Friday, December 03, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Wild horse legislation spurs debate on animal welfare
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ELKO -- The Nevada Cattlemen's Association backs the idea but animal welfare activists are urging President Bush to veto legislation allowing the Bureau of Land Management to sell unwanted wild horses.
A measure tucked into an appropriations bill Congress passed last month permits BLM to sell wild horses that are more than 10 years old or that no one wants to adopt.
"We're real excited about that," said Preston Wright of Deeth, president of the Nevada Cattlemen's Association.
"It's a major step forward on getting a handle on the horse population," he told the Elko Daily Free Press.
Wild horses compete with cattle when the horse herds are too large.
The measure states that an excess animal shall be made available for sale "without limitation, including through auction to the highest bidder, at local sale yards or other convenient livestock selling facilities."
The bill overrides federal law stating that no free-roaming horses or burros can be sold for processing into commercial products.
Wild horse advocates are concerned the change in legislation could lead to the slaughter of healthy horses.
Leo Grillo, founder of Horse Rescue of America in Glendale, Calif., said he has launched a Web site to show a 45-minute film of a BLM roundup of horses so President Bush "can see the faces of the animals Congress is threatening to kill."
