Back in 1860, bison vanished from what's now Manitoba after years of indiscriminate slaughter south of the U.S. border.
Today, American demand for bison is again making it disappear — not from our land this time, but from our restaurant menus and grocery shelves.
The meat of Manitoba's provincial symbol has become a scarce and expensive commodity in Winnipeg, where some butchers now sell ground bison for as much as $10 a pound (about $22 a kilogram).
The combination of a relatively low supply of Manitoba bison and an insatiable and growing demand has led ranchers in this province to ship more of their carcasses out of the province, where larger markets exist for what's suddenly become a luxury product.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Winnipeg Free Press