With respect, and a coming caveat once again, I would take Mr Graham at his word, but this is every day at the office for me. The caveat is: Bison are [not] for everyone. I subscribe to this truth, because the #1 basic element of housing bison is...... the human element and common sense. I would also suggest that anyone who wants to see what can be proven, can get a glimpse into the bison reality by going to texasecologix.com and look closely at the background for the very modest fence that has held bison without issue. Containability rests squarely on; the bison you get, the feed inside the fence and the behavioral triggers that apply as a twist in containment response compared to cattle. Bison are more intelligent than cattle, therefore more curious. Sometimes their curiosity can be problematic, unless the fence contains visual features that prevent the behavior turning destructive from our perspective. The sapling across the fence represented the opportunity to browse, and the fence construction offered no challenge. In my experience bison respect fence [more] than cattle. They just see fence differently. Cattle wear fences down by interacting with them in precarious position for a bite. Bison are less likely to do this, and if we just understand them, can set up a modest fence that easily contains them. I testified to the House and Senate in the 83rd Texas legislature on behalf of bison being included in the Ag Code for protection under the Estray laws as livestock. Our main resistance was the Texas Sherriffs Association who's argument was they didn't want to deal with the species. This was a hard argument to make in light of the fact that that year in Texas, reporting more bison farms than any state in the union, there were zero reported cases of stray bison. This out of 618 bison farms, and in combination with thousands of reported cattle gone astray. If you have cattle and they get out, it's just another day in rural America. If you have bison and they get out, it makes national news. We were successful with the legislation, a great day for Texas bison, and had a bill signing ceremony with a live bison on the steps of the state capital. Many state regard bison as livestock, either as a matter of rule or as a classification. In cases like Mr. Grahams insurance situation, I can be helpful to the point of almost guaranteeing success in changing the dynamics.
The caveat: Bison are not for everyone. That is true and perfectly fine, just don't blame this amazing animal, that is amazingly amenable for issues caused by the human element. As a community predisposed to permaculture strategies and forward thinking, within the community there is an [it] to get, and a paradigm shift requiring thought and dedication. It is also true that permaculture is more ecologically enhancing, restorative and symbiotic. For these reasons and theses, bison are perfect for the paradigm. Once you decide that bison are_ for you, they always work without issues, because you want them to. The opposite is also, always true..
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