The most dispicable thing I have ever seen the U.S Government do!

[Igeteven]

The most despicable thing I have ever seen the U.S Government do!


http://artandhorseslauraleigh.wordpress ... ast-stand/

This is our Interior Dept at Work, Killing Horses.

[Cardus]

Worst thing ever?

Far too myopic, dude.

[Igeteven]

Worst thing ever?

Far too myopic, dude.


Maybe not the worst, but it hits the list.

[Igeteven]

http://artandhorseslauraleigh.wordpress.com/2010/10/09/bravehearts-last-stand/

Sorry

[WinterTriangle]

Based on sustainable population of wild mustangs on land set aside for them (which shrinks every year due to sell-offs to private developers, oil and gas exploration corporations, etc.:mad: ) BLM will have to round up about 15,000 "excess" horses by helicopters this year and funnel them into pens, etc.

There are always casualties when they do these roundups. 34 died and/or were euthanized in August from a similar roundup in Nevada when they "collected" 1,200. Over last winter, tons of mares had miscarriages and other injuries...I think they quoted losing about 10% in any roundup? Some run to death.

However, drought and overpopulation are issues, unlike if you're paying somebody to let your horses grazeand they actually get to eat and drink.
It's like thinning the deer population. If we don't set aside enough land for these lovely creatures, then they die of thirst and starvation.

It appears that mostly only wild horse advocates really care, I mean, people in the US don't want their taxes raised to support wild horses, ya know? (You must also know that cattle or sheep have NOT been culled.......that's because the livestock industry and commercial interests are allowed to exploit public lands, probably because they have big lobby groups...I don't want to pay for that, but I am. )

If you care, there are 54 members of Congress that are working on this so you might contact Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) who is spearheading efforts to get this reviewed before more roundups proceed, ditto Reps. Shelley Berkley and Dina Titus (D-NEV) who also believe this is a deeply flawed policy.

I tend to agree with attorneys for one of the advocacy groups for the horses: "These wild horses are a native species. They are not an invasive species and shouldn't be treated like one."

My feeling is that the BLM program is supposed to be protecting these horses, not hurting them. It appears that besides commercial livestock industry, big energy/pipeline corporations have a hand in this as well: (what else is new?)
http://www.care2.com/news/member/410531040/1770568

[Pace Cap'n]

I tend to agree with attorneys for one of the advocacy groups for the horses: "These wild horses are a native species. They are not an invasive species and shouldn't be treated like one."



"A Mustang is a free-roaming feral horse of the North American west that descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish[/url]. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but the more correct term is feral horses."

[url="http:///en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustang_%28horse%29"]en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustang_(horse) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain)

[joanied]

Absolutely heartbreaking...I hope they at least did save the mare & foal and will find a home for them...
I can't speak for what is happening in Nevada, but we have two herds of Mustangs here...one lives in what we call the McCullogh Peaks, the other, which is much larger, is at the Pryor Mountain Range...these are the real Spanish Mustangs and the herd is well cared for, the roundups are not cruel and they almost all get adopted...
maybe some of you would like to read up on the Pryor Mustang Herd, we have a center for them and plans oare to build a newer, bigger one in the near future...the folks involved here with the Mustangs do a great job.

http://www.pryormustangs.org/index.shtml

The site is very well done, and you'll enjoy a visit....you won't come away with the intense feeling of disgust like with the Nevada Herd.

[BlueShoe]

"These wild horses are a native species. They are not an invasive species and shouldn't be treated like one."
They are an invasive species. The original North American horse became extinct at the end of the ice age 10,000-12,000 years ago. The present feral horses are descendants of European animals brought to the New World by the Spanish. During and after the great Pueblo Indian revolt of 1680, thousands of Spanish horses ran wild. They were the force that created the Plains Indian horse culture when the plains, mountain, and southwestern tribes tamed and adopted the horse. Like so many other invasive species around the globe, today these horses, along with wild burros, are a major problem. There are just too many of them, they are crowding out native species and damaging their environment. They have few or no predators to keep their numbers in check. Cougars may take a few foals, but an adult horse is usually too much, and are not often targeted by the big cats. The horses are aware of the cougar threat, so will usually range in more open terrain far from cougar habitat. The feral horse situation does not have an easy solution that will satisfy everone. Because these are beautiful, graceful animals, we have an instinct to protect them and an adversion to harming them. However, they must be managed. Only so many can be adopted, birth control methods are said to be not cost effective, and widespread killing is not acceptable. No easy answers.

[Igeteven]

Absolutely heartbreaking...I hope they at least did save the mare & foal and will find a home for them...
I can't speak for what is happening in Nevada, but we have two herds of Mustangs here...one lives in what we call the McCullogh Peaks, the other, which is much larger, is at the Pryor Mountain Range...these are the real Spanish Mustangs and the herd is well cared for, the roundups are not cruel and they almost all get adopted...
maybe some of you would like to read up on the Pryor Mustang Herd, we have a center for them and plans oare to build a newer, bigger one in the near future...the folks involved here with the Mustangs do a great job.

http://www.pryormustangs.org/index.shtml

The site is very well done, and you'll enjoy a visit....you won't come away with the intense feeling of disgust like with the Nevada Herd.


:) :ThmbUp:

[Dave Schwartz]

This is a topic near-and-dear to me, especially since I live in Reno.

About 17 years ago I lived in an area that was (then) about 6 miles south of Reno-proper. Since then the city has grown south and now that area (around the Geiger Grade) is about the southern boundary.

When I lived there seeing small bands of mustangs wandering the streets was literally an every day occurrence for me. During the winter, when food is more scarce, they'd be there every day.

My daughter would see them in her school yard every morning when she was in elementary school. Usually comprised of a single male, a couple of mares, and offspring if they had any.

Once or twice a year we'd see a dead horse next to the road that had been killed by a driver. I almost hit one myself once. I turned a corner on a winter night and almost had a head-on with a band of almost 20. The next morning I awakened to see them eating my lawn. THAT stallion was really beautiful. Maybe a dozen mares, 6 or 7 foals.

Enough story-telling. In Nevada the mustangs compete with cattle on rented BLM land. That means the horses right-to-life is in competition with ranchers' profits!

The horses cannot win but the advocates keep fighting the good fight.

I assure you that it is not about conservation. If it were, the movers and shakers in the horse conservation movement would be the same guys who are behind saving deer, elk, bighorns, etc. After all, that is what they do, right?

The ranchers' get amazingly cheap grazing rights. I do not know what it is now, but I can tell you that the last figure I saw was like $2.50 per month, per animal, per acre. They charge (literally) about $30 per year per cow is what I am led to believe. A sweet deal considering what the animal is worth at slaughter time.

So, you have the ranchers' interests on one side,and their concern is the shortage of water on the range. Funny, the horses' are concerned about the same resource. See the problem?

Who do YOU think needs an advocate?


Regards,
Dave Schwartz

[joanied]

At least out here in WY., we don't have the concern of ranchers because their grazing permits are on the mountains...there, the cattle compete with the Deer, Elk, ect. The Pryor mustangs live on land that is extremely rough country...mostly sagebrush, but it's amazing, they do just great...they are supplemented in winter if the weather gets too bad.

Those grazing permits are cheap, and, at least around here, most have been in the family for generations...it makes us mad because we have to graze our cattle on our pastures and feed them hay a good part of the year...one good thing about one of the crops we grow, the sugar beets, we put the cattle out on what's left in the fields...the tops (leaves) and hundreds of sugar beets that lay on the gorund...it's wonderful feed for them (and Deer)

BLM is a pain in the a$$...so is the US Fish & Wildlife...thos morons back in DC couldn't wait to re introduce the Wolf (like they were not going to cross the borders of Yellowstone Park)...now we can hunt them because there are too many...they're killing livestock, pets, and Elk...we hunt Elk up near Yellowstone Park in Nov., and you can no longer leave a carcass til the next morning...they Wolves are all over it...and last year, first time we didn't get an Elk...didn't see anything or hear anything but Wolves.

Anyway...the situation in NV. for the wild horses is dire, and the politics and BS will continue for ever...the BLM & USF&W will do some crazy things to keep their jobs...and that is what it's all about, they actually will create problems (like the Wolves) so they have a job!!
:bang: