11-10 FB Wild Horse Dilemma

 We’ve got yet another problem in our country…and it’s emotional. I’m David Sparks

 People have a thing about horses and dogs, don’t they? We grew up watching Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, Black Beauty, Roy Rogers’ Trigger and the Lone Ranger’s Silver. Horses and dogs are often heros in our lives and if not that, at the very least are objects of our undying affection. So what do we do with the wild horses and burros that are roaming freely on our rangelands and increasing their population at prolific levels? According to BLM statistics, a wild horse herd can double in size nearly every 4 years and that is not a sustainable growth pattern.

 There are some, like Wyoming Republican Representative Sue Wallis, who believe that unmanageable population growth should be taken care of via the use of slaughterhouses. The BLM on the other hand favors another strategy. Here’s BLM spokesperson Heather Tiel Nelson: “BLM does everything it can to protect wild horses. We offer them for adoption. In fact we wait a year before awarding title to a new adopter”.