Posted by Pete Lefebvre on April 24, 2001 at 19:07:38:
In Reply to: It is better to round wild horses up than let thmem starve or be murdered posted by Sean Kelly on April 20, 2001 at 12:56:05:
: I believe, after reading a 2000 drought assessment report of an allotment in Nevada, that the wild horses need to be controlled as they are just going to be shot or starve.
: The ranchers dont want them here and they have little respect for the
: law. It is better for a horse to be adopted than to be shot or starve.
: In defense of the ranchers I must admit that there is a large horse population here. They have no natural enemies and they have no respect for the fences and horse management area boundaries.
: Just last week I saw a wild horse in an area that is supposed to be managed "horse free".
The "Wild and Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act" or more commonly referred to as the "Wild Horse Annie Act" has never met very well with ranchers and range professionals alike. And I mean those range professionals that understand the reality of the program and the differences in awareness of genetics or whether or not there are a genetically viable herds any longer. The program has outlived its once intended purpose. Funding of this program has stretched the imaginations of Congress, tax payers, ranchers and range managers, to the point where enough is enough. The number of horses in Wyoming for instance, has been up and down for years. There haven't been any genetically viable herds in years. Most of the horses there were turned out from when the railroads were put in and the bottom dropped out of the horse market. It was draft horse country for years, evidence in the size of the animals in Wyoming's herds today.
Take Care!