BUFFALO FIELD CAMPAIGN (BFC)
P.O. Box 957
West Yellowstone, Montana 59758
406-646-0070
bfc-media@wildrockies.org
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org
*
PRESS RELEASE*
BISON ADVOCATE FORCIBLY REMOVED FROM PROTEST
PLATFORM
Yellowstone and Department of Livestock Continue to
Capture and Slaughter Wild Bison
For Immediate Release,
February 27, 2008
Contact: Buffalo Field Campaign, Nathan
Drake or Stephany Seay 406-646-0070
WEST YELLOWSTONE, MONTANA - The man who
perched upon a platform suspended from the top of a pair of poles on
public land inside the Horse Butte bison trap in protest of bison
slaughter, Nathan Drake, 26, was forcibly removed and arrested Monday
night by state and federal agents. He was charged with three
misdemeanors: obstruction, trespassing, and resisting arrest.
He was released on $5,000 bail, reportedly the highest yet for
bison-related direct action protest.
Montana Department of
Livestock agents, Gallatin National Forest law enforcement and a
Gallatin County sheriff were present and participated in the removal
of the citizen.
"The agents who made their way up
to my perch with an eighty foot cherry picker were unconcerned with
my safety," said Nathan. "They cut my sleeping bag
that was my protection from the Montana winter, took off my boots and
threw them to the ground, attempting to freeze me out of my lock
box. The sheriff and Forest Service agent cut my safety
line, attached me to the cherry-picker bucket and threw me in
it."
Exclusive Buffalo Field Campaign video footage of
Nathan's protest and subsequent removal and arrest can be viewed at
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org.
During the ordeal,
Nathan maintained non-violent, non-threatening behavior, however the
officers involved in extracting him from the bipod used considerable
force and pain compliance to remove him from his position.
"They
nearly broke my arms while descending with me. I was still
attached by my lock box to a leg of the bipod," said Nathan.
"I was screaming in excruciating pain, and I looked down to see
Montana DOL agent Shane Grube laughing at my plight and continuing to
offer suggestions that would grossly endanger my life and the lives
of the agents who were throwing me against the bucket of the cherry
picker over and over."
Forty-five minutes into their
attempt to cut Nathan out of the lock box with a pipe cutter, they
tossed him to the ground. Five agents then picked up one leg of
the bipod, which was precariously balanced, risking Nathan's life,
where they attempted to pull him out from underneath it.
"It
was indeed the scariest moment of my life," said Nathan.
Nathan
occupied the Horse Butte bison trap, effectively rendering it
inoperable for 15 hours, in protest of the continued capture and
slaughter of the United State's last wild population of American
bison. He took this direct action because of the tens of thousands of
citizens who, for years, have protested the slaughter of wild bison
yet have been completely ignored by decision-makers involved with the
Interagency Bison Management Plan. Public officials are
adhering only to Montana cattle interests.
"I risked life
and freedom on behalf of the thousands of frustrated people fed up
with this government and their full tilt assault on the last wild
bison," said Nathan. "I know full well that the
frustration felt in me was echoed with the tens of thousands of
people who called, wrote and petitioned the government to voice their
concerns for these amazing animals; concerns that repeatedly fall
upon deaf ears."
The Montana Department of Livestock constructed the Horse Butte bison trap last week for the first time since 2004. Horse Butte is mainly publicly-owned national forest land, habitat favored by wild bison, and is one-hundred percent cattle-free at all times of year. On Tuesday, Department of Livestock agents captured 30 wild buffalo in the Horse Butte trap, shipping them to slaughter Wednesday morning.
As
of Wednesday, in contrast to the public interest, Yellowstone
National Park and the Montana Department of Livestock have
collectively captured nearly 600 wild American bison, and have
already sent 437 to slaughter. None of the bison have been, or
will be tested for exposure to brucellosis, the supposed reason for
the severe management actions.
While the government's official
reason for the slaughter is to prevent the spread of brucellosis from
wild bison to cattle, no such transmission has ever been documented.
Because there are no cattle on any part of the Horse Butte Peninsula
at any time of the year, such a transmission is impossible and
Montana's intolerance for bison in the area unjustifiable.
More
than 2,500 wild American bison have been killed or otherwise removed
from the remaining wild population since 2000 under actions carried
out under the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP), as well as
state and treaty hunts. The IBMP is a joint state-federal plan that
prohibits wild bison from migrating to lands outside of Yellowstone's
boundaries. Wild American bison are a migratory species native to
vast expanses of North America and are ecologically extinct
everywhere in the United States outside of Yellowstone National
Park.
Buffalo Field Campaign strongly opposes the Interagency
Bison Management Plan and maintains that wild bison should be allowed
to naturally and fully recover themselves throughout their historic
native range, especially on public lands.
Buffalo Field
Campaign is the only group working in the field, every day, to stop
the slaughter of the wild American buffalo. Volunteers defend
the buffalo and their native habitat and advocate for their lasting
protection. Buffalo Field Campaign has proposed real alternatives to
the current mismanagement of American bison that can be viewed at
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/solutions.html. For
more information, video clips and photos visit:
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org.
Media & Outreach
Buffalo
Field Campaign
P.O. Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT
59758
406-646-0070
bfc-media@wildrockies.org
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org
BFC is the only group working in the field every day
in defense of the last wild buffalo in the U.S.