World Wildlife News A step ahead in saving an endangered species.

American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act

American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act reintroduced before Congress: on the heels of Reps. Whitfield and Rahall reintroducing H.R. 249 to repeal the 2004 Burns Amendment, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act was also
reintroduced, as H.R. 503 in the House of Representatives and as S. 311 in the Senate. Both H.R. 249 and H.R. 503/S.311 are critical to the protection of our wild horses.

Round-up Report: despite public protests, BLM went ahead with the Clark Mountain (CA), Spring Mountain (NV), and Adobe Town/Salt Wells (WY) round-ups, capturing a total of 1,100 horses and 704 burros. The Wyoming round-up took place despite serious concerns over the health of horses being run for miles in extreme weather conditions. For each round-up, the public and media were kept at a distance, unable to document the proceedings. In Nevada however, a film crew was able to capture footage of a baby burro being roped and dragged, and of another burro being kicked in the head by a wrangler. http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=5893446

Hundreds of sheep brought in after wild horses removed: a supporter contacted us to report that, after 200 horses were removed in December from the Dry Lake Complex in Nevada, he was shocked to see about 1,000 sheep trucked in to that very area, less than two weeks after the round-up. Questioned on the issue, BLM confirmed that the area includes a grazing allotment for 2,200 private sheep, whereas for horses the “appropriate management level” is set at only 128 head, or one horse per 5,500 acres! What BLM failed to address is why substantially more forage is consistently allocated to private livestock on the very areas that should be “devoted principally” to wild horses under the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act.

Livestock grazing fees lowered yet again: in January, BLM announced that fees to graze private livestock on public lands would be lowered to $1.35 per animal unit month (less than 6 cents per acre per year!). When BLM last eased public land grazing restrictions for private cattle in 2005, two retired government scientists denounced the decision as “whitewash,” saying that their conclusions that the proposed new rules might adversely affect water quality and wildlife, were replaced with language justifying less stringent regulations favored by cattle ranchers.

Wild horses and environment

The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act recognizes the wild horse as an “integral component of the natural system.” It stipulates that horses can only be removed from public lands if it is proven that they are overpopulating or are causing habitat destruction. It further mandates that the government “maintain specific ranges on public lands as sanctuaries for their protection and preservation.”

The horse’s digestive system does not thoroughly degrade the vegetation it eats. As a result, it tends to “replant” its own forage with the diverse seeds that pass through its system undegraded. This unique digestive system greatly aids in the building up of the absorptive, nutrient-rich humus component of soils. This, in turn, helps the soil absorb and retain water upon which many diverse plants and animals depend. In this way, the wild horse is also of great value in reducing dry inflammable vegetation in fire-prone areas. Back in the 1950s, it was primarily out of concern over brush fires that Storey County, Nevada, passed the first wild horse protection law in the nation.

The fact that horses wander much farther from water sources than many ruminant grazers adds to their efficacy as fire preventers. This tendency to range widely throughout both steep, hilly terrain and lower, more level areas, while cattle concentrate on lower elevations, also explains why horses have a lesser impact on their environment than livestock: unlike cattle that will camp on and destroy a riparian area, a wild horse herd will water in a quick and orderly fashion, then move on to highland grazing areas rarely frequented by cattle; unlike cows, horses do not defecate in the water.

Horses have also proven useful to other species they share the range with: in winter months, they open up frozen springs and ponds with their powerful hooves, making it possible for smaller animals to drink. Another positive effect of wild horses on biodiversity was documented in the case of the Coyote Canyon horses in the Anza Borrega National Park (California). After wild horses were all removed from the Park to increase big horn sheep population, bighorn sheep mortality actuality skyrocketed: mountain lions - wild horse predators - compensated the loss of one of their prey species by increasing their predation on other species.

More information on the specie and its issues through the pages of The American Wild Horses Preservation Campaign.