Where the buffalo roam -- and die
- added April 29, 2008
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- National Parks (11)
- Yellowstone National Park (8)
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More than half of Yellowstone National Park's bison herd has died since last fall, forcing the government to suspend its annual slaughter program.
More than 700 of the iconic animals starved or otherwise died on the mountainsides during an unusually harsh winter, and more than 1,600 were shot by hunters or sent to slaughterhouses in a disease-control effort, according to National Park Service figures.
Government officials say the slaughter prevents the spread of the disease brucellosis from the Yellowstone bison to cattle on land near the park. Brucellosis can cause miscarriages, infertility and reduced milk production in domestic cattle.
But critics call the culling an overreaction. There is no documented case of the disease passing from bison to cattle, they said.
"I mean, it's hype, it's a hysteria," Mease said. "And it's not a fatal disease."
More than 700 of the iconic animals starved or otherwise died on the mountainsides during an unusually harsh winter, and more than 1,600 were shot by hunters or sent to slaughterhouses in a disease-control effort, according to National Park Service figures.
Government officials say the slaughter prevents the spread of the disease brucellosis from the Yellowstone bison to cattle on land near the park. Brucellosis can cause miscarriages, infertility and reduced milk production in domestic cattle.
But critics call the culling an overreaction. There is no documented case of the disease passing from bison to cattle, they said.
"I mean, it's hype, it's a hysteria," Mease said. "And it's not a fatal disease."
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