Nick Rahall: “Let me say once again that the bison is an American icon. In my own home State of West Virginia, at Marshall University…”

“Let me say once again that the bison is an American icon. In my own home State of West Virginia, at Marshall University, the football team's mascot is the bison. They are the Thundering Herd. Nobody slaughters that Thundering Herd just as nobody should slaughter the Yellowstone herd. Are there alternatives? Yes. There are alternatives for dealing with diseased bison. It is not that difficult. Contrary to what the State claims, it does not require shooting them. We support continuing efforts to keep bison from having any contact with cows through the use of hazing and capturing bison when necessary. We support continued and improved testing to determine precisely how many bison actually have the disease. We support allowing bison which test positive to be quarantined either within the park or on any of the many Indian reservations where a tribe has contacted the Secretary volunteering to take possession of bison. All of these activities and more are allowed under the Rahall amendment. The only thing that is prohibited is killing these animals.”