Note. This was posted to Yellowstone.net. I modified it a bit.
Private landowners near Horse Butte, a peninsula of public land a few miles west of Yellowstone Park, have had to band together to protect their property to try to stop the thuggish tactics of the Montana Department of Livestock. The created HOBNOB–Horse Butte Neighbors of Buffalo. Bison love to use the Butte in the spring because grasses and forbs sprout early on the south side of the butte.
HOBNOB wrote this letter to Governor Schweitzer of Montana, and Montana’s two US Senators Max Baucus (up for reelection in 2008) and John Tester:
We are very angry about the lies, deception, and cruel treatment of the bison during hazing operations.
We, the residents of Horse Butte, have been watching this everyday for the last two weeks, and it continues. Bison, who have naturally migrated out of Yellowstone National Park to feed on grass and give birth to calfs, are repeatedly being run and chased. This includes, obviously, pregnant cows and newborn calves. Some construction workers watched in horror as two hours-old calves were repeatedly run into the barbed-wire fence by two hazers who were obviously enjoying watching the calfs bawl as they were being poked by the barbs. So much for “hazing the bison humanely and safely”.
The agencies, who carry out the IBMP especially the DOL, DO NOT KNOW THE MEANING OF THE WORDS “HUMANE” OR “SAFE”. The interesting thing is, the minute these hazers (members of the IBMP) realize they are being watched or photographed, their inhumane and unsafe demeanor changes. They no longer run the bison. They start walking them, and the hazers back off their harassing and cruel behavior. Tourists have been watching this too. They tell us our state looks “stupid”. We have encouraged them to call, write, and complain. It’s time for all this to stop.
There are no CATTLE OUT HERE!!!! The grazing allotment was lost. The land is in contract to be sold to a conservation-minded private developer. THIS IS A PENNINSULA!!!! Where are the bison going to go? Of course, we did watch in horror a year ago in the winter as the IBMP hazers ran bison out onto the ice, the ice broke, and several drowned. BISON ARE NOT LIVESTOCK!!!!!! Yet, the DOL, repeatedly strong arms their way into controlling these wild bison.
Letter in the West Yellowstone News: http://westyellowstonenews.com/articles/2007/05/04/opinions/letter1.prt
