Renegade bison are shipped to park

HELENA, Mont. — State and federal officials rounded up a group of nearly 50 renegade bison near West Yellowstone on Friday and shipped most of them to a Yellowstone National Park corral north of Gardiner.

But bulls in the herd were still expected to be slaughtered, angering bison advocates who accused the state of reneging on a recent federal agreement to spare the animals.

The 41 bison are part of a herd hazed from West Yellowstone back into the park last week. The herd, which numbers about 300, was nearly sent to slaughter until the state reached an agreement with the National Park Service to truck them into the park if they resisted the latest hazing efforts.

Tom Daubert, a spokesman for the state Department of Livestock, said officials began capturing the stray bison early Friday. The operation was expected to take most of the day, since officials were trucking the bison around the park instead of through it to avoid heavy tourist traffic.

Up to 12 bulls captured Friday will be slaughtered this week instead of being sent back into the park because the Stephens Creek holding facility cannot accommodate them, said Christian Mackay, Livestock Department director.

The meat will be donated to American Indian tribes that have requested it, he said.

"We're pleased to be able to save most all of the bison we had to deal with (Friday)," Mackay said. "We're long past the time of year when the Interagency Bison Management Plan calls for zero tolerance of bison outside the park in the West Yellowstone area, and while the IBMP calls for bison to be removed for slaughter at this time of year, we appreciate being able to minimize that outcome today."

News of the planned slaughter angered members of the Buffalo Field Campaign, a group that advocates for a free-roaming wild bison herd.

Spokeswoman Stephany Seay said the holding facility handled "scores" of bull bison just last year and added the trucking operation was presented as an alternative to killing any animals.

Tensions are heightened after brucellosis was found in a herd of cattle in the state last month.