Emergency Petition Urges End to Yellowstone Bison Killing

WASHINGTON, DC, April 11, 2008 (ENS) – Bison advocates and environmental groups filed an emergency petition Thursday with the U.S. Interior Department urging the agency to stop the slaughter of wild bison migrating out of the Yellowstone National Park. Nearly a third of the Yellowstone bison herd has been killed by state and federal authorities since last fall under a controversial livestock disease management plan that few stakeholders believe is working.

Critics contend it is high time the plan was scrapped, arguing that it is threatening the viability of the nation's last wild and free-roaming bison population.

"The Park Service's current course is to slaughter bison without concern as to the damage being done to the genetic diversity of the distinct bison populations in Yellowstone," said D.J. Schubert, a wildlife biologist with the Animal Welfare Institute.

In addition to the management culling, hunters are permitted to kill Yellowstone bison. (Photo courtesy Buffalo Field Campaign)

The petition, filed by more than a dozen environmental groups and bison advocates, calls on the Interior Department to suspend enforcement of the Interagency Bison Management Plan, agreed to in 2000 by federal and state officials.

The plan permits the capture and slaughter of bison that roam outside of the park due to the potential that the animals could transmit the abortive disease brucellosis to cattle.

The National Park Service estimated the bison population in the park was some 4,700, a figure that is now closer to 3,100. In the past six months, federal and state officials have captured and slaughtered at least 1,341 bison that have roamed beyond park boundaries in search of food. An additional 339 bison are currently being held in facilities outside the park.

"The petition raises a red flag that unprecedented, large scale slaughtering of wild bison is jeopardizing their long term survival," said Schubert, lead author of the petition.

There is ample evidence that the Yellowstone bison consist of two distinct herds, according to the petition, and each of these herds needs to have a population of at least 2,000 bison in order to remain viable and healthy.

The Buffalo Field Campaign, which keeps observers in the field, says, "The death toll is rising at an alarming rate. Family groups are being obliterated, genetic lines lost forever, orphaned calves being imprisoned for government studies, and all to appease the unwarranted fears and economic interests of the Montana cattle industry."

The petitioners have asked the National Park Service, which is under the authority of the Interior Department, to immediately cease its role in the slaughter of the Yellowstone bison and warn that they will consider filing a lawsuit if the agency fails to comply.

Yellowstone bison and the snowmobiles used to corral them. (Photo courtesy Buffalo Field Campaign)

"The act of corralling and sending animals to slaughter within Yellowstone is completely contrary to the basic idea of a national park - particularly as buffalo are the iconic logo of the U.S. Park Service," said Glenn Hockett of the Gallatin Wildlife Association.

The petition comes in the wake of additional evidence that the Yellowstone bison plan is stumbling. A report released last month by the Government Accountability Office, GAO, criticized implementation of the plan, saying that federal and state agencies are making less progress than anticipated.

The report criticized the failure to expand areas outside the park where the bison can safely roam. It noted that decisionmaking by federal and state officials lacks accountability and transparency and "more often resembles trial and error than adaptive management."

Bison advocates have long held that the plan fails to consider the special value of the Yellowstone bison population, descendants of the few wild bison that remained after their mass eradication in the 19th century.

There is dispute over the threat posed to cattle by brucellosis-infected bison - there has never been a documented case of transmission by wild bison to cattle.

There appears little risk of bison and cattle intermingling in any case, as fewer than 2,000 cattle graze on the winter grounds outside the park where the bison typically migrate.

Livestock interests and Montana officials, however, caution that even one case of brucellosis in cattle could prove devastating to the state's cattle industry.

Yellowstone bison calves at play. Spring 2007. (Photo courtesy Buffalo Field Campaign)

The presence of the disease, which can cause stillbirth and spontaneous abortion, could put at risk the Montana's brucellosis-free status, potentially costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

But there appears to be a double standard at play. Elk, which can carry the disease, far outnumber bison and are permitted to range beyond the park.

There are documented cases of transmission from elk to cattle, and elk were responsible for both Idaho and Wyoming losing their brucellosis-free status in recent years.

"What we're actually seeing in Montana is a 21st century range war instituted by ranchers against wild, free-roaming bison," said Robert Hoskins of Gravelbar, a Wyoming-based conservation organization.

Bison advocates worry that more bison will be captured and killed in coming weeks, as some migrate to their traditional calving grounds on Horse Butte, west of the park.

A trio of groups who signed the petition have also urged state and federal officials to recognize the changing landscape - there are no longer any cattle grazing on Horse Butte. They are seeking an immediate moratorium on harassing and capturing bison in this area in order to help the bison population recover.

"There is a way out of this senseless slaughter," said Louisa Willcox, senior wildlife advocate for the National Resources Defense Council. "I think everyone recognizes that a change is needed here - but the same issues of conflict with cattle and property rights issues always short circuit public debate. Those issues do not apply at Horse Butte. This proposal gives the buffalo a chance to recover while the state and federal authorities get time to look at the criticism from community groups and the GAO report."

Karrie Taggart, president of Horse Butte Neighbors of Buffalo, one of the petitioning groups, says, "My only wish would be that even the most hardened of hearts and minds could experience living amongst the bison, if only for a day. It changes everything. You learn that the voice of their wisdom is silent, except to the open mind. That the bison have allowed me in their world has been the greatest honor ever granted me."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.