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More than three dozen bison from Yellowstone National Park migrating toward Montana were captured in recent days, as officials began an effort to reduce the park’s herd by up to 900 animals.
Twenty-seven of the bison were sent to Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, where they will be slaughtered for food, Yellowstone bison coordinator Tim Reid told the Associated Press on Thursday.
Federal, tribal and state officials announced late last year a plan to reduce the park’s 5,000 bison in an effort to stop the spread of Brucellosis, a bacterial disease that can cause cows to abort their calves. The disease can spread to humans but is rare in the US, the report states.
The agreement called for the 900 animals to be slaughtered, hunted or relocated before the end of winter. Two bison have been shot by hunters so far this winter, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
An estimated 60 million bison roamed North American in the 18th century. They were hunted to near extinction, as few as 300 animals, by 1900, as settlers rapidly moved West .
The managed herd population today numbers about 30,000 animals, while several hundred thousand bison are raised for commercial production, sources say.
Yellowstone announced last month plans to create a new bison management program with greater focus on relocation and less dependence on slaughter.
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