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Words to Keep Them Wild and Free
Worthy of Protection
“They [wild horses and burros]
belong to all the American people. The sprit which kept them
alive and free against almost insurmountable odds typifies the
national spirit which led to the growth of our Nation. They are
living symbols of the rugged independence and tireless energy of our
pioneer heritage.”
-- Senate Report (Interior and Insular
Affairs Committee), June 25, 1971
“The committee wishes to emphasize
that the management of the wild free-roaming horses and burros be kept
to a minimum both from the aspect of reducing costs of such a program
as well as to deter the possibility of “zoolike” developments. An
intensive management program of breeding, branding, and physical care
would destroy the very concept that this legislation seeks to
preserve. … leaving the animals alone to fend for themselves and
placing primary emphasis on protecting the animals from continued
slaughter and harassment by man.”
-- Senate Report (Interior and Insular Affairs Committee), June 25,
1971
“It is the expressed intent of the
committee to remove the possibility of monetary gain from the
exploitation of these animals.” -- Senate
Report (Interior and Insular Affairs Committee), June 25, 1971
“Wild” by Nature
“The wild horse may in fact be an
exotic species in Australia, New Zealand, and a few other locations
around the world, but it is certainly not so in North America.
Horses evolved on this continent only to later disappear, possibly at
the hand of man. After what can only be viewed as seconds on the
hands of evolution’s clock, the horse was returned by the same hand to
resume its place among the same animals and plants with which it had
evolved. To label the North American wild horse as an exotic
ignores the facts of time and evolutionary history.”
-- Into the Wind by Dr. Jay F. Kirkpatrick, 1994
“… after years of domestication,
they [wild horses] have adapted so successfully to life in the wild.
If these horses are really as healthy and as sound as they appear,
then there is probably a lot we can learn from them…. For this reason,
I have come to think of them as embodying the spirit of the “natural
horse,” nature’s model of the ideal horse fitted to the rigors of
survival without the need of human intervention.” --
The Natural Horse by Jaime Jackson, 1992
No Overpopulation
“How are continuing drought
conditions likely to affect Nevada’s wild horse and burro populations?
-- Census data suggests that continuing drought conditions are
resulting in reduced reproductive rates for many wild horse herds
throughout Nevada. Many of Nevada’s herd management areas (HMAs)
are currently below appropriate management level (AML) due to lower
reproduction and the removal of excess horses since FY2000.” --
BLM handout distributed to the Nevada Wildlife Commission, April
2003.
“One of the major
focuses of conservation biology and genetic management of small
populations is the preservation of genetic variability. This topic is
of particular relevance to the Wild Horse and Burro Program because
the majority of wild equid populations managed by the BLM are kept at
population sizes that are small enough for the loss of genetic
variation to be a real concern. Because a loss of genetic variability
can lead to a reduction in fertility or viability of individuals in a
population, it is critical that genetic considerations be included in
management plans for wild equid populations.” -–
“Genetic Variation
in Horse Populations” by E. Gus Cothran, PhD., Department of
Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky in BLM Resource Notes, No.
27.
“… only 25% of the 186 herds under
active management have a population objective of greater than 150
horses. The small size of these herds raised concerns about
long-term maintenance of genetic viability and questions on the best
methods to manage population sizes to sustain genetic variation…. At
low population numbers, dramatic loss of genetic variation over a
short period is possible. Low genetic variability can result in
decreased fecundity, increased mortality, decreased disease
resistance, and an overall loss of vigor.” --
Singer, F.J.
and K.A. Schoenecker, compilers. Managers’ summary – Ecological
studies of the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, 1992-1997. U.S.
Geological Survey, Midcontinent Ecological Sciences Center, Fort
Collins, CO, 2000.
“From an estimated population of 14,000 in 1974
to an estimated AML of 2,750 in 2005, there will be an 80% reduction
in the wild burro population…. Wild burro habitat has been reduced by
45%.”
-- “A Strategy to Achieve and Manage Wild Burros at Appropriate
Management Levels,” BLM, June 2000.
Wild Horses and Burros as
Scapegoats
“Wild horse removals have not
demonstrably improved range conditions for several reasons.
First, wild horses are vastly outnumbered on federal rangelands by
domestic livestock…. Second, wild horse behavior patterns make
the horses somewhat less damaging than cattle to especially vulnerable
range areas…. Third, wild horse removals have taken place in some
locations not being damaged by widespread overgrazing…. Fourth, in
many areas where wild horse removals have taken place, BLM authorized
livestock grazing levels have either not been reduced or have been
increased thereby largely negating any reduction in forage
consumption. – GAO Report, “Rangeland Management:
Improvements Needed in Federal Wild Horse Program,” August 1990.
“The Environmental Protection
Agency concluded that riparian conditions throughout the West are now
the worst in American history – livestock grazing is a primary
reason.” -- “Land Held Hostage” by Thomas L. Fleischner,
Ph.D., in Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the
American West, edited by George Wuerthner and Mollie Matteson,
2002
“BLM could not provide us with data
to demonstrate where wild horse removals have materially improved the
specific areas from which they have been removed.” –
GAO Report, “Rangeland Management: Improvements Needed in Federal
Wild Horse Program,” August 1990.
BLM’s Failure
“Little has changed since the 1990
GAO report. Formal BLM determinations of wild horse carrying
capacities are as elusive as the creatures themselves. Wild
horse management decisions continue to be made within the BLM on a
political rather than a scientific basis and in the political balance
between horse and cow, the cattle industry almost always wins.
– Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, “Horses to
Slaughter: Anatomy of a Coverup within the Wild Horse and Burro
Program of the Bureau of Land Management,” April 1997.
Beginning a few years after
publication of Desertification, and continuing through the
mid-1990s, the General Accounting Office prepared a number of reports
– some of them scathing indictments – on the grazing program of both
the BLM and Forest Service…. The GAO consistently identified
overgrazing as the principal cause of deteriorating western range
conditions. -- The Western Range Revisited by Dr.
Debra L. Donahue, 1999.
“The federal government has even
taken to rounding up thousands of wild horses and burros and handing
them over to ranchers and others in the misguided belief that these
small numbers of animals pose a competitive threat to the millions of
cattle grazing on public lands.” -- Beyond Beef: The
Rise and Fall of the Cattle Culture by Jeremy Rifkin, 1992.
“The government’s continued
lackadaisical attitude toward the mustangs makes it necessary for
private conservation groups to constantly remain alert and follow the
administration and enforcement of the law. Otherwise, the
horses’ traditional enemies will succeed in slowly but surely
eliminating them.” -- The Politics of Extinction by
Lewis Regenstein, 1975.
Save Money and Wild Horses and Burros
“…reducing authorized grazing
levels would likely be cheaper than wild horse removals to achieve the
same reduction in forage consumption. BLM's livestock grazing
management program operates at a substantial loss. Reducing the
size of the domestic livestock program could, if accompanied by
proportionate reductions in management costs, generate significant
savings. Further livestock reductions in place of wild horse
removals would save the substantial expense of rounding up and
disposing of the horses. -- GAO Report, “Rangeland
Management: Improvements Needed in Federal Wild Horse Program, August
1990.
“Changes in federal policy on
grazing on public lands will not lead to a catastrophic collapse of
the economies of the West. Only a tiny sliver of those economies
rely on federal grazing.” -- “Taking Stock of Public Lands
Grazing” by Dr. Thomas M. Powers in Welfare Ranching: The
Subsidized Destruction of the American West, edited by George
Wuerthner and Mollie Matteson, 2002
“Propped up buy more than $100
million last year in taxpayer subsidies, a small number of ranchers
continue a practice that began in the Wild West 150 years ago…
Who benefits? Mostly the rich. The Mercury News reviewed more than
26,000 federal billing records and found corporations, millionaires
and ‘Rolex’ ranchers dominating the public range.”
-- “Cash
Cows” by San Jose Mercury News staff writers, Paul Rogers and Jennifer
LaFleur, in the San Jose Mercury News, November 7, 1999.
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