Yellowstone National Park could get rid of 360 bison

There used to be tens of millions of wild bison roaming the plains of North America, but now only 20,000 remain in the wild.  3,700 of them are in Yellowstone National park.  But now, officials are considering "selective culls" to reduce the population to about 3,000.  

According to the Associated Press, as many as 360 migrating wild bison would be shot by hunters in Montana, captured for slaughter or shipped elsewhere this winter, under a proposal from Yellowstone National Park officials which seeks an alternative to the indiscriminate slaughters of years past.

The AP obtained documents of the propsal, but according to officials it's still a draft and is subject to changes, the Daily Beast reported.  

According to the Daily Beast, according to the original proposal, half of the deaths will likely occur naturally, but the other half could be shot by Montana hunters (by opening up hunting grounds), captured for slaughter, or shipped elsewhere.

Cattle ranchers have been pressuring the government to get rid of some of the bison because of competition for grazing space and worries over the spread of the animal disease brucellosis, which has been eradicated nationwide except in Yellowstone.

In the last decade, more than 3,600 Yellowstone bison have been removed to prevent the spread of the disease. The numbers include 2008, when Yellowstone's temporary bison capture pens were overwhelmed and many animals went to slaughter without being tested for brucellosis.

The disease can cause pregnant animals to miscarry and has been eradicated nationwide except in the Yellowstone region, AP reported.  

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