Wild Horses and Burros Film

[Big Fin]

This is a film put out by the Wildlife Society, showing the impacts of unmanaged numbers of non-native horses and burros. It is well done at a high production level. Though they were far more gentle in presenting the realities than I would have been, I think they have an effective message.

If you care about wild landscapes and native wildlife, I hope you will share this film with your friends who share the same concerns about these amazing places.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

Good little film although they were quite subtle with mentioning the impacts. Curious to know where they got the number for how many horses are in holding facilities waiting for adoption. I have read in multiple places that it is over 270,000 in captivity that the tax payers feed.

 

[stuckinthecitylife]

Certain cultural changes need to take place before this problem can go away.

Firstly there needs to be a cultural swing in the west toward consuming horse meat, domestic and wild. In addition to that there needs to be federal help to regulate the safety of such, primarily when domestic is concerned.. That's a short statement, but it asks a lot.

Secondly there needs to be the same cultural uprising regarding the use of Horse meat as a suitable pet food. This is also critical, if not more critical than the first. Rather then spending millions on this re-homing program, the fed's should be spending millions on advocating and legalizing horse meat, and pushing that with benefits to the big pet food companies.

These two in conjunction will A. raise the market value of the domestic horse. (KEY, KEY, KEY). B. It will help initiate a management strategy that is not only humane, but also have dollar and cent back-game which is where it really suffers.

Once the wheels are in motion with the above, should we hunt them? Absolutely. But a hunt isn't the end-all answer, or even the beginning without the first two taking significant ground culturally, at least in the Western states.

Look to examples of Asian and European countries in which horse meat at the local deli is the norm, and dead horses are common snacks for our feline and k-9 friends. They have no such issue with wild horses. We wouldn't either if people (and naturally mostly women) wouldn't get so offended at the mere thought of killing these animals. It's a fact of life that we as a country must come to grips with. The horse is a natural resource, same as the goat, the chicken, the pig. Regardless of it's other uses.

Wild pigs would be just as bad if suddenly the pig farmers and packers weren't permitted to sell their meat to the public at large.

The crime does not fall to the Horse itself. It falls to the USDA and other federal agencies.

- Joseph

 

[Southern Elk]

One of the guests on the recent Meateater podcast hit the nail on the head. I'm paraphrasing, but he said that nothing is likely to change because no politician is going to vote for the killing of horses.

 

[Big Fin]

The crime does not fall to the Horse itself. It falls to the USDA and other federal agencies.

- Joseph

I agree, the crime is not of the horse; they are just being horses that are trying to make a living in a harsh environment. I would disagree that it falls to the USDA or other Federal agencies. I would say this problem falls to Congress and the Courts, with Congress being the greatest violator of common sense and reality. Congress passes the rules that no longer allow horses to be rendered in meat plants. It is Congress that allows the Wild Horse & Burro Act to be violated to no end. It is Congress that fails to adequately fund solutions, however controversial those solutions may be.

 

[MTelkHuntress]

I was so unaware about this issue, I had heard briefly about the adoption of the wild horses but I didnt really know why it was happening. I fell down the google rabbit hole (briefly due to time constraints...thank goodness) trying to read up on all sides and why so many people are against the removal of the horses (not just that they like the horses but rather what they symbolize). Its strange to me that even "fertility management" is even seen as cruel or inhumane. I realize that would take a lot of money and resources and would not nearly be as effective as rounding some up for...harvesting? There are just so many issues within this issue. I feel like I have some more reading to do.

 

[mtnrunner260]

Great video and hopefully it sheds light on the situation that is affecting the west but I didn't see a single wild horse in it.

 

[Southern Elk]

I was so unaware about this issue, I had heard briefly about the adoption of the wild horses but I didnt really know why it was happening. I fell down the google rabbit hole (briefly due to time constraints...thank goodness) trying to read up on all sides and why so many people are against the removal of the horses (not just that they like the horses but rather what they symbolize). Its strange to me that even "fertility management" is even seen as cruel or inhumane. I realize that would take a lot of money and resources and would not nearly be as effective as rounding some up for...harvesting? There are just so many issues within this issue. I feel like I have some more reading to do.

One thing that most people don't realize is that these horses are not native to North America. They were brought here by the Spanish. They are feral and they are taking away food and water from animals that are native.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

One of the problems with the people not understanding the situation is when you research it things like this are some of the first things that pop up. People read and believe it and anyone who doesn't is an inhumane ignoramus.

Myths & Facts About the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program

americanwildhorsecampaign.org

 

[Irrelevant]

I think you can take anything that Ben Masters makes to the bank. This was a great followup (though too short) to Unbranded.

 

[MTGomer]

The grim reality is that people with guns must kill 60,000 horses out of the side of helicopters. Until that can happen, we’re just grasping at straws pretending to do something.
I had horses growing up. My one old horse Cassidy is living out his final years at my parent’s. I love horses.
But I say shoot them. Shoot every last one that can’t be adopted.

 

[BigHornRam]

Crazy old horse lady Madeleine Pickens is still whipping up the base.

I-Team: Madeleine Pickens makes grisly discovery on her Nevada ranch

The owner of a sprawling ranch in northern Nevada has made a gruesome discovery — the carcasses of eight wild horses gunned down near a watering hole.

www.lasvegasnow.com

 

[Gerald Martin]

The people blocking removal and management of wild horses don't love horses. They love themselves and the idea of what wild horses mean to them. If they cared about horses they would want to see them properly cared for. $50 million per year at the tax payers expense for the feeding of captive feral horses at government facilities.

 

[Big Fin]

One thing that most people don't realize is that these horses are not native to North America. They were brought here by the Spanish. They are feral and they are taking away food and water from animals that are native.

Another thing most folks don't realize is that the current population of feral horses has been DNA tested for Spaniard genetics and less than 5% of feral horses have that lineage. The majority of these horses were domestic horses that were released by owners who no longer wanted the responsibility. In the dog world, these horses would be mutts and mongrels.

A good article at this link - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...Cxw4WDmRrAlk1lr-kvG8jSDoqHn3C7T5CqOmur7QPYCnI

 

[Deleted member 28227]

One thing that most people don't realize is that these horses are not native to North America. They were brought here by the Spanish. They are feral and they are taking away food and water from animals that are native.

Mostly true, technically the earliest direct ancestor to the modern horse evolved here in North America. That ancestor, Eohippus migrated to Asia and the last North American species Equus simplicidens died out around 10,000 years ago. There is a hypothesis that human hunters were a driving factor in the extinction to horses, and that the Spanish were actually doing a re-introduction.

None of this changes the fact that they were absent from the landscape for 10,000 years, the landscape changed without them and they are now a feral invasive that needs to be managed.

 

[Schaaf]

Another thing most folks don't realize is that the current population of feral horses has been DNA tested for Spaniard genetics and less than 5% of feral horses have that lineage. The majority of these horses were domestic horses that were released by owners who no longer wanted the responsibility. In the dog world, these horses would be mutts and mongrels.

A good article at this link - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...Cxw4WDmRrAlk1lr-kvG8jSDoqHn3C7T5CqOmur7QPYCnI

Wow. I never knew that.

 

[BigHornRam]

BLM is to blame according to this fine piece of "journalism".

Wonder how big of a campaign contribution Pickens had to make to get Harry Reid and Di Fi to endorse this nonsense?

Mustang Monument Wild Horse Sanctuary Stalled Out By BLM

Mustang Monument started off as just the proverbial glimmer in Madeleine Pickens’ eye, back in 2006. She was inspired by the dilemma of the Bureau of Land Management, with the problem of what to do with all of the wild mustangs. Thousands of them are rounded up annually, taken off the public...

www.inquisitr.com

 

[300stw]

I volunteer my efforts and ammo when the time is right,,,,

 

[stuckinthecitylife]

Randy is exactly right in regards to the majority of these horses being of domestic lineage/origin. (Not just hundreds of years ago), just years. IE the last few decades. And precisely why this has become such an issue in the last 15 years. It directly coincides with my statements earlier, to quote

"A. raise the market value of the domestic horse. (KEY, KEY, KEY)"

- Joseph

 

[Southern Elk]

Another thing most folks don't realize is that the current population of feral horses has been DNA tested for Spaniard genetics and less than 5% of feral horses have that lineage. The majority of these horses were domestic horses that were released by owners who no longer wanted the responsibility. In the dog world, these horses would be mutts and mongrels.

A good article at this link - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...Cxw4WDmRrAlk1lr-kvG8jSDoqHn3C7T5CqOmur7QPYCnI

I did not know this.