FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, January 30, 1997
CONTACT:
Cleveland Amory, (212) 246-2096
Andrea Lococo, (307) 859-8840
Today, in an advertisement in USA Today, The Fund for Animals launched its call for a tourism boycott of Montana because of the state's unwillingness to tolerate bison who wander from Yellowstone National Park. Over the past decade, Montana's management policies have claimed the lives of more than 2,600 Yellowstone bison. This winter alone, in the most egregious plan ever, more than 700 bison have been killed -- many trapped and sent to slaughterhouses.
The ad features a photo of Yellowstone bison along with the title, "Boycott Buffalo Butchery," and the subtitle, "The State of Montana has Zero Tolerance for Buffalo, So We Need You to have Zero Tolerance for Montana." The ad urges readers to contact Montana Governor Marc Racicot and "tell him that you won't spend a dime in a state that doesn't give a damn about the one animal, of all animals, everyone should have a conscience about."
Says Cleveland Amory, president of The Fund for Animals, "Montana officials have really put the yellow in Yellowstone, and they're caving in to the ranching industry and to the baseless claims of the USDA. So we're going to hit Montana where it hurts -- in the pocket book."
Montana ranchers and state livestock officials claim that bison can spread a disease called brucellosis to their cattle, but there has never been a single confirmed case of brucellosis being transmitted from wild bison to domestic livestock. Cattle are generally not even present on most lands surrounding Yellowstone during the winter months when bison cross park boundaries.
Adds Andrea Lococo, Rocky Mountain coordinator for The Fund, "Hundreds of these majestic creatures have been brutally slaughtered in the last few weeks. This massacre simply must end."
The Fund for Animals is a national animal protection organization headquartered in New York City, and has been leading the charge to protect Yellowstone bison since 1985. This week, The Fund threatened to sue the National Park Service if it does not agree to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on its winter use program, which includes the grooming of snowmobile trails that provide energy efficient routes for bison to leave the park. And The Fund released graphic video footage and photographs (available upon request) of the bison slaughter operations.
For a copy of the ad placed today, please contact The Fund's campaign office at (301) 585-2591 or MikeM@fund.org.