Cross Breeds

why is the government thinking about euthanizing wild horses and mustangs??

whats wrong with them? and could you own a mustang??? because my school mascot is a mustang but if its wild will it be dangerous?

Public Comments

1. bc our gov't thinks they could rule the world, and frankly, we are all getting tired of it
2. obviously, you dont know anything about horses. its because nobody (who doesny have any experience like you) can ride one. yes, you can if you know how and its trained. theres just too many. and almost every schools mascot is a mustang.
3. I will try to tackle the questions one at a time. What's wrong with them? The BLM areas are becoming over-populated with the mustangs. Since people are having trouble affording horses as is, they aren't adopting mustangs as much. The only other way to keep them safely in the BLM areas is to euthanize some of the older/unhealthy/etc. mustangs. Could you own a mustang? If you are a very experienced horseperson, you can adopt a mustang through the BLM. Only experienced horsepeople can adopt mustangs because they are completely wild and, sometimes, unmanageable. Will it be dangerous? It would be very dangerous to have your school adopt a wild mustang for the mascot. I highly doubt you have an experienced horseperson on the school staff.
4. Wild horse herds tend to invade crop land and pastures, so they are considered a nuisance. Most herds are protected by law, but some areas do capture and sell mustangs. If properly tamed down from a young age, a mustang is perfectly rideable.
5. The goverment is going completly crazy! all animals begin um tammed and wild. GOD MADE THEM THAT WAY! With the big slaughter at the border and all this other baloney! They shouldn't just go and kill them! Lets bind together and fix this! WHO's WITH ME?
6. Each year, the BLM rounds up wild horses from herd throughout the western US and sells them at auctions. The reason for this is that the land available to them can't support the rate at which they are breeding, so, it is either round them up and sell them or let them slowly starve in the wild. They attempt to keep the populations to a level that can be supported naturally. However, with the economy the way it is, they are having progressively harder time finding homes for all the mustangs they round up, so they are considering euthanizing some of them, as they just don't have the resources or facilities to care for large numbers of wild horses for the long term. There's nothing wrong with them, they simply can not find them homes. Wild caught mustangs are extremely dangerous before gentled, only an experienced horseperson should adopt and train one, the BLM carefully screens all adopters prior to allowing them to bid on a horse. You can read more about the BLM, how to adopt a wild horse or burro, and why they are considering euthanasia for some of these animals here: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro.html
7. I'M WITH YOU WILDHORSELOVER!!!! WILD HORSES FOREVER
8. We have been wondering about this ourselves so we did a little research on it. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management claims that there are too many wild horses on the land that they have made available for them and they have to reduce the amount they are spending... They only have so much per year to spend. But the wild horses in the wild don't appear to be starving by any means even though the cattle that graze on the same land outnumbers the horses 200 to 1. Cattle ranchers also lease the same land with "grazing permits" the horses are on so their cattle can graze on it too. The Bureau of Land Management sells these permits to ranchers. I think the bureau may be selling too many "grazing permits" than there is grass available. I think they should limit the amount of "grazing permits" rather than consider euthanizing wild horses and mustangs. The biggest problem in my estimation is that there are way too many cattle grazing on the same land the wild horses are on. It appears that the Bureau of Land Management is also rounding up too many horses for the amount of adopters that are available each year, and then keeping those that aren't adoptable, (those that are too old or untrainable), in holding pens for the remainder of their lives rather than returning them to the land. This isn't cost effective in my opinion. I think it would be cheaper to return them back out to pasture or back into the wild to live their lives in peace. Furthermore, they could save up to 7.7 million dollars a year if they simply gelded the young colts each year. I don't think the inhumane slaughter of these wild horses will answer any of their problems over the long haul... nor will leaving unadoptable horses in holding pens. This is what "The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign" had to say at: http://www.wildhorsepreservation.org/ TALKING POINTS – WILD HORSES 1. There is no overpopulation of wild horses on public lands. Wild horses comprise a minute fraction of grazing animals on public lands. When the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed in 1971, Congress stated that “wild horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene.” Since then, population levels have been slashed by about half, to less than 25,000 animals. To evaluate population levels and justify round-ups, BLM estimates an annual population increase rate of about 20%. This unsubstantiated number appears grossly inflated when compared to the National Academy of Sciences’ estimate of a 10% annual population increase rate. 2. Wild horses are not the cause of over-grazing of the public rangelands. The main cause of degradation of public lands is livestock use, not wild horses. Cows graze within a mile of water, while wild horses are highly mobile, grazing from five to ten miles from water, at higher elevations, on steeper slopes, and in more rugged terrain. A congressionally-mandated study by the National Academy of Sciences found that wild horse forage use remains a small fraction of cattle forage use on public ranges. Private livestock outnumber wild horses at least 200 to 1 on public lands. 3. Most wild horses are NOT suffering from starvation out on the range. The majority of wild horses captured are in good condition. Despite federal protection, wild horses have been relegated to the most inhospitable areas of the range. Still, they have adapted and survived. Cattle fencing on public lands can prevent horses from accessing scarce natural water sources and disrupt their widespread grazing patterns. In such instances, better in-the-wild management is the answer, rather than costly and traumatic round-ups. 4. BLM’s removal policy is not fiscally responsible. In-the-wild management would save millions of tax-dollars. BLM’s wild horse and burro budget was increased by 50% in 2001, then by another third in 2005, to fund a massive removal campaign. It costs as much as 3,000 of our tax-dollars to remove and process a single wild horse for adoption. A 2004 USGS study found that in-the-wild use of contraceptive measures alone would save 7.7 million tax-dollars annually. 5. Wild horses are native to North America, not exotics. Modern molecular biology has shown wild horses to be a reintroduced native North American wildlife species. Horses reintroduced by the Spanish were genetically equivalent to those that had gone extinct in North America 12 to 11 thousand years prior. The American wild horse evolved over the past 500 years and adapted to the same ecological niche as its native ancestors had once thrived in. - source: www.wildhorsepreservation.org - 2008 The Bureau of Land Management is also having an internet adoption to begin July 9th 2008. APPLICATIONS will be accepted starting July 7 and will close at Noon Central Time on July 21. BIDDING will open on July 9 and will close at Noon Central time on July 23. For more information go to... https://www.blm.gov/adoptahorse/howtoadopt.php or https://www.blm.gov/adoptahorse/ You could personally own a mustang. The prices can range from $25.00 to $125.00 for an untrained horse to several thousand dollars for a trained horses. They also have young colts and filly's available. Not just grown horses. They would be easier to train too. Some previously wild horses are currently show horses, are ridden by our men in blue on our city streets, etc. They are trainable... If you can't own a horse but would like to donate to a good cause go to: http://www.wildhorsepreservation.org or http://www.returntofreedom.org - Return to Freedom - American Wild Horse Sanctuary But MOST of all don't forget to sign our petition to Save The Mustangs at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savethemustangs We can do our part to save these beautiful creatures...
9. I haven't heard about this but its a bad idea. id like to find more information on it