Court asked to stop Yellowstone bison slaughter

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates are asking a federal judge in Montana to stop the impending slaughter of many of the hundreds of bison captured this week as they attempted to migrate out of Yellowstone National Park.

Today’s motion for a restraining order would prevent the National Park Service from shipping to slaughter bison that test positive for exposure to the disease brucellosis. Those shipments are expected to begin this week.

More than 300 bison left the snowed-in park in recent days in search of food at lower elevations. They were turned back by park workers and state livestock agents to prevent any contact between bison and livestock, which could lead to the spread of brucellosis.

The disease causes cattle, bison and some other animals to prematurely abort their young.