Hunting bison is premature

I write in response to articles in the Deseret Morning News about Montana's so-called bison hunt.

First, the Buffalo Field Campaign, the only group that has been documenting this hunt and all actions taken against wild bison, is not an animal rights group. We are composed of all walks — hunters and nonhunters alike. We share a common vision: wild and free buffalo re-inhabiting Montana.

BFC opposes Montana's bison shoot because wild bison are not ever allowed to enter the state without being subjected to harassment or death. They are not even considered a wildlife species in Montana. The bison are aggressively managed by Montana's Department of Livestock as an "animal in need of disease control." With this hunt, Montana is putting the cart before the horse. In a nutshell: No habitat, no hunt. When Montana allows wild bison to recover their Montana habitat and establish a healthy population in the state, when wild bison have priority use of public lands in the state, then we can talk about a hunt as a potential management tool. For now, it's premature and disrespectful.

The bison of Yellowstone are indeed the last wild herd of bison left in the world. They are the only herd to continuously occupy their native range, they are unfenced and they still migrate. It is this natural migration that leads them into Montana's killing fields.

Yellowstone bison are not "overpopulated." Wild bison once numbered nearly 50 million strong in America. Today, the last wild herd numbers less than 5,000. The fact is Yellowstone is a box drawn on the map that neither reflects the ecosystem nor the needs of the wildlife — not just bison — that live in the ecosystem. The bison's winter and spring range lies outside of these arbitrary politically derived lines in Montana. Hence, they are not "spilling out" of the park; they are migrating. It's what wild bison do.

When Montana's DOL captures wild bison that enter the state, they undergo rigorous testing for — not brucellosis — but the presence of brucellosis antibodies. The bison being sent to the Montana slaughterhouses at U.S. taxpayer expense have developed immunities to brucellosis. It can be likened to ridding the human population of chickenpox. Anyone who's ever had it has developed antibodies. They can't transmit the disease, but they would be sent to slaughter regardless under this type of scheme.

Cattle are threatening our native wildlife with diseases, and it is they that should be vaccinated. Vaccinating wild bison is not a solution. Further, the vaccine that is being used on wild bison has not been proved to be either safe or effective. It utterly diminishes the wild character of the bison. Vaccinate cattle, not wild buffalo.