For Immediate Release: January 8, 1999
Contact: Mike Clark or
Jon Catton
GYC (406) 586-1593
As Montanans woke up Friday, eight Yellowstone buffalo were on their way to a slaughterhouse. Their alleged offense: crossing a national park boundary and posing a risk to domestic cattle.
"What cattle?" asked Mike Clark, Executive Director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. "There are no domestic livestock in the area where these buffalo were herded into a pen and then loaded onto a truck to be taken to their deaths."
The U.S. Forest Service, at its Hebgen Ranger District, confirmed today there are no cattle in the entire Hebgen Basin, where Yellowston's buffalo are attempting to access forage that can help them survive the winter.
"You canít have a cattle-free area and say that cattle are being placed at risk," said Clark. "The State of Montana is taking its decade-long slaughter of Yellowstone buffalo to a new illogical extreme."
"Montana is renewing a slaughter of buffalo that goes against the grain of five months of public hearings, held in this region and across the country," added Clark. "Tens of thousands of Americans urged Montana and the federal government to use more common sense and moderation, and to acknowledge that Yellowstoneís buffalo are a national treasure."
Meanwhile, six of the eight buffalo bound for a slaughterhouse Friday are bulls.
"It is terribly important that people understand the significance of shipping male buffalo to slaughter" said Clark. "Male buffalo do not pose a threat." (An explanation follows.)
There are no documented cases anywhere in North America of bison infecting domestic livestock in the wild with the disease brucellosis. The National Academy of Sciences has concluded the possibility of transmission is extremely small.
Furthermore, if it can happen, scientists believe it would be through livestock coming into contact with an aborted buffalo fetus or the animalís birth fluids. For this reason, the federal government has determined that calves, yearlings and bulls pose no significant risk. Simply put, these buffalo cannot have abortions.
By shipping bulls to slaughter, the State of Montana is choosing to:
- ignore a federal policy
- kill buffalo that pose no significant risk to domestic livestock
- create exaggerated fears about buffalo in other states
Two winters ago, the slaughter of 1,100 buffalo drew national attention to this region. Since then, the public has spoken out loudly and clearly for a better approach. But today, with the first truckload of Yellowstone buffalo rolling to a slaughterhouse in Montana, the state appears ready to replay that slaughter of 1996-97. It has begun removing the public's wildlife from the publi'cs land, ignoring a federal "low risk" policy and the fact that there will not be any cattle in the area for the next five months.