US Government Land Management Killing 45,000 wild Horses

[brewmaster15]

If you've not heard the internet is on fire with The US Government planned to kill 45,000 wild horses to make room for another 45,000 they want to round up... at least thats the rumor and what the petitions say... Digging a little deeper and its not quite the facts but it does call to attention a really a sad and terrible plight for such a beautiful, majestic and intelligent creature.

Theres an article worth reading here...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/09/16/the-government-is-not-going-to-kill-45000-wild-horses-not-yet-anyway/


The BLM now houses about 45,000 in holding corrals and pastures — a practice that costs $50,000 per animal, $50 million a year and accounts for 65 percent of the bureau’s Wild Horse and Burro Program budget, according to agency figures. But there are still nearly 70,000 wild horses “on the range,” or nearly three times more than the government says the land can support. I don't quite understand the math as I am not a Horse keeper but $50,000 a year is a lot per horse in my mind. The sad thing is you'd think that they would be able to adopt out more of these animals.


Its a complex issue, with no easy answer in sight but it looks like its something that really needs to be addressed.

The issues of environmental degradation, starvation, and ensuing sickness are real...and with out natural predators to check the populations it doesn't look good. Most of the solutions floated such as euthanizing or sterilizing are not something a Nation of horse lovers wants to hear.

I know we have alot of horse keepers and horse lovers here, I thought I'd bring this up for discussion and bring it to your attention.

whats everyones thoughts? I wish I had enough land to adopt some.. I figure if it costs them $50,000 per horse to keep them, They should be able to transport them to new homes anywhere in the USA for a heck of a lot less.

al

ps.. Please be civil, thoughful and mindful in your responses... This is emotional for alot of people, accept that when you post.

[Second Hand Pat]

Al, $50,000 is ridiculous per year. My cost for one horse for one year is about $3300. This includes hay, a pelleted food feed twice a day, farrier and vet.

A better answer to rounding up the horses is to introduce a natural predator but that will not happen due to the using of public land for grazing cattle.

The real problem is the land can not support the cattle and horses together. Fencing the land prevents the horses from doing what horses do best which is walking and grazing.

I guess I should go read the article vs talking out of my hat. :)
Pat

[John_Nicholson]

The real trouble is they are a feral animal. They really should not be part of the natural environment of the west. They have been allowed to remain and have become protected because of out love of all things having to do with the American cowboy and the wild west. In reality the west would be better off without them. Now I am not anti-horse. I raise horses. I am just trying to look at this thing with logic and not emotion. In the old days ranchers in the area would periodically trap them and sell them at auction. This kept the numbers in check, then the government got involved and it all went to hell.

[pitdogg2]

Yes John you are correct as usual. They have been trying to get people to take them but they are breeding faster than the adoption rate. I'm also not a big fan of the cattle grazers. They seem to be getting something for nothing and still able to dictate policy. Those same people are also standing in the way of more wild Buffalo from what I understand. From my viewpoint cattle are also not native to the habitat and are counter productive to more Buffalo. My wife also raises horses with her dad and one day when I stated that I try horse meat you'd of thought I wanted to slaughter small children. So in my house I'm not able to have any horse hide gear like holsters and belts and such which is more durable than beef leather from what I understand.

[bluelagoon]

I agree about feral animals.If there was some way of wiping them all out it would be great.

[DJW]

The Washington Post article says $50,000 per animal, but if you go to the hyperlink 'agency figures' and do the math, it works out to about $1100 per horse per year. ... if I'm reading it right.

[DJW]

Ok, I found the answer to this question of cost per horse.

The figure of $50,000 is not a per-year cost, it is apparently a projected cost for off-range holding over the life of an unadopted horse. The cost per year, according to their budget report, is about $1100 per year. Unless the horse is expected to live for another 40 years, they must be ballooning and fattening the cost with all sorts of inflated predictions. This kind of thing is part of the bureaucratic hustle that goes on when they want to emphasize or de-emphasize an issue.

From the BLM website:

"The National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board is an independent panel comprised of members of the public that make recommendations to the Bureau of Land Management regarding its management of wild horses and burros. The BLM is committed to having healthy horses on healthy rangelands. We will continue to care for and seek good homes for animals that have been removed from the range. The BLM does not and will not euthanize healthy animals. The agency continues to seek new and better tools for managing the nation's quickly expanding population of wild horses. There are nearly 70,000 wild horses and burros on public lands in the West -- three times the recommended level -- and nearly 50,000 additional horses and burros that have been removed from the range and are available for adoption. The cost of caring for each animal that goes unadopted can be nearly $50,000."

http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/whbprogram/history_and_facts/from_the_public.html#windbreaks2

To adopt, it looks like the fee is $125 and you have to meet corral and shelter requirements.

http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/whbprogram/adoption_program/how_to_adopt.html