Patagonia recently released an excellent short video on Yellowstone National Park's buffalo and the issue of hazing buffalo off the Horse Butte peninsula on the west side of the Park in Montana.  (Click here and then click on "Watch a Video About Horse Butte Neighbors of Buffalo" to watch the film.)

The video features great interviews of four friends with whom we work to protect Yellowstone's iconic buffalo: Stephany Seay, Karrie Taggart, George Nell, and Ann Stovall.  The footage and still images in the video are stunning - and some are disturbing.

I explained the ridiculousness of the needless May 15th deadline for bison on Horse Butte in yesterday's post.  But while the hazing on Horse Butte is set to commence on Friday, the Montana Department of Livestock and National Park Service have already begun hazing buffalo back into Yellowstone from other areas near Horse Butte. 

The senseless hazing has many costs.  It stresses and endangers the buffalo, it disrupts other wildlife in the area, and it upsets the many private landowners in the region that want buffalo to migrate across their property (and don't want government agents hazing buffalo off their property with ATVs, helicopters, snowmobiles, and horses). 

I e-mailed Karrie to congratulate her on the great job she did in the video.  She lives on Horse Butte, and here is part of her reply to me:

Sadly, they hazed the bison today.  The last few days have been active and it's not even the 15th.  I am soooo angry and sad.  My stomach is in knots and the lump in my throat is so big it hurts.  I don't think the powers that be understand, or care about, the stress hazing causes those of us who live here.  They are taking all that is wild away from us.  Not just the bison, but all animals.  Slowly, but surely.

Why are we doing this to the only truly wild buffalo left in America? 

Watch Patagonia's video and then take action.