Saturday, June 21, 2008

Hold a Wild Horse in Your Hand -- and Hope

Dear Readers,
Each time you see a quarter this summer, check to see if it shows Nevada's wild horses. Soon, that might be the last place you'll see them.
Those of you who've read my books know I haven't been very critical of BLM in the past. I believe the agency employees some good people doing their best for the horses. Sadly, that's not enough.
Talk of ending the adoption program, of "zeroing out" wild horse herd management areas, and slaughter in Mexico and Canada is more than rumor.
Right now, BLM is proposing to round up wild horses in the McCullough Peaks area of Wyoming In an area with 200 wild horse, they have proposed removing 100.
In Nevada, plans are underway to helicopter herd 1700 mustangs off their home range and into pens.
In this news clip, you can see the capture of Oregon's wild horses.
http://www.king5.com/video/eveningmagazine-index.html?nvid=253866
As you watch it, listen and you'll hear a wrangler say "there's an adopter for every horse."
That's just not true. In fact, this week BLM asked people to apply to use their lands for new long term holding pasture facilities located anywhere in the continental United States.
BLM is spending millions on helicopter herding, gas for big horse trailers and paying citizens to to provide homes for up to 2,500 horses each.
And there still hasn't been a reliable count of how many horses still exist.
In the Old West, people traveling on trains shot buffalo because their wooly brown herds seemed endless. In a short time, the buffalo and the Native Americans depending on them were on the brink of extinction.
Likewise, it doesn't make sense to capture thousands of wild horses because it SEEMS there are lots of them. We know how to count wildlife ; why aren't we doing it?
I'm collecting those wild horse quarters and saving them...
Terri

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 11:43 AM

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