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February 26, 2004
Yellowstone Slaughter Continues: Park Captures 74 More Buffalo
Gardiner, MT - Park rangers captured approximately 74 buffalo in Yellowstone National Park this morning, bringing the total captured since last Saturday to 163. Of the 89 captured in operations last Saturday and Tuesday, 53 were turned over to the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) on Wednesday and Thursday for slaughter. None of the captured buffalo ever stepped foot outside the world's first national park. Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) volunteers documented the operations.
     "Yellowstone used to be a wildlife sanctuary. Under the watch of Superintendent Suzanne Lewis it has been transformed into a buffalo slaughter facility set up to do the bidding of Montana's livestock industry," said Dan Brister, Project Coordinator of the Buffalo Field Campaign.
      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.
      Contrary to claims made by the DOL, the slaughtered buffalo tested positive for exposure to brucellosis, not the disease itself. "Trying to eradicate buffalo by killing exposed buffalo is like trying to eradicate chicken pox by killing everyone who has ever had them," Brister said. "Just because buffalo are exposed and have developed antibodies doesn't mean they are infectious."
      There has never been a documented transmission of brucellosis from wild buffalo to livestock.
      Today's capture brings the total number of Yellowstone buffalo trapped this winter to 163. 63 were slaughtered and two were shot in the field. In the past ten years the DOL and NPS have slaughtered 2,566 buffalo in and around Yellowstone National Park.
      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 currently has more than 60 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 lands belonging to the Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT). Taxpayers paid the Church more than $13 million on conservation easements and acquisition of CUT lands to protect bison and other wildlife in 1998.
       According to the unreliable test, just 36 buffalo tested negative for brucellosis antibodies and will be confined in the trap until spring. Twenty-four yearlings and calves are being experimented on with the livestock vaccine RB51, which is known to be ineffective in bison.
       The Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working in the field, everyday, 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.

Yellowstone Slaughters 53 of 89 Buffalo Captured since Saturday
Remainder to be Confined until Spring
February 26, 2004 For Immediate Release:  Contact: Dan Brister (406) 646-0070
Gardiner, MT - Yellowstone Park rangers handed 53 buffalo over to the Montana Department of Livestock for slaughter in two separate shipments yesterday and today. 89 buffalo were captured in three separate operations taking place on Saturday and Tuesday.
       Yellowstone is the only place in America continuously inhabited by wild buffalo. The park provided sanctuary to 23 wild buffalo that survived the mass eradication of the 19th century. The Yellowstone herd comprises the largest remaining population of genetically pure bison.
       "The Park Service is mandated to protect the buffalo unimpaired for future generations," said BFC spokesperson Dan Brister, "instead they are doing the dirty work of the Montana livestock industry and eroding the wildness of this national treasure. Yellowstone should be a sanctuary for wildlife, not a slaughterhouse."
       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 lands belonging to the Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT). Taxpayers spent more than $13 million on conservation easements and acquisition of CUT lands to protect bison and other wildlife in 1998.
       Of the 36 animals who tested negative for brucellosis antibodies and will be held in the trap until spring, 24 yearlings and calves were vaccinated with the livestock vaccine RB51, which has been shown to be ineffective in bison.
       A recent peer reviewed study (Davis, D.S. and Elzer, P.H., 2002, Brucella Vaccines in Wildlife, Veterinary Microbioligy (90): 533-544.) concluded that "RB51 did not confer significant protection in the vaccinated animals. In terms of abortions and infections, the RB51 bison vaccinated with three injections did not differ significantly from the non-vaccinated bison."
       While RB51 is known to be more effective in livestock, vaccination didn't prevent the infection of Wyoming cattle, who last month contracted brucellosis from feedground elk. There has never been a documented transmission of brucellosis from wild bison to livestock.
       The current bison management plan will cost taxpayers nearly $50 million. State and Federal agencies have slaughtered 2, 523 buffalo in the past ten years.
       The Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working in the field, everyday, 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.

February 21, 2004
Park Rangers Capture 33 Wild Buffalo in Yellowstone Nat. Park
Gardiner, MT -Park rangers captured 33 wild buffalo in the Stephens Creek trap near the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park this morning. None of the buffalo ever left the park. The Park's public affairs office was unavailable for comment on the operation.
    Buffalo Field Campaign spokesperson Mike Mease, who witnessed the capture, noted the irony of Park employees capturing buffalo inside the park, "These Park Rangers have no right wearing buffalo on their badges as they haze and capture the buffalo they're entrusted with protecting. If buffalo are not safe in Yellowstone, then where are they safe?"
    The Yellowstone herd is the only continuously wild herd in the United States. It is descended from just 23 wild bison that survived the mass eradication of the 19th century and is the largest remaining single population of genetically pure bison.
    This is the first time the Stephens Creek trap has been used since March 2003, when Park Rangers captured 231 buffalo in Yellowstone and handed them over to the Montana Department of Livestock without ever testing them for brucellosis, the supposed justification for the slaughter. The DOL shipped all 231 to slaughter.
    The Park Service is one of five federal and state agencies participating in the Interagency Bison Management Plan. The plan will cost taxpayers $50 million over the next 14 years. State and Federal agencies have killed 2,513 buffalo in the past ten years.
    During this morning's capture operation a pronghorn antelope was caught in the haze. The area between Gardiner and Stephens Creek, where the capture operation occurred, provides the only winter range for Yellowstone antelope, a Species of Special Concern. Human activities, like buffalo capture operations, negatively impact the pronghorn, whose numbers have plummeted from more than 600 to less than 200 in recent years.
    On Tuesday the Montana Department of livestock captured 18 buffalo near West Yellowstone and sent ten to slaughter. Of the eight that were shaved, tagged, dyed, and released Wednesday on the Horse Butte Peninsula, five were yearling calves. Several showed signs of injuries suffered in captivity, such as falling down upon release and leaving a trail of hair and blood. At least four of the released calves are now orphans with little chance of survival, as their mothers were sent to slaughter.

The Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working in the field, everyday, 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.

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