A regulatory hunt or an organized massacre? Every winter for twenty-three years, the issue has surfaced in Montana. In this northwestern US state, an Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) allows eight Native American tribes to kill animals that venture outside the borders of the Yellowstone Nature Preserve. This hunt should serve to limit the spread of brucellosis, an infectious disease carried by bison that threatens surrounding cattle farms.
But since January, more than 1,100 bison have been killed to “protect the economic interest and viability of the ranching industry in the State of Montana,” according to the warrant issued to the hunters. An absolute record since the winter of 2005 during which 878 animals were eliminated.
“We had three years of very light migration out of the park, justifies Cam Sholly, the park manager, in an interview with the New York Times. This is one of the first major migrations out of the park in a long time. After a particularly harsh winter, the animals have expanded their territory to find new food sources further north of the reserve.
Too many hunters
The number of bison killed this year has boosted NGOs who fear for the maintenance of the species. “This is the worst animal genocide since the 19th century,” denounces Bonnie Lynn, a resident of the reserve at the head of Yellowstone Voices, an association which campaigns against the hunting of bison, and advocates their vaccination. But the existing serums have an “uncertain” effectiveness, point out the authorities. And the new ones are still in the testing phase.
Beyond the content, the NGOs denounce the form, and in particular the inequity between the trackers and the tracked animals. At the announcement of the large migratory movements of the bison, several hundred hunters massed at the borders of the animal reserve. “When there are 30 hunters from 10 different tribes, it turns into a competition to see who gets their buffalo,” said Jaedin Medicine Elk, himself a member of a Cheyenne tribe and founder of the NGO Roam Free, in a statement. Nation. How the hell are these animals supposed to survive all these people coming to kill them? »
Approximately 6,000 bison in the park in fall 2022
In Native American culture, the bison is a symbol of abundance. For thousands of years, their remains were a vital source of food for the tribes and their skins served as shelter and clothing. Massacred in large numbers at the end of the 19th century, in particular to subjugate the natives living in interdependence with them, only 512 individuals remained alive in 1889. The species owes its survival only to herds raised in captivity before d be released in reserves like Yellowstone.
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In the fall of 2022, the census of the Yellowstone Nature Preserve counted some 6,000 bison on its territory. According to NGOs, 3,500 individuals are needed to sustainably sustain the species.