A coalition of environmental and Indian groups filed suit against the National Park Service to stop the slaughter of bison from Yellowstone National Park.

The plaintiffs include Tatanka Oyate, a project of the Seventh Generation Fund that was formed to protect bison in Yellowstone and promote the importance of bison in tribal culture. The groups say the federal government is violating its mission to protect the animals.

"The continuing slaughter of wild buffalo by the National Park Service is an affront to indigenous peoples and an abrogation of the government's trust responsibilities to the American people and American tribes," Rosalie Little Thunder, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe who serves as chair of the Tatanka Oyate, said in a press release.

Under an agreement between the state of Montana and the federal government, bison from Yellowstone that leave park boundaries can be slaughtered. The Montana cattle industry fears the animals will transmit brucellosis, a deadly disease, to cows.

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Groups sue to halt mass slaughter of bison (AP 10/9)