02/02/10

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) _ Billionaire Ted Turner is getting 88
bison from Yellowstone National Park from a faltering Montana
program that was supposed to put the disease-free animals on public
or tribal lands.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Joe Maurier announced the
decision Tuesday.

The animals were spared several years ago from a periodic
slaughter of bison leaving Yellowstone because of worries about
animal disease. They're now in a joint federal-state quarantine
compound in southern Montana's Paradise Valley.

Montana officials didn't want them on state land. They also
turned down requests for the animals from a Wyoming state park and
at least two Indian reservations.

Turner will care for the animals for five years and in return
wants 75 percent of their offspring, an estimated 188 bison. He
already owns more than 50,000 bison but wants the Yellowstone
animals because of their pure genetics.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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