Cowboys and Indians....

[JoseCuervo]

Looks like the white man is killing the Indian's bison again....

Prosecutors in Blaine County have been asked to determine whether any laws were broken in the shooting of five bison that wandered from the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and onto private property.


Dan Campbell, who investigated the February incident for the Montana Department of Livestock, said rancher Dustin Hofeldt acknowledged to him that he shot the animals after they destroyed his fences and forced his cattle off their winter feed.


Hofeldt, whose family ranches 25 miles south of Chinook, declined to comment when contacted by Great Falls Tribune Thursday, but said at least 200 bison have been on his land periodically since January.


“They just come over here because it’s the only grass around,” Hofeldt said.


Campbell said he believes the rancher had a legal right to protect his property, but has referred the matter to the Blaine County attorney to decide if any laws were broken.


The tribe also is working with the county to decide what course to take, Chief Administrative Officer Philip Short Man said.


Fort Belknap tribal bison manager Michael Black Wolf said this winter’s unusually deep snow hampered feed distribution, and inadequate fencing allowed the animals to leave the reservation.


“Obviously it’s upsetting,” Black Wolf said. “We’re not ready to take up arms, but it’s something that we’re not taking lightly.”


Trouble began on Feb. 5, when area rancher Frank Overcast complained about a couple hundred bison on his land. He and other ranchers say the bison were breaking down fences, demolishing haystacks and devouring pasture grasses.


Tribal officials retrieved the animals, but they soon migrated to Hofeldt’s place, where Campbell said the four bulls and one calf were shot.


Campbell got a call from the tribe and visited the kill site on Feb. 25, where he said Hofeldt admitted shooting the bison.


Within four days of the shooting, the rest of the herd returned to the Hofeldt ranch in search of food, Campbell said.


While the harsh winter has caused livestock across the region to roam for food, the bison are different because they can hurt livestock, Campbell said.


“They’re getting stock hurt because they’re all fighting for the same mouth of hay,” Campbell said.


Black Wolf said his field workers discovered the carcasses at least two days after they died. He was unable to salvage anything from the dead bison.


“By the time they were discovered, they were already starting to stink,” Black Wolf said. “In our minds it was a total waste of meat, a total loss for us.”


The Assiniboine and Gros Ventres tribes at Fort Belknap Reservation re-established the bison herd in 1999. Since then numbers have grown from 350 to about 600.

 

[Whiskers]

I would guess they shoulda kept a better eye on their bison.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Erik,

The DLP killing..... (Does he whack his neighbor's heifers when they cross onto his land? I doubt it...)

or

the Welfare Rancher who kills bison that wander onto his land, and doesn't think twice about his cattle grazing on MY PUBLIC LANDS.

 

[ROCKYMTNELKSTALKER]

"doesn't think twice about his cattle grazing on MY PUBLIC LANDS."
Huh? Any public lands that his cattle graze on are permitted to do so through the use of a paid land use permit. He has to pay the state to let his animals graze on public land. he also has every right to kill animals that destroy property and threaten his own. Yes, threaten. When they get on his property and start grazing, they are eating the food that he NEEDS to get his herd through the winter months. He can only range his animals on public land from April to October and needs his land to carry the herd through the winter months. I would,ve done the same thing. Besides, the meat isn't exactly wasted. The fish and game and those that are responsible for the bison are required by law to donate the meat to senior citizen centers and local food banks, same as with any other wild meat in montana.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Yeppers.... he pays the state $1.35 a month to graze on MY PUBLIC LANDS. I have to spend more than that each month to feed the no-good mouse catcher that calls himself a cat and leaves foot prints on my pick-up windows.

And it looks like the local senior citizens are going to be getting awful sick from eating THAT meat.
"Black Wolf said his field workers discovered the carcasses at least two days after they died. He was unable to salvage anything from the dead bison."

RMES, I hope you don't really expect anybody to believe that the rancher would be shooting his neighbor's cows if they got into his pasture. Talk about starting a Hatfield-McCoy feud. There was no justification for defense of property.

And does this rancher not own a horse (or an ATV) and can herd them back thru the fence? I know that is what we do when the neighbor's bulls come popping over the fence eyeing our cows... We typically don't shoot the neighbors animals...

And finally, RMES, as I own the Deer and the Elk on Public Lands (as all animals are owned by the State), do I have the right to kill any Angus that I see threatening MY animals (deer and Elk) by eating the grass on Public Lands?

 

[1_pointer]

FYI:
Grazing fees are $1.43/AUM this year. Grazing can/does occur outside of the April-October window. Some districts have grazing year-round. Fees for grazing federal lands go to the administering agency not the state. The state only gets money from state owned/school trust lands.

 

[Erik in AK]

What was the point of this post? (seriously)

 

[Oak]

he also has every right to kill animals that destroy property and threaten his own.

Uh, RMES, could you show me what law gives him this right? Doesn't Montana have open range laws that require him to fence the Indians' livestock out if he doesn't want them eating his grass? I'm asking because I'm not sure...

Oak

 

[ROCKYMTNELKSTALKER]

The open range laws in montana apply to livestock and not wild animals. There are bison and elk ranches in montana, but the open range laws do not apply to them because even though they may have been born in captivity they are still considered a wild animal. If a rancher choses to raise non-domesticated animals, then the cost and responsibility of keeping them where they belong fall solely on their shoulders. The if the ranchers are having a considerable problem with wildlife they have two tangible options. 1 have the fish and game come out and take care of the problem through lethal mitigation, or if the problem is to extreme they can mitigate the problem themselves.
montana has taken some other steps to try to prevent incidents like this from happening,i.e. higher pay outs on crop damage, land owner hunting tags, and grants for better fencing. The problem is that unless you are putting up a concrete barrier, you aren't going to keep bison out of where they don't belong.
I'm not saying i agree with the ranchers choice in handeling the problem, but i support his rights to defend whats his.

 

[BuzzH]

In Montana, bison are considered livestock, open range applies...

The department of livestock, not the MTFWP is who handles bison issues.

 

[cjcj]

Sounds like it`s time for a "depredation" Hunt.

 

[mtmiller]

He has to pay the state to let his animals graze on public land.

he also has every right to kill animals that destroy property and threaten his own.

He can only range his animals on public land from April to October

The fish and game and those that are responsible for the bison are required by law

There are bison and elk ranches in montana, but the open range laws do not apply to them because even though they may have been born in captivity they are still considered a wild animal.

What the puck are you talking about? How about some research before you spout.

 

[Bambistew]

What if those bison where mothers with infants. Would he still have shot them?

What is the law regaurding Bison? Do you have to fence them in or do your neighbors have to fence them out?

I don't think this is the whole story... It appears to me that the rancher has been having problems with the bison in the past.

Would the Bison be considered hostile varmints like dogs or coyotes if they are harming his live stock? I could shoot my neighbors dog if it was harassing my sheep, cows, or chickens...

 

[pawclaws]

Not if the dog has a good lawyer you won't! Seems to me like a really good area for an international incident. Is the reservation considered Federal property or an Indian Nation?
Somebody at the State Attorney General's office surely has enough sense to work this out and make a binding decision on whose responsibility is what and make that determination public knowledge. Anybody asked the AG yet?

 

[Nemont]

This isn't the whole story. The tribe has historically been unwilling to build adequate fences to contain their bison herd. They pasture them on the reservation but were unable to adequately feed their animals this winter so the critters left the reservation. It is not the first time the bison herd has caused damage to fences and haystacks. NOTE I AM NOT SAYING SHOOTING THEM IS RIGHT. Just that this is not the first time there has been problems.

BTW Elk Gunner do you know what the tribe does with the trophy bulls? They run a canned hunt that costs a couple of thousands bucks to have them let the bull out of a pasture run him over the hill to the "hunter".
Nemont

 

[Ten Bears]

I'm not saying shooting the bison was right or wrong, but I am saying not notifying the state or tribe to come and salvage the meat, and letting them waste was wrong.

 

[1_pointer]

miller- I guess you're just not as nice as me!

 

[Bambistew]

From the montana livestock laws

http://www.law.utexas.edu/dawson/fence/mt_fnc.htm

81-4-201 Animals running at large.
It is unlawful for an owner or person in control of swine, sheep, llamas, alpacas, bison, ostriches, rheas, emus, or goats to willfully permit the animals to run at large.

81-4-202 Penalties.
(1) Any person violating 81-4-201 is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more than $ 500 and is liable for damages to any party injured by the violation, in any court having competent jurisdiction.

(2) All fines collected under the provisions of this section, except those collected in a justice's court, must be paid into the county treasury for the use and benefit of the public schools.

81-4-206 Killing animal to prevent injury not prohibited. Sections 81-4-203 through 81-4-209 are not intended and shall not be interpreted or understood to limit or deny the right now existing to destroy or kill any such animal to prevent injury by it to any person or property.

So was it ok for him to kill or not? It looks to me like bison don't fall into the catagory of "right to kill" or do they?