Science and Compassion: Essential for Wild Horse Management
Few images evoke the romantic spirit of the West like a herd of wild horses galloping under a cloudless sky. However, this romance is a heartbreaker as more wild horses are held in captivity at taxpayer expense than can be found in the wild.
This was not the intent of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, which assigned the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) the job of managing these animals on public lands. Since then, disagreements about how many chewing mouths the range can support have been intense, with public-land ranchers resenting the competition for forage these wild animals represent.
Critics argue that the BLM's management program focuses more on rounding up and removing animals than allowing them to roam free. The BLM contends that without natural predators, allowing horses and burros to remain on the land would lead to population explosions and starvation scenarios that the public would not tolerate.
Taxpayers contribute significantly to a program that pleases few. The budget for the BLM program ballooned from $20 million in 2000 to $75 million in 2012, primarily to hold the animals. The federal government is running out of space, and while some animals are adopted, demand does not keep up with the supply of captured horses and burros.
The BLM estimates that 40,605 wild horses and burros roam BLM land in 10 Western states, which is 14,000 more than is compatible with other land uses, such as public-land ranching. More than 49,000 animals are held in captivity.
A report by the National Academy of Sciences in June highlights that removing horses is an ineffective means of population control because the remaining animals reproduce faster. Birth-control measures, including a plan to round up, surgically spay, and return the animals to the wild, have faced criticism from horse advocates. However, the National Academy report recommends increased use of a fertility-control vaccine.
The BLM is in a tough spot and needs guidance and hard science to improve the program to accomplish the law’s goal of preserving wild horses and burros. In June, Arizona Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a long-time champion of the horses, and 29 other House members sent a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell demanding a review of the program. His office reports no response has been received.
The BLM’s National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will hold a three-day meeting in Virginia beginning next Monday to discuss the National Academy report and issues relating to the management, protection, and control of wild horses and burros. Comments can be sent by email to wildhorse@blm.gov with 'Advisory Board Comment' in the subject line.
Keeping wild horses and burros on public land requires a cool, well-informed look at the facts, as well as a leavening of compassion and respect for the heritage of the West.
Originally Posted By The Republic