Opinion: Stop slaughtering bison

FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 2002

In 1880, a cattle rancher in Montana witnessed the carnage of bison by Army soldiers, an attack on tribes who depended on the animal.

"Slaughtering the buffalo is a government measure to subjugate the Indians," the rancher wrote back then.

"Today, 122 years later, the government is still slaughtering innocent buffalo," writes a veterinarian today. "They have a different agenda but most of the reasons still don't make sense."

Don Woerner criticizes the state of Montana's interest in protecting the cattle industry as the root cause of threats posed to bison and elk. He asserts that fears of bison transferring a deadly disease to cows is misplaced because the real problem stems from poor wildlife management policies.

Get the Story:
Don Woerner: Livestock grazing, wildlife feeding imperil elk, bison (The Billings Gazette 6/7)
Montana Digest: Bison shot after resisting hazing (The Billings Gazette 6/7)