This has background to the email I sent earlier today and a repeat of some of it. I hope it will help get everyone better informed. Thank you Ann, Linda
In a message dated 1/6/2005 11:54:31 AM Central Standard Time, LandersFrm writes:
If not send it to me and I will send it to the group.
Hi Linda,
I'm not a member of that group so I'll send it to you. Following is a lengthy post but I hope it gives a good overview of the whole situation.
Thanks for your interest and support,
Ann
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Dear All,
As you may or may not know, a bill was passed by Congress right before the Thanksgiving holiday break. This was done through a provision snuck into H.R. 4818, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, without any public notice. Basically it will end federal protection for many of America's wild horses and burros granted to them by the Wild Horse & Burro Act of 1971. It's a complicated issue, and the bottom line is the wild horses and burros - in addition to mountain lions, wolves and other wildlife - have become the unwitting victims of human politics.
There is PLENTY of grazing land available to support many more horses than are currently on the lands, but the underlying issue is the grazing of cattle on our federal lands by a select few western ranchers. Many opponents have called the practice "welfare ranching". The following overview is a compilation of personal opinion and facts - many of which were compiled by Alice Simpson, a veterinarian from California. If anyone is interested in the plight of our wild horses, the best thing you can do right now is personally write your state senators and representatives voicing your opposition to this bill.
Thank you,
Ann Bradley
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The best of the wild horse herds have been proven through DNA analysis to be purebred descendents of the Spanish jennet, an important ancestor of many modern breeds. These mustangs are of high quality and their DNA is worthy of preservation because the Spanish jennet is extinct in Europe. In addition to these purebred Spanish horses, many other wild horses are of good quality because ranchers used to turn quality stallions loose on the range to upgrade their source of stock horses. The military also relied heavily on mustangs during WWI, and tens or hundreds of thousands died in the service of our country, which is yet another reason why they deserve our gratitude and protection.
The domestic horse is a descendent of wild horses that originally inhabited North America until about 10,000 years ago, when they disappeared, probably due to a combination of advancing ice diminishing their range and human predation. Cattle on the other hand, were never indiginous to North America and therefore deserve less protection than "wild" horses.
Horses migrated from North America to Eurasia across the Bering Land Bridge and eventually evolved into the breeds we recognize today in Europe, Asia, and Alaska. Deb Bennett, in her book "Conquerors," says:
"The oldest fossils so far discovered which could possibly belong to Equus caballus [the modern horse] are about 1.4 million years old and come from Nebraska, while the oldest fossils which can definitely be assigned to the species are younger--about one million years old. They come from the mixed forest-grass terrains of east-central Europe." [Having migrated to Eurasia via the Bering Land Bridge].
"Fossil bones [of the species E. caballus] show that though many herds of horses migrated from North America to Eurasia during the Ice Age, up until 10,000 years ago there was never a time during which horses were completely absent from the continent."
When the Spanish arrived in North America some 400 years ago, their horses soon adapted to the same ecological niche their native relatives had once inhabited here. Every trait and characteristic that describes a native wildlife species fits the American wild horse and desert burro. The reason horses proliferated so readily is because they fit into their environment perfectly and were able to survive as a "wild" animal where cattle could not. Several hundred years ago they had multiplied into the millions, and yet the range was in much better condition than it is now, because it wasn't overrun with cattle in those days.
The rationale for protecting wild horses is as stated in the introduction to the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act:
"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people; and that these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene."
The rationale is also stated in Senate Resolution 452, passed on the Senate floor by unanimous vote on Nov. 18, 2004, to establish a National Day of the Horse. The resolution provides that the horse "is a living link to the history of the United States," that horses "continue to permeate the society of the United States, as witnessed on movie screens, on open land, and in our own backyards," that "wild and domestic horses rely on humans for adequate food, water, and shelter," and that "horses are a vital part of the collective experience of the United States and deserve protection and compassion." It is the height of irony that Congress passed this resolution only days before passing the Burns amendment.
Re: the current day situation - There are now 37,000 wild horses and 5,000 desert burros on our federal lands, and there are 4.1 million cattle~! As you can see from these figures, the issue is NOT the horses who compete with the cattle for forage, and NOT the wolves or mountain lions who prey on cattle - but rather the question of who has the right to be there?? Are our federal lands protected as a sanctuary for wildlife to live out their lives according to the rules of Nature? Or are these lands to be used by a select few for their own monetary gain??
The only people to benefit from cattle grazing are Western ranchers, most of whom are large and wealthy ranching corporations which sponge off the government. The number of cattle grazing public lands is great compared to the number of wild horses - i.e. 4.1 million vs. 37,000 - but that number of cattle is still only 2.5% of the total cattle population of the country. IOW, there are many more cattle ranchers managing to make a living raising the other 97.5% of the cattle in the country without government subsidies. The ranchers in question have had a free ride for many years - but they've gradually taken more and more, and now it's time to take a serious look at the situation.
The BLM is spending $6.8 million a year feeding horses kept in holding pens. The federal government is spending $100 million a year in direct subsidies to cattle ranchers - these subsidies include grazing fees that are 10% of those on private lands and have not been raised in many years. With indirect subsidies, the cost is much more. If the government charged fair market rates for grazing rights, it could probably earn $500 million a year from the cattle ranchers. Ranching on pulbic lands is a form of corporate welfare. The cattle on the contested lands constitute only 2.5% of domestic beef production. Cutting back on the number of cattle would hardly put a dent in the availability of beef or the price.
The REAL reason why there are "too many horses" on the range is because there are too many cattle. There are 100 cows on the range for every horse. It is absurd to blame degradation of the range on horses when you have 4.1 million cattle on the range and only 37,000 horses. A 1990 General Accounting Office Report showed livestock management to be the primary cause of degradation of rangelands and riparian areas, not wild horses and burros.
The current managing practice consists of the BLM calculating the carrying capacity of a particular area, then subtracting permitted use for livestock, and finally throwing wild horses the crumbs. In some areas, wild horses aren't even getting crumbs as they continue to be zeroed out of numerous acres where they should be legally protected.
The wild issue is just the tip of an iceburg. The iceburg is welfare ranching on public lands. Any solution to the wild horse "problem" needs to address this issue, because the BLM is in violation of the terms of the Wild Free-roaming Horse and Burro Act by managing HMAs (Herd Management Areas) principally for cattle instead of principally for horses. In fact, reducing the number of cattle is the LAST thing the BLM wants to do, as revealed in testimony of Jim Hughes, Deputy Director, BLM, before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, on the subject of Oversight of Grazing on Public Lands on June 23, 2004. (Testimony of Jim Hughes, BLM, June 2004). Mr. Hughes testified:
"With wild horse and burro populations exceeding appropriate management levels, field managers are forced to consider reducing livestock below permitted use in an attempt to maintain rangeland conditions. This is a situation that the BLM is actively seeking to avoid."
The American public is going to have to decide which they'd rather have on their land, wild horses and other wildlife, or cattle. The cattle are costing taxpayers far more than the horses are, at least $100 million a year in direct subsidies alone, and that's not counting incalcuable indirect subsidies. The rationale for the Burns amendment was the cost of feeding wild horses in government holding pens, said to be $6.8 million a year - yet this cost would be totally unnecessary if the cattle were removed and the horses given "free range".
This has background to the email I sent earlier today and a repeat of some of it. I hope it will help get everyone better informed. Thank you Ann, Linda This...
Landersfrm@...
Jan 7, 2005 10:17 pm
Linda---- Is this the sort of thing that can published? If I publish this lengthy discussion in my magazine, regarding the "provision snuck into H.R. 4818, the...
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