Government to Kill 900 Wild Bison to Protect Cattle Rancher Profits

by Sarah Von Alt - January 13, 2016

Each year, thousands of wild animals, including bears, coyotes, and foxes, are killed because they’re considered a threat to the livestock industry. In the United States alone, 2 million total wild animals are killed each year.

A new Wall Street Journal article highlights the ill effects of cattle grazing on bison living in and around Yellowstone National Park:

Government agencies aim to kill or remove up to 900 wild bison from Yellowstone National Park this winter as part of a continuing effort to reduce the animals’ annual migration into Montana by driving down their population.

Nine hundred represents more than 18 percent of the total population of bison. The justifiable reason for this mass slaughter? According to the article, it’s the bison’s potential “to compete with cattle for grazing space on public lands outside the park.”

While supporters of the slaughter are also concerned about the risk of brucellosis, a zoonotic infection, the author explains that “there have been no recorded brucellosis transmissions from bison to cattle.”

To make matters worse, the cows the government is working so hard to “protect” are often treated as nothing more than meat-producing machines, subjected to their own brutal slaughter.

Cows and the bison and other wildlife threatened by the meat industry are just as worthy of compassion as the dogs and cats we cherish as companions.

Luckily, we can all remove our support from this cruel system by ditching meat in favor of healthy, humane alternatives.

http://www.mfablog.org/government-to-kill-900-wild-bison-to-protect