Horse Population Control May Be Euthanasia

Wild Horse Overpopulation Forces U.S. Bureau of Land Management To Weigh Difficult Options

(AP)  Faced with too many wild horses on the range and in holding facilities, federal officials are considering drastic policy changes that include ending roundups and euthanizing animals.

U.S. Bureau of Land Management Deputy Director Henri Bisson said Monday there is an overpopulation of wild horses on public lands and the agency can no longer afford to care for the numbers of mustangs that have been rounded up. The number of horses adopted by the public has dropped off, leaving the BLM with more animals than it can care for, he said.

One option would be to stop all roundups - something the agency said would lead to "ecological disaster."

"The other option is to use some combination of the (adoption program) and euthanasia, which would be really difficult to do," Bisson told The Associated Press.

"Our goal is supposed to be about healthy horses on healthy ranges. But we are at the point we need to have a conversation with people about pragmatically what can we do given the financial constraints of our program to meet the goals we have," he said before meeting with area horse advocates.

Bisson was in Reno to brief the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. He said there are 32,000 wild horses on the range in 10 Western states. About half of those are in Nevada.

BLM has set a target "appropriate management level" of horses at 27,000.

Some 33,000 more horses are in holding facilities, where most are made available for adoption. But those deemed too old or otherwise unadoptable are sent to long-term holding facilities to live out their lives - some for 15 to 20 years.

Last week the BLM said it was seeking bids from people around the country to provide pasture and care for 500 to 2,500 horses taken from the range that are considered unadoptable.

Caring for so many animals is crippling the agency's budget, Bisson said.

Last year about $22 million of the entire horse program's $39 million budget was spent on holding horses in agency pens. Next year the costs are projected to grow to $26 million with an overall budget that is being trimmed to $37 million, Bisson said.

Continuing current practices would require a budget of $58 million next year, escalating to $77 million in 2012, BLM estimated.

"We have a responsibility to balance the budget, so we are going to have to make some tough choices," Bisson said. "We don't want to do this at the last minute. So we need to have a conversation with horse advocates and try to share the pain a little bit so people understand that if we have to make those tough changes it's not because we want to."

The horse management program had been successful until recently, according to the agency. But in the face of an economic downturn that means higher costs for fuel as well as feed, adoption rates have dropped off significantly over the past year with no improvement in sight, Bisson said.

"I think the high price of energy, the economy, the price of hay is having a huge impact on our program. People across America now need to make a choice: Do I buy another horse or buy gas for my pickup?" Bisson said.

Bisson said none of the alternatives will be popular.

If roundups are ended he expects an outcry from horse protection advocates and from sheep and cattle ranchers who see the mustangs as competition for feed on the open range. If horses are euthanized, the outrage will come from horse protection groups, he said.

"Those are difficult choices to make," Bisson said. "But the law allows us to utilize those choices or some combination of that."

At least three roundups are planned in the coming weeks to remove about 1,700 wild horses in Nevada, where the BLM says ongoing drought has left dwindling forage and water for an overabundance of animals.

[spirithorsebr]

11th Hour for Cloud's Herd,
URGENT MESSAGE ABOUT THE PYRORS
Please act now to stop this unnecessary and cruel round up--- the BLM still plans to move forward on September 1st

The Bureau of Land Management is rounding up and eliminating 12 herds (650 horses) off 1.4 million acres in Nevada right now-- next they plan to destroy Cloud's herd with a massive removal of 70 horses that would include OLDER HORSES and YOUNG FOALS.
Many of the horses you have come to love in the Cloud shows and will meet in the new Cloud show on October 25th will lose their families and their freedom next week. By zeroing out whole herds and reducing others to below genetic viability, the BLM is circumventing the will of Congress. The House just passed the Restoring of American Mustangs (ROAM) act and the Senate will review this bill (now S.1579) when they return from recess in September. Is BLM just trying to do as much irrevocable damage to America's wild horses as they can before Congress can act?
This round up will start on September 1st unless we can stop it. Removing 70 horses will destroy this unique little Spanish herd, leaving them well below the bare minimum for genetic viability. The range is in great condition and the horses are healthy. This removal should be stopped. Please do all you can to help! Listen to Ginger Kathrens on Endangered Stream Live-- a special edition show "Angels for Cloud"

National Call in Day for Cloud is Friday, August 28th -- SPREAD THE WORD! Have your kids call in and write too-- These horses need to be preserved for future generations and we must act NOW


1. Call/write/fax President Obama as often as you can?this herd is a national treasure and should not be wiped out by a government agency. Please flood the phone lines with calls! Phone: [phone] or 202-456-9000 Fax: [phone]
E-mail Obama

2. Ask Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar to stop this round up
Call: 202-208-3100
Write: [e-mail]

3. BLM Director Bob Abbey, tell him to halt this round up-- he must reconsider his agency's actions
Call: 202-208-3801
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]

4. Call and write your own Senators and Congress people- tell them that Montana is allowing the destruction of Cloud?s unique and historical wild horse herd. Politely express your outrage and ask them to help stop this round up. Find your state offices here

Listen to Ginger Kathrens NOW on ?WFL Endangered Stream Live?

REMEMBER: National Cloud Call-In Day is FRIDAY, AUGUST 28th!

Thank you to everyone for signing the petition- we only need about 400 more signatures!

[spirithorsebr]

11th Hour for Cloud's Herd,
URGENT MESSAGE ABOUT THE PYRORS
Please act now to stop this unnecessary and cruel round up--- the BLM still plans to move forward on September 1st

The Bureau of Land Management is rounding up and eliminating 12 herds (650 horses) off 1.4 million acres in Nevada right now-- next they plan to destroy Cloud's herd with a massive removal of 70 horses that would include OLDER HORSES and YOUNG FOALS.
Many of the horses you have come to love in the Cloud shows and will meet in the new Cloud show on October 25th will lose their families and their freedom next week. By zeroing out whole herds and reducing others to below genetic viability, the BLM is circumventing the will of Congress. The House just passed the Restoring of American Mustangs (ROAM) act and the Senate will review this bill (now S.1579) when they return from recess in September. Is BLM just trying to do as much irrevocable damage to America's wild horses as they can before Congress can act?
This round up will start on September 1st unless we can stop it. Removing 70 horses will destroy this unique little Spanish herd, leaving them well below the bare minimum for genetic viability. The range is in great condition and the horses are healthy. This removal should be stopped. Please do all you can to help! Listen to Ginger Kathrens on Endangered Stream Live-- a special edition show "Angels for Cloud"

National Call in Day for Cloud is Friday, August 28th -- SPREAD THE WORD! Have your kids call in and write too-- These horses need to be preserved for future generations and we must act NOW


1. Call/write/fax President Obama as often as you can?this herd is a national treasure and should not be wiped out by a government agency. Please flood the phone lines with calls! Phone: [phone] or 202-456-9000 Fax: [phone]
E-mail Obama

2. Ask Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar to stop this round up
Call: 202-208-3100
Write: [e-mail]

3. BLM Director Bob Abbey, tell him to halt this round up-- he must reconsider his agency's actions
Call: 202-208-3801
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]

4. Call and write your own Senators and Congress people- tell them that Montana is allowing the destruction of Cloud?s unique and historical wild horse herd. Politely express your outrage and ask them to help stop this round up. Find your state offices here

Listen to Ginger Kathrens NOW on ?WFL Endangered Stream Live?

REMEMBER: National Cloud Call-In Day is FRIDAY, AUGUST 28th!

Thank you to everyone for signing the petition- we only need about 400 more signatures!

[spirithorsebr]

Bureau of Land Management on Rampage to Destroy Famous Wild Horse Herd

[spirithorsebr]

AUGUST 8 th , 2009

STAND YOUR GROUND with Ginger Kathrens of the Cloud Foundation

?GATHER Plan for the Pryor horses

http://www.pryormustangs.org/uploads/miscdocuments/2009gatherEA.pdf

The BLM will not guarantee that Cloud will remain free. Cloud and his herd are faces death!!

More information, BLM documents and photos available.
Contact:
The Cloud Foundation, Inc.
107 South 7th St.
Colorado Springs, CO 80905
719-633-3842
Email Contact
www.thecloudfoundation.org


Advocate Barbara Ellen Ries

[spirithorsebr]

July 26, 2009
USA Citizens for Cloud ,
His Herd & Wild Horses and Burros ~
to ROAM Free!!

Stop the Round ups of Cloud ~ His Herd & Wild Horses & Burros)

Let them ROAM ~ FREE


We live in the best of times and the worst of times ~ Charles Dickens .

STAND YOUR GROUND with Ginger Kathrens of the Cloud Foundation.
How to help ASAP ~ See Below!!

1.
Drastic Removal Planned for Cloud's Herd
Watch this 30 second video by Ginger Kathrens
Newsletter
http://webmail.aol.com/43792/aol/en-us/Suite.aspx
VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qp_EXnlXxg

2. Write and SPEAK OUT!! Clouds and his Herd are on the roundup list now..... Don't let this round up & death sentence happen. What do you do? Address and e-mail below.

3. Go into silent vigilance of hope prayer and meditation for Cloud and his Herd and all the Wild Horses

4. Send this E-mail to Director of the Interior ASAP!
Time is of the essence. ?Cloud and his family (herd) could be killed before his October 2009 movie comes out on PBS.?Ginger Kathrens

Email Ken Salazar and the Bureau of Land Management now! There is an easy format below you can use just add your name.

To this e-mail: [e-mail]

Mail: Ken Salazar
Department of Interior
1849 C Street , N.W.
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: [phone]
http://www.doi.gov/contact.html

Dear Kenneth Interior Secretary Salazar,

Interior Secretary Salazar and the Bureau of Land Management I?m asking you to stop the Roundups of Cloud and his Family!

I am writing to express my extreme disappointment in THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT'S (BLM) DECISION to continue THEIR plan to euthanize or hold in captivity thousands of wild horses and burros and ROUNDUPS ~ AT THE EXPENSE OF THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act (1971) was created with the hope of managing healthy herds of wild horses and burros on healthy Western rangelands. With the goal of managing the sizes of these herds, the BLM believes that wild horses and burros consume unfair amounts of forage on BLM lands. ?On March 3, 2009, it was stated by a BLM representative that the forage depletion on public lands leaves cattle with nothing to eat. Contrary to that statement, a Wild Horse Ecologist, Craig C. Downer, of Nevada, stated in his speech (Wild Horse Speech With Tables And Charts, Wild Horse Summit, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 2008) that wild horses and burros only consume a mere 5.6% of the forage consumed by livestock on BLM land. ?

It is not necessary to hold these wild horses and burros in captivity or round them up for slaughter (an expense to taxpayers). THE Cloud Foundation OFFERS an Alternative Herd Plan & SOLUTION. (The Cloud Foundation Web) This was given to the BLM in June 2009.

The BLM holding costs for the BLM in 2009 are $33 million, and in 2014 it is estimated to be $85 million. This business plan will help unravel the problem that the BLM has created in gathering horses off the range land at the tax payers? expense.

1. Stop the BLM from managing our wild horses and Clouds Herd to extinction.2. Halt all round-ups of wild horses until range conditions and herd numbers can be verified.
3. Return wild horses in holding to the 100+ herd areas (19+ million acres) that have been zeroed out.
4. Expand the Pryor Mountain. Wild Horse Range for Clouds Herd & protect herd at viable population level of at least 150 adult horses until range is expanded.

Sincerely thank you for any and all consideration to saving our National Treasure and Cloud?s Herd and family.

You?re Name (_______________________)


http://www.conquistadorprogram.org/blmcourt_d... DRAFT PLAN
For Immediate Release Contact: Patricia Haight, Ph.D., [phone], [e-mail] Julianne French, 520-309-5791, [e-mail]

Nevada and Pryor Mountain in July and August of 2009 Roundups fact or fiction. History will tell. Opps my bad will not do for the United States citizens who love and cherish these beauties.

Source: Barbara Ellen Ries, Advocate for Cloud Foundation.
If you think we being harsh read documents from the BLM draft and we will see if Cloud and his Herd lives to ROAM FREE. I hope this draft was just some humans having a bad day and not reality. I believe ?The Truth shall set the Horses free one way or another.?
Barbara Ellen Ries, Arizona Horse Advocate and Pro-ROAM

If your organization can help please e-mail me at ~ [e-mail]

Barbara Ellen Ries, [e-mail]

[spirithorsebr]

Correction bill went to house 7-18-09 and passed the house!!

Next thing to pass is the Wilderness bill.

Sincere Thanks to ROAM Act, sponsored by House Natural Resources

Committee Chairman Nick Rahall and USA citizens who gave voice to

their hearts desire!!

[spirithorsebr]

Restore Our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act, sponsored by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall for a vote tomorrow Contact your represenatative ASAP!!

FRIDAY, July 24, 2009

[spirithorsebr]

http://animalwelfareinstitute.blogspot.com/

Restore Our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act, sponsored by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall for a vote tomorrow Contact your represenatative ASAP!!

Thursday, July 24, 2009
House to Vote on Bill to Protect Wild Horses
Dear Humanitarian:

We have just learned that H.R. 1018, the Restore Our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act, sponsored by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, will be voted on before the full House of Representatives tomorrow (July 17, 2009). Chairman Rahall?s ROAM Act will responsibly restore many of the guaranteed protections originally established in the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 that have been gutted by stealth riders and Bureau of Land Management's wanton mismanagement of these magnificent animals for decades. At a time when there are nearly as many wild horses in captivity as on the range this legislation is urgently needed.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Because time is of the essence please call your US Representative RIGHT NOW and urge her/him to support Chairman Rahall and vote ?YES? on H.R. 1018.

To find your Representative please visit http://www.compassionindex.org/. While there, you can also send a quick email in support of the bill if you have not done so already. You can also call the Capitol Switchboard at [phone] and ask to be transferred to your Representative.

For more information on wild horses, please visit http://www.awionline.org/ht/d/sp/i/11223/pid/11223.

Additional Facts:


The Restore Our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act (H.R. 1018) will restore protections for our country?s wild horses and burros that were stripped out of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act in recent years.
The ROAM Act will ensure that our mustangs and burros are once again protected from slaughter.
The Act also seeks to reclaim land ? some 19 million acres ? taken away from these magnificent animals since the 1971 Act went into law.
At a time when there are nearly as many wild horses and burros in captivity as there are in the wild, this legislation is badly needed.
The ROAM Act makes sound fiscal sense, too; the Bureau of Land Management currently spends nearly half of its annual budget on caring for wild horses and burros removed from the range. This legislation will enable the BLM to keep more horses on the range which will be better for the welfare of the animals and better for American tax-payers.
Passage of the ROAM Act will mean that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which currently has primary authority for managing these animals, focuses once again on managing them as an integral part of the rangeland.
Please be sure to share this eAlert with friends, family and coworkers and urge them to call their legislator first thing!

Posted by Animal Welfare Institute at 11:20 PM

Labels: wild horse; BLM; Congress; Interior

[whecologist]

Our nation's last few remaining wild horses are being eliminated by the very public servants charged with their protection in the Bureau of Land Management, US Dept. of Interior, and many of these are being slaughtered, many in Mexico or Canada, for export to horse eating cultures. This nefarious plot caters to the public lands livestock grazers and other enemies of the wild horses and burros and this is entirely contrary to the Wild Horse Act, as well as several other acts including the National Environmental Protection Act, the National Heritage Act, the Multiple Use and Sustainability Act, and even the Endangered Species Act, because the unique mustang and burro populations are being eliminated. The Horse family Equidae had its roots in North America and the horse species and genus both originated here and had the vast majority of its evolution here. They also contribute positively to enhance the native ecosystem because of the many symbiotic relationships they have with the native plants and animals. Plus they are a tremendous aesthetic resource appreciated by millions both in American and World Wide. Please sign this petition that is to stop the Ely District of the Bureau of Land Management from carrying out its nefarious planned elimination of all 620 wild horses in 11 of their legal herd areas in eastern Nevada. These areas sum to 1,386,992 legal wild horse herd area acres, yet BLM officials are claiming that wild horses are overpopulated and destroying their habitat when nothing could be futher from the truth as atests recent examinations of the herd areas in question. Please see http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2009/2009-07-07-094.asp for more information on this outrageous subversion of the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971. This extremely bias and unfounded, lopsided plan must not be allowed to proceed, for if it does the Wild Horse Act will have become a mere joke as far as the true implementation of its intent goes.

[Jobannana]

I am not sure what you mean by "last few". There are thousands of wild horses on the range. All of which are decendents of DOMESTIC horses and, unlike most wild animals, they can be domesticated again. Not just decendents of horses the Spanish brought, but horses that got away from settlers, ranchers, etc... Ranchers and then later the BLM used to turn loose high quality thoroughbred and draft horses with the mustangs, which is the only reason many of them are still decent looking from a horse persons standard. If the BLM was not still managing them, they would have "evolved" into even poorer looking inbred animals than they already are. I also do not understand why people think it is wrong to eat horses, but not cows, chickens, pigs, etc. Any of these animals, if turned looses in the wild, would become wild. Would we then feel it was wrong to eat them? If you are a vegan or vegetarian, I respect your decision not to eat meat at all, but for the meat eaters out there, how can you decide one animal should not be eaten, but that others should. Wheres the equality in that? You also have to consider the effect that wildfires(and droughts) are having on the wild horses range land. If there food all burns up, they will starve. I am not a wild horse, but I know I would rather be euthanized than starve to death. Even if we removed all the cattle from the range and stopped managing the wild horse herds, they would still overpopulate and many would starve. They have few natural preditors to check there growth. (Not that they enjoy being killed by preditors either.) Hopefully people who say they care about wild horses will put there money where there mouths are and try to help in a productive way. In my opinion, this would be using birth control and creating sanctuaries. Both of these options are expensive, but it would save the wild horses from being euthanized or starving.

[spirithorsebr]

For Immediate Release

Documents from Bureau of Land Management Reflect Intent of BLM for Wild Horses in Holding Facilities & on Public Lands

Quote from internal BLM document discussing euthanasia of wild horses: ?Increased support from public relations and management staff would also be needed to insulate those doing the actual work from the public, media and Congressional scrutiny/criticism.?

(Phoenix, June 6, 2009). The Conquistador Program announced today that it has received material obtained under the Freedom of Information Act that indicates the Bureau of Land Management is continuing to plan for the euthanasia of a large number of wild horses now in long-term and short-term holding facilities across the United States and for direct sale authority for many more. Notes of conference calls extending from July 22, 2008 through September 23, 2008 by a six-member implementation team and a draft Alternative Management Plan document demonstrate that several options are being planned. Among the options are:

Euthanasia of animals for which an adoption or sale demand does not exist (The section addressing euthanasia also includes the following statement, ?Increased support from public relations and management staff would also be needed to insulate those doing the actual work from the public, media and Congressional scrutiny/criticism.? The section also includes a discussion on psychological counseling for those involved in the destruction and disposal of the bodies because it will be so stressful).

Direct sale of animals who have not been adopted after three attempts with no restrictions on the buyer. (This would allow for the purchase of horses by killer buyers for sale to slaughter).

Direct sale of horses eleven years and older with no restrictions on the buyer. (This option also would allow for the purchase of horses by killer buyers for sale to slaughter).

Direct sale of horses of all ages with no restrictions on the buyer. (This option also would allow for the purchase of horses by killer buyers for sale to slaughter).

Spaying mares and returning them to the wild. (This option holds the risk of a minimum 10% mortality rate to the mares. The statistic is provided by a BLM staffer based on data from the spaying of 30 mares by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service at Sheldon Refuge in Nevada).

Adjusting the ratio of stallions to mares and reducing the ratio to 50:50 thus increasing the number of stallions. (This section includes a discussion indicating that information from the 80?s suggests that the mares and stallions should be allowed to adjust to their natural numbers but BLM thinks 50:50. The section also includes a discussion of whether changing sex ratios would affect behavior including a statement, ?Do we care??).

The documents also contain information included below related to euthanasia of wild horses in their custody:

and much more.......................


The Conquistador Equine Rescue and Advocacy Program
Phoenix, AZ
ph: [phone]
[e-mail]

[spirithorsebr]

Horse advocates suggest : Online petition to investigate and prosecute constitutional abuses of Bush administration.
Here's the body of the petition:

I hereby join Senator Patrick Leahy's call for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission, to investigate the Bush-Cheney Administration's constitutional abuses so we make sure they never happen again. These abuses may include the use of torture, warrantless wiretapping, extraordinary rendition, and executive override of laws.

A truth and reconciliation commission should be tasked with seeking answers so that we can develop a shared understanding of the failures of the recent past. Rather than vengeance, we need a fair-minded pursuit of what actually happened. The best way to move forward is getting to the truth and finding out what happened -- so we can make sure it does not happen again.
Signed by:
[Your name]


Send this web site to friends family and others in support

http://www.bushtruthcommission.com/


Easy to find the money trail or tail.

[Jobannana]

So is Obama saving them? Because if he isn't doing something for them he is just as guilty

[spirithorsebr]

July 14,2009

We The People (American Wild Horse & Burro Horse Advocates Of USA) would like informations leading to safeguard the United States ~ National Treasure (The Wild Horse and Burro from Extinction!!
Yes extinction!! in July, 2009.

CBS and All News agencies a like. We are seeking an Investigation of the History of Wild Horse and Burro ~ Holocost and Extermination from The United States of America on July 14,2009.

Press Release
The Cloud Foundation reports documents obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) via the Freedom of Information Act by a Phoenix-based non-profit, The Conquistador Program, reveal shocking and detailed plans to destroy healthy wild horses in government holding and in the wild on public lands.

BLM employees and a USDA veterinarian held weekly "Implementation Team" meetings beginning in July 2008 in which they discussed and developed strategies to rid BLM of thousands of mustangs. In October they completed a 68-page document titled "Alternative Management Options." Tactics included in this document are reminiscent of those used to wipe out Native Americans in the 1800s.

The BLM team created scenarios for killing mustangs using barbiturates, gunshots, or captive bolts. Bodies would be disposed of through rendering, burial or incineration. They discussed killing 1200-2000 wild horses per year. Minutes from the Implementation Meeting state that "increased support from public relations and management staff would also be needed to insulate those doing the actual work from the public, media and Congressional scrutiny/criticism."

"These meetings and the Draft Plan reveal what amounts to 'the final solution' for the American mustang," states Ginger Kathrens, filmmaker and Director of The Cloud Foundation.

Division Chief, Wild Horse and Burro Program, Don Glenn told The Cloud Foundation that "no decision has been made to move forward on a large scale with this plan, yet."

Meeting minutes speak for themselves: "Security at facilities and at gathers would need to be increased to combat eco-terrorism. Having the people that are willing to put down healthy horses at gather sites could be a problem."

During meetings Team Members formulated ways to circumvent laws, asking "[h]ow many could be euthanized during a gather without having NEPA?" and discussing ways to avoid the federal carcass disposal law. Conversations included how many wild horses could be rendered at a Reno plant or "disposed of in pits".

Kathrens has spent 15 years documenting wild mustangs, chronicling the life of the wild stallion, Cloud, for PBS. "Even Cloud and his little herd in Montana are in serious danger if BLM implements these options," she continues. "A massive round up is planned for this herd beginning August 30, 2009."

The BLM will not guarantee that Cloud will remain free.

More information, BLM documents and photos available.
Contact:
The Cloud Foundation, Inc.
107 South 7th St.
Colorado Springs, CO 80905
719-633-3842
Email Contact
www.thecloudfoundation.org

[roadtripUSA14]

This is the most ridiculous thing I have read in the news. If you cant deal with a horse nibling on some grass then you should move. Also humans have been one of the biggest changes to the world. So for us to think that these horses are doing somethibg bad then we should be the ones to be put down. Why dont we help these horses instead of killing them. So why dont you people that think killing ancestors to ancient horses is smart then maby you should hink of killing people and your self and rethinking of the main plan to this idiotic idea.

[bobbybella]

I agree with grammawhamma let nature take it's course, that way the BLM wont have to spend money on killing the horses or is it possible, instead of killing the horses, why dont we just donate it to another country that needs them and let them pay for the shipping, or simply sell them for cheaps.

[bullziesmyride]

Listen blackyowe If you think that horses have "damaged the enviroment" take a look around, how many fields does the AVERAGE american drive by on their commute to work. if anything, we should start euthanizing the stupid people like you who don't think that their houses or appartment buildings don't emmit and toxins when you flush your toilette or throw out your garbage. or how about those people who own horses and ***** about the price of gas when your suv gets an amazing 8 mpg. I proudly own 8 horses and one pony, of which 3 are rescues. And I think that the blm should back off and start managing some of the land that we drive on, put our tax money to good ues and fix these raods that are eating our cars whole.

[blackyowe]

There are more horses in this country that no one wants than ever before. If you all care so much about these wild ones adopt 10. I rescue donkeys and horses and have given my life to keeping animals from being killed but the fact is the people that cry the most often don''t put their money where their mouth is. How many posters on here have saved a horse from slaughter raise your hand please?

[Jobannana]

Great Point!!! I appreciate you having adopted/rescued horses. Thanks for actually doing something, not just blaming the BLM, government, ranchers, etc...

[airspace1]

Our Goverment is Messed up. The BLM has missed used there funds and never had it right. The Cattle Association needs to get off this land its not theres its the American People. They only pay $1.00 an Acre to use it. The Cattle Association were also getting $3.00 per horse slaughtered at the Texas plants when they were opened. No Horse Slaughter has not ended horses are going to mexico and Canada as they always have its just been a big secret until undercover exposure came out. The AVMA,AAEP,USDA,Beef,Pork,Poultry Industries knew this. They didnt want the public to know. Its time to expose all sellouts and criminals that ignore laws and ignore the will of the American People. for more info visit www.Sharkonline.com

[Jobannana]

Yes they have missused funds. They put thousand of horses in feed lots instead of euthanizing them as the law(wild horse & burro act)says they can.

[observer2020]

GrammaWhamma and ejgcs--I agree!

[ejgcs]

Why do humans always think that when there are too many of something the answer is to just kill the excess? The whole planet is overpopulated with people... people who do a lot more damage to the planet than horses, cats, dogs, birds, or any other animal ever will. Leave the horses and all the animals alone. After all, they were here first!

[blackyowe]

These animals damage the environment. It''s a real shame but they have to be culled. I own horses and with feed prices sky high people are turning horses loose in National Parks all over the country. They ended horse slaughter and the value of a horse dropped considerabley then the cost of feed hit the roof.

[Jobannana]

I agree. Also, if they had a slaughter house open in say Nevada, close to most of the wild horses, they wouldn't have to get shipped out of country. The shipping is the hardest part for the horses. We could even donate the meat to starving people in Africa or something.