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Comments for BLM Wild Horse Roundup Resumes
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I just returned from three days in northern Washoe County checking on dozens of water holes, seeps and springs. It is as dry as I have ever seen it. There is very little green vegetation or forage of any value to even native wildlife. Almost all the water sources I visited, over 90%, were dry. All the natural watering sites were being destroyed by horses. All anyone has to do is to go look if they want to see what horses do to destroy this habitat. Do not trust what you hear and read. Get in a sturdy off road vehicle and go look for yourself before you make up your mind. There is nothing like seeing this disaster first hand.
Beth, I stopped by one of the BLM holding facilities yesterday and took a good look at a few hundred of the horses there. None of the horses I saw in those pens even closely resembled the AQHA mares and foal used at the begining of this post. The feral horses are smaller, have larger heads in relation to there bodies, and look more like ponies. Please come out to Nevada and see first hand for yourself. They have shorter legs, bigger joints, and are just not as sleek or supple in general. To any experienced eye there is a distinct difference between these two groups of horses. On occasion I have seen domestic horses including some draft breeds mixed into these bands, but generally feral horses have the features I witnessed yesterday in the BLM pens.
Horses where not present in NA when Columbus landed in 1492. They were brought by ever increasing numbers of Europeans in what became known as the Columbian Exchange. Horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs were domesticated in Europe and brought to America over the last 500 years. Any of these animals living out of captivity or human control would be properly considered feral.
No. There WERE indigenous horses in NA. There were also indigenous camels, elephants, rhinos, and a host of other species thousands of years ago. The climate has changed. The habitat has changed.The animals have mostly evolved into a variant of what they once were. Do you propose to bring them all back or just the horse? What priority do you give to the animals that persisted here during those years and evolved to fill the niche the horse, camel, elephant etc. vacated? What about the bison?
The Bureau of Land Management concerning the Wild Horses is just another example of a Corruption within the Federal Government
Sorry, not a bred. A different species. Domestication always results in a new species. And actually, the "horse" originated in South America as a small forest animal.
Ranchers pay a fee per animal per year. They are required to build and maintain fences. They are required to supply water to their animals. Sensitive areas are required to be protected from use by livestock. Many other animals utilize these improvements. Cattle numbers are limited and they are moved or removed at periods of stress or low productivity on the range. Excess cattle are slaughtered for human consumption. Hunters and fishermen pay many fees to utilize natural resources on public lands. Many conservation groups build habitat improvements at their own expense on public lands. Excess wildlife is harvested for human consumption. Loggers pay fees and we all use the lumber. Miners pay fees and we all use the products produced. Energy companies pay fees and we all use the energy. All these groups are required to mitigate any damages their actions create on our public lands. When was the last (first) time these wild horse advocates paid any special fees for their pet project? What monies have they donated to habitat improvements? How do they help control the excess horses? Where is their contribution to our natural resources? What do they propose to do with the excess horses? How do we all benefit from their actions? We all own our public lands and we all need to do our part to protect them. No group gets to abuse them or use them at everyone else's expense. Pay up horse folks. There is no such thing as a free lunch even in remote corners of our great nation.
This just costs too much. $120 million / 100,000 horses = $1,000 per year per horse. Add in all the extended BLM costs not listed only in this program and associated legal costs and the number only goes up. Many of these horses live to be ten years old and older, some much much older. Just speaking conservatively we are spending over $10,000 on many of these animals during their lives. Why? There are plenty of horses in America and around the world. They are not endangered. Thousands of private individuals are raising more horses of every breed every year. Ranchers have plenty of horses and some escape into the open range every year. Many people are dumping unwanted horses they no longer want and/or can afford all over the west. Why not repeal the law, save the money, let each state, county, and local government handle loose horses as they see best for their unique situation? If people want to identify, sort out, breed, and maintain a unique strain of Mustang, Spanish Bard, or "American Wild Horse" let them use their own money and land.
Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the rest of the world treats horses as farm animals. They raise them in captivity as they have for thousands of years. They buy and sell them and they slaughter them. Native Americans are free to do the same with any and all horses captured on their lands. If there are 58 million horses worldwide, 10 million in the US, 50,000 in BLM holding pens, and 40,000 running free in the western states why are we spending $120, 000,000 or more each year to promote the myth of "wild" horses? We should repeal this law and spend this money much more wisely on issues that really need our support. The world is in no danger of running out of horses and there are always a few feral bands wherever they are used in open range ranching.
This program costs US tax payers over 100 million dollars each year. More horses are going to slaughter every year. More horses are held in feeding pens each year. More and more natural resources are damaged each year. Free roaming horses double in number every 4 to 5 years if not controlled. Nevada has had free roaming horses since the days of the western expansion, the 49ers, and the Comstock. Nevada managed these horses quite well until 1971 without outside help and we could do it again. We never ran out of horses and never asked the tax payers for help. Why do we need this program at all? Why does Nevada have to house over 50% of the free roaming horses in America? The bulk are all in a few western states that lack the clout in congress to get rid of them. When are the "Wild Horse Advocates" going to pay us back for the damage to our wild lands that these invasive pests have caused? The National Parks do not allow free roaming horses on their land. Ever see any in Yellowstone, Yosemite, or the Everglades? The USFWS is removing all the free roaming horses from their land. Private land owners do not tolerate this disaster on their land in other states. If this all started in Texas why not ship them back? Because Texas and any other state that could prevent this destruction to their land would not stand for it.
Actually yummy.
I agree.
Livestock pays to use the land. We pay to support the mustangs. That is the difference.
Wow! You can see the land behind my house from Florida? Do you want us to tell you how to manage Florida?I have watched this disaster for over 50 years. There are over 500 horses within ten miles of where I am now. Please take a few hundred or thousand and see what they do to your state.
If uncontrolled all domestic animals would efffect the natual habitat adversly. Ranchers are now required to build fences, wells, tanks, and rotate their animals from one area to another. Who does this with the horses?