Recently, I came across a guy who works with Montana ranchers near Yellowstone. I was informed that the Buffalo Campaign was a group of idealogues, and that the bison calf which was injured was “being protected” by the hazer, and that the real damage was casued by screaming and yelling Buffalo Field Campaign workers. This was my response:
I’m sure you agree that video and images are definite proof of any contentious piece of reality. Lawyers and juries *love* video and pictures which have always been considered the best possible evidence for conviction. Placing a suspect at the scene is the ultimate prosecutorial goal.
Where those idealogues that were drowned in the icy river? No, those were just bison. You claim that extremists “on the other side” will never stop until their philosophy is embraced. I assume you pointed that towards the Buffalo Field Campaign, which merely records direct video evidence of livestock actions against Yellowstone bison for public viewing. There’s nothing really extreme about that. In fact, what is *extreme* is the behavior that the Montana government displays towards the bison themselves – kiling and hazing them off public land.
To most people, recording a video is not extreme, it’s considered prudent and organized. But to most people, hazing bison into a frozen river is very extreme:
When taken in the context that this is the last wild bison herd in the lower 48, it’s even more extreme. We have thousands of ranches and millions of cattle in the U.S.. But a group of people with *unflexible* philosophies feels the need to kill and injure the last few bison. The Buffalo Field campaign is simply the voice for an animal that can’t speak up. They are not asking to iron fist their philosophy and kill living creatures to suit their agenda. They are asking that the bison be left alone.
Killing and violence are extreme. Asking for something to be left alone is as middle of the road safe as it gets.
