Lawsuit seeks to halt Yellowstone bison captures

An environmental law firm is asking a federal judge to block the capture and hazing of bison north of Yellowstone National Park so that they can migrate further into Montana.

The Cottonwood Environmental Law Center said in a legal complaint filed this week that the capture program poses a safety hazard because bison hunters from American Indian tribes use the same area.

Cottonwood attorney John Meyer told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that the lawsuit is intended to let bison migrate north toward the Paradise Valley, an area north of the park where they are currently not allowed.

Bison leaving the park are routinely captured and slaughtered by state and federal agencies to protect Montana livestock from being infected with brucellosis. That’s a disease carried by many bison.