Save Newborn Buffalo From Cruel Hazing

Zoobird Ina Calvano sent me this email:

Dear Friend,

Right now, newborn wild bison -- better known as buffalo -- are
grazing under their mothers' watchful eyes on the lush Horse
Butte peninsula near Yellowstone National Park in Montana.

But on May 15, this pastoral scene could turn ugly if the
government begins hazing the buffalo back into the park with
helicopters, ATVs and horses, as they did last year at this
time.

If this operation proceeds, some buffalo could die, including
young calves and pregnant cows.

Please speak out immediately to stop the government's annual
hazing operation.

http://www.savebiogems.org/buffalo/action

This wildlife tragedy replays almost every year on Horse Butte -
a birthing ground for the buffalo.

First, a helicopter invades the stillness, circling low to scare
wild buffalo out of the woods, so that government agents on
horses and ATVs can chase them back to Yellowstone.

With no time to rest or nurse during this relentless chase, some
calves collapse and even die of exhaustion before ever reaching
their grazing grounds deep within the park.

The saddest part? This senseless tragedy is unnecessary. The
justification for hazing and killing buffalo is that they could
spread the disease brucellosis to domestic cattle. That is why
buffalo are generally not welcome outside Yellowstone Park in
Montana -- and why thousands have been slaughtered or hazed back
into the park in recent years.

But the fact is, there has never been a documented case of
brucellosis transmission from buffalo to cattle in the wild.

More to the point, there are no cattle at all on Horse Butte, so
there is absolutely no reason to haze and endanger Yellowstone's
wild buffalo.

So please, help us give newborn buffalo a better chance at
survival this spring.

Tell the Secretary of Agriculture to intervene right away and
prevent the hazing of wild buffalo in the weeks ahead.

http://www.savebiogems.org/buffalo/action

As living links to the great herds that once thundered across
America's plains, Yellowstone's buffalo are a national treasure.
Please join me in urging our government to protect them --
instead of subjecting them to needless suffering.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council