Dozens of Yellowstone bison trapped, tested for brucellosis

By SCOTT McMILLION, Chronicle Staff Writer

As of Tuesday afternoon, 45 bison were being held in a National Park Service trap near Gardiner, where they were being sorted, tested for disease and segregated accordingly.

The number includes 33 animals captured Saturday and 12 more lured into the Stephens Creek trap on Tuesday, Yellowstone National Park spokeswoman Cheryl Matthews said.

The animals had been hazed several times before they were taken into the trap.

The Park Service plans to test all the bison it catches this year for exposure to the disease brucellosis. Those that test positive will be shipped to slaughter. Non-pregnant calves and yearlings will be vaccinated for the disease, marked with eartags and held in a stout corral until spring. Then they'll be released.

Of the 33 captured Saturday, only seven showed no signs of the disease in blood tests. Six of those will be vaccinated; the seventh won't be because it is an adult female.

The other 26 will go to a slaughterhouse.

The 12 captured Tuesday haven't been tested yet, Matthews said.

The vaccine, RB 51, recently passed scientific muster as safe enough for use in the park. However, scientists disagree about how effective it is in bison.

Rick Wallen, a wildlife biologist in the park, has said that if vaccinated animals are captured again in the future, they'll be tested for the disease, in hopes of gaining more information about the vaccine's effectiveness.

This is the first time bison have been vaccinated in the park. Last winter, 230 bison were shipped to slaughter without being tested.

To the west of the park, the Montana Department of Livestock operates two bison traps. It is not vaccinating any animals until necessary environmental studies are complete.

Bison lured into those traps are tested for the disease. Negative animals are marked with dye and released in the area.

There are about 4,200 bison in the park, which is at or near record levels.

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