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Hundreds Of Yellowstone Bison To Be Killed This Winter

It’s that time of year again when Yellowstone’s herd of 4,900 bison start migrating down to lower elevations, often taking them outside park boundaries. Ranchers worry the animals will spread brucellosis to cattle and since the 1980’s the bison herd has been culled in response.

A new winter management plan released Tuesday says this year 600-900 bison can be killed through hunting or by capturing as they leave the park. Park spokesperson Sandra Snell-Dobert says the decision isn’t the park’s preference.

“Obviously, nobody likes to kill a bison,” she says. “We prefer that, obviously, it be done by hunting outside the park. But that doesn’t necessary come to the numbers that the National Park Service and the other partners have agreed to.”

Snell-Dobert says new data on the disease is causing the park to look at alternatives for the future.

“There is a draft environmental assessment that should be coming open for public comment very soon. It’s to consider quarantine procedures for Yellowstone bison.”

She says a quarantine would allow the park to keep the animals in holding facilities until they’re sure they’re disease free before moving them to new areas. Such an idea would allow the park to expand the size of the herd.

The capture will be conducted in February and March.

Melodie Edwards is the host and producer of WPM's award-winning podcast The Modern West. Her Ghost Town(ing) series looks at rural despair and resilience through the lens of her hometown of Walden, Colorado. She has been a radio reporter at WPM since 2013, covering topics from wildlife to Native American issues to agriculture.
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