Each year, as wild bison wander beyond the borders of Yellowstone National Park in search of food, Montana livestock officials demand that these iconic animals be rounded up and shipped to slaughter houses to keep them out of Montana and to keep their numbers low.

The Montana Department of Livestock (DOL), responding to unfounded fears of some livestock producers, has taken the position that letting bison wander outside the park exposes cattle to a bacterial disease called brucellosis. But there has not been a single documented case of bison transmitting the disease to cattle in Montana. 

Many conservation groups support the solution of an expanded “tolerance zone” around Yellowstone National Park, an area dominated by public land where bison would be allowed to roam. Yet the Montana Board of Livestock, which oversees the DOL, is blocking this common-sense solution. Governor Bullock must use his authority to urge this Board to get on board with this common-sense solution. Until then, any bison wandering outside the boundaries of Yellowstone could be shipped to slaughter.

Yellowstone is home to one of the last genetically pure wild herds of bison left in North America. This yearly slaughter not only prevents the herd from expanding…it also sets back bison restoration at other sites that could use Yellowstone bison to repopulate native herds.

Tell Governor Steve Bullock to stop the slaughter and let bison roam outside of Yellowstone National Park!