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-- Montana’s Choice
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DOL Management of Bison. The bison of Yellowstone
National Park, Montana’s only wild bison, are now managed by
the Montana Department of Livestock whenever they leave the Park.
Results in 2008 included:
• 1434 bison captured and sent to a slaughterhouse.
• 112 bison transferred to a quarantine facility.
• 10 bison died in capture pens.
• 8 bison shot because they could not be chased back towards
the Park.
• 166 bison harvested on constricted habitat without fair-chase
hunting.
• Bison confined and fed during winter, conducive to spreading
disease.
• All bison hazed back into the Park by May 15.
• Disruption of natural family-groups of bison, with negative
effects on bison behavior.
• Too few Yellowstone bison to maintain the herd’s unique
genetic diversity.
• Bison not allowed to access habitat where conflicts with
livestock do not exist – including private lands where they
are welcome, public grazing lands and game ranges purchased for
wildlife habitat.
• A long-range goal to reduce the Yellowstone bison herd and
to continue the above activities, including periodic slaughter of
large numbers of bison, at public expense, indefinitely. We must
end this costly embarrassment to our state.
There’s Got to Be a
Better Way!
FWP Management of Bison. Fish, Wildlife and Parks
is the agency authorized and staffed to protect, preserve and manage
Montana’s native wildlife. Opportunities for managing Yellowstone
bison by FWP include:
• Recognize bison as valued, native wildlife of Montana.
• Allow bison onto conflict-free public and private lands
where they are managed as big-game.
• Provide sufficient habitat for limiting the bison herd largely
through fair-chase hunting.
• In cooperation with Yellowstone National Park, maintain
the unique genetic diversity of the Park bison herd.
• Manage the minimal risk of brucellosis transmission to cattle
by managing and protecting cattle where risks actually exist. Limit
bison distribution only where these risks are real.
• Through expanded tourism and hunting, turn an unending public
expense for controlling bison into an economic benefit for landowners,
guides, outfitters and local communities.
Support the Montana Wild Buffalo Recovery
and Conservation Act of 2009!
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