The non-profit “Buffalo Field Campaign” is holding rallies near Yellowstone National Park this week. Their goal is to educate the public about Yellowstone’s buffalo herd and protest the long-standing practice of killing buffalo that wander out of the park into Montana. But some in Montana worry the buffalo could harm cattle.
The “Buffalo Field Campaign” was founded in 1997 by Lakota elder Rosalie Little Thunder and Mike Mease. Their goal was to stop the killing of buffalo that left Yellowstone National Park during the winter.
Mike Mease says the reason given for those killings has been concern over the spread of brucellosis from the herd. The bacterial disease can cause udder infections in cattle.
“Basically, there is a zero tolerance policy for what are now confined to Yellowstone bison to take a step outside of Yellowstone into the state of Montana,” Mease explains. “When they do so they’re met with a hunt…which starts November 15 and carries on through the month of March.”
Yellowstone Park spokesperson Sandra Snell-Dobert doesn’t dispute this claim.
“Brucellosis originally came from cattle,” observes Snell-Dobert. “But there’s concern about transmission back to cattle. Very complicated issue. But suffice it to say that the state of Montana doesn’t necessarily want bison all over the landscape.”
Snell-Dobert add that the buffalo hunt does include tribal entities.
But for the Lakota, says Karen Little Thunder, the buffalo are considered relatives.
“It’s difficult enough to see an animal get killed senselessly,” Little Thunder comments. “But to see our relatives get killed like that is extremely heart-wrenching.”
The Buffalo Field Campaign disputes concerns over the spread of brucellosis and claims there is no documented case of buffalo-to-cattle transmission.
The group has a rally scheduled in West Yellowstone on Friday. Sandra Snell-Dobert says that 350 Yellowstone bison have been killed in this year’s hunt. Mike Mease notes that 8000 have been killed since the late ‘90s.
Related links: