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Show IT CONCERNED OIIERJUFFJILO Slaughter of Bison Does Not Affect Department of Agriculture 1 WASHINGTON". D. C, Jnn 82 rhe BlauBhtr or Buffalo on Antelope island in apparently a nmtter of bu! little concern to the department .' affrlculture in fact, the dejMLrtmenl 'now believes tlieie Is ho dunger of the extermination of the American bison and it is not willing to recommend the passage of Representative Milton ,11 Sellings bill, which was designed to save the Antelope Island herd In n statement issued todav th. do-! partment says: Although a few years MlaiiThtor f ... ,.u ., u w , ,,,,, would have been deemed a national r;ilamity. the biological survey ot th I niled States department i,r agriculture agricul-ture will make no definite effort to stop the shooting of a considerable number of those animals on the privately pri-vately owned Antelope Island. "While regretting the announced decision de-cision of the owners of the herd to j turn the fine animals over to sports-! I men at $200 a head. Ir E, AV. Nelson, Nel-son, chief of the blologicul survey loes not find it expedient to curtail ,other and more necessarv ganue pres-1 ervatlon measures by seeking a. con-' greaslonal appropriation to buy this! herd at the owners' price. A bill to purchase the island and animals for 1300.00 was recently introduced by' Congressman Welling of Utah- IVl IM Wl in ru.i.ri .. I "The dark day of the hisoft has I passed.' salil Dr. Xeison. Asa mutter mut-ter of fact, with the present rate of increase, it may hecome a problem in a few years how we shall .are lor the buffalo on the national preserves. It would b? desirable for the government to own the Antelope island herd, but there are other and more urgent uses for the money. I would much rather II were spent to buy additional range land north and south of Yellowstone park for the sustenance of the elk, Which find Insufficient winter feed I within the grounds." On January 1. 191'0. there were 3393 captive and wild huffalo In the United : States, of w hich 1032 were under the i direct protection of the federal government. |