February 14, 2008

Bison Slated for Slaughter

Dear Humanitarian:

Since 1985, winter in Yellowstone National Park has sparked controversy as the National Park Service (NPS) and the State of Montana have engaged in a wholesale slaughter of American bison who dare to emigrate beyond the park's northern or western borders. To date, over 4,200 Yellowstone bison (or America's bison) have been hunted, shot by agency officials, or captured and sent to slaughter. This winter, nearly 250 bison have been killed, with hundreds more at risk as the snow depth increases and temperatures plunge, which drives bison beyond the protective borders of the park.

Remarkably, despite its mandate to protect park wildlife, the NPS has already captured nearly 150 bison inside Yellowstone near its northern border and sent most to slaughter, with a few calves being relegated to years of confinement in a quarantine facility. Given the severe winter conditions, it is predicted that more than 1,500 bison may be cruelly hunted or captured and slaughtered this season alone. This blow will decimate America's only wild bison who have continued to survive in their natural habitat since the near extinction of the species in the late 1800s.

The bison are ostensibly killed because they are perceived to pose a risk of transmitting brucellosis to domestic cattle. There has never been a confirmed case of bison transmitting this disease to cattle under natural conditions. Moreover, there is no risk near the western border of the park because there are no cattle on public or private land during the winter and spring, when the bison roam beyond the border.

To the north, bison continue to be slaughtered and your tax dollars continue to be wasted because of 250 cows grazing on private land. Though all of the scientific evidence suggests that the risk of transmission is extraordinarily remote and that only pregnant bison pose even a theoretical risk of transmitting the bacteria, the agencies routinely kill all bison (bulls, calves, yearlings and non-pregnant bison) who emigrate near or beyond park borders -- at a cost of nearly 3 million in taxpayer dollars each year.

We need your help urgently to save as many bison as possible from this tragic fate. The Animal Welfare Institute has joined with the Buffalo Field Campaign and other conservation organizations to support a National Week of Action to Save America's Bison. We ask you to contact the following officials to express your concern about the mismanagement of America's bison.

For suggested talking points to be used on each of the calls, please visit www.awionline.org/wildlife/bison/index.htm. This site also contains more information about the bison management controversy.

Thank you for helping AWI save the bison. Please pass on this urgent request to everyone you know; America's bison need all of us to raise our voices, express our concerns, and demand their protection.

Sincerely,
Cathy Liss
President