| Gardiner,
MT –
Park rangers captured 101 buffalo in Yellowstone National
Park on Tuesday afternoon, bringing the total captured
since February 21 to 298. Of 250 buffalo captured between
2/21 and 3/2, 124 were sent to slaughter and 126 remain
confined in the Stephens Creek trap. An additional 48
buffalo captured last night await their fate.
Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) spokesperson Mike Mease
documented the operations, “It’s time to
replace the buffalo with the domestic cow on the Park
Service badge,” he said, “since cattlemen
seem to be calling the shots in Yellowstone National
Park.”
Yellowstone is the only place in America continuously
inhabited by wild buffalo. The park provided sanctuary
to 23 buffalo that survived the mass eradication of
the 19th century. The Yellowstone herd comprises the
largest remaining population of genetically pure bison.
Slaughtering bison is in direct contradiction with the
park’s mandate to protect park resources unimpaired
for future generations.
The remaining buffalo captured on Tuesday will being
tested for exposure to brucellosis, which is no indicator
of present infection. Those testing positive will be
shipped to slaughter. There are currently 126 negative
testing buffalo being held in the trap until spring
and the park has said it can only hold 125. There has
never been a documented transmission of brucellosis
from wild buffalo to livestock.
Yesterday’s capture brings the total number of
Yellowstone buffalo trapped this winter to 316. 136
have been shot or sent to slaughter on the north and
west sides of the park. In the past ten years the DOL
and NPS have slaughtered 2,635 buffalo in and around
Yellowstone National Park. Last March the Park Service
sent 231 buffalo to slaughter without ever testing them
for brucellosis.
The recent slaughter has prompted members of Congress
to introduce the Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act
(H.R. 3446), which will place a three year moratorium
on the capture and slaughter of Yellowstone buffalo,
dismantle the Stephen’s Creek trap, and allow
buffalo unfettered access to public lands immediately
adjacent to the park. The bill has 63 co-sponsors in
the House of Representatives.
According to a press release issued by the park, the
current slaughter is designed to keep buffalo “away
from cattle grazing adjacent to the park.” The
closest livestock are located on the Royal Teton Ranch
(RTR), whose owners received more than 13 million tax
dollars in 1998 for conservation easements and land
intended to provide winter range for buffalo.
The Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working
in the field to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone's
wild buffalo. Volunteers defend the buffalo on their
traditional habitat and advocate for their protection.
Daily patrols stand with the buffalo on the ground they
choose to be on and document every move made against
them.
Video footage and Interviews Available Upon Request
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