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WILD HORSES
AND BURROS – MYTHS AND FACTS
Myth: There are too many wild horses and burros on
public lands and their numbers must be reduced.
Fact:
The opposite is true – there are too few wild horses and
burros on our public lands, and unless their numbers grow, the
survival of these special animals is in jeopardy. During the 1800’s,
it is estimated that there were more than two million wild horses and
burros roaming the West. These animals, along with countless
wildlife species ranging from bison to wolves to prairie dogs, were
the victims of ghastly extermination efforts, primarily to make way
for private domestic livestock grazing. Today, there are less
than 40,000 wild horses and burros remaining on millions of acres of
our Western public lands. Tragically, the interests of these “living
symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West” are being
forfeited for those of the livestock industry and other commercial
operations.
Many wild horse
and burro herds are being managed at such dangerously low numbers that
their long-term health and genetic viability are seriously imperiled.
In 1999, the federal government sponsored a wild horse and burro
population viability forum in which several leading scientific experts
including Drs. Gus Cothran, Francis Singer and John Gross,
participated. One of the main issues discussed was that smaller,
isolated populations of less than 200 animals are particularly
vulnerable to the loss of genetic diversity when the number of animals
participating in breeding falls below a minimum needed level.
This scenario sets the stage for a host of biological problems
associated with inbreeding including reduced reproduction and foal
survival, reduced adult fitness and physical deformities. Only
about one quarter of the herds under active management have a
population objective of greater than 150 animals, much less 200.
Numerous herds are being managed at levels between 40 to 70 animals
and some even fewer. Either geographical or artificial barriers
isolate many of these herds. Rather than address this grave
problem by increasing population targets for these animals, the
agencies charged with their protection, the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) and the United States Forest Service (FS), have decided to
further reduce wild horse and burro numbers by half to a shocking
22,000 wild horses and 2,700 wild burros.
Myth: Wild horses and burros must be rounded up to save
them from dying of starvation or thirst.
Fact:
While the BLM argues that wild horses and burros are being rounded up
for their own good to keep them from dying of starvation or
dehydration in areas affected by fire and drought throughout the West,
animal advocates have frequently found that herd areas stricken by
so-called “emergency conditions” weren’t nearly as bad off as the BLM
claimed. Not only were wild horses and burros doing just fine,
but livestock often remained in the same areas or were returned to the
areas in short order. Of course, once the wild horses and burros
are gone, they are gone for good – moving in the direction of
achieving the overall objective of drastically reducing populations as
quickly as possible. By attempting to justify extra removals as
“emergencies,” the BLM is able to tap into emergency funds from other
programs and go over and above their allocated budgets to meet this
goal.
Tragically, many
wild horse and burro herds suffer needlessly due to the fact that they
have been unable to roam freely throughout their entire herd areas
because of fences and other impediments that have been constructed to
accommodate livestock. Hence, they are unable to access forage
and water to which they are legally entitled. Wild horses and
burros have survived droughts and fires in the past and will survive
them in the future, just as do other wild animals, if they are treated
as wild animals and left alone.
Myth: Wild horses and burros are destructive to the
environment and must be removed in order to protect ecosystem health.
Fact:
Wild horses and burros, like any wildlife species, have an impact on
the environment, but due to their natural behavior, their impact is
minimal. In fact, wild horses and burros play a beneficial
ecological role, for example, by dispersing seeds through elimination,
thereby helping to reseed the landscape. They also blaze trails
during heavy snowfall and break ice at watering holes, helping weaker
animals to survive during harsh winter months. Wild horses and
burros can also serve as food for predator species such as mountain
lions.
That said, if
BLM and FS officials would have the public believe that they are
genuinely concerned about ecosystem health, then they must refrain
from conducting business as usual -- viz., turning a blind eye to the
indisputably overriding cause of habitat degradation: livestock
grazing and public encroachment. For years, the agencies have
permitted extremely high levels of livestock use on public lands,
resulting in soil erosion, water contamination and depletion, as well
as deterioration of vegetation. While wild horses and burros may
be blamed for these problems, the agencies’ own data indicate
otherwise. Little has changed since the release of the 1990 U.S.
General Accounting Office Report,
Improvements Needed in Federal Wild
Horse Program, which concluded “… the primary cause
of the degradation in rangeland resources is poorly managed domestic
(primarily cattle and sheep) livestock.” Unlike cattle who
tend to congregate and settle in riparian areas, wild horses and
burros are highly mobile, typically visiting watering areas for only
short periods of time. To make matters worse, livestock are
concentrated in grazing allotments at artificially high densities
during the critical growing season when vegetation is extremely
vulnerable to permanent damage. This overgrazing sets the stage
for habitat degradation that may not be immediately apparent, but can
cumulatively cause massive vegetation die-off.
Myth: Wild horses and burros are an exotic or a feral
species and must be removed to protect native wildlife.
Fact:
Not so. The paleontological record shows that the cradle of
equine evolution occurred in North America, beginning more than 60
million years ago. Conventional theories postulate that horses
introduced by the Spanish more than 500 years ago were a different
species than those horses who existed in North America prior to their
mysterious disappearance approximately 10,000 years ago.
However, mitochondrial DNA analysis of fossil remains indicates that
E. caballus, the “modern” horse, is genetically
identical to E. lambei, the most recent equine species
to evolve in North America more than 1.7 million years ago.
Hence, it can plausibly be argued that the Spanish actually
“reintroduced” a native species, one which evolved on this continent
and which has adapted and flourished both biologically and
ecologically since its reintroduction. Interestingly, some scientists
question the theory that all horses became extinct 10,000 years ago.
They are only now beginning to analyze fossil remains that may
eventually support this hypothesis.
Moreover, simply
because horses were domesticated before being released is biologically
inconsequential. Observing horses in the wild demonstrates just
how quickly domesticated behavioral and morphological traits fall off.
According to Dr. Patricia Fazio, “The key element in describing an
animal as a native species is (1) where it originated; and (2) whether
or not it co-evolved with its habitat.” By virtue of their
evolutionary history, biology and behavior, these animals are native
wildlife. In addition, the 1971 WFHBA rightfully recognized them
as an “integral part of the natural system of the public lands.”
MYTH: Ranchers depend upon livestock grazing for their
livelihood and wild horses and burros are creating an undue hardship
on their operations.
Fact:
While some small family ranchers do depend upon livestock for their
primary source of income, the top grazing permits on our public lands
in terms of numbers of livestock are held by corporate interests
including the Hilton Family Trust, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Nevada First
Corp., and Metropolitan Life Co. In 1992, the General Accounting
Office reported that just 16 percent of the approximately 20,000
public lands grazing permittees controlled more than 76.2 percent of
forage available on BLM lands and most of these were either very
wealthy individuals or big corporations. These wealthy corporate
interests are much more concerned with paper stock than livestock, and
with preserving their tax write-offs than a way of life. For the
most part, removing wild horses and burros translates into just one
more form of corporate welfare.
Studies indicate
that most ranchers are choosing to diversify their sources of income.
Today, less than 3% of our nation’s beef is produced on public
rangelands. Ranching on both public and private lands accounts
for less than 0.5% of all income by Western residents. In 1994, the
Department of the Interior concluded that the elimination of all
public lands grazing would result in the loss of only 0.1% of the
West’s total employment. Changing times and demographics, not a
small number of wild horses and burros, are responsible for the
decline of the ranching industry’s importance in the West. The
time has come to help wild horses and burros and to assist ranchers
who want to voluntarily transition from a profession that is taking
its toll on their pocketbooks.
MYTH: WITHOUT FEDERAL GRAZING PROGRAM ASSISTANCE, RANCHERS WOULD BE
UNABLE TO CARRY ON A CHERISHED FAMILY TRADITION AND WAY OF LIFE.
Fact:
Small family ranchers, just as small family farmers, have far more to
fear from corporate interests than they do from responsible federal
lands management policy. In fact, about 70% of cattle producers
in the West own all the land they operate and do not rely on public
lands grazing whatsoever. It can reasonably be argued that those
ranchers who benefit from ridiculously cheap public lands grazing fees
and other government subsidies associated with federal grazing permits
have a distinct advantage over those who do not. Many of these
ranchers who now fancy themselves as modern day “cattle barons” are
millionaires and billionaires who made their fortunes in other
businesses – e.g., Texas oilman, Oscar Wyatt, Jr. former chairman of
Coastal Corp., McDonald’s French fries supplier John Simplot, and Mary
Hewlett Jaffe, daughter of William Hewlett of Hewlett-Packard fame.
The top 10 percent of public lands grazing permit holders control a
striking 65 percent of all livestock on BLM lands and 49 percent on FS
lands. The bottom 50 percent of public lands grazing permit
holders control just 7 percent of livestock on BLM lands and 3 percent
on FS lands.
Because public lands grazing allotments require ownership of private
base property and wealthy individuals and corporations own more
private property (i.e., base property), they wind up with more federal
grazing allotments. Hence, these wealthy operations benefit from
numerous taxpayer subsidies, while small family operations struggle to
make ends meet. These “cattle barons” and corporations are
increasingly buying out small ranching operations -- acres at a time.
With rising operating costs and mounting debts, most small family
ranchers are looking for work outside the ranch and a way out of
ranching.
Some ranchers have expressed an interest in a proposal that would
provide for their needs as they transition into other lines of work.
If a rancher voluntarily relinquishes his/her federal grazing permit,
the government would compensate the permitee $175 per animal unit
month (the amount of forage necessary to graze one cow and calf for
one month). Not only would such an arrangement help ranchers and
be a huge cost savings to taxpayers (see last myth), but it would also
allow forage to be reallocated to wildlife including wild horses and
burros.
MYTH: Removed horses and burros are adopted to loving
homes through the government’s “Adopt a Horse or Burro Program.”
Fact:
While the BLM has an obligation to ensure that the persons adopting
wild horses and burros are “qualified” adopters, many people do not
fully understand the responsibility and commitment that are required
to care for an adopted animal, thus setting the stage for failed
adoptions. Rigorous screening of potential adopters, education
and monitoring are critical to the success of any adoption.
Sadly, the BLM has failed in all of these areas. In 1997, the
Associated Press uncovered enormous and egregious abuse within the
adoption program, including the revelation that many individuals were
adopting large numbers of wild horses only to turn around and make
sizable profits by selling them for slaughter. To make matters
worse, The New York Times reported on a Justice Department
investigation that revealed that BLM had a “don’t ask, don’t tell”
policy on this issue, and that in fact many employees were well aware
that adopters intended to sell horses for slaughter after receiving
title. Only after being sued by wild horse advocates did the BLM
agree to adopt measures to stem the tide of horses going to slaughter,
but even then, countless horses fell through the cracks.
Of immediate
concern is an amendment to the WFHBA that was slipped into the
Interior Appropriations bill in the last Congressional session,
requiring horses 10 years-of-age or older or those who have not been
adopted after three attempts to be sold at auction without limitation.
Such “sale authority” will open the floodgates of wild horses being
sold to slaughter for profit. More than 8,000 wild horses may
immediately wind up on the dinner plates in fancy overseas
restaurants, and countless more will follow unless legislation is
swiftly enacted to repeal this ill-conceived amendment.
H.R.
297, introduced by Congressman Nick Rahall (D-WV) and
Congressman Ed Whitfield (R-KY) in the House of Representatives and
S. 576,
introduced by Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) in the Senate, will
restore the slaughter prohibition for wild horses and burros.
H.R.
503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, reintroduced
by Congressman John Sweeney (R-NY) and Congressman John Spratt (D-SC)
will ensure that no horse meets this appalling fate.
The 1971 Wild
Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and its legislative history make it
clear that Congress, with overwhelming public support, intended for
wild horses and burros to be protected in the wild, and removed only
when necessary, and if removed, guaranteed humane treatment.
They were never to be sold for slaughter.
Myth: With thousands of wild
horses and burros awaiting adoption, the program is too costly and the
only solution is to either sell or destroy “excess” animals who
haven’t been adopted or are deemed “unadoptable.”
Fact:
In 2001, the BLM adopted a reckless strategy to reduce the numbers of
wild horses and burros on public lands by more than half by the year
2005, without any environmental review whatsoever. Up to that
point in time, adoptions had kept pace with removals. Increased
removals resulted in a backlog of animals awaiting adoption.
Many animals were automatically shipped to long-term holding
facilities and never even put up for adoption. With more than
20,000 animals languishing in holding facilities, costs for the
inflated number of removals and the animals’ care have mounted – all
directly attributable to BLM’s own misguided strategy. BLM’s FY
2005 budget for administering the program was $39 million.
However, if the
BLM were genuinely interested in fiscal responsibility, the agency
would provide the public with a detailed analysis of the full costs of
administering its livestock grazing program. A recent analysis of the
budget records concluded that the net direct loss
(calculated as the Congressional Appropriations for the program less
fee receipts to the Treasury) of the livestock program was at least
$72 million for the BLM and $52 million for the FS; the full costs are
likely to be three to four times these amounts. However, with
the multiple taxpayer subsidies ranchers receive ranging from
below-market-value grazing fees to fire and weed control to predator
and “pest” control to range improvements, to price supports, to the
regular removal of wild horses and burros, etc., it is certain that
the agency loses hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
Removing livestock instead of wild horses and burros would indeed be
the most fiscally responsible action the agency could take.
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WILD HORSES AND BURROS – MYTHS AND
FACTS
(02/18/05) |
