Wildlife Management Controversies Across the Globe

In Kaziranga National Park in India, four endangered one-horned rhinos (Rhinceros unicornis) have been found dead in the past few weeks, while our own legislators battle over measures to curb the spread of brucellosis from bison to cattle.

In Indian myth, the one- horned rhino is a divine beast, often depicted carrying the universe on its back in the form of the preserver god, Vishnu. Many historians believe that it was also responsible for the ancient fairy tales of the unicorn. So why were the rhinos shot? Mysticism, ironically, under the guise of "traditional medicine."

Their horns -- made of hair-like keratin fibers -- fetch up to $10,000 per kilogram on the international market and are in great demand in China and southeast Asian countries for traditional medicines.

Some people in Asia also believe the horns have aphrodisiac qualities.

The populations of R. unicornis are

...only found in their natural habitat in eastern India and neighboring Nepal.

According to global conservation group WWF, there are less than 3,000 individuals left in the world.

Apparently, the forest needs more guards:

The park, spread over 430 square km (165 square miles), needs around 500 forest guards but only has around half the number, they added.

Forest guards often patrol on bare feet, armed with obsolete rifles, while poachers are equipped with modern firearms like automatic rifles.

"Poachers know the weakness of the forest guards and they are taking advantage of it," Talukdar said.

This side of the Pacific, we're having our own controversy involving "hunting" of a different sort:

State officials and cattle interests remain worried about the migration of the bison herd in the winter, when some wander out of the park in search of food.

This migration puts the bison, some of which carry brucellosis, near a few hundred cattle that graze on national forest land adjacent to the park. Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that can cause spontaneous abortion and stillborn calfs.

The plan allows federal and state officials to try and haze the bison back into the park - bison that cannot be moved back are captured and tested for brucellosis and those that test positive are slaughtered.

Sounds pretty rational, right? We don't need any more problems for our farmers.

Although only two bison were slaughtered this winter under the plan, federal and state officials killed 1,003 last winter. Federal agencies currently spend some $2.4 million annually to implement the plan.

That money is being wasted, said Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, who said the current plan "ensures it is only a matter of time before [Montana] loses our brucellosis-free status."

Schweitzer noted that buying out grazing leases on the lands would cost less than $10 million.

"It would be much cheaper to take the long goal and look for a permanent solution," said Schweitzer, a Democrat. "The federal government is just throwing a bunch of money away."

Permanent solutions? We're talking about the federal government here; what would they gain from permanent solutions or saving money?

Conservationists note the bison policy is inconsistent, as elk can carry brucellosis and there are documented cases of transmission from elk to cattle. Elk, which far outnumber bison and are permitted to range beyond the park, were responsible for both Idaho and Wyoming losing their brucellosis-free status in recent years.

A popular target for hunters, elk have "a stronger constituency" than bison, said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States.

Pacelle said the current plan ignores the special value of the Yellowstone herd, which is descended from the 23 wild bison that survived the mass eradication of the 19th century and is considered the largest remaining single population of genetically pure bison.

"This is a special population of animals," Pacelle said, "Ã [but] they are treated like shaggy members of a disposed cattle herd that are encroaching on adjacent and occupied cattle ranches."