The Humane Society of the United States praised officials from the National Park Service and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer who have reached an agreement that halted the proposed killing of Yellowstone bison.

The announcement made on Friday afternoon in Helena, Mont. discontinued plans to slaughter nearly 300 bison that had wandered out of Yellowstone National Park. As of Friday, about 250 of the animals had been hazed back into the Park with efforts continuing over the weekend. Officials have agreed to round up and trailer any remaining animals back into the park today

This concession signified a huge reversal in previous policy which typically resulted in the slaughter of bison that wandered out of the Park.  The tremendous public outcry in response to the recent plans to kill hundreds of bison, many of them young calves and mothers, forced state and federal agencies to reconsider this divisive and unpopular policy.

"For years, federal and state agencies have harassed, captured and killed bison in and around Yellowstone National Park," said Michael Markarian, HSUS executive vice president. "The Humane Society of the United States is grateful for the cooperation demonstrated by the various agencies involved in developing a more humane policy for the management of these majestic animals."

Facts

• There are currently about 3,500 bison in the Yellowstone herd.

• Part of the buffalo population in Yellowstone National Park migrates outside the park boundaries onto public Forest Service land in the winter and spring in search of better forage and to escape the deepest snow.

• Government agencies including the National Park Service and the Montana Department of Livestock haze and kill buffalo in an attempt to keep them unnaturally confined within the boundaries of Yellowstone under the guise of preventing the spread of the disease brucellosis to cattle.

• All buffalo testing positive for antibodies to brucellosis—a test that does not determine whether animals are currently infected—are sent to slaughter.  Many of the bison who are sent to slaughter are not even tested first.

• There has never been a confirmed incidence of brucellosis transmission in the wild from buffalo to cattle and the risk of such transmission is negligible. In fact, very few cattle are grazed adjacent to Yellowstone National Park, especially in winter and spring months when the bison are subjected to capture-test-slaughter operations. 

• Taxpayer money is used to finance the haze and slaughter operations, despite overwhelming public support for the protection of the buffalo according to a poll conducted by The HSUS in 2004. 

• To date, state and federal agencies have slaughtered almost 5,000 Yellowstone bison, members of America's only continuously wild herd. 

Timeline

May 18, 2005 – Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) introduced HR 2428, the Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act, to protect Yellowstone bison from unnecessary management practices including hazing (chasing bison with helicopters, snowmobiles, horses and ATV's), capturing, and killing.

June 17, 2004 – U.S. Representatives Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Charles Bass (R-NH) introduced a bipartisan amendment to the 2005 Department of Interior Appropriations Bill to "prohibit the use of funds to kill bison, or assist in the killing of bison, in the Yellowstone National Park herd." The measure failed to pass by a vote of 202 to 215. 

1996 – The deadliest year to date for the Yellowstone buffalo herd—1084 are captured and slaughtered.

1985 – The National Park Service and Montana Department of Livestock start hazing and killing buffalo straying outside Yellowstone Park boundaries.

Mid-1890's – The buffalo were almost completely exterminated for their hides and only a few dozen remained. The Yellowstone buffalo herd was the only free-roaming herd to survive.

1800's – Several million buffalo roamed the Great Plains and were an integral part of the culture and history of the American West, and central to the lives and religion of Native American tribes. 

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization – backed by 10 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty -- On the web at humanesociety.org.