Wednesday, March 30, 2011

BLM taking proposals for wild horse sanctuaries

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is seeking proposals for establishing "eco-sanctuaries" for wild horses amid controversy over its handling of these icons of the range. The BLM said Tuesday it would provide up to $40 million over five years to establish the sanctuaries, funding the agency expects to have available through the existing federal Wild Horse and Burro Program. Half of the grant money would be available for sanctuaries located on private and public land within established wild horse herd areas, which are located in 10 Western states. The other $20 million would fund sanctuaries on private land that could be located in any part of the U.S. More than 38,000 wild horses roam Wyoming, Nevada, California and seven other Western states. The populations would double every four years, except that the BLM rounds up about 10,000 horses a year to keep the herds in check and prevent overgrazing. The BLM adopts out many of the horses to the public and sends others to long-term holding facilities and pastures in the West and Midwest. Such facilities and pastures are home to about 40,000 horses. Ranchers support the roundups but animal rights groups call them inhumane, saying they often injure horses. Meanwhile, the program's cost has tripled over the past decade to $64 million a year...more

3 comments:

Jule said...

I read where Wayne Pacelle the president of the USHS told private horse owners that they should euthanize their unwanted horses. I think what goes for domestic horses should go for the wild horses. Euthanize the surplus wild horses.

drjohn said...

Lets euthanize them but not waste the meat. Look at my web page www.horsemeatforlionsandtigers.com

Anonymous said...

Let's send them to Grand Central Park in NY city!. Lots of grass there and water too.