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Cowboy Mentality Dominates Bison Slaughter
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Columbus Delano, speaking in 1873: "I would not seriously regret the total disappearance of the buffalo from our western plains, in its effect upon the Indians. I would regard it rather as a means of hastening their sense of dependence upon the products of the soil and their own labors."
http://justanotherblowback.blogspot.com/2006/12/cowboy-mentality-dominates-bison.html
Cowboy Mentality Dominates Bison Slaughter
By George Wuerthner
The continuing bison slaughter by the Montana Department of Livestock outside of Yellowstone National Park is a demonstration of the "cowboy" mentality the industry uses to address any problem. Instead of using its brains, it resorts to brute force. If left unchallenged, I believe the industry's harsh tactics pose a threat to free roaming wildlife everywhere.
When you review the facts, it is difficult to believe that minimizing the threat of brucellosis is really the motivating force behind the livestock industry's actions.
Reasonable options that could address their concerns about disease transmission are ignored in favor of deadly force. This can only be explained if the brucellosis issue is a Trojan Horse hiding another motive. Whether admitted, many in the livestock industry fear the expansion of wild bison outside of parks. Such an expansion of wild free roaming bison can only come at the expense of the livestock industry. The industry, realizing this threat, is attempting to construct a Berlin Wall around our parks, destroying any animals that wander from these sanctuaries.
There are several points to keep in mind. The threat of brucellosis transmission from wild free-roaming bison is grossly exaggerated. Most bison don't even have the disease.
Secondly, even if infected with brucellosis, transmission to livestock can only occur by contact with body fluids. In other words, brucellosis can be harbored in many parts of a bison's body and still not pose a threat to livestock. Thus even if a bison tests positive for the disease, it may not pose a threat to livestock.
The only bison body fluids that pose a threat to livestock are those associated with birth or abortion. This alone means that even brucellosis infected bison wandering near cattle outside of the primary abortion or birth season don't pose a threat of infection at all. Yet this hasn't prevented agencies from killing them.
In addition, since only mature bison cows pose any threat of transmission, the killing of bison bulls makes no sense if your goal is mitigation of brucellosis transmission and only makes sense if control of bison is the ultimate goal.
Third, the brucella bacterium is extremely sensitive to things like heat, dehydration, and exposure to the environment. Even if a bison aborted a fetus it is unlikely the bacteria would remain viable (this is why the notion of wild free roaming bison not posing a threat is important). Under a laboratory situation you might be able to transmit brucellosis from bison to cattle, but that's like suggesting you could grow oranges in Montana under laboratory conditions. It's meaningless in the wild. No attempt to determine the real risks has been performed. The risk isn't zero, but it's darn close-essentially if other mitigation measures such as mandatory brucellosis vaccination for livestock and other measures were implemented.
Fourth, elk and other wildlife also carry the disease. And if brucellosis transmission were really as much a threat as the livestock agencies would have us believe, the target of control efforts should be elk, not bison. There are far more elk in the Ecosystem than bison. Even if a lower proportion of elk carried the disease, their greater numbers and distribution poses a far greater potential threat. Yet the livestock agency ignores elk. Why? I think because ranchers do not view elk as great a competitor for forage as bison.
Fifth, snowmobile use and roads in the park has facilitated movement of bison, yet livestock agencies make no effort to restrict snowmobile use. If they were truly concerned about minimizing bison movement, they should be among the staunchest supporters of restrictions on snowmobile travel in the park. But they are silent.
Sixth, mandatory vaccination of all livestock in the region is still not required. A serious attempt to limit brucellosis transmission from wildlife should include such mandatory vaccination as a prerequisite.
Seventh, part of the problem rests with federal and state laws and regulations. For example, APHIS continues to suggest that if brucellosis is discovered among domestic animals, it will have no choice but to yank a state's brucellosis free status. Yet it does have a choice. They have the authority to restrict any quarantine to a much smaller area from a county to even a single herd. State livestock industries need not suffer merely because a single herd or a few herds contract the disease. The agencies don't readily admit this to the public because they want to create a crisis situation to justify their extreme actions.
Eighth, for a fraction of the funds currently expended on the capture and killing of bison, compensation fund could be created to assist ranchers whose livestock may contract the disease from wildlife to pay for their extra expenses incurred by quarantine. Better yet, buying out of ranches in or near public lands where bison roam-such as the Church Universal Triumphant ranch near Gardiner, Montana and a few other strategically located ranches would go a long ways towards removing any threat of livestock-bison contact.
When you consider all of these facts together, the current slaughter of bison is unnecessary and unjustified. It's time to question the cowboy mentality of brute force as a solution to any problem or conflict. ###
George Wuerthner, co-editor of "Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West," is a Western Watersheds Project advisory board member who lives in Richmond, Vermont.
Also see:
The Cowboy and His Cow (Edward Abbey)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/psy-op/message/10932
Earth's Last Wild Bison Being Slaughtered
http://justanotherblowback.blogspot.com/2006/11/earths-last-wild-bison-being.html
Dispelling the Cowboy Myth: an Interview with George Wuerthner
http://justanotherblowback.blogspot.com/2006/10/dispelling-cowboy-myth-interview-with.html
Sacred Buffalo, Holy Cow: The Struggle for the Western Range
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/psy-op/message/8379
The Buffalo Field Campaign
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/
Cowboy Mentality Dominates Bison Slaughter
By George Wuerthner
The continuing bison slaughter by the Montana Department of Livestock outside of Yellowstone National Park is a demonstration of the "cowboy" mentality the industry uses to address any problem. Instead of using its brains, it resorts to brute force. If left unchallenged, I believe the industry's harsh tactics pose a threat to free roaming wildlife everywhere.
When you review the facts, it is difficult to believe that minimizing the threat of brucellosis is really the motivating force behind the livestock industry's actions.
Reasonable options that could address their concerns about disease transmission are ignored in favor of deadly force. This can only be explained if the brucellosis issue is a Trojan Horse hiding another motive. Whether admitted, many in the livestock industry fear the expansion of wild bison outside of parks. Such an expansion of wild free roaming bison can only come at the expense of the livestock industry. The industry, realizing this threat, is attempting to construct a Berlin Wall around our parks, destroying any animals that wander from these sanctuaries.
There are several points to keep in mind. The threat of brucellosis transmission from wild free-roaming bison is grossly exaggerated. Most bison don't even have the disease.
Secondly, even if infected with brucellosis, transmission to livestock can only occur by contact with body fluids. In other words, brucellosis can be harbored in many parts of a bison's body and still not pose a threat to livestock. Thus even if a bison tests positive for the disease, it may not pose a threat to livestock.
The only bison body fluids that pose a threat to livestock are those associated with birth or abortion. This alone means that even brucellosis infected bison wandering near cattle outside of the primary abortion or birth season don't pose a threat of infection at all. Yet this hasn't prevented agencies from killing them.
In addition, since only mature bison cows pose any threat of transmission, the killing of bison bulls makes no sense if your goal is mitigation of brucellosis transmission and only makes sense if control of bison is the ultimate goal.
Third, the brucella bacterium is extremely sensitive to things like heat, dehydration, and exposure to the environment. Even if a bison aborted a fetus it is unlikely the bacteria would remain viable (this is why the notion of wild free roaming bison not posing a threat is important). Under a laboratory situation you might be able to transmit brucellosis from bison to cattle, but that's like suggesting you could grow oranges in Montana under laboratory conditions. It's meaningless in the wild. No attempt to determine the real risks has been performed. The risk isn't zero, but it's darn close-essentially if other mitigation measures such as mandatory brucellosis vaccination for livestock and other measures were implemented.
Fourth, elk and other wildlife also carry the disease. And if brucellosis transmission were really as much a threat as the livestock agencies would have us believe, the target of control efforts should be elk, not bison. There are far more elk in the Ecosystem than bison. Even if a lower proportion of elk carried the disease, their greater numbers and distribution poses a far greater potential threat. Yet the livestock agency ignores elk. Why? I think because ranchers do not view elk as great a competitor for forage as bison.
Fifth, snowmobile use and roads in the park has facilitated movement of bison, yet livestock agencies make no effort to restrict snowmobile use. If they were truly concerned about minimizing bison movement, they should be among the staunchest supporters of restrictions on snowmobile travel in the park. But they are silent.
Sixth, mandatory vaccination of all livestock in the region is still not required. A serious attempt to limit brucellosis transmission from wildlife should include such mandatory vaccination as a prerequisite.
Seventh, part of the problem rests with federal and state laws and regulations. For example, APHIS continues to suggest that if brucellosis is discovered among domestic animals, it will have no choice but to yank a state's brucellosis free status. Yet it does have a choice. They have the authority to restrict any quarantine to a much smaller area from a county to even a single herd. State livestock industries need not suffer merely because a single herd or a few herds contract the disease. The agencies don't readily admit this to the public because they want to create a crisis situation to justify their extreme actions.
Eighth, for a fraction of the funds currently expended on the capture and killing of bison, compensation fund could be created to assist ranchers whose livestock may contract the disease from wildlife to pay for their extra expenses incurred by quarantine. Better yet, buying out of ranches in or near public lands where bison roam-such as the Church Universal Triumphant ranch near Gardiner, Montana and a few other strategically located ranches would go a long ways towards removing any threat of livestock-bison contact.
When you consider all of these facts together, the current slaughter of bison is unnecessary and unjustified. It's time to question the cowboy mentality of brute force as a solution to any problem or conflict. ###
George Wuerthner, co-editor of "Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West," is a Western Watersheds Project advisory board member who lives in Richmond, Vermont.
Also see:
The Cowboy and His Cow (Edward Abbey)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/psy-op/message/10932
Earth's Last Wild Bison Being Slaughtered
http://justanotherblowback.blogspot.com/2006/11/earths-last-wild-bison-being.html
Dispelling the Cowboy Myth: an Interview with George Wuerthner
http://justanotherblowback.blogspot.com/2006/10/dispelling-cowboy-myth-interview-with.html
Sacred Buffalo, Holy Cow: The Struggle for the Western Range
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/psy-op/message/8379
The Buffalo Field Campaign
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/
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Comments
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The reason for slaughter of bison by Montana cattle ranchers & US Gov. agents is not for brucellosis, the threat of brucellosis transmission from bison to cattle is negligible according to science. My belief based on research is that the slaughter of bison is a fear of bison repopulating the western states of the US/Canada Rockies and combined with restoration efforts by ITBC the Great Plains of the midwestern states..
The Intertribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC) is actively restoring bison to their numerous former habitats throughout the plains. The ITBC explains that the bison provided indigenous North American peoples with food, clothing, shelter and many other lifesaving tools to get them through the harsh winters. Without the bison, the Lakota and many other nations declined in their numbers and health. The US government's war to eradicate bison was and remains a form of genocide against indigenous North Americans..
"Our History . . .
The American buffalo, also known as bison, has always held great meaning for American Indian people. To Indian people, buffalo represent their spirit and remind them of how their lives were once lived, free and in harmony with nature. In the 1800's, the white-man recognized the reliance Indian tribes had on the buffalo. Thus began the systematic destruction of the buffalo to try to subjugate the western tribal nations. The slaughter of over 60 million buffalo left only a few hundred buffalo remaining.
Without the buffalo, the independent life of the Indian people could no longer be maintained. The Indian spirit, along with that of the buffalo, suffered an enormous loss. At that time, tribes began to sign treaties with the U.S. Government in an attempt to protect the land and the buffalo for their future generations. The destruction of buffalo herds and the associated devastation to the tribes disrupted the self-sufficient lifestyle of Indian people more than all other federal policies to date.
To reestablish healthy buffalo populations on tribal lands is to reestablish hope for Indian people. Members of the InterTribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC) understand that reintroduction of the buffalo to tribal lands will help heal the spirit of both the Indian people and the buffalo."
read on @;
http://www.intertribalbison.org/main.asp?ID=1
"The Indian was frugal in the midst of
plenty. When the buffalo roamed the
plains in multitudes, he slaughtered
only what he could eat and these he
used to the hair and bones."
Luther Standing Bear, Lakota
Nor can cattle imported by Euro-american settlers replace bison as the dominant large hovved ungulates in the plains ecosystem. The various prairie (tallgrass, shortgrass, etc..) ecosystems have evolved alongside the migration patterns of bison, not the sedentary fenced in cattle who do not migrate, chewing the grass to the roots with no chance of recovery..
Other groups like American Prairie Foundation (AFP) are working with the ITBC to restore the plains ecosystem that bison will have a home on the range to migrate through freely without the barrier of fences and threats of cattle ranchers and their deadly guns. In fact, it is likely that restoration of bison, antelope and native grassland prairie ecosystems will provide more economic benefit to local economies than the current modalitiy of taxpayer subsidized corporations that specialize in industrial mechanized agriculture/ranching..
"APF is working to acquire enough private land that, when combined with adjacent public lands already devoted to wildlife, will provide people with a unique experience reminiscent of Lewis’ and Clark’s. Thriving herds of elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, pronghorn, and the majestic American bison roam these grasslands. Cottonwoods, willows, and other native vegetation are regenerating along streams, creating habitat for beaver, bobcats, snakes, and other wildlife. Numerous historical sites, like teepee rings, buffalo jumps, and homestead-era structures, are being preserved for visitors’ enjoyment and education.
PUBLIC ACCESS
The plains of eastern Montana offer one of the last remaining areas where a large landscape can be reassembled and made available for public enjoyment. By carefully managing adjacent public and private lands, we can provide visitors with sensational benefits: abundant wildlife, outstanding scenery, and thoughtful regulated access. We will offer the public a quality outdoor experience, with opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, biking, camping, bird watching, and hunting. APF is working toward enabling visitors to easily experience this spectacular area.
A WORKING LANDSCAPE
Over the years, a variety of forces have played upon rural economics in America’s Great Plains. In some cases, government programs that pay agricultural producers not to produce have eliminated many jobs associated with working farms and ranches. Increased efficiencies in mechanization allow the same productivity levels to occur with far fewer people employed. When combined with other factors, this results in fewer people employed in farming and ranching, with less capital spent locally on equipment, insurance, fuel, and in family-owned businesses.
While agriculture will remain dominant in the region, APF believes a prairie reserve devoted completely to wildlife can ultimately help reinvigorate local economies. High-quality wildlife management can employ at least as many people per acre as a ranch or farm. Expenditures on a wildlife reserve, such as road maintenance, fences, overnight facilities, and monitoring of wildlife also compare favorably with agriculture in total dollars spent in a community. Also, economic activity is created as visitors rent vehicles, contract with local guides, and patronize restaurants, hotels, and retail shops.
We don’t expect an overnight transition, but we do anticipate being a positive force in helping to retain the area’s currently declining population that is leaving in search of greater economic opportunities."
read on @;
http://www.americanprairie.org/page.php?link_id=8&PHPSESSID=ac88d4e68df4e9c882c845936380c78a&PHPSESSID=6995148635bacd530f387415ec893165
In the meantime please support the Buffalo Field Campaign's direct action response to the slaughter of Yellowstone's bison by Montana cattle ranchers. If you cannot support the BFC directly, boycotting the industrial beef industry of Montana is also important;
"We call on you to join us in a Boycott, and urge you to participate indefinitely. We will join in solidarity for the last wild buffalo and Boycott the industry that is killing them and so much else: the beef/cattle industry. Our hope is that everyone who participates extends their Boycott further. Indefinitely.
Livestock producers cause more harm to this country's wildlife than nearly any other industry. "Beef, it's what's for dinner" is the very thing that is killing our wild buffalo, wild horses, prairie dogs, wolves, and the countless other plant and animal species that suffer to appease the fears and greed of livestock producers.
We are doing this because the beef/cattle industry - and those who keep them in business - are, knowingly or not, ultimately causing the death of the last wild buffalo, the prejudice against wolves, coyotes, badgers, wild horses, prairie dogs - the list is sickeningly long. Livestock production is resulting in the destruction of our sensitive lands and riparian areas of the West, the pollution of our waters, and the sickness of millions of people.
Consumption of livestock products perpetuates the cycle, and puts money in the pockets of people like the DOL and the Montana Stockgrowers Association. What's the price of beef? The death of the wild.
Check out these maps showing the private land with cattle around Yellowstone National Park. There are only a few parcels of land with cattle on the north side and the west side has no cattle on the private land when the hazing and slaughter operations are at their peak in the spring and winter."
see map @;
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/boycott.html
The Intertribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC) is actively restoring bison to their numerous former habitats throughout the plains. The ITBC explains that the bison provided indigenous North American peoples with food, clothing, shelter and many other lifesaving tools to get them through the harsh winters. Without the bison, the Lakota and many other nations declined in their numbers and health. The US government's war to eradicate bison was and remains a form of genocide against indigenous North Americans..
"Our History . . .
The American buffalo, also known as bison, has always held great meaning for American Indian people. To Indian people, buffalo represent their spirit and remind them of how their lives were once lived, free and in harmony with nature. In the 1800's, the white-man recognized the reliance Indian tribes had on the buffalo. Thus began the systematic destruction of the buffalo to try to subjugate the western tribal nations. The slaughter of over 60 million buffalo left only a few hundred buffalo remaining.
Without the buffalo, the independent life of the Indian people could no longer be maintained. The Indian spirit, along with that of the buffalo, suffered an enormous loss. At that time, tribes began to sign treaties with the U.S. Government in an attempt to protect the land and the buffalo for their future generations. The destruction of buffalo herds and the associated devastation to the tribes disrupted the self-sufficient lifestyle of Indian people more than all other federal policies to date.
To reestablish healthy buffalo populations on tribal lands is to reestablish hope for Indian people. Members of the InterTribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC) understand that reintroduction of the buffalo to tribal lands will help heal the spirit of both the Indian people and the buffalo."
read on @;
http://www.intertribalbison.org/main.asp?ID=1
"The Indian was frugal in the midst of
plenty. When the buffalo roamed the
plains in multitudes, he slaughtered
only what he could eat and these he
used to the hair and bones."
Luther Standing Bear, Lakota
Nor can cattle imported by Euro-american settlers replace bison as the dominant large hovved ungulates in the plains ecosystem. The various prairie (tallgrass, shortgrass, etc..) ecosystems have evolved alongside the migration patterns of bison, not the sedentary fenced in cattle who do not migrate, chewing the grass to the roots with no chance of recovery..
Other groups like American Prairie Foundation (AFP) are working with the ITBC to restore the plains ecosystem that bison will have a home on the range to migrate through freely without the barrier of fences and threats of cattle ranchers and their deadly guns. In fact, it is likely that restoration of bison, antelope and native grassland prairie ecosystems will provide more economic benefit to local economies than the current modalitiy of taxpayer subsidized corporations that specialize in industrial mechanized agriculture/ranching..
"APF is working to acquire enough private land that, when combined with adjacent public lands already devoted to wildlife, will provide people with a unique experience reminiscent of Lewis’ and Clark’s. Thriving herds of elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, pronghorn, and the majestic American bison roam these grasslands. Cottonwoods, willows, and other native vegetation are regenerating along streams, creating habitat for beaver, bobcats, snakes, and other wildlife. Numerous historical sites, like teepee rings, buffalo jumps, and homestead-era structures, are being preserved for visitors’ enjoyment and education.
PUBLIC ACCESS
The plains of eastern Montana offer one of the last remaining areas where a large landscape can be reassembled and made available for public enjoyment. By carefully managing adjacent public and private lands, we can provide visitors with sensational benefits: abundant wildlife, outstanding scenery, and thoughtful regulated access. We will offer the public a quality outdoor experience, with opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, biking, camping, bird watching, and hunting. APF is working toward enabling visitors to easily experience this spectacular area.
A WORKING LANDSCAPE
Over the years, a variety of forces have played upon rural economics in America’s Great Plains. In some cases, government programs that pay agricultural producers not to produce have eliminated many jobs associated with working farms and ranches. Increased efficiencies in mechanization allow the same productivity levels to occur with far fewer people employed. When combined with other factors, this results in fewer people employed in farming and ranching, with less capital spent locally on equipment, insurance, fuel, and in family-owned businesses.
While agriculture will remain dominant in the region, APF believes a prairie reserve devoted completely to wildlife can ultimately help reinvigorate local economies. High-quality wildlife management can employ at least as many people per acre as a ranch or farm. Expenditures on a wildlife reserve, such as road maintenance, fences, overnight facilities, and monitoring of wildlife also compare favorably with agriculture in total dollars spent in a community. Also, economic activity is created as visitors rent vehicles, contract with local guides, and patronize restaurants, hotels, and retail shops.
We don’t expect an overnight transition, but we do anticipate being a positive force in helping to retain the area’s currently declining population that is leaving in search of greater economic opportunities."
read on @;
http://www.americanprairie.org/page.php?link_id=8&PHPSESSID=ac88d4e68df4e9c882c845936380c78a&PHPSESSID=6995148635bacd530f387415ec893165
In the meantime please support the Buffalo Field Campaign's direct action response to the slaughter of Yellowstone's bison by Montana cattle ranchers. If you cannot support the BFC directly, boycotting the industrial beef industry of Montana is also important;
"We call on you to join us in a Boycott, and urge you to participate indefinitely. We will join in solidarity for the last wild buffalo and Boycott the industry that is killing them and so much else: the beef/cattle industry. Our hope is that everyone who participates extends their Boycott further. Indefinitely.
Livestock producers cause more harm to this country's wildlife than nearly any other industry. "Beef, it's what's for dinner" is the very thing that is killing our wild buffalo, wild horses, prairie dogs, wolves, and the countless other plant and animal species that suffer to appease the fears and greed of livestock producers.
We are doing this because the beef/cattle industry - and those who keep them in business - are, knowingly or not, ultimately causing the death of the last wild buffalo, the prejudice against wolves, coyotes, badgers, wild horses, prairie dogs - the list is sickeningly long. Livestock production is resulting in the destruction of our sensitive lands and riparian areas of the West, the pollution of our waters, and the sickness of millions of people.
Consumption of livestock products perpetuates the cycle, and puts money in the pockets of people like the DOL and the Montana Stockgrowers Association. What's the price of beef? The death of the wild.
Check out these maps showing the private land with cattle around Yellowstone National Park. There are only a few parcels of land with cattle on the north side and the west side has no cattle on the private land when the hazing and slaughter operations are at their peak in the spring and winter."
see map @;
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/boycott.html
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