Hello all,
I don't know if any of you have heard about this proposal, so I thought I would post a link to an article with a Q&A with one of the Advisory Board members Ben Masters. It is certainly a big conservation issue of our time. The board voted 7-1 last week to propose the euthanasia or adoption of the excess mustangs in BLM holding facilities and the future round up and euthanasia of the excess mustangs on the range. Once at manageable levels, the Wild Horse population would be controlled through the use of contraceptive darts.
To put that in perspective that is the euthanasia of 45,000 horses in holding and over the next several years the euthanasia of at least that many on the range.
My thoughts: It has to be done. Period. The range can't support that many horses, and the biodiversity has been slammed because of them.
I know a common argument on here is going to be to let the states manage the Wild Horses as game animals and let us hunters manage the populations, and in theory I totally agree with that sentiment. I certainly wouldn't turn up my nose at a bunch of horse meat. But I also think hunting the horses would not be worth the damage to our image as hunters.
http://www.horsenation.com/2016/09/...nasia-of-excess-mustangs-qa-with-ben-masters/
I don't know if any of you have heard about this proposal, so I thought I would post a link to an article with a Q&A with one of the Advisory Board members Ben Masters. It is certainly a big conservation issue of our time. The board voted 7-1 last week to propose the euthanasia or adoption of the excess mustangs in BLM holding facilities and the future round up and euthanasia of the excess mustangs on the range. Once at manageable levels, the Wild Horse population would be controlled through the use of contraceptive darts.
To put that in perspective that is the euthanasia of 45,000 horses in holding and over the next several years the euthanasia of at least that many on the range.
My thoughts: It has to be done. Period. The range can't support that many horses, and the biodiversity has been slammed because of them.
I know a common argument on here is going to be to let the states manage the Wild Horses as game animals and let us hunters manage the populations, and in theory I totally agree with that sentiment. I certainly wouldn't turn up my nose at a bunch of horse meat. But I also think hunting the horses would not be worth the damage to our image as hunters.
http://www.horsenation.com/2016/09/...nasia-of-excess-mustangs-qa-with-ben-masters/