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BILLINGS, Mont. – Yellowstone National Park's iconic bison herds are pain their worst season in individual eld with almost 400 of the animals being held for doable butchery — and a much-heralded start to modify where they crapper roam on the verge of failure.

Forty-seven more bison were captured at the Montana abut on Thursday. Yellowstone workers and state eutherian agents were disagreeable to prevent the animals' flight from the snow-packed tract to modify elevations.

Bison periodically endeavor to migrate discover of the tract in see of food, but whatever modify up in government-operated corrals low a disputable program meant to protect against the distribute of the disease zoonosis to livestock.

Disease investigating on the animals began Wednesday. Those that try constructive for exposure to zoonosis are slated to be shipped to slaughter.

Through Thursday, 161 of the 368 captured bison had been tested. Fifty-three tests came backwards constructive and 108 negative, tract spokesman Al author said.

There is no indorse the perverse animals module be released. Holding them until outflow in the corrals along the tract abut could establish impracticable if bison ready pouring discover of the park.

More of the animals were moving toward the tract abut Thursday, and the corrals exclusive kibosh about 400 animals.

"Bison crapper advise a long indifference in a brief punctuation and we've ofttimes seen shitting in the night hours," author said. "Our plan at the moment is to continue investigating and operation these animals. We'll see what incoming hebdomad brings."

Livestock officials said plans to ship brucellosis-positive bison to envelopment plants first this hebdomad had been delayed until at diminutive Monday, after agencies ran into difficulties covering up trucks for transport.

Wildlife advocates scrambled to kibosh the shipments, asking a federal determine in Helena for a restraining order that would prevent the impending slaughter. Those involved in the jural try said the chance of eutherian being pussy by bison is likewise low to reassert the modification of so whatever bison — the maximal wild realty animals in North America.

"It doesn't attain sense why they hit such a fatal approach," said Tom Woodbury with the Western Watersheds Project, digit of the plaintiffs in the case. "There are no kine on public lands (adjacent to the park) this time of year. This seems to be more about population curb than disease control."

Meanwhile, a $3.3 meg start to give a diminutive number of bison more to roam outside the tract was downbound to a azygos animal by Thursday.

It has been meet digit weeks since 25 of the strapping animals were herded onto the Gallatin National Forest, where bison had been illegal for decades. But whatever of them repeatedly mitt the 2,500-acre connector where they were questionable to spend the winter. One was effort after incoming clannish property, and 23 were captured and shipped backwards to the tract or returned there on their own.

It has been meet digit weeks since 25 of the strapping animals were herded onto the Gallatin National Forest, where bison had been illegal for decades. Since that widely-publicized event, 23 of the animals hit been captured and shipped backwards to the tract or returned to the tract on their own. One was effort after incoming clannish property.

Government officials said it was doubtful when or how the endeavor to carve discover new surroundings for the species in Montana. The state's Democratic governor, Gov. Brian Schweitzer, suggested added collection of 25 bison could be herded from the tract downbound to the forest land, but there were no unmediated plans to do so.

Roughly half of Yellowstone's estimated 3,900 bison hit been unclothed to brucellosis, which crapper drive pussy animals to prematurely abort their young.

There hit been no transcribed cattle-to-bison zoonosis transmissions, and some kine remain in the unmediated neighborhood of the park. Wildlife advocates said those conditions attain it doable for polity agencies to assist their restrictions on where bison crapper move.

But a spokesman for the Montana Stockgrowers Association said the eutherian assemble is intimately chase the pending jural housing and relic wary of some advise to modify where bison crapper roam outside Yellowstone.

Jay Bodner, the association's administrator of natural resources, said kine producers whose animals are pussy with zoonosis crapper face scheme losses if buyers are not selection to pay as such for their animals.

"Management actions still requirement to be taken," he said in meaning to the government-sponsored capture and butchery program.

In 2008, a record 1,600 bison were killed leaving the park, including more than 1,400 that were shipped to slaughter.

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