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Buffalo Field Campaign  The only group working in the field to protect the buffalo (bison)
P.O. Box 957   West Yellowstone, MT 59758   
E-mail buffalo@wildrockies.org.    http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo

March 19, 2004
Park Service Slaughters 267 Wild Buffalo Inside Yellowstone;
Domesticates Another 198 Captive Wild Buffalo
Gardiner, MT - The National Park Service (NPS) will send another 50 wild buffalo to slaughter today, bringing the total number of buffalo killed in the past month on the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park to 267. These last 50 buffalo were not tested for exposure to brucellosis. Last March the Park Service killed 231 wild Yellowstone buffalo without testing for exposure to brucellosis. There has never been a documented case of brucellosis transmission from wild buffalo to livestock.

Currently 198 buffalo are being held at the Stephens Creek trap, 113 of them are yearlings that have been vaccinated with an ineffective cattle vaccine. Peer reviewed scientific studies have concluded that RB51 offers no significant protection for brucellosis to bison. The Park Service has indicated that no more buffalo can be held in the trap until later this spring. Any additional buffalo captured this year will be shipped to slaughter without being tested for exposure to brucellosis.

One buffalo died in the Stephens Creek trap while being held for slaughter. The Park Service is investigating the causes. "The accidental death of a captive buffalo at Stephens Creek raises some serious concerns about holding wild buffalo captive until spring," noted Ted Fellman of the Montana-based Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC). "BFC volunteers have already documented numerous injuries from goring. This death is another reminder of what happens when wild buffalo are held in unnatural confinement."

"Buffalo slaughter is becoming an almost daily routine in Yellowstone," said Dan Brister of the BFC. "With rangers luring buffalo into traps with trails of hay, handing them over to stock inspectors who ship them to slaughter, and inoculating them with cattle vaccines and ear tagging them, we should start calling it Yellowstone National Ranch."

Yellowstone is the only place in America continuously occupied by native buffalo. The park provided sanctuary to 23 individuals that survived the 19th century near extinction. The Yellowstone herd is the largest remaining population of genetically pure bison. Slaughtering bison is in direct contradiction with the Park Service's mandate to protect park resources unimpaired for future generations.

"The National Park Service's mission includes conserving wildlife, yet they have systematically harassed, captured, vaccinated, confined, slaughtered, and shot members of the Yellowstone buffalo herd over the past month," remarked BFC coordinator Ted Fellman. "Captured buffalo are subjected to gruesome testing procedures, held in place by head clamps with noses pinched by metal rings. It is a cruel and bloody sight. And it is being carried out with our tax dollars by Park Service employees responsible for preserving this last herd of wild buffalo in America. They are domesticating this unique herd, destroying the wild quality that makes them a national treasure."

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 land and conservation easements intended to provide winter range for native buffalo. Earlier this week, a local game warden hazed two buffalo on foot from near the Royal Teton Ranch. Although Randy Wuertz works for the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, he also has about 25 head of cattle on RTR land. At least 170 cows continue to graze there, while wild buffalo are slaughtered to protect them.

"It's a conflict of interest to have a local game warden hazing native buffalo to protect his own cattle grazing on land that should be designated winter range," said Mike Mease of the BFC. "They are hazing buffalo right to the trap where they are being conditioned by all the hay that is left there as bait. Wild buffalo are being managed to death."

In the past ten years the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) and NPS have slaughtered 2,786 buffalo in and around Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone buffalo slaughter is slated to cost taxpayers nearly $3 million a year until 2015.

The slaughter has prompted members of Congress to introduce the Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act (H.R. 3446), which will place a three-year ban on the capture and slaughter of Yellowstone buffalo, dismantle the Stephens Creek trap, and allow buffalo access to historic public lands habitat immediately adjacent to the park. It has more than 80 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.


March 17, 2004
Park Service Sends Another 30 Wild Buffalo to Slaughter
Game Warden Hazes Wildlife to Protect Personal Cattle
Gardiner, MT - The National Park Service (NPS) sent another 30 wild buffalo to slaughter today, bringing the total number of buffalo killed in the past month on the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park to 183 and counting. There are still about 100 recently captured buffalo that will be tested for brucellosis exposure over the next days. There has never been a documented case of brucellosis being transmitted from wild buffalo to livestock.

Currently 174 buffalo are being held at the Stephens Creek trap inside of Yellowstone National Park, roughly half of them are yearlings that have been vaccinated with an ineffective cattle vaccine. Peer reviewed scientific studies have concluded that RB51 offers no significant protection for brucellosis to bison. The Park Service has indicated that only 200 buffalo can be held in the trap until later this spring, meaning that another 76 buffalo will likely be sent to slaughter this week. Last March, the Park Service killed 231 wild Yellowstone buffalo, a number likely to be exceeded by this year's slaughter.

"Buffalo slaughter is becoming an almost daily routine in Yellowstone," said Dan Brister of the Montana-based Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC). "With rangers luring buffalo into traps with trails of hay, handing them over to stock inspectors who ship them to slaughter, and inoculating them with cattle vaccines and ear tagging them, we should start calling it Yellowstone National Ranch."

Yellowstone is the only place in America continuously occupied by native buffalo. The park provided sanctuary to 23 individuals that survived the 19th century near extinction. The Yellowstone herd is the largest remaining population of genetically pure bison. Slaughtering bison is in direct contradiction with the Park Service's mandate to protect park resources unimpaired for future generations.
"The National Park Service's mission includes conserving wildlife, yet they have systematically harassed, captured, vaccinated, confined, slaughtered, and shot members of the Yellowstone buffalo herd over the past month," remarked BFC coordinator Ted Fellman. "Submitting wild buffalo to testing procedures that involve holding them in head clamps with their noses pinched by metal rings is cruel and gruesome. The Park Service is domesticating this unique herd, destroying the wild quality that makes them a national treasure."

Earlier this morning, a local game warden hazed two buffalo on foot from near the Royal Teton Ranch (RTR). Although Randy Wuertz works for the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, he also has about 25 head of cattle on RTR land. The owners of the RTR received more than 13 million tax dollars in 1998 for land and conservation easements intended to provide winter range for native buffalo. However, about 180 cows continue to graze there, while wild buffalo are slaughtered to protect them.

"It's quite a conflict of interest to have a local game warden hazing native buffalo to protect his own cattle grazing on land that should be designated winter range," said Mike Mease of the BFC. "They are hazing buffalo right to the trap where they are being conditioned by all the hay that is left there as bait. Wild buffalo are being managed to death."

In the past ten years the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) and NPS have slaughtered 2,666 buffalo in and around Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone buffalo slaughter is slated to cost taxpayers nearly $3 million a year until 2015.

The slaughter has prompted members of Congress to introduce the Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act (H.R. 3446), which will place a three-year ban on the capture and slaughter of Yellowstone buffalo, dismantle the Stephens Creek trap, and allow buffalo access to historic public lands habitat immediately adjacent to the park. It has more than 75 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.

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