Open discussion: How would you manage our wild horses?

Are they causing damage?

I'm not sure, Priscilla, but one of the sources notes that the area is facing a drought, which puts pressure on the cattle grazing in the area, and might also create a starvation situation for the horses.

That's a tough call. Somehow you have to manage the herd. Maybe sterilization would be an option?

1. If PRIVATE funds want to make more potically correct choices then let them take it out of their own pockets.
2. Kinda like the dear, just too many of them. Slaughter.

Either that or watch nature takes it course, which is starvation over winter.

Welcome to the real world folks. (I know the politically correct world hates that)

Chuck M raises an interesting option... would sterilization make a difference? If the population doubles every four years, wouldn't that solve some of the issues? Then we have to ask, if we choose wild horses for sterilization, are they still considered wild?

You have a point Jim G, the responsibility is ours.

Winston, how would you encourage or solicit private funds? Would it muddy the role of the BLM? How would you organize a slaughter?

Julia,
elsewhere in the article it points out that overpopulation of horses will damage [maybe permanently] the balance of other aspects of the region's ecosystem, both plant and animal, so that's another sort of damage to take into account.
if the horses are slaughterd by the BLM, or sold for slaughter, what use is then made of them?

"[...] if the horses are slaughterd by the BLM, or sold for slaughter, what use is then made of them?"

Good question, Kerry. I don't know. I remember reading about the killing of the feral pigs on Channel Island. They weren't a native species and had completely upset the ecology. From what I understand it was an organized hunt and the remains were left to decompose. Not sure if that's the best thing for the environment out there or not.

You also made a good point in considering the other aspects of maintaining balance: the plants and other animals have to be considered.

For discussion: Wasn't there a provocative article out that basically said if you want to save an animal / species, eat it? Create a market for it? Anyone else recall that? In this real world situation, what would you suggest?

I think we walk a fine line.....

If we are to be 'politically correct' (I hate that term......!) we face certain damage to the environment.

If we slaughter them, the tender hearted among us (yeah, me too...) will cringe, moan and gnash our teeth....

I would find it hard to take decisive steps either way.

We have ours on an island by themselves, maybe they should move the herds?

Sonia I don't think it is politically correct to want a positive outcome for all. It just isn't always possible. As we get information and we're charged with difficult choices, we have to make them. I just wonder where that point may be, and if other suggestions reach the table. Nature is cruel, but are we not creative? It is easy to talk about hard cold reality and another to have to be the person to sign the orders or pull the trigger.

Hmmm, Wonder if they'd consider moving the herds, Moggy. How are the horses on the island managed? Are the population increase and adoption rates similar to the issues faced by the wild horses mentioned in the story?

Instead of conservation groups taking donations and using that money to lobby the US government to spend more tax money on the issue they could be buying up property and creating refuges. Some conservation and hunting rights organizations are doing that right now.

How do you do it? It's a desolate area that most of these horses are in. So, except for nut jobs jumping in the way of federal agents with 30-30's or traquilizer bullets, you put them down either with one good shot or put them down and then euthenize them and burn them.

Or, the private sector could take them, ship them to a meat processing plant, and sell it to people in Asia!

Castrate a bunch of the stallions and turn them into geldings and let them loose again. That would make the population double a whole lot slower and then they wouldn't need to kill any of the horses or to adopt as many out.

Jim G, if you kick off a discussion about that, let me know.

I'd be interested to see which groups are creating refuges, Winston, and how they manage the same sort of issues.

Janet H, I wonder if you and Chuck M could elaborate on what that would look like, or discover if that approach has already been rejected...

It is a difficult situation. I feel sterilization and adoption are the best options.

Researchers are studying different options for sterilization. Even if we find an effective technique it is still going to be a costly option. Castration would be way to expensive given the size of the herds. The herd size is estimated at 33,000 horses. Even if just 1/4 of that population was to be sterilized we are looking at enormous costs. The most economically feasible option is if there were an injection that could be given to suppress fertility - essentially the same concept as the depo shot in humans. From what I've read though the efficacy of this method is still not worth the expense.

I've known mustangs that were adopted and gentled. They make very nice horses for riding, showing or just as a lovely pasture ornament. I would encourage existing horse owners to look deep into their hearts and wallets and consider giving a home to one of the thousands of mustangs that are currently in holding facilities eating up taxpayer money.

Please take a moment to learn more about the plight of the wild horse:
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/new_factsheet.html

Thanks for posting the factsheet link, MK.

Do you - or anyone - have an estimate on what it costs to keep a horse? I can't help but wonder if people would be willing to "sponsor" horses or otherwise support the sort of reserve talked about above.

The reason the adoption numbers have gone down is because the BLM has gathered far more horses than was ever necessary. They kept gathering but then didn't hold adoptions like they use to. So now they have 33,000 horses in holding pens. The BLM are so corrupt it makes me sick. The best option for the horses is to RETURN THEM to the wild. According to BLM own statistics, (though you won't hear it from the BLM) There are only about 13, 500 left in the wild. That is a far cry considering there use to be 2 million of them. Over 22 million acres has been taken away from this handful of horses that has legal right to be there. There is NO overpopulation problem. The horses are not doing the damage to ranges. The 6 million cattle that have been allowed to take over are the ones doing the damage.

This has better facts about wild horses

http://www.saplonline.org/pdf/WH_Factsheet.pdf

Castrating horses is not really a good option since the herd numbers are so low genetic viability has been compromised. Horses who inbreed to much create and pass down defects and sickly babies.
There have been plenty of people who have checked out the condition of the ranges and say they have never looked better. So drought has been this thing the BLM use as an excuse to to do round ups. If this is nature at work then let the horses live through the drought. They have done so as wild animals in the past with out human intervention any ways. The real reasons horses can't find water so easily any more is because of fences that have cut off natural migration paths of the horses. Check this site out for information. www.thecloudfoundation.org