Wild Horse and Burro Management

Our encounter with the Wild Burros at Red Rocks got me interested in these animals. Apparently the horses and burros that we see today are decendants of animals who escaped their owners. There is some debate whether or not the horse is "native" to the American southwest. But regardless whether these should be considered feral (i.e. escaped or released domestic animals) or a reestablished native species, a large population of each animal exists in Nevada.

The responsibility for managing these populations falls on the Bureau of Land Management. The BML contends that the populations of horses and burros is several times what the land can support so they are instituting a reduction program. The animals are rounded up, checked, and vacinated before being put up for adoption. Some advocacy groups contend that the population data is incorrect and therefore they oppose the adoption program. They are particularly concerned that a portion of the adopted horses will resold to slaughterhouses. Their suit to halt the program was just recently dismissed in state court.

This reminds me a lot about the issues we have with White-tailed Deer here in the northereast. The animals lack the necessary predator population to keep them in check and the population increases. While nothing is perfect, the BLM's program seems like a good way to address the problem.