BLM to Give 33,000 Wild Horses a Temporary Stay of Execution

BLM stays wild horse killings; seeks options

Associated Press - November 17, 2008 6:55 PM ET

RENO, Nev. (AP) - A government official says the Bureau of Land
Management will reduce gathers and shuffle money to maintain its wild
horse and burro program for the current fiscal year, delaying a proposal
to euthanize large numbers of animals to control populations and costs.

BLM Deputy Director Henri Bissson, speaking Monday to the National Wild
Horse and Burro Advisory Board in Reno, said the delay will give
interested parties time to devise options when "cooler heads prevail."

But he says tough decisions remain.

Agency officials in June proposed considering euthansia and unrestricted
horse sales for possible slaughter because of escalating costs of caring
for wild horses taken from the range.

About 33,000 mustangs roam the open range in 10 Western states,
including 3,600 in Wyoming.

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Well now I am wondering, how long do we have to place 33,000 wild horses? It is all very well and good to place some of them, but realistically, how many of them could be reasonably be expected to place, say in the next six-months to a year? All well and good for the lucky ones that find good homes but what about the rest? The BLM will then deem them "unadoptable" and use Recommendation # 17 to dispose of them, either through no-limitiation sales or euthansia, by GOD only knows what means.

We find killing healthy horses unacceptable for any reason or by any means, and DEMAND a return to freedom of these penned up "unadoptable" wild horses!