Bison face hunting at Wyoming refuge

[Robbien]

Source: By MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press Writer

JACKSON, Wyo. - In the three decades since 18 bison stumbled onto a federal elk feeding ground outside this mountain town, the herd has ballooned to 1,200 animals — one of the largest groups of bison in the United States.

Beginning Saturday, refuge officials and state wildlife officials will hold annual hunts aimed at cutting down the herd by at least 700 animals over the next few years. Hunters are entitled to one bison each.

Refuge managers agreed that feeding the very bison they want hunters to shoot was not ideal. They said the conservative politics of northwest Wyoming — home to Vice President Dick Cheney and a strong hunting culture that is a driving economic force — gave them little choice.

Read more: http://www.localnewsleader.com/olberlin/stories1/index.php?action=fullnews&id=58654

[smoogatz]

1. Hunting bison would be about as challenging as hunting cows.

Maybe less, because they're considerably bigger than cows. You couldn't really call it hunting in the normal sense. On the other hand, bison are delicious. On the other hand, you'd never be able to fit one in your freezer. How many hands is that?

[RavensChick]

2. A lot!

I always wanted to try bison since I see a lot of labels for it from various companies where I work. It has more protein and leaner than beef.

[kineneb]

3. bison is tasty

we have several "grass farmers" in the area who raise bison as food animals. The meat is tasty, but must be cooked in a moist manner, as it has almost no fat. Bison are less harmful to the environment than are cattle, and somewhat less prone to disease. They are, however, rather ...large; impressively so. My friend and I went to buy some meat from the rancher, and there were the rest of the beasties, just grazing away. You don't want one angry at you.

[Crowman1979]

7. Although I hear them bison can dent dem trucks perty good!

It'll set ole Joe Schmos a good amount of money to get that fixed. No hunting trips for about five years or more depending on the damage. I just like to see Cheney hunt these without a motorized vehicle or a horse. :D

[pipoman]

4. They are delicious

My guess is that the permit fees and culling will help keep the herd healthy. These beasts don't have too many natural predators.

This is my buddy Samson and one of his calves. The calf was born the day I took the pic, note the umbilical cord.

[Born Free]

5. love bison meat, but expensive

The beef growers lobby had laws written to prevent bison growers from using any hormones and other additives to increase growth - the beef industry wants to protect their market share. This helps make bison more expensive but even better for human consumption than beef products. We can get ground bison in some of our stores and a few have tried steaks but they did not sell well enough, probably because they cost more than the best beef you can buy. We do have a small place about 40 miles away that serves bison cheeseburger subs - We usually take our old Harley there about once a week. At home we use ground bison in place of beef hamburger - it tastes about the same in everything we make with it. I think a good piece of beef made properly is a little better tasting but we buy very little beef these days. I would love to not eat any kind of meat but can't stop, I have cut back a lot over the years.

[hollowdweller]

6. Wonder how many pounds of jerky from 1 bison?

They are cool animals. I love them.

[pipoman]

8. Jerky

is 3 pounds meat to make 1 pound of jerky. A slaughter bull is between 1300 and 1800 lbs on the hoof. You would get around 65-70%of live weight after slaughter. Of that probably 20-30% wouldn't be suitable for jerky (hamburger grade, trimming scraps, ribs, etc.). So, a 1500 lb bull would net around 975lbs. Of that around 730lbs would be roasts, etc which could be jerky. That would get you around 230lbs of jerky...sort of a waste of good meat as usually jerky is made from round roasts which are a little tough anyway.

[zonkers]

9. Shooting a bison is pretty close to canned hunting.

[pipoman]

11. Probably

but in this case it is undoubtedly important to cull this herd for the health of the herd as a whole and for the health and habitat of other wildlife like elk, antelope and deer. It sounds like in the OP that the park is having to provide feed in addition to the natural forage in the park, this many bison would require a huge amount of forage. I am sure that the fees for hunting will be used for the good of the park/wildlife.

I hunt deer for the same reason. It is nice to have the deer in the freezer, but if it wasn't necessary to cull the population I would eat beef and hunt with my camera.

[zonkers]

13. What does one do with a giant bison after the kill? Seems like a big thing to deal with.

[Kingshakabobo]

14. Ever hear of a chain-saw?

[zonkers]

15. Ha!

It means a lot when someone takes the time to find and post a crack-me-up foto. Thanks.

[pipoman]

16. I would guess

they would quarter the animal in the field. I have heard of people using chainsaws on large game but that wouldn't be my choice as chainsaws use bar oil which would contaminate the meat. I think I would opt for a cordless reciprocating saw. A lot of the hides and heads will be sent to a taxidermist I am sure so there may be several taxidermists in the area during the hunt to assist with the dressing to be sure it is done correctly. If you have ever seen a mounted bison head, it requires a very large wall with a tall ceiling to accommodate...there is a pretty good chance many will end up in places like bars and sporting goods stores. The hides however make great rugs. I would be concerned about the amount of meat locker space available in the area. To make the meat the best it can be it should hang in cold storage for 2-3 weeks before being processed. They may pack it in dry ice and take it back to a processor close to their homes.

A lot of times these specialized hunts require the hunter to hire a guide who would have the equipment and know how to handle the kill.

Keep in mind that ancient hunters processed these animals with very little waste with stone tools...

Edit to add the last sentence.

[pfitz59]

10. Bless the beasts and the children...

[Kingshakabobo]

17. I don't know why I feel those trophy shots are so offensive.......

They basically shot a cow. There's no reason to gloat.

[pipoman]

12. The rest of the story...

Through a separate hunt, federal and state officials want to reduce the refuge‘s elk population, from almost 8,000 animals to about 5,000.

"It‘s senseless and it‘s inhumane," said Jonathan Lovvorn, an attorney with the Fund for Animals.

Refuge manager Steve Kallin said the bison hunt would have been much smaller if the Fund for Animals had never filed a lawsuit. When a hunt was first proposed in 1998, there were about 500 bison on the refuge — a number Kallin said could have been sustained by hunting 70 animals a year.

-snip-

The refuge‘s feed lines have since expanded into a $250,000 annual program that doles out up to 80 semitrailer loads of alfalfa pellets each winter, according to federal documents and former refuge manager Barry Reiswig.

The reality that animal populations will either be culled through hunting/harvesting or through disease/malnutrition seems to evade many of these 'animal rights groups'. The latter could potentially claim larger numbers and be far less humane. Disease which effects large herbivores could possibly effect domestic animals raised in the area for food production.

[Xithras]

18. Yep. The choice is to hunt them or let them starve to death.

The problem here is that the population has grown to levels far beyond what can naturally be maintained, because local refuge management have been artificially feeding them. If bison are to survive in the long term, the herds need to exist at levels that can be maintained by the local environment. Since the numbers (thanks to human meddling) are already well beyond those levels, the bison herd needs to experience a population crash. That can occur through mass starvation, or mass hunting.