Battle rages over bison

Several private landowners and environmental organizations have joined forces to protect wild bison from a group of cattlemen attempting to eliminate the animals from a region near Yellowstone National Park in Montana.

In May, the cattle ranchers and Montana Stockgrowers Association claimed the bison could pass an infectious abortion-causing disease (brucellosis) to their livestock and requested in court that the Department of Livestock take care of the problem by capturing, killing or hazing them, reported The Associated Press.

But the nearby property owners and environmentalists, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and Greater Yellowstone Coalition, fought back, contending that cattle do not graze on the land in question.