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Federal Judge Charles Lovell won’t stop Yellowstone bison slaughter

On Monday, Feb. 14, Montana Federal District Judge Charles Lovell denied a request from wildlife advocates to stop the slaughter of possibly hundreds of wild bison, captured as they tried to migrate from Yellowstone National Park into Montana.

More than 500 bison are being held in corrals after trying to leave the park to find food at lower elevations. Park and federal officials plan to send an undetermined number to slaughter under a federal-state agreement aimed at protecting Montana livestock from brucellosis. Bison that test positive for brucellosis will be sent to slaughter. Park officials said about half of the park’s estimated 3,900 bison have been exposed to the disease, although the rate of active infection is lower.

Judge Lovell wrote that while the slaughter of bison may be “distasteful,” it is a “time-honored” way of dealing with the disease.



On Monday, Feb. 14, Montana Federal District Judge Charles Lovell denied a request from wildlife advocates to stop the slaughter of possibly hundreds of wild bison, captured as they tried to migrate from Yellowstone National Park into Montana.

More than 500 bison are being held in corrals after trying to leave the park to find food at lower elevations. Park and federal officials plan to send an undetermined number to slaughter under a federal-state agreement aimed at protecting Montana livestock from brucellosis. Bison that test positive for brucellosis will be sent to slaughter. Park officials said about half of the park’s estimated 3,900 bison have been exposed to the disease, although the rate of active infection is lower.



Judge Lovell wrote that while the slaughter of bison may be “distasteful,” it is a “time-honored” way of dealing with the disease.