad policy & practice. Bison are a national treasure, but need to be managed in a way that avoids many of the same troubles plagueing our other national treasure – wild horses and burros.
BLM has been less than ethical and less than responsible in that area.
It seems bison herds could be transferred in some cases. As this article is written, if totally accurate, indicates the classic gubmint, bloated and incompetent practices prevail ” ’cause dats how we do it,” rather than adjust priorities and communications to facilitate a better way of doing business.
The article leaves one with no answers to the natural questions which arise from the information provided.
I agree with Bison being a National Treasure! We have put a likeness of their heads on our currency! I took a trip from Georgia to Yellowstone for the sole purpose of seeing these Bison and I am not alone. We need laws that make sense.
Just keep pushing the excess out of the park. Let the indian tribes hunt them like they used to.
Oh, you don’t like my non politically correct use of the term “indian” ? Bite me.
Yeah – what else should you call ’em? If I had Red Indian in my blood – I’d be bloody proud to say so! Political correctness should be totally stamped out.
If a guy is tall, or short, well that is what he is! If he has, say, “Russian” blood in him or whatever, what’s wrong with saying so?
These are all God’s creatures, NOT ours to kill!!!
Just another bureaucratic crock of bull shit being shoved down our throats ……..
Can’t wait for PRESIDENT TRIUMPH to thin the bureaucratic heard !!!
WAKE UP AMERICA !!
Do you think Trump will save the Bison along with everything else? He just might replace the Buffalo nickel. Oh ya, the don’t mint that coin anymore. Well, if he makes president he will probably have a new quarter minted with his face on it! He doesn’t walk on water folks. Although, he has convinced some folks that he does!
The brucillosis free excess bison should be sent LIVE to Indian reservations. It seem insulting to think that the Indidans need the white man to take care of their animals for them. And it seems to me that if anyone has title to widl bison it is th native Americans of the west who have the best claim
Texas has ranches with bison.
Illinois just had a marvelous
Ecosystem built blade by blade of
Grass and all indigenous plants
They also have bison. Took years
But they did it. And they sell bison
Meat in grocery stores. Lived in s dak
We ate bison.
Oh how we low income Americans could have used that bison meat! I am among other SS recipients who are becoming a vegetarian generation. I have tasted and appreciate the low fat benefits of bison. BUT……who can afford the prices? We must decide priorities i.e. medical drugs vs meat, pay the utility bill or pay for protein in our diets. Californians once had eggs to rely on until those wonderful Democrats wrote chicken housing rules that destroyed eggs as an economical choice for us..
Our “representatives” are blind to measures which could help low incomes. If the Indians don’t want bison, then distribute it to a good cause!