Talking Points: Devil's Garden Meeting

The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) advocates for the humane management of wild horses in the Devil's Garden Wild Horse Territory. Given the prevailing social preference for protecting wild horses and the economic costs of removing and warehousing more wild horses in holding facilities, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) must forgo the expensive and brutal helicopter roundup of horses from the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory (Territory).

Proposed Management Strategies

Instead, the agency must:

• Impose a moratorium on all removals of Devil’s Garden’s wild horses from the Territory;
• Manage the remaining Devil’s Garden horses humanely in the wild via a comprehensive PZP fertility control program and reallocation of forage resources away from subsidized livestock to maintain the current wild horse population, save taxpayers money, and protect this unique California mustang herd;
• Implement range improvements, such as the development of additional water sources and removal of fencing, to enhance the ability of the Devil’s Garden wild horses to utilize the entire Territory instead of forcing them to concentrate in certain areas;
• Complete a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis of the excluded Middle Section of the Territory that would determine both the boundaries and Appropriate Management Level for the 23,000-acre section between the east and west sides of the Territory;
• Develop a Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program that would define standards, training, and monitoring for conducting roundups and ensure humane transport, care, and handling of the animals who are removed and placed in the care of the USFS.