# Critics slam Wyoming's 'senseless' bison hunt



## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

Critics slam Wyoming's 'senseless' bison hunt

By Associated Press | Sunday, September 16, 2007 |

JACKSON, Wyo. - In the three decades since 18 bison stumbled onto a federal elk feeding ground outside this mountain town, the herd has ballooned to 1,200 animals - one of the largest groups of bison in the United States.

But the National Elk Refuge was not created for bison, 6-foot-tall, 1-ton brutes also known as buffalo. Since their arrival, the bison have pushed elk off the refuge's artificial feed lines, trampled its 25,000 acres of grasslands and introduced diseases that put livestock at risk.

Beginning this weekend, refuge officials and state wildlife officials will hold annual hunts aimed at cutting down the herd by at least 700 over the next few years. Hunters are entitled to one bison each.










Through a separate hunt, federal and state officials want to reduce the refuge's elk population.

Yet it's the plan to kill bison that has garnered the most objection. That's because of the animals' docile nature - hunting them has been compared to hunting a sofa - and their iconic status as a last vestige of the once-wild West.

"It's senseless and it's inhumane," said Jonathan Lovvorn, an attorney with the Fund for Animals.

The group filed a lawsuit in 1998 seeking to stop the hunt, which forced the federal government to delay the killing of bison until an environmental study was completed earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the artificial feeding will continue each winter, angering animal rights groups and environmentalists who say the government is baiting bison to unnecessary slaughter.

Most states forbid or discourage feed grounds because they allow the easy transmission of wildlife and livestock diseases. Aside from the elk refuge, there are 22 state-run feed grounds in northwest Wyoming.

Refuge managers agreed that feeding the very bison they want hunters to shoot was not ideal. They said the conservative politics of northwest Wyoming - home to Vice President Dick Cheney and a strong hunting culture that is a driving economic force - gave them little choice.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the National Elk Refuge in 1912. Feeding of the elk began the same year. As elk hunting gained popularity, the feed grounds helped ensure an ample supply of the animals.

Former refuge manager Barry Reiswig, who retired from the Fish and Wildlife Service in June, said he never liked the now-$250,000 feeding program but was forced to accept it as a political reality.

"For us to march in and say, 'We're going to phase out this feeding program,' that was not an option," Reiswig said. "Realistically, in a Western state, given this administration, that's just not the way this game is played."

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/nation ... id=1031895


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## Neanderthal (Oct 30, 2007)

Kill 'em & grill 'em! Who cares if they are killed at a locker plant or shot in the field? Big deal. They are very good eating.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

I'd say limit weapons to traditional or 1800's period rifles or replicas. That should help make it more a hunt than a "sofa" shoot. Besides afer being shot at the first year they will get the hint and won't be so easy the next.


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

Limit the weapons? Lets force a state pay a lot more for the feed while we set up a committee to ensure everyone is using the correct weapon.

I think not just state you have to have at least this much energy and caliber then sell tags. It gets the job done you make a few bucks but a loss since they have to pay for feed. It is a good deal.

I have never seen a buffalo that would not allow you to get with in 300 yds of it. There are three buffalo ranches in the area I hunt and all of the buffalo are skittish. If the ones they have are that tame I need to go there and gun one down.


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## TANATA (Oct 31, 2003)

Hunters must be on horseback and using hand made bow. Take um!


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