Yellowstone bison population halved

U.S. wildlife officials said they put a halt to its disease management program because the bison population in Yellowstone National Park declined by half.

A harsh winter brought on starvation and disease to the only wild bison herd in the lower 48 U.S. states, contributing to a drop in the herd population from 4,700 in November to 2,300, CNN reported Tuesday.

Of those 2,300, hunters killed or wildlife officials slaughtered more than 1,600 in an effort to control the population and spread of the disease brucellosis, which affects the fertility of domestic cattle.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates half of the bison population in Yellowstone are infected with brucellosis and wildlife managers say a spread of the disease to cattle would have a ripple effect in the beef industry.

But Mike Mease with the Buffalo Field Campaign, which advocates a halt to the culling program, disagrees.

There has never been a slaughter like this of the bison since the 1800s in this country and it's disgusting, he told CNN.

Wildlife officials limited the culling program to infected bison during the winter and shelved further programs until this summer.

(UPI)

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