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StumblePublished Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008 | 3:20 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008 | 10:15 a.m.
Wild horses may be the symbol of the Wild West and the image chosen by the state's children to grace the Nevada quarter, but no one has figured out how to make a buck off of these noble creatures. That's why the future of the wild horse is shaky. Unlike cattle, which can bring a hefty profit to the state's ranchers, wild horses are viewed by many as a nuisance. They are healthy breeders, have few predators and compete for grazing land with profitable species.
Now, the Bureau of Land Management, which has federal authority to euthanize horses more than 10 years old which have been passed over three times for adoption, is considering euthanization as a new herd management tactic. The BLM admits it could do more to increase adoptions, but they are time consuming and a lot of work. Euthanization is quick, and best of all, it's cheap. In case you're wondering, the BLM is considering three methods - a gunshot to the brain, an overdose of barbiturates, or a bolt to the skull, the killing technique portrayed in the movie "No Country for Old Men."
BLM official Mike Holbert cited drought as a reason for thinning the herds, but was at a loss to explain why the BLM, as illustrated in a report by Channel 8 I-Team reporter George Knapp, would deny the horses access to a rural watering hole by fencing it off. Holbert claimed ignorance of the well's location, despite Knapp's precise directions on how to locate it.
Knapp gives his take on why he believes the BLM is out to cull the population, and it has little to do with necessity. Also on the program, horse advocate and former Harry Reid aide, Jerry Reynoldson, who points out the wear and tear caused by 33,000 wild horses on Nevada rangelands pales in comparison to that of more than half a million head of cattle. Reynoldson says animal activists are planning a legal assault against the BLM to challenge the science the Bureau cites in its arguments for euthanizing thousands of wild horses.
The horses went extinct. Let's let nature reclaim them once again. They don't belong here.
Here's a radical idea: How about sterilizing a certain number of young horses every year?
Killing our wild mustangs is killing a living part of our history.
Here's an idea - how about just leaving the horses alone? That's the natural solution, the horses will find water or move elsewhere. We don't have the time or money to be wasted on this issue, at the very least, let these noble creatures alone and do them no harm!
A second idea would be to garner the support of the Native American community and horse advocates and let them do what they can - but, PLEASE stop the damn cowboys from their killing!
The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act of 1971 decalres that the Wild Free-roaming Horses and Burros are living symbols of the HISTORIC and Pioneer sprit of the West. The Wild Horses and Burros that are now in long term holdings by the BLM, need to be returned to the Ranges.The males have been gelded and the females with the PZP birth controll, the age of the most of the Wild Horses & Burros is 8yrs and older,the money that has been spent(10Million -26Million per year per the BLM) on long term holdings can go for the 2 year birth controll to manage their numbers .Because of the agressive roundups by the BLM,The Wild Horses and Burros combined thru out the United States that are now in the Wild are 17,000 or LESS,we have 33,000 in Long term holding,the Cattle way out number the Wild Horses and Burros. It is est. 100 cows to 1 Wild Horse or Burro on PUBLIC LANDS,that the cattleman or cattlewomen pay 1.56 for each cow. If anyone would read the data, The Dept. of Wild Life has put a toll on the number of Wild Horses and Burros that we now have left. They are making millions on the ELK and BIG HORN SHEEP. Where I live there are three natural Watering areas that have been fenced off, only to the Wild Horses and Burros,all other wildlife can access the areas.
The wild horses are EXTINCT INVASIVE SPECIES, littler. They are PESTS and should be allowed to die. And helped, if necessary.
Bringtherain, you have it wrong. The cattle are the invasive species. The first group was brought in from Northern Europe and they have never been able to adapt to the environment of the western United States. Both the wild horse and bison are indigenous to North America. Cattle have proved to be destructive to our environment since 1866 when speculators found that raising cattle was a very profitable business with little or no overhead. Our government has been subsidizing this industry longer then they have the oil industry.
Who are the horses bothering, roaming in the wild? Leave them alone.
mustangdave wrote: "Both the wild horse and bison are indigenous to North America. "
Actually the last indigenous NA horses died out between 11,000 and 13,000 years ago at the end of the Pleistocene era. The wild horses we now have were introduced by the Spanish Conquistadors.