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From the Buffalo Field Campaign
Elk Snared and Injured on Illegal Department of Livestock Fence
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 31, 2000
Contact: Daniel Brister, Tiffany Brown (406) 646-0070
West Yellowstone, MT-An elk became entangled and injured yesterday
afternoon when it tried to cross a fence maintained by the Montana
Department of Livestock (DOL) just outside the western boundary of
Yellowstone National Park.
Activists with the Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) discovered the elk laying
on the ground with three of its legs wrapped up in the wires of the fence.
After the activists freed the leg, the animal slowly gained its feet and
eventually limped away.
The eight strand high tension fence, erected and maintained by the DOL as
part of its bison capture operations, is located in a prime migration
corridor along Duck Creek. The fence affects all wildlife migrating
through the area between Montana and Yellowstone National Park, not just
bison.
Such fences are illegal in Montana because of their deleterious effects on
wildlife. The DOL was permitted to construct this fence due to "disease
control" provisions in its management plan for Yellowstone bison.
"This is yet another example of DOL policy interfering with the migrations
of Yellowstone's wild fauna," stated BFC campaign coordinator Mike Mease.
Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers defend the buffalo on their traditional
winter habitat and advocate for their protection. BFC is the only group
working in the field every day to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone's wild
buffalo.
Video and still footage available upon request.
Feb. 1, 2000
Buffalo Field Campaign
P.O. Box 957 West Yellowstone, Mt. 59758
Phone (406)646-0070 Fax (406)646-0071
E-mail buffalo@wildrockies.org.
Department of Livestock Harasses Bull Buffalo for Third Time This Week; Activist's Video-Documentation Confiscated
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 30, 2000
Contact: Daniel Brister, Tiffany Brown (406) 646-0070
West Yellowstone, MT- Early this morning, a Montana Department of Livestock
(DOL) agent, Shane Grube, attempted to haze a bull buffalo who has been
grazing for the past week on the south side of the Madison River. The
buffalo fled, taking refuge in nearby trees. It was the DOL's third
unsuccessful attempt to haze the animal in the past week. It is unclear
whether the DOL agent intended to capture the buffalo or haze him back to
the park. Hazing buffalo causes unnecessary stress and taxes the crucial
energy reserves they need to survive the winter.
Later in the day, law enforcement officials with the Gallatin County
Sheriff's Department, the Montana Highway Patrol, and the US Forest Service
accompanied Grube to the scene of this morning's hazing and confiscated
video footage of the operation shot by Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC)
volunteers .
"The Buffalo Field Campaign formed to document this issue and to educate
the American people about the senseless slaughter of the Yellowstone
buffalo. This illegal confiscation of our documentation is unacceptable
and unconstitutional," stated BFC spokesperson Michael Mease.
Montana insists that buffalo pose a threat to the brucellosis-free status
of the state's cattle industry. Governor Racicot and the DOL have recently
come under fire from federal agencies for their mismanagement of the
Yellowstone herd. Although there has never been a documented case of
brucellosis being transmitted from wild buffalo to livestock, the state
maintains a zero-tolerance policy for buffalo migrating into Montana from
Yellowstone National Park.
Montana's position is neither supported by science nor endorsed by the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the federal body
responsible for maintaining the state's brucellosis-free status. "We don't
feel there's a need to kill every bison that comes out of the park," said
APHIS spokesperson Patrick Collins.
Because bulls cannot transmit the disease, APHIS considers them "low risk"
and says their presence in the state will not jeopardize Montana's
brucellosis-free status. Of the ninety buffalo shipped to slaughter last
winter, forty-two were bulls. These animals were killed in the name of
protecting cattle, who do not return to the area until June 15.
"The only way this bull could transmit brucellosis to cattle is by mating
with a cow, something that doesn't occur under natural conditions.
Montana is wasting public money on the unnecessary harassment of this
bull," said BFC spokesperson Tiffany Brown.
In the past three winters almost 2000 Yellowstone buffalo have been killed
under the current management plan. The Yellowstone herd is the only herd
descended from continuously wild buffalo in this country.
Video footage and still photos available upon request
___________________________________________________________
To find out the "in the field" info directly from Buffalo Field
Campaign go to: http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo
Getting the word out is critical and BFC is the only group working
365 days a year in Yellowstone with the buffalo.
_________________________________________
New Compilation Buffalo Video Available
Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers has a compilation video available on the
Yellowstone buffalo. Plan B, The Buffalo's Alternative is a brief
scientific advocacy piece on long-term management strategies to allow
buffalo to roam free in Yellowstone. Buffalo Bull is a more in-depth
documentary on the Yellowstone buffalo slaughter. Where the Buffalo
Roam profiles the field campaign and their efforts to protect the
Yellowstone buffalo herd. To purchase the video send a check or money
order for $20 to Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers; PO Box 7941 Missoula MT
59807.
Elders and educators can receive a video at a discount please send a
query to mailto:cmcr@wildrockies.org or call our office at 406-728-0867.
Getting the word out is key... please take a moment and look at your
local paper and send us contact info for the editor. Both email and fax are
appreciated!
stop-the-slaughter@wildrockies.org
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