The use of Strain 19, either in bison or in cattle adjacent to the park, would reduce the risk of transmission. However, the provisions of the National Brucellosis Program respond to the presence of animals from an infected herd, not to the potential for those particular animals to actually transmit the disease. The agencies are researching new vaccines for use in bison. The interim plan does include a provision for vaccination of bison, if a safe and effective vaccine is developed for bison. Prior to that legislation, bison hunting in Montana was controversial and the controversy contributed more to the problem than to the solution.
Control requires a timely response to remove problem animals.
This is sometimes difficult to achieve with hunters. Public hunting is one method to treat a symptom of the problem, i.e. the removal of surplus bison. The 1995 Montana Legislature designated DOL as the state agency with primary management responsibility for bison that migrate from the park because these animals originate from a diseased herd. Public hunting is not an appropriate method for disease management. When Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872, bison had been extirpated from the surrounding area and few bison remained in the park.