HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

106

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

URGING HAWAII's CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO HELP PREVENT THE INHUMANE TREATMENT OF THE YELLOWSTONE BUFFALO and support passage of the yellowstone buffalo preservation act, h.r. 3446.

 

WHEREAS, the scenic beauty of Hawaii is seen in its lush forests and beautiful coastlines which are home to thousands of species and over 1,000 endangered species; and

WHEREAS, many people and groups are dedicated to preserving those endangered species; and

WHEREAS, the American buffalo is a wildlife icon of the United States more than any other animal, as it is profoundly significant to Native American cultures and has had a great impact on American history; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii has a unique connection to the American buffalo through the buffalo ranch located in Hanalei Valley on the island of Kauai, and through William Mowry, who has raised buffalo for over 20 years at Hanalei Garden Farms by the Hanalei River; and

WHEREAS, also known by its scientific name Bison bison or Bos bison, American buffalo were nearly eradicated when their numbers were reduced to a few hundred located in Yellowstone National Park, and reduced further to just 25 by 1900 due to poaching; and

WHEREAS, today, the offspring of those 25 survivors comprise the Yellowstone buffalo herd and are the only wild, free-roaming American buffalo to occupy their native habitat in the United States; and

WHEREAS, because the park lacks an extensive low-elevation winter habitat that would provide them with access to winter forage, they migrate in winter and spring from a high-elevation plateau to a lower elevation habitat adjacent to the park where they face threats of hazing, capture, and slaughter; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Departments of Livestock and Fish, Wildlife, and Parks of the State of Montana, have ordered the shooting and therefore inhumane treatment of the buffalo because there is an alleged threat that the brucellosis disease is being transmitted to cows that graze on the public lands adjacent to the Yellowstone National Park; however, no case has ever been confirmed of brucellosis transmission from a buffalo to the cattle; and

WHEREAS, taxpayers are being forced to underwrite the $700,000 annual cost of this ill-conceived and indefensible plan, under which more than 3,000 buffalo have been massacred since the mid-1980s under the supervision of government officials bowing to the pressures of the livestock industry; and

WHEREAS, one of members of the Hawaii Congressional delegation, Representative Neil Abercrombie of the 1st Congressional District, co-sponsored the Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act, which is now before the United States Congress as H.R. 3446; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, that the Legislature urges Hawaii's Congressional delegation to help prevent the inhumane treatment of the Yellowstone buffalo and support passage of the Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act, H.R. 3446; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the members of the Hawaii's Congressional delegation, the Superintendent of the U.S. National Park Service, the Director of the U.S. Forest

Service, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Director of the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks of the State of Montana, the Director of the Department of

Livestock of the State of Montana, the Buffalo Field Campaign, and the Fund for Animals.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

PREVENTING INHUMANE TREATMENT OF THE YELLOWSTONE BUFFALO