As the wild mustang population continues to rise across the American west, officials are still trying to figure out how to manage growing herds while protecting the horses and the environment they inhabit. NBC’s Erin McLaughlin reports.
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#Horse #Mustang #Management
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Im confused. How is it too many horses….they aren't bothering anyone..they are wild
Not to sound mean, but why not just put out safeguards like you would for other wild animals and put down the rest of the wild horses? it would save taxpayers money and it would thin out the population
This is all about greed and traditional ways of viewing animals. The reason the range is being degraded is because ranchers are putting more and more cattle and sheep out. These animals outnumber the wild horses one to ten or more. It is not the horses who are degrading the land. But livestock makes money, the horses are viewed as freeloaders by traditionally minded people who do not understand there is more to life than just money. Horses lived in America for millions of years with only a few thousand year gap, they have more right to the land than the cattle. If ranchers only grazed cattle on land that belonged to them and not public land, the public lands would be in way better shape.
The presence of cattle gives ranchers an incentive to eliminate predators, something they have done very successfully for centuries. Now only drought and severe winters limit horse numbers. But there are much cheaper and more humane ways to manage there numbers. Just hire one or two biologists per herd, to monitor them and administer birth control darts when needed. Use bait traps in places where horses are more flighty, but once you take out the cruelty, horses soon learn to trust people enough for darting.
Instead of spending billions on wild horses every year, you would only spend a million or two on wages and birth control. Even feeding horses on the range if absolutely necessary and building wells, would be cheaper than keeping thousands of them in holding facilities.
By stepping away from cruel traditional ways of managing mustangs and embracing modern, more enlightened, methods, you would have a lot fewer upset advocates, you would be following the wishes of the vast majority of US citizens, not just a handful of greedy ranchers who want the public lands all for themselves. These are public lands, what the majority of the public want should trump anything the special interest groups, who benefit financially from roundups, want. That is what democracy is all about. What is happening to US mustangs in the moment is completely unnecessary and beyond evil.
I cant think of a better way to spend out tax dollars, spend the tax dollars$$$$ on the protection of the Wild Horses!!!
Lies! The horses are losing. They are harming and killing wild horses in these horrific round ups
Reported as pro horse slaughter misinformation.
The only overpopulation is cattle sheep and welfare ranchers that number in the millions while the houses are only in the thousands. Kick the welfare ranchers off all public lands and slowly bring down the number of horses without killing dozens at a time in roundups and most of the rest eventually being snuck off to slaughter in Mexico and Canada.
I’d rather pay for the horses , than giving money to the rap crowd …. Horses can be taught…..
Leave the horses alone
Leave the horses alone you savages .
Can someone please remind the ranchers that they do not own the land and in fact are only borrowing it. Therefore sharing maybe mandatory. Let the horses be
😐
Horse sandwiches are delicious.
Please. Please. Please. Talk about total federal lands available for lease for cattle grazing also occupied by wild horses. There is no horse over-population. There is nothing humane about rounding up wild horses by helicopter! Show the storage pens for the number of horses awaiting rehoming. Why are the hundreds of thousands of head of cattle more important than the tens of thousands of wild horses? MONEY. MONEY. MONEY.
They are not wild horses, they are feral horses!!
Leave them horses alone
humans need to be responsible for the safety of the horses these horses are trainable get them to people that care about their well being or let them live free in safety
Allow a certain number each year to be taken and utilized by ranchers. Problem solved.
I'm kinda scared to know the answer, but I gotta ask…when they say slaughter in this video, that means the wild horses became a food source. Did they become a food source for humans or dogs?
Horse burgers at McDonald's sounds like a win win
Who’s COMPLAINING about the wild horses?? Leave them ALONE!!!! LET THEM BE WILD. Would you like some cheese with your whine? These animals have been here before colonizers and the colonizers are whining. LETS MANAGE THE COLONIZERS!!!!
Why was BLM not interviewed about their long term plan? Apparently something changed since they just stopped the – successful – TIP Mustang Trainer program.
Liars, they treat the horses horrible. Most horses get sold for slaughter. 🤬
Why do the ranchers use Our Public Lands for grazing that's We the People's land I want our historic wild horses that helped build this country to roam free on our land they earned it! They pulled our wagons, plowed our fields fought in our wars, they were our only transportation! The ranchers pay very little to the federal gov to allow their cows to graze on our lands! Its corrupt political BS the rich get richer! The wild Mustangs suffer! 💔🐴🐎🙏🏼❤️ 80% of Americans want the wild Mustangs to remain wild but our gov doesn’t care what we want! 😡 They forget they work for We the People!!
Humans are so greedy
Well since BLM has removed and auctioned off all the wild horses in my area because they said there is not enough food and water for them in the area. Although they keep removing the horses and they keep multiplying with this supposed lack of food and water. Now BLM wants to let everyone know that it's very expensive for tax payers (tens of millions!!) to manage these wild horses, then I want to know how much of a tax break am I going to see next year?
Disgusting inhumane insanity
Man will destroy themselves by taking away natures freedom
using Naïve decisions and self gratification
These symbols of our western world will soon diminish thanks to ppl like polis who uses a pen and paper to send them to slaughter some go to China !
Sickening 🤮
This is BS….there is no overpopulation…BLM wants them gone, to replace with mining, livestock interests. AIP & SALE AUTHORITY are their fastest way‼️
Know what also costs the USA billions? sending billions to Pakistan, South America, and Africa. Also Funding Virology labs in China and buying oil from Venezuela.
This is insane. The horses offer nothing of advantage to the area or the people. It's nothing but a reservation for a wild animal. Horses are not going to go extinct even if they wiped out the entire wild horse population. That 80 million a year could be put to better use for our people.
I have had horses all my life. I know what acreage is required per horse. A round up of a small amount of horses on a wide open range is inconceivable! These "wild" horses have been use to this environment for centuries. What is the "real" reason or purpose of removal??…Is it political?…or is it some other reason?…Putting "wild" horses in pens and feeding them a different diet then what these "wild" horses are accustomed too penning isn't the answer. Separating the herd isn't an answer either. A "herd" is a family unit. Separating the "herd"isn't the answer either. It causes mental anguish in a "wild" horse. The "herd" must be kept together it's a matter of survival. It's darn shame, actually it's a travesty, what is happening to America's "wild" horses. Actually, these "wild" horses belong in the "wild". There are "Thousands" of acres where these "wild" horses have lived for centuries. It boggles my mind why the Government wants to remove America's "wild" horses that have lived on the "wide open range" for centuries and have endured all environments.
HANDS OFF AMERICA'S HORSES AND DONKEYS! China wants to make collagen powder out of them!
If my tax money went to support those horses then that's OK by me.Helicopter round up is cruel!!And I'd rather support them then the idiots that are in office now.
BLM 🤮 HANDLING OF WILD HORSES is horrific 4 sure!! BS reporting, folks…
These horses take up wayyyyy less space and resources then any other cattle such as cows – pigs – chickens. ..
a horse can only have one offspring a year “ there’s no way the land got in that condition from the mustang- that’s a drought, plus adding in the location basically the desert.
So, do you want to fly around in helicopters and shoot them? Transfer to other areas. Adoption program is working. I have read where some areas the people buy the horses for cheap. This was not mentioned.
Enters chat: Taco Bell 🔔 🍖
Kick the people out, the horses have been living there longer.
Blm, not just for looting anymore
It’s sad what we are doing to these horses
Don’t trust the blm..they sound like liars
Just leave them be let them be were they were ment to be. My God don’t you think we’ve all taken off away from animals?