Did you know that bison in Yellowstone National Park are being killed in record numbers. In the winter the bison wander a great distance in search of food and they often leave the park and cross over into Montana. They must be back in the park by May 1st or they will be rounded up and slaughtered. They are being killed because some of them might care brucellosis which can be passed along to cattle. 1,195 bison, or about a quarter of the park's population, have been killed by hunters or rounded up and sent for slaughter by park employees. This is outrageous.
Apparently the bison do not have little calenders or road maps to tell them when they are crossing state lines and when it is time to get on home.
Yellowstone's bison are one of only two genetically pure heards owned by the U.S. government. James Derr, a professor of genetics at Texas A&M, who is studying these bison said, "the great-grandmother, grandmother, mother and daughter often travel together." Killing them is like going to a family reunion and killing off all of the Smiths. You are affecting the genetic architecture of the herd." He fears that some behaviors or traits, including the propensity to migrate, could be lost with the killed bison.
We all know the story of the American Buffalo and how the herds covered the plains as far as the eye could see until the hunters killed them to the point of extinction in the late 1800's. Are we going to allow this to happen again? I hope not. Surely there is a better way.
3 comments:
Sonja's husband says....Yummm Bison Burgers
very sad.
altering the eco system in any way is never good!
Ranting is good for the soul!
You'd think they could get a helicopter and kind of herd them back into the park - or at least a bunch of them. Oh, I forgot - all the helicopters are in Iraq...
Thanks for stopping by to visit me, Sonja.
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