LETTER: Wild horse plan doomed to failure
According to the Review-Journal, the Bureau of Land Management will be building more ranches to accommodate wild horse herds that can double every four to five years (Aug. 24 Nevada section). The BLM now houses 50,000 horses in off-range ranches while 95,000 wild horses remain in the over-grazed range. Building new ranches does not solve the excessive economic cost faced by taxpayers.
Wild horses are feral animals but their advocates say the mustangs should remain on the range and be treated with fertility controls for females. This plan is doomed by economics and reality. The fertilization plan involves the capture of 130,000 wild horses over 10 years at the cost of $1 billion. This is economically unsustainable. The fertility drugs have a lifespan and would have to be administered on an ongoing basis.
Reality also conspires against female fertility controls because it would be impossible to capture every wild horse and the population would continue to grow.
Building more ranches and birth control for the mares are not viable solutions in terms of economics or reality. We are facing massive fires, hurricanes and a viral plague and our representatives are talking of spending billions of dollars on feral animals.
I am appalled at the proposed cost of dealing with feral over-populated herds. I am also astounded by the focus on the large number of females relative to the small number of males. The males should be the focus of herd reduction. Set up a few range traps with hay — build it and they will come. Close the gate, dart the males and fix them. As every rancher knows, fixing the males is easy and permanent. This solution leads to a steady attrition and over time would allow us to sell our expensive ranches, get the herds down to a truly manageable level and spend our money on human needs.
