Guest Author - Susan Hopf
The Bureau of Land Management is at it again. Contracted helicopter pilots are flying low over public lands and running the nation’s wild horses over hill and dale. Foals that are not yet old enough to keep up with the herd are falling behind – the last round up cost the lives of several foals due to their hooves literally falling off from running too long and too hard. This same round up cost the lives of 18 horses.
The public has protested the BLM’s actions. The public wants the wild horses to remain on public land but lobbying from cattle ranchers has obviously spoken louder than the American people. The horse’s numbers are in decline due to the previous roundups. The horses are held in holding pens in numbers too big to allow them room to roam. Many are injured from being housed in such crowded and confined conditions, as well as from attempts to escape their captivity.
The arguments against maintaining the various wild horse populations are frangible at best – the horses are native to the land by every description possible. They have occupied the land since before the first white men even set foot on the continent. The cattle – a definite newcomer to the west in relative terms – and the horses compete for grazing and water rights. The cattle are grazed on public lands in exchange for lease fees. The government has chosen to stand with those cattle ranchers in total disregard to the majority opinion of average citizens.
What can be done to help our nations wild horses? Contacting and supporting the Cloud foundation is a good start and is linked below. Contacting and expressing your outrage for the brutal methods used to round up such noble creatures is another good step – contact information for the BLM is also linked below. Please take a moment and consider that these horses are native to the Western United States. The BLM is supposed to protect such animals but has chosen instead to devastate the existing herds. Take another moment to express yourself and tell them to stop the round ups.
These majestic animals are living monuments of the Western United States. They are living on public lands and should be protected from this sort of brutality. They should also be allowed to live their lives free and unhindered by human captivity – anything less is the same as yet another species heading toward extinction – this must not be allowed to happen.
You can use the email link for the BLM below or call directly:
202-208-3801 - This is the Washington office
