Purpose: This bill would protect the Yellowstone buffalo herd from slaughter by allowing the buffalo to roam freely on federal lands outside of Yellowstone Park.
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Status: Referred to House Committee on Resources, which referred it to three separate subcommittees (National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands; Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans; and Forests and Forest Health). Executive Comment Requested from Interior.
Action: SUPPORT. Buffalo are a significant wildlife icon in the U.S. and must be protected from slaughter. The Yellowstone buffalo move to lower elevations to forage for food in the winter but, instead of finding food when they leave the Park, the buffalo are chased, trapped, and killed. While the purported reason for killing the buffalo is the fear of the spread of brucellosis from the buffalo to nearby cattle, there hasn’t been a single documented case of brucellosis being transmitted from wild bison to livestock. It is time to embrace the science on this issue and to provide some protection to the Yellowstone bison.