 |
|
Due to an unjustified fear of disease transmission, over 1,500 bison
have been killed outside Yellowstone this year. Yellowstone National
Park |
Since fall of 2007, a total of
more than 1,500 Yellowstone National Park bison have been killed
while emigrating near or beyond park boundaries-almost all of them
over a period of only eight weeks. These animals are the most recent
victims of a controversial management plan implemented in 2000 that
has since caused the deaths of over 3,500 bison. Officials claim the
bison must be killed to prevent the transmission of the disease
brucellosis to cattle, even though there has never been a confirmed
case of transmission from bison to cattle under natural conditions.
The majority of bison killed this
winter were captured by the National Park Service (NPS) inside the
park's northern boundary, in an effort to prevent them from
accessing lands owned by the Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT).
CUT received $13 million in tax dollars in 1999 as part of a land
deal to remove cattle, while providing park wildlife, including
bison, increased access to its lands. However, cattle still graze on
church lands and bison continue to be killed. Now, under a new
controversial deal, CUT may be given additional millions of dollars
to remove cattle and allow a small number of bison to traverse its
land in fenced corridors to access public lands while in the
crosshairs of hunters.
Meanwhile, population numbers are
plummeting. This year's cull has already removed more than a third
of Yellowstone's bison. Hoping for immediate action, AWI has joined
with several animal protection, conservation and tribal
organizations to demand that the NPS and the state of Montana stop
the killing-and instead permanently protect enough bison to ensure
the genetic health of their populations in the park. On April 10, we
submitted an emergency rulemaking petition to the Department of the
Interior asking that federal officials halt the slaughter of the
migrating bison. In a separate action, Buffalo Field Campaign and
other groups asked Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and state and
federal agency officials to discontinue bison captures on Horse
Butte, an area west of the park.
In early April, the Government
Accountability Office issued a report strongly criticizing the
current bison management plan. Though the plan was enacted eight
years ago with the intent of increasing tolerance for bison outside
the park, it is currently stalled. House Natural Resources Committee
Chair Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) and Representative Maurice Hinchey
(D-NY) have criticized the bison plan as "plagued by deficiencies"
and "severely limited" in its ability to protect these animals.
 You can make a difference:
Please write or call the
superintendent of Yellowstone National Park to encourage the
responsible, humane management of bison. Tell her that the NPS has a
mandate to protect bison, and that it must withdraw from the current
bison management plan and work with other agencies to provide bison
access to protected habitat outside of Yellowstone.
Contact:
Ms. Suzanne Lewis,
Superintendent
Yellowstone National Park
P.O. Box 167, Mammoth, WY 82190
Telephone: (307) 344-2002;
E-mail:
Suzanne_Lewis@nps.org
|
