‘The Wild Horse Is Us’

I think if I were a mustang that had run free and wild, I'd rather be dead than cooped up in a holding pen for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, this whole issue demonstrates government bureaucracy at this absolute worst; mismanagement, corruption, politics, and pure old fashioned greed, with a living being suffering as a result. The BLM has the technology at its disposal to sterilize all but a handful of the best, healthiest mustangs and could do so at a fraction of the cost of holding them in pens indefinitely. The BLM doesn't do so because the point of the roundups is to get rid of the mustangs so the ranchers can use OUR public lands for their own financial gain. The wild horse, my friends, is in danger of being "managed" right out of existence, which would be a happy day for cattle ranchers. Herd management has never been about controlling the numbers. The numbers are now down to 42,000 horses on millions of acres of publicly owned rangelands, close to what in most species would be considered "threatened" levels, particularly compared to the numbers that were on the ranges even 20 years ago. There are now more mustangs in government holding pens, costing us taxpayers $13 million a year to "manage") then there are on the ranges. And there are FAR more privately owned cattle (3 million or so) on public lands than mustangs.
This policy is a total disgrace.

These horses and burros are not native. I can show you large sections of desert in Arizona that burros has grazed clean. They are pushing out native animals (big horn sheep). Round them all up, butcher them and send them to France.

"After surviving the ice age"

Please get your facts right. Horses died out in North America and were reintroduced by Europeans. They are now an invasive species.

Of course they should NOT control herd population in this way. Competition for food will naturally control the population, as it does in all natural systems. Wild animals should be able to find their own food, and not have their diet supplemented by humans in most cases. The proper, but likely most arguable, course of action would be to induce controls on cattle populations; Americans need to cut down on their meat intake as it is. Cut back on cattle herds responsibly, and wild horses will have sufficient resources to feed themselves, while leveling-off their population.

I agree, to a certain extent, that wild horses are not native and should be better controlled. But don't be mistaken and beleive for a moment that the issue doesn't have anything to do with the cattle industry and the cheap grazing land that they use in the way of BLM federal lands.

Ranchers or their supporters who contend that they are providing a positive environmental on the land are just plain wrong. Cattle are not native to this country, either. While I realize we need to feed them because of the beef industry, call it what it is: cheap food for the beef industry to keep prices down in the stores. But don't try to pass any bull that grzing cattle are beneficial to the environment. If they are, put one in your backyard, cityfolk.

The BLM is the worst run government agency in this whole sad and sorry administration. They created their problem because they were paid to remove wild horses so cattle and sheep can graze and destroy the land! Go forth people try and find these vast herds of mustangs! All you will see is herd after herd of cattle and sheep using PUBLIC land for free!

This is no different than what they want to do to the wolves, despite the fact that ranchers are reimbursed by the government for any losses, the ranchers are going to get their way again. BTW, there has NEVER been a unprovoked attack on a human by a wolf in all of north american history, including native verbal hitory that goed back over a thousand years. This has nothing to do with what is right or wrong, democratiic or republican. This is a perfect ecxample of special interests getting their way. Clinton did and Bush does oversee the same agency that does not change policy with administrations. They simply give in to the ranchers and the President hears about it after it has blown up.

I am ashamed of the American government - they created this mess they need to be responsible and clean it up. They decided to try to control nature and have made a bigger mess that instead of fixing they just want to kill and sweep under the rug. They are giving permits in WY and MT to kill these horses like they are prairie dogs. Big dollars are more important than living animals that could face extinction at the hands of Americans. This is just sad.

I guess that I should not wonder that the Government wants to get rid of the wild horses. They, as most of us are just a bother to them. They only are concerned when it comes to their paycheck, do they at all even bother to listen to us. The selling off of the BLM land across the US continues, as keeping are Heritge is just to much of a bother. The BLM has been in the pockets of the ranchers for most of it's life, with entitlements of leases from generation to generation of ranchers, at prices that were under market 50 years ago, and remain unchanges. It is a joke that they say there are 33,000. wild horses, it is a known fact that they do not really know how many there are. If the horses are causing a problem to the ranchers, let make it simple, get ride of the ranchers, as they are not paying their way either.

If I recall the last horse euthanasia, it was done with power saws, leaving the doomed animals to thrash around as they bled to death after the lose of one or more legs or gashes in their necks or sides.

Death and murder is the Bush administrations answer to everything. Sounds like GOOD CHRISTIAN VALUES TO ME. This country was buildt on the broken bones of these horses ancestors. God help us all if the only answer is to slaughter them. Does anyone realize that prior to the invention of the motor car, a horse and buggy was the main means of transportation, plowing fields, etc? If we were still using the horse and buggy today we would not be in the situation we are today with oil and all the baggage it comes with. The wild horse population is as American as apple pie and we owe it to them to take care of them and/or manage them in a respecful and humane way. I just can't imagine the horse organizations and animal rights groups would let this happen. Maybe it's a good time to donate to the charities that support these horses who are true American Heros.

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What the BLM doesn't tell the American Public is that for years they have been shrinking the amount of acres of the land the wild horses are 'allowed' to graze on. They'll fence off water sources and then claim the horses have no water. Of course they don't the water has been FENCED OFF. The BLM is the most crooked corrupt branch of the government and there must be a good investigative reporter out there that can sink their teeth into the BLM and really find out what they are doing with all of our money. Get rid of the cattle, make the ranchers own the land they graze on.

Kiwani, I totally agree with your ideas and comments. I am both a horse lover and horse owner and I live in Colorado. I own two horses, one of which is a Mustang. They are beautiful, intelligent, incredible animals and I absolutely detest what the BLM is trying to do to them. My Mustang has the best personality of any horse I've ever owned, and I'm sure if he could talk he would tell the BLM they stink and how dare you treat an important symbol of the American West with such disrespect!!!

Kiwani, I absolutely LOVE your ideas of how to deal with the problem - especially the thought of giving them to the Native Americans. What a brilliant idea, considering how respectful the Native Americans were of all of their animals, along with the land and their Mother Earth. They consider(ed) many of their animals to be sacred, and I really feel that they would know best how to take care of them. I have had horses most of my life, and I have always respected the Native Americans and their way of life because they RESPECT everything. I am a white person who, more often than not, is ashamed to be white. I have long identified with Native Americans and their way of life. I decorate my house in Southwestern because of my love for the West and its heritage. That includes the Native Americans and most importantly, the Mustangs.

I wish Colorado had its own herd of wild horses, but to my knowledge, we do not. It makes me sick every time I hear from friends who are working so hard to save them that the BLM and/or government is trying to destroy them by using one form or another.

As you said, we have Bush and his lousy administration to thank for this fiasco. Again, like you, I absolutely agree that Bush should've been out of office long, long ago. In fact, he never should've been re-elected. I think the idea of a "Thank God He's Gone" holiday is terrific!!!

The horses should be allowed to roam free. Your comment about the cows eating more grass is correct. There are billions more cows than there will ever be wild horses. I agree that they could be moved to other states in the West where grass is more plentiful and definitely tall and getting out of hand. There is absolutely no need to destroy them. I'm sure the BLM hasn't bothered to explore any other options because they want the easy way out to save their precious money, so they can waste it on other things like destroying the earth.

The wild horses need to be protected at all costs. I, personally, would like to get them out from under the government's control. Oh, if only I had the power to do so. Gee, maybe we ought to turn the tables and just euthanize the BLM instead. Then we could turn our attention to the Bush Administration and euthanize them as well. That would certainly solve all of our problems.

God Bless American and God Bless the Wild Horses!!!

Ranchers already OWN much of the land they graze on! Many public land areas are located inside Ranch lands! Ranchers also improve the permits for grazing and water sources for all.

Anti-grazing groups have been slandering Ranchers for years and one Rancher was able to sue for Slander and the group that did it forked out $600,000 for the despicable lies told.

Ranchers montor the lands and reduce the amount of cattle for the permits as to allow plenty of grass for all. They do it because they know the land. The cattle are on for 3 months a year.

Ranchers are not the problem.

The horses have over populated their assigned ranges to the point for the ecosystem of that area needs some removed for the good land. Many of the horses in the adoption program are unadoptable for amny reasons.

It takes over $2,000 per horse to take care of the 30,000 horses in the adoption program.

You want to help? Go out and adopt one for a measly $125.00 a head! I adopted 3! I have had one for 18 years! I use him on the RANCH!

Here we go again! Let's take a guess who is really behind this yet again. The ranchers are, so who is BLM and the gov't kidding? The horses, just as the wolves are imposing into grazing land and the ranchers have always gotten their way in the end. It's about money when animals are concerned, about their "management", their deaths and eventually their extinction. Is this all for the good of the people as a whole, or to line the pockets of certain individuals? When is Man going to finally realize that for every action there is always a reaction. Once the earth and all of it's inhabitants are destroyed at the hand of man, that's it, there is no second chance.