State Vets Plan to Eliminate Brucellosis in Yellowstone Bison
KULR-TV - Billings,MT,USA
By Alden Downing

This shows the true colors of the livestock industry and how they want to control how our wildlife is managed for their benefit. Buffalo in the Yellowstone are among the few genetically pure buffalo left in North America and they are the only buffalo which have a continuos connection to the land that they inhabit.

This plan has been tried in the past and it was an utter failure. This continuous genetic bottleneck will result in a decline of genetic diversity and will negatively effect the health the heard thus putting them at risk of extinction.

Brucellosis is endemic in many species of wildlife and is exacerbated by the elk feedgrounds in Wyoming.

Ralph Maughan has posted his feelings about this plan here:
http://wolves.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/state-vets-plan-to-elminate-brucellosis-in-yellowstone-bison/

Buffalo Field Campaign
Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
June 26, 2008

KEEP BFC ON THE FRONTLINES WITH A TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION TODAY
https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=1807
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In this issue:

* Update from the Field
* COMMENT: Montana Buffalo Hunt Planned for 2008-2009
* “Buffalo News” ~ Collaborative Newsletter for the Buffalo Available
* “Let Buffalo Roam” License Plates for Every State!
* Photo of the Week
* Last Words
* Kill Tally

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* Update from the Field

Dear Buffalo Friends,

Summer is here and our field volunteers are now inside the boundaries of Yellowstone with the surviving mighty bison, educating national park visitors. BFC tables inside Yellowstone every summer in an effort to let park visitors know what happens to the buffalo they are there to admire. Our shaggy friends gain a lot of support from people visiting Yellowstone from across the nation and around the globe. If you are planning to visit Yellowstone this summer, look for us in the Park. And, if you have an interest in helping BFC tell the buffalo’s story in Yellowstone this summer, please contact Iwi at summer@buffalofieldcampaign.org.

Meanwhile, Montana’s loss of it’s coveted brucellosis-free status is barely making news headlines. One would think that if this was the huge economic disaster they have always claimed, it would make the front page every day. But, the media has been relatively quiet. And to date, the cattle industry has not been able to rule out that the transmission could have come from cattle. Of course, quick to place blame, the cattle industry immediately points the finger at wildlife inhabiting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, calling for “reductions” in elk and bison populations. Killing half the bison population wasn’t enough to please them, apparently, even though wild bison have never transmitted the cattle disease to cattle. Perhaps it’s time for a reduction in the cattle populations that encroach on this majestic wilderness region, because it’s clearly not working in this landscape. Nor is the industry’s prized practice of “test-and-slaughter” programs aimed at grass-eating wildlife.

Continue Reading »

Cattle group calls for elk, bison reductions in Yellowstone

Rather than facing the real issue with brucellosis, namely the elk feed grounds in Wyoming where artificially high concentrations increase the prevalence of brucellosis, the California-based U.S. Cattlemen’s’ Association wants you, the public, to accept more killing of Yellowstone wildlife for industry.

13 More Cattle in Wyoming Have Brucellosis.
By BOB MOEN of the Associated Press

These cattle appear to be from the same herd that tested positive for brucellosis last week.

Ralph Maughan has posted about the previous cases.
Brucellosis now confirmed in cows near Sublette County, WY elk feedlot

Here are the stories which appeared in the press of the last several weeks.
Continue Reading »

Six groups have collaborated to publish a new Buffalo Newsletter. The newsletter will be distributed to Park visitors by Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers this summer and at events and fundraisers.

The newsletter is a joint project of the Buffalo Field Campaign, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Horse Butte Neighbors of Buffalo, Natural Resources Defense Council, InterTribal Bison Cooperative and Tatanka Oyate of the Seventh Generation Fund.

You can download it here: Buffalo News

NOTE: Because of the size of this newsletter it is more for informational purposes rather than for printing and distributing yourself.

Buffalo Field Campaign
Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
June 12, 2008

KEEP BFC ON THE FRONTLINES WITH A TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION TODAY
https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=1807

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In this issue:
* Update from the Field
* For the Buffalo! Bonnie Raitt Benefit Tickets Available!
* Buffalo in the News
* “Let Buffalo Roam” License Plates for Every State!
* Last Words
* Kill Tally

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* Update from the Field

Dear Buffalo Friends,

Big news has hit Montana: the state has lost its coveted brucellosis-free status.

Another Montana cattle herd was found to be infected with the livestock disease. That’s two cattle herds in less than two years, and so Montana’s status as being certified “brucellosis-free” is out the window.

The source of transmission is not yet known, but it is certain that it’s not wild buffalo. The owner of the infected herd, Arthur Burns of Emigrant, MT, had his cattle approximately 30 miles north of Yellowstone National Park.

The industry is already pointing fingers at elk, just as they did last spring. In May 2007, a cattle herd that had been pastured near Emigrant was found infected, but neither the Department of Livestock (DOL) nor the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) produced any evidence linking Yellowstone wildlife–or clearing domestic or imported cattle–as the source of last year’s infection.

Continue Reading »

For immediate release: June 11, 2008

Montana to Lose Brucellosis Free Status-Source of Infection Not Known

PRESS CONTACT: Dan Brister, Buffalo Field Campaign: (406) 726-5555

West Yellowstone (MT) - The Montana Department of Livestock reported June 9, 2008 that a cow has tested positive for brucella abortus and Montana’s brucellosis status will be downgraded from “Class Free” to “Class A.” This is the second time since May of 2007 that a cattle herd has been reported infected with the bacteria in Montana.

While the identity of the owner of the infected herd has been withheld by the livestock agency, the Billings Gazette and Bozeman Chronicle have identified him as Arthur Burns of Emigrant, Montana. According to public records, the Burns property is more than 30 miles north of Yellowstone National Park.

The cattle herd infected in May 2007 was also pastured near Emigrant, and was owned by Montana state legislator Bruce Malcolm. The Montana Dept of Livestock and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have not produced any evidence linking Yellowstone wildlife–or clearing domestic or imported cattle–as the source of last year’s infection.

Continue Reading »

Sick Cow Costs Montana Its Brucellosis-Free Status
By Robert Struckman, 6-09-08
New West

Montana cow tests positive for brucellosis
By Matthew Brown
ASSOCIATED PRESS

According to Marty Zaluski, the Montana State Veterinarian, it was “very unlikely” bison from Yellowstone National Park were the source, since none had been documented near the ranch where the disease was found. That leaves another cattle herd, elk or other wildlife as possible vectors of the disease.

Earthjustice is representing Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife, Wyoming Outdoor Council and the National Wildlife Refuge Association in federal court in a fight against the National Elk Refuge to close the feedground there which is exacerbating the brucellosis problem and likely going to spread chronic wasting disease like wild fire if it reaches the refuge.

Read about it here:
Suit Opposes Elk Feeding in Wyoming
Jim Robbins
New York Times