Last Wild Bison Herd in North America Facing Extinction

[caption id="attachment_42519" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Image Source (Dan Anderson)"][/caption]

In the early 1800s more than 65 million bison roamed North America, now their numbers have been reduced to approximately 3900. Bison in the U.S. are mostly confined within the perimeter of  Yellowstone National Park but heavy snows in recent years have led them to roam to lower elevations where it is easier to forage for vegetation. Montana farmers fear roaming bison could spread brucellosis, a disease which causes abortion or premature calving, to their livestock though there have been no documented cases of bison to cattle transmission. In response to this concern the State of Montana has developed a bison management plan. Bison entering Montana along Yellowstone's north boundary would be shot or shipped to slaughter and all bison entering Montana through the park's west boundary would be tested for brucellosis. Any bison testing positive for the disease would be shot or shipped to slaughter. Currently 400 animals are being held in government-operated pens near Gardiner, Montana.

The  Defenders of Wildlife organization argues that such a lethal approach is unnecessary and has started an online petition to save the Yellowstone bison.

http://green-buzz.net/environment/the-last-breathtaking-wild-bison-herd-in-north-america/

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Check your facts. They are not endangered and they are not the last wild buffalo. Those would be in Custer State Park, in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Matter of fact, the man who saved the buffalo was Scotty Phillips a rancher who bought some of the last surviving buffalo from his Indian father in law many years ago. And eventually these buffalo were sold to the state of South Dakota. There are thousands and thousands of buffalo roaming around on buffalo ranches all over the western half of the United States. Defenders of Animals is a quack group who gets money from bleeding hearts to purportedly use that money to save endangered animals when in fact they use most of the money for their wealthy staff members. Look it up.
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From the Feb 23 issue of the Billings Gazette, Billings, MT...
"(Montana Governor Brian) Schweitzer last week blocked plans to ship hundreds of the animals to slaughter — an abrupt reversal of the state's prior endorsement of the practice. The Democratic governor said he was sending a message to federal officials that their approach on bison has failed."

This is already being discussed from a governmental standpoint in Montana. Just so you know.

The full article about the new superintendent of YNP -
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_53680c18-3f9a-11e0-89c2-001cc4c002e0.html
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