| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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| News
Article 5/06/04 |
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| Poll
Reveals Widespread Opposition to Slaughter of Yellowstone
Bison
Humane Society of the United States
5/06/04
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Three-quarters
of Americans disapprove of the government-sponsored slaughter
of bison who wander outside Yellowstone National Park,
according to a recent poll conducted for The Humane Society
of the United States.
The poll, conducted by Penn, Schoen, & Berland Associates
in April, sampled 900 adults throughout the United States.
They were read the following statement: "The last
remaining herd of wild buffalo in the U.S. can be killed
if they wander outside Yellowstone National Park. Animal
protection and environmental groups want to protect the
wild buffalo, but cattle ranchers say that buffalo can
pass disease to cattle who graze in the area. There has
never been a documented case of disease transmission from
wild buffalo."
The respondents were then asked if they approved or disapproved
of a federal and state management plan that allows agency
officials to haze and kill bison (popularly referred to
as "buffalo") who wander outside of Yellowstone.
Seventy-five percent of respondents said they disapproved,
with 59% indicating that they "strongly disapproved"
of the policy and 16% saying that they "somewhat
disapproved" of it.
Only 18% of respondents expressed approval for the policy.
When asked whether they approved or disapproved of the
use of federal tax dollars to subsidize the killing of
Yellowstone's bison, 80% of respondents expressed disapproval,
and only 15% approved. The poll has a margin of error
of +/- 3.3%.
"The U.S. House has a bill pending before it that
would protect this unique herd of bison," said Bette
Stallman, wildlife scientist with The HSUS. "Already
101 members of the House have signed on as co-sponsors.
If any other members had any doubt about where their constituents
stood on the issue, this poll should erase those doubts.
Clearly, the time is now to stop the unnecessary and cruel
slaughter of these animals."
Disapproval of the bison policy was consistent across
political parties and across regions of the United States.
Among Democrats, 85% of respondents disapproved of the
policy, and 80% disapproved of the use of federal tax
dollars to kill bison.
Among Republican respondents, 66% disapproved of the bison
management policy, and 81% disapproved of the use of tax
dollars. Regionally, disapproval was as strong in the
western United States (where 79% disapprove) as in the
northeast (80% disapprove); disapproval ranged from 71%
to 75% in the south, midwest, and farm belt regions.
Unnecessary Slaughter
During the winter months, part of the bison population
in Yellowstone National Park migrates outside the northern
and western boundaries of the park to land (primarily
publicly owned) in Montana, searching for better forage
and looking to escape the deepest snow. During the summer
months, a handful of ranchers also graze their cattle
on nearby private land.
When cattle-grazing areas overlap with traditional bison
migration routes and calving areas, ranchers and the Montana
Department of Livestock (MDOL) claim that cattle are at
risk of contracting brucellosis, a disease that may cause
spontaneous abortions in cows. They make this claim even
though the cattle and bison are rarely present on these
lands at the same time. A variety of factors make the
risk of disease transmission from wild bison to cattle
negligible.
The National Park Service (NPS) and MDOL are among several
agencies using a bison management plan that allows state
and federal agencies to haze the animals back into Yellowstone
when they cross the park's unmarked boundaries. As the
harsh Yellowstone spring wears on and the need for forage
drives more bison from the interior of the park, government
agents typically switch from hazing the animals to a capture-test-slaughter
strategy. All bison who test positive for antibodies to
brucellosis are sent to slaughter—even though a
positive result may not be any indication of their ability
to pass the disease to others.
In the past ten years alone, the NPS and MDOL have shot
or sent to slaughter 2,786 Yellowstone bison. In the winter
and spring of 2002–2003 and 2003–2004, 523
bison were sent to slaughter or shot; many of these bison
were rounded up before they had even stepped one hoof
outside the park. And though the current test for brucellosis
is itself problematic—it tests only for prior exposure
to the disease, not for current infection—many of
the bison who were sent to slaughter in the past two springs
were not even tested first. In fact, the animals slaughtered
in recent years have included bulls and calves, who are
believed to be physically incapable of spreading this
disease.
Support the Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act
Widespread concern over the fate of bison in and around
Yellowstone National Park has resulted in the introduction
of federal legislation to curtail the harassment and slaughter
of these animals.
On November 5, 2003, Representatives Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
and Charles Bass (R-NH) introduced H.R. 3446, the Hinchey-Bass
Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act. If passed, H.R.
3446 would prohibit state and federal agency officials
from hazing, capturing, or killing Yellowstone bison,
until certain specific conditions have been met. As of
early May 2004, the bill had gained the bipartisan support
of 101 co-sponsors.
The bill is also backed by the Greater Yellowstone Wildlife
Alliance, a coalition of conservation, environmental,
and animal welfare organizations, including The HSUS,
the Bear Creek Council, Buffalo Field Campaign, Defenders
of Wildlife, Endangered Species Coalition, The Fund for
Animals, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Jackson Hole Conservation
Alliance, National Parks Conservation Association, Natural
Resources Defense Council, and The Wilderness Society.
What You Can Do
Please contact your U.S. representative and ask him or
her to support the Hinchey-Bass Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation
Act. To identify your elected officials and learn how
to contact them, call The HSUS at 202-955-3668, or visit
www.congress.org.
The capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 can connect you
with your U.S. representative and your two U.S. senators.
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