The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: twyacht on November 22, 2011, 04:46:53 PM
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BILLINGS, Mont. (The Blaze/AP) — As many as 360 migrating wild bison would be shot by hunters in Montana, captured for slaughter or shipped elsewhere this winter under a proposal from Yellowstone National Park officials seeking an alternative to the indiscriminate slaughters of years past.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press show officials are considering “selective culls” to help reduce the park’s bison population from 3,700 animals to about 3,000. Some of this winter’s anticipated decrease would come from natural deaths.
Park biologists wrote in the proposal that reducing the population could avoid the need for the large-scale slaughters — more than 1,700 were killed or removed in 2008 — seen during past migrations. In harsh winters, bison leave the park in large numbers seeking food at lower elevations in Montana. But, in milder winters, less bison leave the park, meaning for this proposal to work, the park would need to be opened to hunters in area where the bison roam.
The proposal comes amid rising pressure from Montana officials including Gov. Brian Schweitzer to rein in the size of Yellowstone’s iconic bison herds. Others say the animals should roam freely — although cattle ranchers worry that could bring unwanted competition for grazing space and spread the animal disease brucellosis.
State officials said hunting was their top choice for population control. However, Schweitzer said in an interview that for the strategy to work, the park must open its borders to hunting inside portions of Yellowstone where bison often congregate in winter.
More than 3,600 Yellowstone bison were removed over the last decade to prevent the spread of the disease brucellosis. That included the 2008 number, when Yellowstone’s temporary bison capture pens were overwhelmed and many animals went to slaughter without being tested for brucellosis.
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More at link....Bison Burger Time!!!!!
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/you-may-be-able-to-hunt-bison-in-yellowstone-this-winter/