Western Horse Watchers Association
Exposing the Hypocrisy, Lies and Incompetence of the Wild Horse Advocates
Refer to this story by KNPR of Las Vegas, which includes a 45-minute audio segment with invited guests from the University of Nevada and Willamette University, and a caller from eastern Nevada.
Topics include the demise of SJR3, the letter to Haaland about livestock grazing on HMAs and the attempt to market the Virginia Range horses to job seekers.
In a poll commissioned last year by The Cloud Foundation, 69% of respondents opposed the removal of wild horses from 1.5 million acres of public lands in southern Wyoming to accommodate the oil/gas and livestock industries, according to a report by Cowboy State Daily, an online news service.
The survey likely referred to the Rock Springs RMP amendments, which were instigated by grazing interests, not the oil and gas industry. Four HMAs are affected.
Release of those results coincided with the comment period for wild horse management actions in the same area, affecting five HMAs.
Although both projects target wild horses in the Wyoming Checkerboard, the distinction is not clear in the article.
RELATED: Public Review of Rock Springs Draft EA Ends This Week.
The measure, favored by agricultural interests, will remove up to 90% of the animals from the state, alleviating attacks on cattle, sheep and wildlife.
Ranchers have claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses due to wolf attacks, according to a report published today by AP News.
The story did not indicate if the animals would be pursued on public lands.
RELATED: Grazing Program Ancillaries.
A wild horse herd increases from 200 to 300 animals in three years, a 14.5% annual growth rate. The government removes 100 horses at the end of year three, leaving 200 on the range.
Another herd has 200 wild horses and does not grow over the three year period, thanks to the advocates, who limit the birth rate. At the end of three years there are 200 horses on the range.
Both cases yield the same results. The government got rid of the horses with helicopters while the advocates got rid of them with contraceptives.
The first case is condemned while the second case is acclaimed.
That is the double standard.
Contraceptives can’t shrink a herd from 300 to 200 horses in three years.
They should let the ‘advocacy’ groups do that, according to a letter appearing in today’s online edition of the White Mountain Independent.
This is the double standard of the wild horse world.
The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group and the American Wild Horse Campaign did not team up to oppose the new Heber management plan. They have been in cahoots for several years, taking the Salt River herd from over 100 foals annually to the single digits in 2021.
The event, a population control technique, will be replaced by an online auction this year, according to a story by The Washington Post.
On the other side of the country, the Western States Horse Expo is still scheduled for June 11 – 13.
It’s the second lowest growth rate ever, according to a report posted yesterday by AP News, less than one percent per year (0.72% if you want to split hairs).
How much of the increase was due to illegal immigration?
Social Security is going bust because we’re aborting/contracepting/sterilizing ourselves out of existence.
The same mentality has carried over into the wild horse world, spearheaded by the ‘advocacy’ groups.
Both species are threatened by public-lands ranching, not necessarily in this area but across the west in general. The horses may be attached to the Muddy Creek HMA.
Thanks to Backpacker Diaries for sharing the video.
RELATED: Wild Burros of San Rafael Swell.
Refer to this job posting. Proficiency with a darting rifle not required.
A report by OBX Today says a colt and filly have been added to the herd, with breeding patterns controlled by the local ‘advocacy’ group.
Between four and six foals are born each year, according to the story, roughly equal to the expected number of deaths.
A herd of 100 would lose five horses every year, assuming a 5% death rate.
Left to themselves, a wild horse herd will usually grow.
RELATED: Another Currituck Foal, Wild Horse Growth Rates.
Comments will be accepted through April 30.
The project may be a forerunner of the Rock Springs RMP Amendments, which will finish the job by zeroing out most of the HMAs involved.
The leading beneficiary of the effort is the Rock Springs Grazing Association.
RELATED: Comments Invited on Draft EA for Rock Springs Gather Plan.
The Draft EA for resource enforcement actions in the Calico Complex suggests that he’d have to be looking over his shoulder every day, not just during roundups (page 25 in the pdf): “BLM does euthanize old, sick or lame animals on the range when such animals have been identified. This occurs on an on-going basis and is not limited to wild horse gathers.”
RELATED: ‘Hopeless’ Seen at Water Tanks.
If he was captured in a roundup, he’d be put down for a pre-existing condition with a hopeless prognosis for recovery. Left alone, he survives.
RELATED: ‘Hopeless’ Still in the Area.
Definitely a threat to new foals, although there won’t be many of them this year, thanks to the ‘advocates.’
If you shot these horses with darts, you’d probably be charged with animal cruelty.
Not so for the PZP zealots.
They’ve denied about 600 lives this year on the Virginia Range, by their own estimation, pushing the birth rate below the death rate, assuming a 5% loss per year and initial herd size of 3,000. It’s the downslope in this chart.
If the government took 600 wild horses off the range in a roundup, there’d be outrage.
Not so for the PZP zealots. Herd contraction is bad, unless it’s done by them.
These people are getting rid of more wild horses than predators, motorists, drillers, miners and shooters ever could, second only to the government.
Don’t give them a penny.
RELATED: Cutting the Virginia Range Herd Down to Size.
A few horses have appeared at the water tanks over the winter, even though the water supply has been shut off. The tanks may contain some rainwater or melted snow.
