West Yellowstone, MT—The Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) sent to slaughter today 29 bison, some of whom had previously been tested and determined negative for brucellosis.

The disease is feared by ranchers who graze herds near the park because it causes abortions when transmitted to domestic cattle. This most recent spate of killings is particularly tragic in that at least one of the animals was tagged, indicating that he had already tested negative for brucellosis. In addition, all of the 29 bison were males. Transmission of the disease is only known to occur through contact with the afterbirth from an infected female.

The animals were captured Monday in the Duck Creek capture facility and confined for 36 hours before being shipped to slaughter. It is uncertain why the animals were held for so long inside the capture facility.

Since the last week of April the DOL has slaughtered 133 bison without testing them first, more than the combined bison kills of the previous four years. Montana has not slaughtered this many bison since 1996-97, when the state killed nearly 1,100 buffalo who migrated out of Yellowstone National Park.

“The current slaughter has nothing to do with brucellosis,” said Dan Brister of the Buffalo Field Campaign. “The livestock industry has zero tolerance for free-roaming buffalo and they are doing all they can to destroy the Yellowstone herd.”

Until this spring, DOL, in cooperation with other state and federal government agencies, has either hazed wandering bison back into the Park, or captured them in holding facilities like the one at Duck Creek. Captured bison were tested for the presence of antibodies to brucellosis, and those testing positive were sent to slaughter while bison testing negative were released. Recently, however, the DOL has decided to forego testing. This most recent killing brings the year’s death toll to 200 buffalo. Only 67 of those were even tested for brucellosis antibodies.

“There is no justification for the slaughter of these buffalo,” said Dr. Bette Stallman, wildlife scientist for The Humane Society of the United States. “First, transmission of brucellosis from wild buffalo to domestic cattle has never been documented. Second, the animals sent to slaughter this week were males, which are not considered a likely source of infection for domestic cattle.”

Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers spent two nights this week between the Duck Creek trap and the Yellowstone boundary working to prevent the capture of even more bison. “We heard loud crashes throughout the night, as the frightened bison banged their heads against the trap’s steel walls,” said BFC volunteer Christopher May. Buffalo often suffer fatal injuries inside the traps, and BFC has documented the deaths of many buffalo after their release.

“This most recent slaughter is a disgrace to Montana,” said Robert Sanchez, one of the activists who witnessed Monday’s capture. “They captured marked buffalo—animals that were captured earlier in the winter, tested negative for brucellosis exposure, and released.