Wild Horses May Be Euthanized

by Betty McMahon    August 26, 2008

The downturn in the economy is now filtering down to the wild horses that still roam the western plains. The Bureau of Land Management, the federal agency that manages the herds, announced it may euthanize thousands of the animals.

Six thousand, to be exact.

The unpopular announcement has riled conservationists, ranchers, celebrities and politicians. The Bureau says it can no longer support the estimated 33,000 wild horses and burros now on public rangelands. Half of these are in Nevada. Thirty thousand more are in holding facilities around the country, where many horses live out their life spans. Officials say they lack corral and pasture space; they must pay too much for hay and grain; and fewer people are adopting them.

The BLM took responsibility for the animals in 1971 after it was legislated by Congress. With its $37 million budget, the Bureau regularly rounds up wild herds, trucks them to holding facilities, feeds them and gives them veterinary care – and hopes animal lovers adopt them. It holds adoption events throughout the country each year.

In Colorado, a recent adoption event in Cañon City drew only two buyers. The last two adoption events, in Montrose and Golden, CO had such dismal results that BLM officials canceled any others for the remainder of the year.

Problem is, they round up far more than the adoption market can bear, according to Virginie Parant, director of the American Wild Horse Preservation League.

A BLM spokesman says the roundups are necessary because the population can double every 4 years, leading to overgrazing, soil damage, and other long-term problems.

People like Parant debate that conclusion, saying the Bureau is putting ranchers' interests ahead of the horses' interests. "To say that there is an overpopulation of horses on the land is wildly debatable," she said, adding that there are about 33,000 wild horses grazing on public lands, compared with millions of head of cattle. This situation represents gross mismanagement of the program, say the critics.

Tucson, Arizona Democratic Congressman Raul Grijalva has asked the Bureau to hold off its euthanasia plans, at least until Government Accountability Office presents a report on the program, due Sept. 22.

Celebrities such as Robert Redford have weighed in on the side of the horses. "I believe, as do so many of my fellow Americans, that the wild horse is an irreplaceable national treasure,” he said. “It would be a tragic mistake to allow this noble creature to disappear from our western landscape."

One possible solution is to extend a contraceptive program to hold down the size of the herds. There is ongoing research here on a contraceptive drug, PZP, but it is not an easy fix. Mares have to be rounded up so the drug can be administered, and it must be given every couple of years.

The agency is even soliciting ideas from the public on its website (http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/how_can_i_help.html).


 

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