Authorities have said they had culled over 2,000 bison in the past 20 years to stop the spread of brucellosis. The move to cull the elks came about after authorities discovered brucellosis in certain areas of Wyoming and Montana, where there has been a bison presence for a long time, running into decades.
Estimates point to a figure of about 95,000 elks in the greater Yellowstone area that covers parts of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. There are currently 25 herds of elks in the region, far more than the three herds of bison seen in some of these parts.
The elks in this region roam around freely, even singly. Their movement is not restricted to herds, unlike the bison, and they are able to traverse larger areas, across the many mountain ranges that mark the region.
Undertaking the culling is not going to be easy, considering the large expanse of land the authorities will have to cover. This is one of the main reasons that authorities will find it difficult to chalk out a single policy for the culling.
Throw into the mix the differences of opinion existing between the different policymakers and it becomes easy to understand why formulating a common policy may end up becoming such a Herculean task. The three states involved also do not have a common stance when it comes to wildlife, something that will only add to the complexity of the situation.
There have also been raised voices from another segment – the outfitters and hunters. Their take on the issue is that wholesale culling could cause the elk population to reduce drastically, something that would definitely have a negative impact in the long run. Their suggestion is to vaccinate the cattle and ensure the disease is wiped out in the bison.
Wyoming has already begun the task of culling. Authorities are not going in for wholesale culling; instead they are first capturing the animals and culling only those that show any signs of brucellosis. In Montana, state officials have stepped up elk hunting and hazing near Yellowstone and launched an extensive testing program to identify and eliminate infected herds.
Brucellosis, which causes pregnant cattle to abort their young, has so far caused huge losses to the livestock industry. There is no proper vaccine available currently for the wildlife population. The only vaccine that exists is for cattle, and it has an effectiveness of just 60-70% when given to the wild animals.
While the disease is common in cattle, it is a rare occurrence in humans. The few human cases that have been registered have been found to be in people who have infected cattle and who have been in contact with these cattle for a period of time.
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