From the first day that hunters were allowed to harvest bison that wandered out of Yellowstone National Park there have been protests.
A bison advocate jabbed a hunter with a ski pole that first season. Others chained themselves to a gate, hoping to disrupt the hunt.
Negative publicity eventually prompted state officials to limit the hunt to American Indians, with only a few permits issued to the general public.
It appeared to be a wise move. Indians have hunted bison for thousands of years, and the park has a burgeoning population. How could anyone be critical of that?
Well, they are.
Some bison advocacy groups have taken issue with the hunt, in particular the gut piles left behind after this winter’s harvest.
About 500 bison in the Gardiner basin were killed this winter, the majority by tribal hunters.
Stephany Seay, with Roam Free Nation, was quoted in the Spokesman-Review as saying her group: “has a hard time justifying the killing of so many bison in such a small area.”
Apparently, Seay knows little about how bison were historically harvested by native peoples: driven off a cliff to pile up in a heap at the bottom where they were unceremoniously dispatched with spears and clubs.
Seay and other advocacy groups want the hunt to be more “fair chase,” a term invented by white hunters to justify their sport while making it look like the animals have a chance.
Tribal hunters, on the other hand, are there for the meat and the hides, not the sport.
The only solution that will ultimately appease bison advocates is an end to all hunting and the restrictions on where buffalo can roam.
Chances of that happening being slim to none, however, expect more hand-wringing and tears when the hunt resumes next winter.
Parker Heinlein is at [email protected]
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