Wild horses must be thinned

Thursday, June 22, 2000 | 1:45 a.m.

The Nevada Department of Agriculture and the wildlife association released results Wednesday from a recently completed study on the habitat capacity for estray horses in the Virginia Range.

The study, conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service, calls for the removal of 225 feral horses a year for the next three years to preserve the herds as well as the habitat and to stabilize the horse population at about 550.

Feral horses haven't been a problem here until recently, but herds are growing at a rate of about 18-20 percent each year and officials say they could double in the next three to five years.

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