WYOMING — Plans for selective slaughter of between 600–900 Yellowstone bison have been announced for this winter by National Park officials in Wyoming.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported Tuesday that the officials expect most of the animals to be taken by hunters or shipped to slaughter while others are to be kept alive in corrals or under park quarantine.
Officials say the exact number of bison expected to be culled out of the estimated 4,900 depends on the winter migration.
State, federal and tribal agencies managing bison say the winter plan was finalized Tuesday under the Interagency Bison Management Plan, a day after a judge rejected an attempt to block bison hunts this year.
Halted in 1968, and a topic controversy among conservation groups, herd reduction initiatives began again in 2000 with growth in bison population figures and rise of litigation concerning migration in the State of Montana.
Officials say the current plan includes putting 110 bison into brucellosis quarantine to produce disease-free bison.
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Information from bozemandailychronicle.com
