By the Numbers: Bison and Brucellosis

947 - Total number of Yellowstone bison killed this past winter
3,500 – number of bison in Yellowstone herd, according to a March 2006 estimate by Park officials
0 – number of captured Yellowstone bison tested for brucellosis before being killed this year
4 – bison bulls shot in late March, 25 miles outside of Yellowstone
0 – percent chance that a bull can carry brucellosis
750,000 – annual cost, in taxpayer dollars, to haze Yellowstone bison back into the Park
200,000 – annual cost, in taxpayer dollars, to slaughter 1,000 bison
100,000 – annual cost, in taxpayer dollars, of Governor Brian Schweitzer’s plan to purchase grazing lands from Gardiner-area ranchers so that bison will not have to be slaughtered to prevent contact with cattle
100 – number of U.S.-reported cases of brucellosis in humans each year
0 - number of these cases resulting from bison contact
100 – percent chance that you’ll find brucellosis among the Class B Bioterrorism agents listed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
7 – Department of Homeland Security employees working with the Department of Livestock in January to safeguard “the animals and public” during transportation from Yellowstone to meat processing plants in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming
42,000 – Montana taxpayer dollars spent for this federal security

Statistics from one of the following sources: Buffalo Field Campaign, Billings Gazette, Bozeman Chronicle