Catalina Shuffles Off Some of Its Buffalo

The Nov. 12 story on saving the bison on Catalina is heart-warming. The wonderful people who gave their time and money to make this happen are to be commended. Unfortunately, it is doubtful that going back to their ancestral home to graze in peace is what the bison will be getting. The Cheyenne River Sioux reservation in Eagle Butte, S.D., has a wonderful, 20,000-acre-plus ranch where buffalo (bison) and other animals reside. The tribe offers people who get a thrill out of killing animals the opportunity to shoot various animals on the ranch. It also runs a thriving business selling buffalo meat.

The story made wonderful reading (for a fiction story), and I certainly feel horrible for those wonderful people who made such a valiant effort to save these animals. Unfortunately, when you ship buffalo to a ranch that specializes in buffalo meat, you get buffalo burgers -- not the picture that The Times has painted. Hopefully the next group removed from Catalina will find a long-term home.

Barry Breslow

Calabasas