Breaking News: BLM’s Wild Horse Advisory Board Just Voted To Kill All 44,000 Captive Wild Horses I

a reply to: Balans

You are totally correct. Therefore I suggest we shut down 100% of all military bases in Europe, including SHAPE. Problem solved. I am NOT sorry for that cheap shot.

Worthless lifeforms, anyway.

Hey I got an idea, lets get people to pay and come shoot them for 'sport'. We could tie em to fences and charge 50 bucks a head...

(sickened sarcasm off)

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I would imagine this might see the same outcome -

BLM drops plan to surgically sterilize wild horses

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has dropped a research effort that would have led to the surgical sterilization of more than 200 wild mares at a facility in Oregon.

The agency said Friday the decision was made in response to litigation from groups that assert the procedures to be researched were unnecessary and barbaric. Advocates for wild horses sought to halt the study or, at the very least, allow the media and the public to observe and record it.

"This decision, though not made lightly, is in response to litigation that could have put the wild horses, BLM staff and our research partners at risk by requiring unnecessary persons or equipment be placed within the small confines of the space where the procedures would take place," the BLM said in a statement released through its Portland office.

BLM spokesman Greg Shine said the agency had no comment beyond the statement.

The BLM wanted to study three methods to determine whether they are safe, effective options for controlling the wild horse population.

Of the three methods, the advocates were most concerned about a procedure that involves removing ovaries from sedated, pregnant mares in various gestational stages. The veterinarian reaches into the mare's abdomen through the vagina to sever and remove the ovaries.

The Cloud Foundation and American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign filed a lawsuit last month seeking the presence of outside observers. Two other groups, Front Range Equine Rescue and Friends of Animals, sued to stop the research that would have been done at the Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines, Oregon.

"The Bureau of Land Management is obligated to protect wild horses under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and has absolutely no authority whatsoever to experiment on wild horses with new and risky surgeries," said Jennifer Best, assistant director of Friends of Animals' wildlife law program. "Congress has expressly prohibited the use of funds for activities that would kill wild horses as this experiment may have done."

click link for article...

Its 49k wild horses across 10 states that are in overflow areas. BL says the land cannot support the current number of wild horses and the cost is currently close to 1 billion USD to maintain the overflow.

The article deals with a plan for 200 horses but I would surmise BLM might come to the same conclusion over 49k horses.

You're all gonna hate me, but you need to understand this: I ranch and farm 250,000+ acres with generations of my family. Horses are an invasive species in North America.

Personally, I love them, we breed countless horses to work our ranch and to keep as personal mounts. I am closer to my own horses than I am to most people.

We also have and use dogs. You can love dogs and not want them to roam your town in feral packs.

You can love horses and not allow them to roam in herds in an environment they are not native to.

Go ahead, hate me, but understand I live out here with them and have for generations. Please consider that in your responses.

I'd have to say this headline has shocked me more than any other in all my years reading ATS.God, you would think Wyoming more than any other state by far would be the one place nobody would ever let this happen. I mean, rather than herding them to slaughter there's no patch of land, if volunteers neutered them, in all Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, or Idaho where they coukd live out their days in a 25yr temporary reserve? Pita can't turn its act around and arrange something after they were found to be a joke? None of the wealthy people with bank accounts that have swole ttotem and eleven figures? Lastly as a vegetarian I hate saying it but if killed does the third world get the meat or is it a total waste? Too bad no cryogenics yet. Put me all in a freezer and daddy I want a pony...tadaa lets go thaw one out honey! But honestly im tempted to chain myself to em and be drawn and quartered in protest that's how much this makes me give up on ever feeling right about this world and humanity.

a reply to: Leonidas

No doubt there is an emotional reaction because these are Horses. I grew up riding a fair amount (Boy Scouts) and love to ride whenever the opportunity presents itself. who doesn't like horses?

That being said they represent a huge problem to ecosystems that are already under alot of strain man made, climate change etc. These are NOT a stray cat or dog at a pound, but in effect wild animals that would take vast amount of resources to round up, train etc, if you want to propose adoption. Plus I don't see lines of people with their horse trailers and acreage lining up to adopt

Bison get culled all the time at Jellystone www.nps.gov... but not much of a hue and cry for those tasty beasts (granted they are not simply destroyed but rather the meat is used for purpose, however, there is cultural issues around eating horsemeat here in the US). Or look to the pig situation in Hawaii and Texas.

Now that being said, this is necessary because of gross mismanagement in the past. The extermination of predatory species like wolves etc has lead to this etc. Now we have to make the hard choice.

a reply to: FredT

You are right on many levels. My own family, back when my Great-uncle and father ran the ranch killed wolves, coyotes and other predators as a matter of course. There was no malice in it, that was the "wise and prescribed" method of animal husbandry at the time. That it screwed up the ecosystem royally is not even fully accepted today by some.

The simple act of fencing off tracts of land - thereby screwing up Elk behaviour - coupled with killing off predators has done harm to the rangeland and benchlands that it is just recovering from today.

You are also correct that because people have such strong and affectionate feelings for horses that helped make a bad situation worse. By moving, delaying and reclassifying horse auctions and culls to the point where you now have a HUGE number up for slaughter so naturally people that cant be expected to understand are naturally appalled.

The general public love the IDEA of Wild Horses until someone they love hit one with their car late at night on the I-15.

We love horses. Of course we dont like to see them destroyed.

Thanks for the thread, had only seen the issue of sterilization discussed in the news locally.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe

originally posted by: eeyipes
a reply to: tetra50

If they are overpopulated, why not round them up, sterilize the males, and let them loose again to live in peace and freedom?

Sterilizing was considered and dropped as a solution. But the females would have been targeted.
It was considered unnecessary and barbaric....like murder isn't?
www.dailymail.co.uk...

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has dropped a research effort that would have led to the surgical sterilization of more than 200 wild mares at a facility in Oregon.

and

"The Bureau of Land Management is obligated to protect wild horses under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and has absolutely no authority whatsoever to experiment on wild horses with new and risky surgeries," said Jennifer Best, assistant director of Friends of Animals' wildlife law program. "Congress has expressly prohibited the use of funds for activities that would kill wild horses as this experiment may have done."

In a sense it would be a necessary evil to "spay the mares" if that stops the slaughter as a working alternative.

The procedure to spay them is rather new and studied/practiced -such as at WSU. The surgery to sterilizing mares is complex and risky as they have to be suspended upright during the surgery due to organ weight.

I really do hope for solution for this will follow and see what can be done to help.

originally posted by: crazyewok
a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I just read that as Black lives matters!

I was thing dam I know they are crazy but killing horses? How are they racist!



But as to the topic that is sad. Are they a pest in the area?

I've ignored this thread the entire day because I thought the Black Lives Matter group had voted to kill a bunch of horses. My first thought was, "WTF? they're not good at driving in rural areas!". Wording thread titles thoroughly is very important.

a reply to: carewemust

Wyoming + Horses + BLM likely means Bureau Land Management

Baltimore + protest + BLM probably means Black Lives Matter

If the headline is "Colorado Parade Descends into Chaos" best to check which BLM is involved...that's just my general guide.

a reply to: Leonidas

Thank-you for the guidance/tips Leonidas. This thread has indeed taught me not to assume contents, based on the title.

a reply to: carewemust

I was being a smart-ass, I apologize.

(Not funny at all?)

OK, I live in the area that allow these wild horses to roam free and, as usual, the media is not relaying the correct/complete information.

First off, these are not the "wild mustangs" of movie lore. These are horses that have escaped or released through the years and have interbred unstopped. They are damaging to the local flora and waterways. The population has been allowed to exploded. These horses have tested positive for West Nile Virus and this virus is not historically seen in this part of the state.

This virus is fatal 35 percent of the time, more so for animal with no management. Those that survive have lasting symptoms involving gait and behavior.

What is more humane?

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

DTM, I am disgusted but far from surprised. BUMP.
Now that the Bakken has been turned largely into a
wildlife preserve and is closed to 'commercial
speculation' , the reason for its transformation has
outlived its usefulness. How I feel is off the chart.

I can only wonder how long it will be until the old
and infirm can join them in Valhalla. 3,2,1.. B/over.

originally posted by: FredT

Now that being said, this is necessary because of gross mismanagement in the past. The extermination of predatory species like wolves etc has lead to this etc. Now we have to make the hard choice.

No one should be happy about the wholesale slaughter of 44,000 living creatures. And the article says captive...I have to wonder where they are being kept, and under what conditions.

How in the world did the BLM allow it to get to this point?
This didn't happen overnight.
It takes mismanagement to a whole 'nother level!!!!!!
Who in the hell is pretending to run the BLM?

This isn't culling a herd of bison, or removing a pack of 11 wolves...as was recently done in Washington State.
This is 44,000 horses.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I'm not glossing over the numbers mind you. 44000 is alot but nor am I suggesting that anybody should be happy about the situation. Obviously someone was asleep at the wheel to let things get this bad and head should (but won't) roll. Nor is anybody expressing a plan for long term management of the problem.

Yes the scale is disturbing but does not mean its not necessary.

Even you you bought say a year, could you adopt all them out? I'd love a horse of my own but I don't live on a ranch and stable costs here are about 1500 a month

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

No one should be happy about the wholesale slaughter of 44,000 living creatures. And the article says captive...I have to wonder where they are being kept, and under what conditions.

I'll assume you and every else is also very upset about the 10+ Billion animals slaughtered every year in the US.... Right?

Farm Animal Statistics: Slaughter Totals

The reality is 44,000 for the entire western US is not that much...

a reply to: Leonidas

Not sure if it's a typo or not, but it jumped immediately: are you saying that your family is one of the 30 or so largest private land owners? I think the 33rd largest private ranch/land/rangeland/crop land owner has just over 260,000 acres? And I do know this for sure (grew up on a dairy farm), it would take more than any number of generations of living, abled-body persons one family ever could manage to pop out in an effort to manage, basically 400 sq miles of ranch/farm land. Seems like ATS would be a bit too time-consuming for you, with that 2500 acres you have to personally manage (assuming your family is 100 abled-bodied individuals). If it was a typo, my bad.

Redhorse seems to have the issue nailed down - I let their words echo my thoughts.

a reply to: redhorse

redhorse:

You know what, I wasn't going to respond to you but I changed my mind. IF you advocated the closing of the slaughter houses the way that they did and kept breeding then you caused this and YOU are responsible the unnecessary slaughter of those animals. Your ego was more important than the actual well being of any horse. If this second scenario is actually the case, I hate you. I mean absolutely despise you and I don't care how many horses you have helped, you have hurt far, far more and you don't even have the excuse of ignorance.

I still don't think you got me in what I wrote. I never bred any horses, whatsoever, anywhere, at any time, though I have worked in the performance horse industry for many years. However, I never even worked for a breeding operation of any kind, whatsoever. Though I have shown horses nationally, I purposefully left the performance horse industry and teaching, to care for, board and nurse injured performance horses and abandoned horses in need of rescue. I also never advocated anything one way or the other about closing slaughter houses. What I did advocate was the protected habitat for wild herds that the BLM was put in charge of. In fact, that's why there was ever even a Bureau of Land Management that was formed and named, as a government entity to oversee the protection of that natural land habitat preserve for wild herds.
The issue is more complicated than slaughter or not, as a population control measure, frankly. In a natural habitat setting, a herd will winnow its population through natural attrition and availability of grazing and water, with little or no human interference. This is a bio-environmental fact which we've observed scientifically with all species dependent upon their environment for survival......

I don't think you are reaching anyone with this level of diatribe, nor teaching anyone anything about the issue at hand, and what caused it. Having said that, I certainly agree with all your points, and how it got to this outcome. But you have no right to judge me, nor tell me about ego, or utter words of how you may or may not despise me. In your first responses, you spoke of sentimental emotion weighing in on causing this problem, and yet, I feel you are demonstrating more emotion than logic, here, as in spewing such "hatred" for someone you don't even know, doesn't help anything that's going on here.

I think I've been relatively level headed in responses to this, when words like "despise" and "ego" and "hurting far more than you've helped" are being used, when we don't know each other or our histories attendant to this issue. I merely responded to this thread, as horses have been my life's work, and I made a conscious choice to leave a lucrative performance horse barn and position, to make (what I thought were) more responsible choices in terms of living creatures who are noble and worthy just for their existence, regardless of their investment value.

I applaud your knowledge and commitment to this issue, but caution that with your current approach you will alienate far more people, and only make the problem worse by divisiveness, then educate and help what we both care about: the welfare of the horses......

take care, and I certainly respect your position on the issue and obvious commitment to the very same animals I love and cherish, as well...
tetra

originally posted by: ATSmediaPRO
a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

No one should be happy about the wholesale slaughter of 44,000 living creatures. And the article says captive...I have to wonder where they are being kept, and under what conditions.

I'll assume you and every else is also very upset about the 10+ Billion animals slaughtered every year in the US.... Right?

Farm Animal Statistics: Slaughter Totals

The reality is 44,000 for the entire western US is not that much...

No, you're right. In the big picture those numbers aren't that much. However, we're talking about the last surviving wild herds in North America. In 1973, an equine veterinarian spent two years camping out on this preserved land, studying these wild herds. What he learned about wild horses, virtually revolutionized equine vet medicine for domesticated horses..... Some of that knowledge has led to the development of natural supplements and remedies for issues horses used to be put down for, allowing them now to live longer, and continue to be productive....."having jobs" as we say in the horse industry.

If you've never seen a wild herd, observed its hierarchy in action, the stallion protecting his harem of mares and progeny, running wild and living free, just being horses, in all their beauty and nobility, perhaps you won't grasp the loss of that existing in North America any longer.......

It is a true loss of nature, beauty and the evidence of the creator's presence in all of nature......imho

There's one thing I'd like to point out here. The reality of this world for horses, where we no longer need them to survive, in terms of transportation or working fields to grow crops for our livelihood, is that without a "job," or a pedigree in terms of performance value (i.e., racing, show jumping, eventing, showing), in other words if they don't earn their keep in such a way, investment or daily work as school horses, for instance, they are usually obsolete, disregarded, undervalued, and often starve and die.....

I had a $40,000 show horse, that was injured permanently in hurricane Katrina. I spent the last of my savings after the hurricane to nurse him, though he would always be crippled, and I would never ride, much less show him again, nor recoup my investment in him. But he "carried" me for many years, and I owed him that. He died in a pasture with a harem of polo mares, thinking he was a stud, struck by lightening on one fine summer day..... He had no recognition that he was crippled. It was his happiest time of life, just being a horse. I miss him every day. He was my closest friend.

I regret we live in a world with limited resources, that is increasingly invested in technology and increasingly departing from natural environment and all living creatures' connection to that. The more we "control" nature, I think, the more off kilter the world gets...and this, to me, is but another example of this......