Yellowstone Bison: Park Proposes Killing 1,000 Animals This Winter

Yellowstone National Park plans to kill around 1,000 wild bison this coming winter, primarily females bison and calves, in order to reduce the number of the animals that would migrate to Montana.

The Yellowstone bison is the largest herd of purebred buffalo in the U.S. and draws in millions of visitors every year. The estimated number of the bison was as high as 4,900 over the summer, and park officials aim to reduce the population to 3,000 animals, according to Reuters.

A meeting between Yellowstone National Park officials, American Indian tribe representatives, state and other federal officials was held on Thursday to finalize the plan. The meeting was in line with the agreement between Montana and federal government in 2000 regarding the escalation of the transfer of bison's brucellosis to livestock, Fox News reported.

Pregnant cows or other livestock often have miscarriages when inflicted with brucellosis. Aside from the disease, ranchers also worry about bison going to other lands and grazing where their livestock feed. "No formal decision has been made, but the park proposal is for 1,000 fewer bison," Yellowstone National Park spokeswoman Amy Bartlett said, according to The Guardian.

Jimmy St. Goddard, the leader of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana, believes that the slaughter of the bison is unfortunate and that it reminds him of the "painful chapter of American history" where the execution of these animals almost led them to extinction.

"Killing these buffalo is shameful," Goddard said, according to The Inquisitr.

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Yellowstone National Park, Montana