Wild Horses Overpopulated in Nevada

[Ndbowhunter]

They were here before that, horses evolved here. So technically they are native but they went extinct for unknown reasons so that's where part of the stickiness of the situation comes from.

But if they are to be treated like native animals they need to be fully treated like native animals and managed as such.

The Pre Columbia’s horse and a modern horse aren’t the same species of animals.

Therefore modern horses they can’t be native.

 

[cmahoney]

It was hard for me to not get mad after hiking up to this peak in area 6 to hopefully spot some elk in their winter range. I couldn’t find any elk, which are really hurting according to the big game status report. I did see hundreds of feral horses. My entire field of view while panning my binos looked like this, horses everywhere.

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[ozyclint]

we have a similar problem here in Australia, most notably in Kosciusko National park in New South Wales and Alpine National park in Victoria.
they trample and destroy fragile alpine environments and create wallows in alpine wetlands.

the worst thing that happened was the movie 'the man from snowy river'. apparently they are part of our cultural heritage.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

we have a similar problem here in Australia, most notably in Kosciusko National park in New South Wales and Alpine National park in Victoria.
they trample and destroy fragile alpine environments and create wallows in alpine wetlands.

the worst thing that happened was the movie 'the man from snowy river'. apparently they are part of our cultural heritage.

An introduced species is now “cultural heritage”? Lol.

 

[ozyclint]

yeah i know, it's insane.

 

[srfdmatty]

I know this video has been posted before, but it’s appropriate for this thread. Share this on social media.

Wow. Thanks for posting. I knew there was an issue but not to this severity. It is truly disgusting to see what the politicians have done to our lands through inaction. What a disgrace. Where are the all the environmentalists on this issue? Do they look the other way because it's a horse causing the damage and not a corporation? A few gun ships could reduce the population quickly.
Why not issue OTC tags for them and put no limit on the number hunters could buy until the population is below the feasible levels or to 0 for that matter.
Does anyone know if the mule deer foundation, RMEF or the the sheep foundation is working to solve this issue? Seems like something our membership fees should be going to work on. Wish our tax dollars would actually go to something as important as reducing the population of the horses instead of feeding them.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Ya see em when predator calling all the time around Vegas. Crazy how many of em are stomping around.

 

[RCL]

I am aware of several large ranches in Kansas and Oklahoma that are home to wild horses.
Feds trap them and ship them and they stay there until they die, I believe.
Believe it is on a contract basis and pay must be good for them to replace cattle.

 

[rcdinaz]

We have the same problem in AZ. Any culling by Game and Fish has been stopped in court every time. We now have warning signs for horse crossing on many highways. People get really excited about photographing them and posting on social media. They are clueless that they are feral horses mostly escaped due to past forest fires. If they were pigs or dogs they would all be cleaned up by now.

 

[cmahoney]

I am aware of several large ranches in Kansas and Oklahoma that are home to wild horses.
Feds trap them and ship them and they stay there until they die, I believe.
Believe it is on a contract basis and pay must be good for them to replace cattle.

That should piss off everyone who uses public land. Think what BLM could do with those funds they use to warehouse an invasive species.


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[4ester]

They are expanding into critical deer winter range here in Western Wyoming, so stealing feed from an already suffering herd. And already stealing antelope range.... and will be affecting elk soon as well.

It’s time they are taken out. Wonder how much a horse quarter weighs ?


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[cmahoney]

They are expanding into critical deer winter range here in Western Wyoming, so stealing feed from an already suffering herd. And already stealing antelope range.... and will be affecting elk soon as well.

It’s time they are taken out. Wonder how much a horse quarter weighs ?


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I’d be happy to drive 5 minutes from my house and fill the freezer for a year with one of those things, maybe Congress will fix the problem after their Christmas break.


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[Clarence]

It seems they should be treated like feral swine, the problem is they are horses. In this nation it is like suggesting cannibalism to eating horse. Go to Europe and it's in the grocery store meat shelf and on the steakhouse menu.

 

[Middleofnowhere]

Does anyone know if the mule deer foundation, RMEF or the the sheep foundation is working to solve this issue? Seems like something our membership fees should be going to work on. Wish our tax dollars would actually go to something as important as reducing the population of the horses instead of feeding them.

in the movie’s credits, they list the organizations that played a direct role in funding this movie.



The California chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation and Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep discuss this issue often. Our Science advisor recently was appointed to the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/get-involved/advisory-board

Regarding Federal Funding, HSUS basically got the *******s to insert language in to the omnibus spending package prohibiting the BLM from using lethal means to control the population.

“The Bureau of Land Management’s wild horse and burro program got a significant funding boost in the $1.4 trillion budget deal approved Thursday [December 21, 2019] by Congress. But to access the money, the agency first needs to produce an “aggressive, nonlethal” strategy to manage a swelling mustang population roaming public lands in the West.

The spending bill increases the program’s budget by $21 million, or about 25 percent. It would be made available 60 days after the bureau submits a five-year plan that, among other things, includes horse fertility control and the movement of equines to private pastures.

The increase amounts to an endorsement of a controversial proposal on the management of wild horses published earlier this year by an unusual alliance of animal welfare organizations and ranching advocates. Typically at odds, the groups said they decided to work together in hopes of breaking a stalemate in Washington.

But their plan, which called for rounding up as many as 130,000 wild horses over a decade, was assailed by several horse advocacy groups that portrayed it as a gift to the cattle industry, which grazes livestock on public lands where horses and burros also feed.
Organizations that worked on the management plan now backed by Congress praised the additional funding this week.
“The Bureau of Land Management’s strategy of rounding up and warehousing wild horses and burros, without addressing the growing number of animals on the range and off the range, must end,” said Kitty Block, president and chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States. “With the funding provided by Congress, the BLM has the opportunity to revamp its program” by focusing on fertility control vaccines and adoptions, she added.
The alliance had put the price tag for its 10-year plan at $50 million annually, more than twice as much as the $21 million budgeted. The Humane Society said it hoped the program would be fully funded next year but called the funds a “great start.” Other supporters echoed that.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/12/21/spending-bill-includes-funding-controversial-wild-horse-proposal/

If HSUS likes this bill, you know it is bad for common sense range management. https://blog.humanesociety.org/2019...esearch-and-more-bills-now-head-to-trump.html

 

[Middleofnowhere]

They are expanding into critical deer winter range here in Western Wyoming, so stealing feed from an already suffering herd. And already stealing antelope range.... and will be affecting elk soon as well.

It’s time they are taken out. Wonder how much a horse quarter weighs ?


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Too bad horses and burros have no natural predators. It would be nice if wolves could somehow help with the feral horse issue...

 

[srfdmatty]

Thanks middleofnowhere for the detailed info. I guess there will be progress moving forward but without a lethal option it doesn't seem as though we'll get the population to where we want it to be in a timely fashion. Our govt and tax dollars at work. Thanks again!

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[Takem]

It was hard for me to not get mad after hiking up to this peak in area 6 to hopefully spot some elk in their winter range. I couldn’t find any elk, which are really hurting according to the big game status report. I did see hundreds of feral horses. My entire field of view while panning my binos looked like this, horses everywhere.

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Just got back from area 6 myself with the exact same experience. Really sad deal. Based on our archery deer hunt this year the deer are hurting bad up there as well. I know the recent fires on winter range are a big part of the problem but I can't imagine having these invasives on what's left of the winter range all year is helping anything.

 

[Goatie]

I’m all about ending the lives of invasives. Regardless of cuteness and lashes

 

[Beendare]

.... People get really excited about photographing them and posting on social media. They are clueless that they are feral horses mostly escaped due to past forest fires. ....

Yep^ not just fires but folks that don't want to pay to have their horse boarded [$400/mo here minimum] just take them out and let them go.

you used to be able to take a horse to slaughterhouses and get something like $300-$400 for them...but the PETA and HSUS folks made that go away.

So essentially the problem is created and exacerbated by the Animal Rights orgs- thats just wonderful /sarc

.....