Why the Buffalo Roam

[Fountain79]

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1599697,00.html

Sometimes you have to eat an animal to save it. That paradox may disturb vegetarians, but consider the bison: 500 years ago, perhaps 30 million of these enormous mammals inhabited North America. By the late 1800s, several forces--natural climate changes and Buffalo Bill--style mass killings among them--had slashed the bison population to something like 1,000. And yet today North America is home to roughly 450,000 bison, a species recovery that has a lot to do with our having developed an appetite for them.

[Avalux]

1. There's a difference between 'free and wild' and 'raised for food'.

The 30 million bison that roamed 500 years ago were not there because they were being bred by people to eat - we have the numbers we do now for one reason - food. Accolades aren't in order here.

[Fountain79]

2. I am aware that they are here for food....

If you read the article it points out that man wasn't the only reason the bison population was depleted along with hunting. So currently what's the alternative? Let the species die out or bred them for food?

[pscot]

3. There's a small buffalo ranch

not far from where I live. I drove by it yesterday. I get a huge kick out of seeing these enormous critters grazing peacefully or wallowing in the dirt. They live outside in fenced pastures. Their quality of life is probably not all that different than if they were wild. We preserve the species and get to eat an occasional buffalo burger. The polar bears and tigers should have it as good as the bison.