Wild Horses Saved in Last Minute Rescue
Doomed to be Killed, Now Being Adopted by the Pickens Family
Nov 19, 2008
Unwanted wild horses that no one seemed to want to adopt will now have a new home in the West along with 30,000 other horses and burros that are kept in federal holding pens. They will be adopted by Madeline Pickens, wife of billionaire T. Boone Pickens
Wild Horses Inspiration for Song and Story
Wild horses have been associated with the romance of the West and are protected by a Federal statute that calls them "living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West." that should be "protected from capture, branding, harassment or death." However, the same law also requires the government to achieve "appropriate management levels" of roaming horses so they don't overwhelm federal lands. That poses a problem for Bureau of Land Management Officials (BLM).
Wild Horses Compete with Cattle and Wildlife
Wild horses compete with cattle and wildlife for food and water. Horse advocates say that federal officials have made faulty assumptions about the number of horses that can be accommodated on federal land. Spokesman for the National Cattlemens's Beef Association, and industry lobbying group (Washington Post, 11/18/08) said that all they seek is management of the wild horse population.
Federal Wild Horse Program
The federal government has been rounding up wild horses since the 1980s, putting them in holding pens and offering them for adoption to horse lovers who promise not to sell them for slaughter. In June 2008, the BLM was holding over 30,000 animals, more than triple the 9,807 held in 2001. Meanwhile, the pace of adoptions has been going down as costs for feeding and caring for the wild horses skyrocketed. The costs to the Federal government has risen from $7 million in 2000 to $21 million in 2007. The Government Accountability office told the BLM that it needed to exercise its option, including euthanasia and practice selling the horses without restrictions.
Animal Rights Groups Protest
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, a coalition of about 45 groups, maintains that the BLM does not use a scientifically sound method to estimate the size of the wild horse herds or the number of horses that can be sustained on the range. In addition, about 19 millions acres of land where the horses once roamed have been removed from the program, reducing the amount of land for the horses and concentrating them more heavily in one area.
Wild Horses Rescue
The BLM announced at a public hearing in Reno on November 17, 2008, that Madeline Pickens, wife of billionaire T. Boone Pickens, had made known her intention to not only adopt the doomed animals, but most or all of the 30,000 horses and burros that are being held in Federal holding pens. Mrs. Pickens is now looking for land in the West that would make an appropriate home for the horses. In addition, two other backup rescue groups have expressed interest in adopting them.
While this adoption is a temporary reprieve for the wild horses, everyone agrees that some fundamental changes have to be made to accommodate the growing herds. The hope is that animal lovers, cattlemen and BLM can work together to make sure these beautiful animals can live out their lives in natural surroundings.
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