WEST YELLOWSTONE, MT- Early this morning Michael Mease, the cofounder of Buffalo Nations, was arrested for locking down with a kryptonite bike lock to the stock trailer sent to take four wild Yellowstone bison to slaughter. "I jumped on to the trailer after it recklessly ran through a group of peaceful demonstrators, endangering many lives," Mease stated.

The DOL hauled and released two bison in the Horse Butte area then returned to the capture facility. At night the DOL placed bails of hay around the capture facility to bait bison out of Yellowstone National Park which is only 100 feet from the capture facility.

The bison are currently leaving the park for essential winter forage which is scarce during the hard winter months. Brandon Bridges, an 18 year old Buffalo Nations volunteer from Kentucky, sat peacefully in the middle of the road in an attempt to halt the slaughter house vehicle as it exited the Duck Creek capture facility. The trailer had four bison which were transported to be slaughtered at C& M meats. "We can no longer tolerate this insane treatment of our last wild bison," stated Mr. Bridges.

The Gallatin County Sheriff's department removed Mr. Bridges from the road without arresting him.

Tests conducted by the DOL only determine that buffalo who test positive have been exposed to the disease not that they have it. Numerous studies have shown that the only way that brucellosis can be transferred to cattle is through the after birth or aborted fetuses of a female buffalo. The risk of transmission by this method is zero at this time of year because there are no cattle in the area and brucellosis dies after five hours of exposure to direct sunlight. Despite this fact the DOL ships all buffalo who test positive to slaughter.

Later in the morning Eric Pederson, a 19 year old Buffalo Nations member from Oregon, was arrested while trying to document the DOL-police convoy which escorted the four slaughter house bound bison out of the West Yellowstone area. " Kill the brucellosis myth not the buffalo," declared Mr. Pederson.

There are currently at least five wild Yellowstone bison in the DOL capture facility. Buffalo Nations will remain on the scene 24 hours a day as long as the Montana DOL remains in the area. " As long as the DOL is in charge of harrasing Montana's bison, Buffalo Nations will not rest. The DOL acts as though it is constrained by neither morality or legality and the day has come for this to stop." stated Michael Mease.

Contact Mike Bowersox or Sue Nackoney for the latest update on the situation at 406-646-0070. Video and Stills available on request.

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