Slaughter of diseased park buffalo feared

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Native bands in northern Alberta and the Northwest territories need more time and money to study the fate of 4,000 diseased bison in Wood Buffalo National Park.

But they will not consent to have them killed, said Treaty 8 spokesman Johnsen Sewepagaham who is leading the fight to save the buffalo.

That's an option which is being given serious consideration by federal officials because of fears that tuberculosis which has infected the buffalo may spread to the whole herd of 29,000 in the world historic park.

He said the government must be convinced to better understand the relationship between Native people and the buffalo before it can make its decision to exterminate the life-sustaining animal.

Scientists from Canada Agriculture, Alberta Agri-culture, the Canadian Wildlife Service and Health and Welfare Canada, concluded that something should be done to keep the sickness from spreading to healthy bison, wild life and humans.

Agriculture recommends that the buffalo be destroyed.

Sewepagaham said Native people find that offensive.

"We kill for food. We're not wasteful. As Native people we know where we're coming from but we have to translate our thoughts and our position in scientific terms so they can have an idea of what Native people are saying," he said.

Sewepagaham, chief of the Little Red River Band, submitted a request for $784,000 in intervener funding to evaluate a federal government proposal to kill tuberculosis-plagued bison in the 45,000-square-kilometre park.

He is also seeking a six-month extension into the public review board hearings being held in northern Alberta until the end of January.

FERO board spokesman Colin LacHance, said the Treaty 8 request is being given "very serious consideration."

"Killing the buffalo is not our only option. The panel is prepared to extend (the hearings)," he said.

The northern Native coalition is made up of 25 communities.

During a January 17 hearing in Fort Providence, NWT, conducted by the Federal Environment Assessment Review Office (FERO), Sewapagaham told the five-member panel that the coalition of northern Native bands aren't ready to discuss the problem yet.

Sewepagaham told Windspeaker that the northern bands want to hire their own experts to study the problem rather than depend on the federal government to draw its own conclusions.

"Native people need more time to come up with a position that can be understood by the people that are instigating the hearings and are pushing for the slaughter of the buffalo," he said.

FERO was set up by Environment Canada in response to a 18-month-long study that determines a large number of bison have contracted the contagious lung disease.

It has been gathering public input into how the disease can be contained or eradicated.

FERO will be holding technical meetings in Edmonton Jan, 25-26.