Red Lodge Clearinghouse

Yellowstone bison to be moved to Wyo. to avoid federal knife

Written by MATTHEW BROWN, AP/Salt Lake Tribune
Monday, 30 March 2009
A small herd of Yellowstone National Park's bison will be moved to a Wyoming reserve next month to spare them from a federal slaughter program. The 41 bison were captured last year north of Yellowstone by federal wildlife managers, who typically slaughter animals leaving the park to prevent them from making contact with livestock. Many bison carry brucellosis, a disease that causes bison and cattle to abort their young. About 1,600 bison attempting to leave the park were killed in 2008. The 41 are being moved to the Wind River Reservation, home of the Northern Arapahoe Tribe. The transfer has been opposed by ranchers who fear the animals will leave the reservation and make contact with cattle. The Wyoming Senate last month approved a bill blocking the transfer, but a state legislative committee last week tabled a similar bill. There have been no recorded bison-to-cattle transmissions in the wild, but many ranchers blame bison for repeated brucellosis outbreaks in the past few years that cost the Montana and Wyoming livestock industries their brucellosis-free status. Without the status, ranchers hoping to export cattle to other states are subject to costly testing requirements. Set as favorite Bookmark Email This Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
Last Updated ( Monday, 30 March 2009 )