This is our weekly point, counter point post on various Sportsmen issues from both sides.
In 1971, an unprecedented public outcry moved Congress to unanimously pass the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, granting federal protection to America’s wild horses and burros as living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.
Today there are thousands of wild mustangs that run wild through out the west. The roundup is part of the Bureau of Land Management’s overall strategy to remove thousands of mustangs from public lands across the West to protect wild horse herds and the rangelands that support them. The bureau estimates about half of the nearly 37,000 wild mustangs live in Nevada, with others concentrated in Arizona, California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming.
The BLM roundups wild horses every year by using helicopters to herd the horses into pens and holding areas. The BlM states that:
- It is necessary to manage the number of wild horses so they don’t impact the land they roam on.
- The carrying capacity is limited and the number of mustangs exceeds the lands ability to maintain the herd.
- If the mustangs aren’t managed and the numbers kept in check then they risk starving and a slow death.
- Too many horses impact the range land and vegetation for other wild animals as well as cattle that share the land.
For me this issue hits close to home. I live in Central Idaho and we have wild horses right here in my back yard near Challis Idaho. Last year they did a round up and several horses were killed. The wild mustang has been here a long time and we need to find a better way to ensure there is a blance for all our wildlife. I beleive some things need to managed in order that we have balance but the wild horse and rounds ups I am not a fan of here in Idaho.
Chris Burget
On the other side of the issue are groups that oppose the practice of rounding up wild horses with helicopters and call for the ban of all roundups.
- The Wild Mustang is an iconic symbol and should be left to roam freely.
- The BLM’s practice of using helicopter to round the horses up causes serious injury and death to many horses each year.
- The BLM’s wild horse program cost about $50 million this year and is expected to rise to at least $85 million by 2012 if the program is not changed, which comes from tax payers dollars
Lori Mcnee
http://www.bullsandbeavers.com/2010/01/16/wild-horses/
These are two sides of the issue. We want to hear from you on whether you feel the BLM should round up wild horses. Share your experience and or encounters with the wild mustang. Whatever your experience is we want to hear both sides.
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