Protesters Take Cause To Capitol Opponents Of Bison Killing Try To Burn Effigy Of Racicot

Some opponents of the Yellowstone National Park bison killings took their protest to the Capitol on Monday and attempted to burn an effigy of Montana Gov. Marc Racicot. They were stopped by police.

About 15 protesters gathered outside the Capitol to protest the killings carried out under the state and federal bison control program.

State officials say that until a new federal plan is developed, the killings are necessary so bison wandering from the park do not spread brucellosis, which can cause abortions in cattle and undulant fever in humans.

“The brucellosis scare is a sham,” Nicole Rosmarino, co-director of Rocky Mountain Animal Defense in Boulder, Colo., said through a bullhorn as she led protesters to the Capitol. “We’re here to break your bubble, Governor Racicot.”

Another protester had lighter fluid and matches in her hand as she stood next to a cloth figure intended to represent the governor.

However, a police officer told the protester that setting the figure ablaze would violate a city law against open burning. No fire was set.

Earlier, a deputy sheriff angrily tore down crime-scene tape the protesters had stretched across the Capitol steps, and pulled the effigy out of a garbage can. The deputy then put it back in the container.

The Capitol demonstration followed a protest Sunday in Gardiner, where a woman dumped animal organs on a table during a town meeting, spraying blood on Racicot, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and Montana’s two U.S. senators.

As Delyla Wilson of the Bison Action Group was led out of the building, she shouted, “Next time, clean up your own mess.” She was charged with misdemeanor assault Sunday night and released on a $500 bond.

“I don’t think it was very good manners,” Racicot said later.

Sens. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and Max Baucus, D-Mont., were also at the table.

Almost 1,100 bison have been killed this winter as they moved north from Yellowstone. Environmental and wildlife groups and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt have criticized the shootings.

Glickman was in Gardiner as part of a tour of Yellowstone National Park to view the bison situation. Gardiner is the park’s northern gateway.