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Antelope Island Bison Roundup

A squeeze shoot, at use on Antelope Island to immobilize the bison while vaccinated.

Commonly called buffalo, the bison on Antelope Island are in fact a separate species from buffalo. Bison come in woods and plains varieties, buffalo in cape and water. On Antelope Island, all the bison are plains bison. The herd on Antelope Island is the third largest public herd in the nation.

The bison were put on the island in 1893 by two Utahns, William Glassman and John Dooly. Claiming to do it for preservation purposes, one of the chief reasons for this inhabitation was the mere novelty of having bison on an island. Think of the tourist trade! The twelve bison they brought over were allowed to breed uncontrolled for a good many years until their population reached the 550 it is today. March through May, new calves balloon the population to more than 700.

After letting the bison rest from the round up for several days, starting November 5th the bison undergo vaccinations, examinations and a microchip identification implant. Then 100 to 200 of the bison are left in the corrals while the rest of the bison are free to go back onto the fields. This remaining 100 to 200 bison are then sold off to whomever wants them. The reasoning behind this? Antelope Island tells us that: "Studies indicate that [600 bison] is near the maximum population of bison that the island can support without overgrazing the grasslands." They claim that the bison are overpopulated, and that it becomes DWR's (Division of Wildlife Resources) responsibility to maintain the herd.

In an interview with a park official, we discovered that profit, not sustainability, is one of the main goals of the roundup. The round up costs the park approximately $50,000 to put on. The auction, on the other hand, generates plenty to cover that, along with all the revenue that is made from entrance fees during this public event ($7 per vehicle). Each bison, depending it's weight and age, will be sold for anywhere between $800 to $1500 dollars. That means, if all goes well, the auction alone will pull in at least $80,000. A very nice profit margin. This selling of bison to ranchers who submit bids every fall has paid for several improvements to the park since state lawmakers approved a plan allowing proceeds to be used at the park director's discretion.

In addition to this slave-era-like auction, the park has sold 5 bison hunting licenses the only ones annually available in Utah. Yes, in a few weeks starting December 1st, five hunters will be permitted to kill any one bison they choose. Having paid $800 per license, or upwards of $2500 per license if they live out of state, these hunters will be assigned a park employee to escort them around the island, showing them which Bison are the best to kill. In this canned hunt, the hunter merely drives their car up to the herd, gets out of the car (an unnecessary step) and shoots point blank one of the animals.

This treatment of the bison by the park officials tells us loud and clear that they are interested in only one thing: profit. Antelope Island, state park, controlled by a state organization, is acting more like an uncaring capitalistic corporation then a state organization. If, as many park officials would say, they are looking after the best interests of the bison, why are they allowing five of them to be hunted? If the bison are being maintained to preserve the species from extinction, why are 100 of them being sold off for their flesh each year? If the round up is done for the health of the bison and not for profit, why does it just so happen that they make a great deal of money from this?

We propose that the park officials don't truly care at all for the bison. They are just a cash crop to be reaped. We propose the following things be enacted:

The bison auction must stop. The bison are not ours to do with as we please. They are the "Native Americans," here long before the White Man or Red Man. Prior to European settlement, biologists estimate that between 50 to 60 million bison roamed the continent.
The bison hunt must stop. There can be no justification for hunting these precious animals. Hunting only encourages violence in our society, and seems to lead to things like the Columbine massacre.
The bison must be moved to a natural habitat. The bison should never be interfered with by anyone, friend or foe. They should be taken to a habitat where their population will be controlled by natural elements, not by the slaughterhouse. They need to be in essence taken back to their niche - back to the open plains. Difficult? Absolutely. Impossible? Absolutely not. If anything, the bison should be taken to join another herd, such as the one in Yellowstone National Park. The effort must be made - as soon as possible.

To let the park know of your dissatisfaction, write to:

Public Comment
C/O Division of Parks and Recreation
1594 West North Temple, Ste 116
P.O. Box 146001
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-6001

Let her know that the bison don't belong to us, and that selling them off to bidders is just the same as the slave trade the U.S. engaged in not two hundred years ago. Tell Hollie Brown that the bison belong in their natural environment, not in the zoo-like setting of Antelope Island. Remember, while the bison are captive on the Island, no one is free.

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