South Dakota officials are changing trophy bison hunting laws in the sate to allow archery hunting and are increasing the number of licenses available.
Trophy bison in Custer State Park will now be allowed to be harvested with a bow. Previous law set by the department restricted hunters to using a high-power rifle.
Game, Fish and Parks proposed the change, which was approved Tuesday by the legislative rules committee.
Tom Kirschenmann is the Director of Wildlife. He said the change is based on user experience.
“The bottom line is just to increase the numbers a little bit to provide a few more hunting opportunities for bison in Custer State Park. Very popular hunts, people thoroughly enjoy that neat experience and it just provides a few more opportunities there in Custer State Park,” said Kirschenmann.
The committee also approved a proposal increasing the number of licenses for trophy bison from eight to ten. Two of those are set aside for residents.
According to Game, Fish and Parks, trophy bison are defined as bison that are the oldest breeding bulls in a herd. These bison are typically at least ten years old and weigh around 2,000 pounds.
Not all committee members agreed with the changes. Sen. Red Dawn Foster was concerned she said she would like to see the department work more closely with tribes for these plans.
"As a Lakota we have a deep relationship with the buffalo, the bison, in this community, and the nine tribes are working very hard to restore what has happened over the decades. They are working very hard. So, to just say hunting buffalo for trophy, especially our older buffalo, is neat, shows that there is a complete disregard for these animals, and it definitely does not fall in line with my cultural values,” said Red Dawn Foster.
She said adding archery to trophy bison will increase the aging bison’s anxiety.
The committee passed the bison changes in a four to two vote, effectively completing the rule making process.
