In winter, the migratory bison herds which reside in Yellowstone Park often follow snowmobile trails out of park boundaries foraging for grass away from the snowy plateaus. In recent years, bison that wander off park grounds have been shot by Montana State rangers, fearing the animals might spread the disease brucellosis (broo-cell-LOW-sis) to cattle. After much protesting and controversy, this year the government plans instead to capture wandering bison, shoot those that test positive, and quarantine the rest before shipping them to Indian reservations. Laura Knoy speaks with Jeffrey St. Clair, the environmental editor for Counterpunch magazine who has been covering the bison controversy at Yellowstone for years.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.