44 more Yellowstone bison slated for slaughter

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – Yellowstone National Park administrators are arranging to send 44 more bison to slaughter as part of efforts to reduce the wild animals’ population.

Park spokeswoman Amy Bartlett says 18 bison were captured Wednesday near Gardiner and another 26 were captured Thursday.

Bartlett says they will be transferred in coming days to American Indian tribes for slaughter.

The park plans to remove up to 600 bison this winter if weather conditions trigger a migration of the animals into Montana. Twenty were sent to slaughter earlier this week.

Yellowstone had about 4,600 bison last summer. An agreement between federal and state officials calls for the population to be maintained at roughly 3,000 animals.

Montana’s livestock industry has little tolerance for bison because of concerns over disease and competition with cattle for grass.