Iconic Wild West could be a thing of the Past

The Wild West is a cherished icon, something that shaped our heritage as
Americans. However, within the state of Arizona, people are seeing it dwindle by cruel
methods.

By Rachel Grundl
April 23, 2015
The public holds a biased view against many of the management strategies that
the Bureau of Land Management, BLM, has put in place to manage the wild horse
population. However, these cruel methods are not only saving the environment but the
horses as well. The two main areas that these biases stem from are the way wild horses
and burros are herded for adoption and population control and the supposed connection
with the food industry.
These wild horses have to be managed, due to an annual 18% increase in
population. This is not only hard on the environment and other competing species but
will create an unhealthy environment for wild horses. The most common way these
horses are herded is by helicopters, which is humane. Skilled pilots accomplish this
herding, and if they were to hurt wild horses in the process the gather would be shut
down immediately as it is against their policy and common sense, said BLM employee
Roger Oyler.

There have been no

recorded accidents to show
helicopters directly harming
horses. Do you think a
helicopter really wants to get
that close to the ground?
~ BLM employee John Hall
Catoor Livestock Image

The gathering process is done because of resource damage. Due to this 18%
annual increase in native populations; wild horses are outcompeting for natural resources.
Deer, pronghorn, cattle, and other native ungulates, are in danger because of
overwhelming competition. We manage the wild horses and burros as part of the
environment where they have been at least since 1971. The primary objective is to have
healthy wild horses and burros in concert with their habitat and the many multiple uses of
that public land. Roger Oyler noted.
Helicopter herding replaced the use of mustanging, which is now illegal and
unpracticed as it left roped up horses to be collected by canners. These canners later
turned them into fertilizer. Helicopter herding is the most efficient way because on
horseback you would have to rope everything, for the people and animal safety we avoid
that at all costs because youd have to tie it down and gather them. The helicopter just
ushers them in, Hall noted.
With that in mind, gatherings by helicopter take advantage of the horses nature to
form groups and their primary instinct, which is to flee. Depending on the climatic
conditions and terrain, the bands of horses being herded run a distance between 3 8
miles to be guided into a trap corral. Once the horses are near the wing of the trap the
helicopter dips down and a Judas horse is released. This Judas horse is a trained horse,
which naturally runs right into the trap leading the wild horses to a natural slow down
into the corral. Once the horses enter the corral they are assessed for their age, and given
a health assessment.

Most are put into the adoption

program, which is incredibly
effective and efficient. Those
over 13 years of age or have
undergone 4 separate adoptions,
which is extremely rare, are put
into a long term care facility
where they live out their life on
land set aside for them to live
happily.
~ BLM Employee

Bureau of Land Management Image

After herding, the BLM has undertaken two strategies in decreasing the
population of wild horses. The first is the use of birth control upon the mares, which is
90% effective and lasts for 3 4 years. This is incredibly effective and is continuously
cutting down the population as it is given to the mares individually by a skilled laborer,
said Olyer. The second way is through their adoption program with the male horses,
which are gelded.

The second concern of the public is the supposed connection between the food
industry and the sale of wild horses by the BLM. However, first and foremost the BLM
has a no slaughter policy, if we find out an animal is going to slaughter we try our hardest
to head it off and stop it, BLM employee stated. This is easily seen under the Wild-Free
Roaming Horses and Burro Act. The strict adoption process for gaining the title of the
horse should deter those anyway. But if the horse has been titled to that owner who
wants to put the horse to slaughter the BLM cannot do anything about it legally. Even so,
the cases of horse slaughtering are rare but still heavily reported on, but this is more of a
cultural matter than ethical matter as horses are slaughtered in the same ways as cattle.

The whole reason the year

long process exists is to deter
them from being sent to
slaughter because the cost
would be ineffective, as you
would have more invested in
the horse at that point.
~ BLM employee Hall
Bureau of Land Management Image
The Bureau of Land Management is just doing its job. They are maintaining the
natural ecological balance among wild horse populations, wildlife, livestock and
vegetation while protecting the range from the deterioration of associated with
overpopulation. With too large of a population, without enough resources, it has to be
questioned, is it humane to allow other species to suffer a lack of resources? Is it humane
to allow the wild horses to compete with each other for scarce resources?
Simply leaving them alone with no human intervention or management, in
competition for food and water, that cannot be considered humane. While taking into
consideration the concerns of the public, the BLMs current practices are the best they
can be, humane, and if they continue to follow the pattern of practices up to this point,
they will only continue to improve.