14 Yellowstone bison shipped to slaughter
BILLINGS – Fourteen Yellowstone National Park bison were shipped to slaughter this spring with another 26 killed over the winter by tribal and state hunters.
In addition, five bison were entered into quarantine under the park’s Bison Conservation Transfer Program, where live bison can be shipped to tribal partners. That brings the total number of bison in quarantine to 91. Another nine bison held at the Stephens Creek capture facility were released back into the park. No bison are being held.
The details are outlined in the park’s Bison Operations report for the 2023-24 winter season, released Friday.
The report comes following harsh weather last winter that resulted in large bison migrations into the Gardiner Basin, north of the park boundary.
During those migrations, 1,552 bison were killed by mostly tribal hunters, sent to be slaughtered or euthanized after being injured.
According to the recent Park Service report, only six bison were killed north of the park, two by state hunters, four by the Nez Perce Tribe. Instead, the majority of the harvest this winter was on the west side of the park where state hunters killed 13 bison, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes killed four and the Blackfeet Tribe shot two.
Hunters are allowed to kill bison outside the park in two tolerance zones designated by the state of Montana. The eight recognized treaty tribes set their regulations and manage the hunts in coordination with the state and Park Service.
According to the conservation group Buffalo Field Campaign, the bison sent to slaughter were shipped on March 27, destined for the Flathead Indian Reservation. The group announced the shipment in a Friday email, but the Park Service wouldn’t confirm the information, instead pointing to the upcoming report as the source of those details.
This past fall, the park’s bison population was estimated at about 4,800 animals, up from an estimated 3,900 animals counted last spring.
Last year, the Park Service released a draft bison management plan that emphasizes moving away from the slaughter of bison and instead emphasizing its quarantine program and tribal hunts to control bison populations.
That drew a 17-page letter of complaint from Montana’s governor, wildlife and livestock directors. A final bison plan is expected this summer.
In between will be the next meeting of the group that oversees bison management, the Interagency Bison Management Plan. The group will meet on May 15 at Chico Hot Springs south of Livingston.