Cross Breeds

why should wild horses be protected?

i am wanting any insight as to why wild horses should be protected.i am all for them being protected,but am interested in your opinions.

Public Comments

1. 1, wild horses are WILD, which means humans don't own them. #2, horses are very cool. i have many mor but those two alone should tell you.
2. FYI: Zoologically speaking, the only wild horses in the world exist in eastern Poland and western Russia. They are rather shaggy and the size of a pony. Domestic horses were developed from them, but the animal became too large for its own body. Domestic horses are notoriously prone to "breakdowns". What would be a minor injury to a truly wild horse is often fatal to a domestic one. Modern horses routinely die from broken toes and ordinary constipation. Horses that most people think of as "wild" are feral mustangs roaming the western United States. These are descendants of the domestic horses the Spanish army used when it first explored the Americas. Not too surprisingly, some escaped captivity and then found the great plains of western America very similar to the habitat their wild ancestors roamed. In fact, their wild ancestors actually were present in America about 40,000 years ago. At the time the western United states was much more like the plains of modern Africa. Besides bison, there were elephants, rhinos, lions, camals and horses, too. There is evidence the glancing impact of a large comet might have disrupted the climate, killing off most of the wildlife in this part of the world. Thus, most people don't realize the "wild" horse is actually an invasive species, unlike the bison, grizzly bear or mountain lion. It is only as wild as its immediate surroundings, for inside it is a thoroughly man-made creation. Allowing these creatures to exist is mostly a matter of minor debate. They are not predators like wolves, so pose no immediate threat to livestock. Unlike bison, horses carry no diseases which can kill cattle. Horses also eat rougher forage than cattle can, so aren't direct competators for food. To me at least, the debate is cultural. Americans typically exploit whatever they can, and slaughtering feral horses for pet food and bone meal is as acceptable to some as whale hunting once was for all. Frankly the same debate exists with dolphins. Americans see them as semi-human, whereas the Japanese concider them nothing more than fish and harvest them like sardines. I see no reason not to allow them to wander federal lands at least, but sadly many Americans see them as nothing but a quick source of income. Even sadder is the fact the western USA is basically a wasteland, compared to what it was before Europeans arrived. My personal opinion is that the American mustang is a foriegn freak of nature , but then again, so are carnations. So let this foriegn freak wander a despoiled wasteland until our burgenoing technology allows us all to evolve into something wiser than what we are at present.
3. They aren't really wild horse and shouldn't be protected. They are range horses. There are also wild cattle out there and they aren't protected. Ask yourself: why protect horses and not cows. Right now there are way too many of these feral horses for the range to support and they cause a lot of damage to the range. And a lot of them are starving, runted and stunted, and inbred. The old ranchers used to shoot them or round them up, but we're not allowed to any more. Makes no sense to me.
4. They add to the beauty of the landscape. They are mainly persecuted because they compete with domestic cattle for food. Cattle that graze on publicly owned lands have no more right to the vegetation than the wild horses. Government funds should not be used to enrich the cattle industry by removing horses from pubic lands.