I'm very familiar with the issue. It's pretty much hopeless, so you might as well drop it.
You know it's hopeless when you can't get experts and Fed land managers to discuss the issue, or identify removal of feral horses as a goal, or officially listed as a problem. Horse activist have politicians and gov employees running with tail between legs. BLM doesn't even count funding for horse management as an invasive species. Wild horse and burro Act prevents any type of control other than permanent holding facilities. Meanwhile our gov gives mixed messages, on one hand lumping them with feral animals causing environmental damage, but on the other designating wild horse preserves and glamorizing wild horses at Assateague Island and outer banks of NC.
To scientist, it seems crazy and the solutions are pretty clear; you need to get the horses off the landscape one way or another. There's a human element of "horse love" for warm, cute and cuddly critters and it's real. You might think it's crazy, but it's absolutely real and not going away...., accept it. Hollywood and rich and famous glamorize the wild horse, Reno airport glamorizes the wild horse and nothing raises money faster than telling the rich and famous how these magnificent animals are being harmed. I doubt that activist want the problem to go away because it's a really good gig with money flowing like a river. Our Gov is scared from providing public information combatting the misinformation of horse activist groups, so you end up with a vacuum with only the radicals educating the public. You wouldn't believe the misinformation the activist put out there for public viewing while our Gov agencies are scared to even talk about it publicly. You can kill feral hogs all day long using a ball-ping hammer or dynamite, but don't even think of harming the magnificent horse. I agree they are majestic creatures, but it's still unsustainable on the landscape. Birth control is still limited to about two-year effectiveness. The development of more effective birth control is the only outside chance of any resolution.
What bothers me the most is how they want it both ways...., they want to say they are wild animals, yet you can't harm them. If they are wild, then there should be a hunting season.
You know it's hopeless when you can't get experts and Fed land managers to discuss the issue, or identify removal of feral horses as a goal, or officially listed as a problem. Horse activist have politicians and gov employees running with tail between legs. BLM doesn't even count funding for horse management as an invasive species. Wild horse and burro Act prevents any type of control other than permanent holding facilities. Meanwhile our gov gives mixed messages, on one hand lumping them with feral animals causing environmental damage, but on the other designating wild horse preserves and glamorizing wild horses at Assateague Island and outer banks of NC.
To scientist, it seems crazy and the solutions are pretty clear; you need to get the horses off the landscape one way or another. There's a human element of "horse love" for warm, cute and cuddly critters and it's real. You might think it's crazy, but it's absolutely real and not going away...., accept it. Hollywood and rich and famous glamorize the wild horse, Reno airport glamorizes the wild horse and nothing raises money faster than telling the rich and famous how these magnificent animals are being harmed. I doubt that activist want the problem to go away because it's a really good gig with money flowing like a river. Our Gov is scared from providing public information combatting the misinformation of horse activist groups, so you end up with a vacuum with only the radicals educating the public. You wouldn't believe the misinformation the activist put out there for public viewing while our Gov agencies are scared to even talk about it publicly. You can kill feral hogs all day long using a ball-ping hammer or dynamite, but don't even think of harming the magnificent horse. I agree they are majestic creatures, but it's still unsustainable on the landscape. Birth control is still limited to about two-year effectiveness. The development of more effective birth control is the only outside chance of any resolution.
What bothers me the most is how they want it both ways...., they want to say they are wild animals, yet you can't harm them. If they are wild, then there should be a hunting season.
