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Yellowstone Park bison deaths hit 1,192
By MATTHEW BROWN
Associated Press writer Saturday, March 22, 2008 2:05 AM MDT
BILLINGS, Mont. -- The capture and slaughter of Yellowstone National Park's wild bison pressed forward Friday, with 14 more bulls shipped to processing facilities and 120 animals herded into park holding pens for disease testing.
So far this year, a record 1,192 bison have been killed, primarily under a federal-state disease management program that blocks contact between the animals and surrounding livestock herds.
The heavy toll this year has stirred rising criticism from bison advocacy groups and environmentalists. Yellowstone is home to the nation's largest remaining herd of wild bison, a species that was driven to near-extinction in the late 1800s.
Some bison carry brucellosis, which causes pregnant animals to abort their calves. They are captured leaving the park as they seek food at lower elevations where cattle ranches are present.
"This isn't about brucellosis, it's about bison population control -- and that's not how it was sold to the public," said Tim Preso, an attorney for Earthjustice, an environmental law firm that has been pushing federal and state agencies for greater bison tolerance.
Preso and others say the say the absence of cattle in some areas where bison have been captured shows pressure from the livestock industry -- not disease -- is driving the slaughter program.
A spokesman for the Montana Department of Livestock, which participated in Friday's capture operations, called Preso's claim "ridiculous."
"The state legislature has identified bison as animals with the disease and in need of management," said department spokesman Steve Merritt. "If bison didn't have brucellosis, I'm sure the management of Yellowstone's bison would be different than what it is today."
State officials have acknowledged being more aggressive with the animals this winter, after running into difficulties last year during a nonlethal bison hazing drive.
There has been no recorded case of a bison-to-cattle brucellosis transmission. State and federal officials say the capture and slaughter program is meant to keep that from happening.
Brucellosis was introduced to Yellowstone from livestock brought in by early European settlers. The disease has since been eradicated in livestock but persists in some bison, elk and other animals.
Some of the bison captured Friday likely will be released back into the park instead of slaughtered. With the spring thaw approaching, wildlife managers were scheduled to begin testing the latest captured bison for brucellosis and release any with negative results back into the park.
Animals testing positive still will be slaughtered. About half of bison typically test positive for the disease, said Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash.
Thirty-seven calves that tested negative this week already were spared slaughter. They were shipped to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Research facility as part of a long-term brucellosis investigation.
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