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Buffalo Genocide I'm learning to dread Spring, particularly this month of April. As I pen these words, the mass migration has begun. And it's at this time of year that it seems the struggle for wilderness is no more apparent than at the door steps of our first national park, Yellowstone. My wintercount has become their death-toll - the last wild - and I find it more difficult to say, free roaming - herd of bison remaining within our borders.
And it should not go unnoticed that this year's toll now rings at about 90 percent bulls. This further exemplifies the hypocritical agenda being played out under the guise of protecting livestock from disease transmission - a disease whose transmission by any reasonable measure, could take place only from exposure to the birthing matter of cows, never minding that any concerns over potential of transmission of the same disease from elk goes largely ignored. So the genocide continues. And things look to likely get worse. There's trouble in Yellowstone. According to a recent Montana Dept. of Livestock report, the Reno meeting of the Western States Livestock Health Association and U.S. Animal Health Association Western District included passage of a resolution directed to the Secretaries of Agriculture, Interior and Health & Human Services, and the Centers for Disease Control. The resolution strongly urges implementation of procedures that will eliminate Brucella abortus, the bacterium that causes brucellosis, from bison and elk of the Yellowstone ecosystem - including Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks and the National Elk Refuge - in the shortest possible time. To most casual observers, this seems sensible enough - after all, anything ending in "osis" can't be good. But at what price? And in whose interest? The American public should serve notice, for if some have their way, this could mean the annihilation of America's last truly wild herd of bison through either their continued slaughter or, arguably worse, their domestication. This, in spite of the fact that there are no documented cases of brucellosis transmission from wild bison to cattle in a natural setting - no insignificant finding, particularly since cattle and bison have been sharing the range within Grand Teton National park for decades.
Worrying about the risk of transmitting brucellosis from wild bison to cattle would seem to be a lot like worrying about dying in an auto accident because your seat belt has trapped you inside a burning vehicle - available evidence simply does not support the argument that this scenario is of any meaningful concern. And as the National Academy of Science report points out, brucellosis is not merely confined to bison and elk but can also infect wild predators, scavengers and domestic dogs. So an operationally acceptable scientific level of risk for the Yellowstone Bison seems long overdue. Are we to "sanitize" the entire ecosystem? This notion is particularly ironic since brucellosis is not native to North American wildlife, but is believed to have been transmitted from domestic livestock. And even if 100 percent eradication were possible, and measurable, our double standards for risk tolerance would still need to be addressed - we drive cars don't we? Furthermore, a recent report from the Texas Animal Health Commission appears to speak volumes. It seems Texas is now at risk for decertification from "free" for cattle tuberculosis (TB) eradication. Apparently Texas livestock brokers routinely import cattle from Mexico, where it is known that cattle TB is a problem.
To be sure, the specter of Montana losing it's current brucellosis free status is an important financial concern for Montana's vulnerable ranching community. But it's difficult for most of us to reconcile this concern when looking again towards the example of Grand Teton National Park. Which is all the more reason to lend our support on this matter to Montana's ranching community, and insist that the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior and Montana's Governor, acknowledge their level of dysfunction to date on this issue and resolve to address it in an acceptable fashion. The U.S. taxpayer should stand tall in support of those, who through no fault of their own, incur financial impact. Do we not recognize the priority? Have we no empathy. To plains Indians, continued slaughter of these Bison amounts to the continued genocide as witnessed during the past 150 years. This is akin to the desecration of a church to Christians or synagogue to Jews - only much worse, since the bison are their relatives. Will we allow their continued destruction to take place. Have we no shame? Yellowstone's bison are a national treasure. They need our help more than ever. {Dave Colavito lives in the Catskills region of New York. This editorial was originally published in April 2002 by the Buffalo Field Campaign Under the newly adopted Interagency Bison Management Plan, if there are more than 3,000 bison in Yellowstone National Park by late winter or early spring, Montana may kill bison found outside the park without testing them for brucellosis.} |
Yellowstone bison (Photos courtesy 
Bison in a headlock being tested for brucellosis. 
Montana Dept. of Livestock helicopter hazes buffalo near Yellowstone National Park. April 2001. 