Editorial: Protect our wild horses

Tuesday, March 1, 2005 | 9:07 a.m.

The 1963 movie "How the West was Won" traces the westward expansion of America from 1839 to 1889. Without horses, it's doubtful the West would be "won" even by now -- perhaps a few hardy souls would have made it as far as Missouri. Horses were so instrumental to the destiny of our country that Congress, in 1971, passed a law protecting those still in the wild from "capture, branding, harassment or death." The law referred to wild horses as "the living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West."

The law, known as the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, did contain authorization for the Interior Department to manage their populations to protect the natural ecological balance. "Excess" horses were to be moved to open-range sanctuaries, where most would would be preserved in their wild state and the others readied for adoption to horse-loving families. The management plan, however, was never funded adequately, meaning that the desired ecological balance was never achieved.

The unmanaged wild horse population has grown to an estimated 37,000 throughout the country, with about half here in Nevada. The horses, voracious consumers of wild grasses, are considered pests by cattle ranchers. In December, Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., slipped an amendment into an appropriations bill signed by President Bush. The amendment authorizes the Bureau of Land Management to sell horses aged 10 or older, and also to sell those that have been passed up for adoption three times. If the amendment stands, surely many wild horses will end up in slaughterhouses.

We believe the amendment should be stricken and replaced with a law requiring the original management plan to be fully funded. Adequate funding would allow humane roundups to occur more frequently, and would allow for more promotion of the adoption program. For centuries horses pulled our plows, wagons and buggies. They delivered our mail and carried us into wars. They bolstered our economy -- saddleshops, liveries, wagon makers and blacksmith shops were big business. Slaughterhouses are no way to pay them back.