Maria Daines
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2/2/2007 6:58:55 AM
The Last Wild Buffalo, BFC Newsletter, sad news once again...
Buffalo Field Campaign
Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
February 1, 2007
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http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org
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Why are they killing the last wild buffalo?
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/issueinbrief.html
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In this Issue:
* Update from the Field
* A Letter from a Nez Perce
* Wild Buffalo Take the Stage, Parade & Dance in Missoula
* Last Chance to Order Valentine's Day Cards!
* Last Words
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* Update from the Field
Dear Buffalo Friends,
All of the buffalo are gone from Montana now. Every single buffalo that has stepped out of Yellowstone National Park has been killed by hunters, or chased away by Yellowstone National Park Rangers. Two more bulls were shot in the Gardiner area and Yellowstone officials harassed yet another migrating mixed group of buffalo. Hints from Park officials suggest that captures at Stephens Creek bison trap might soon occur. Today we enter the last two weeks of Montana's bison "hunt." How many more buffalo that dare leave Yellowstone National Park will be exterminated by hunters?
Late last week, a judge heard the case of the hunter who illegally shot a bull bison on private property, and left him to suffer for two hours. While the hunter plead no contest, the case was essentially dismissed. The judge didn't even review the evidence of BFC's footage. Neither did he follow the recommendation of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, which was to confiscate the buffalo from the hunter. Unfortunately, the flesh of the buffalo was returned to the "hunter."
On Monday, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer celebrated the unveiling of the state's new quarter, which depicts a bison skull. BFC attended the event to remind people of the painful truth of what the skull represents: the absence of any living wild buffalo in Montana. We went to remind people that buffalo are not a dream of the past, not a thing of history books, they are fully in the present, they are trying to reclaim their Montana habitat. The state is killing them and the buffalo need our help. There were bus loads of school children there, and they responded to our message in a positive way. Some of their teachers, however, seemed afraid of the truth and tried to shield them from the buffalo's story. One teacher claimed we were setting a bad example. How so? By exercising our freedom of speech and right to assemble? By exposing Montana's shameful reality? Another thought one of our hand-painted banner images was "too graphic" for children, yet we gently reminded them that the youth are inundated with violence in video games, cartoons, movies and TV every single day. But, regardless of the fear the teachers had in exposing the children to the truth, we reached the future that day, and those kids will remember that we were there and, more importantly, why.
BFC also attended quite a few meetings this week. We met with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials, we attended the Montana Board of Livestock meeting, we met with Governor Schweitzer's staff (read BFC's press release http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/press0607/pressreleases0607/012907.html), and we also went to the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) meeting. Through it all there was one prevailing theme: the livestock industry is in charge. The bottom line seems to be that this industry has the f
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Maria Daines
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2/3/2007 7:29:44 PM
I post this out of gratitude to the BFC every month and I wondered if anyone has read it, it's hard to imagine this kind of killing for killing's sake... The fact that this is the last wild buffalo herd should mean they are protected from all and any persecution, I can't understand why it is left to this wonderful organisation to try their hardest and yet so often see their good work ruined by bullets. All of America and beyond should be campaigning to save these beautiful creatures, I feel a terrible emptiness that we don't learn from our mistakes, a race of strange creatures we human beings really are.
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