Category: Commentary

Opinion

Congressman Holds Wild Horse ‘Unity’ Conference

Chris Stewart (R-UT) sponsored a roundtable yesterday in Salt Lake City to discuss WHB management in his state.  He’s no friend of the horses.  There are too many of them and they go outside their herd management areas, according to a report posted 08/01/18 by KMYU-TV.

The estimated WHB population in Utah is 5,000 animals, with an AML of 2,500 (stats cited in the story, numbers from the BLM put the AML at 1,911).

This is another example of misuse of figures.  You can’t compare 5,000 to 2,500 because they don’t have the same land-basis.

Utah_Unity_Conference-1

The ranching industry appeared to be under-represented at the conference, judging by the list of guests, but maybe that was by design.  Perhaps the event was held to give the impression he’s interested in the advocacy viewpoint?  You know, they always kiss you before they screw you.

Chris Stewart is no conservative paragon.  Almost certainly he’s in the back pocket of the beef lobby.  He received a Liberty Score® of ‘D’ (67%) at Conservative Review.

BLM Plan for Sterilization Puts Wild Mares at Risk

“It is a dangerous procedure.  They’re doing it sort of the cheapest way.  Therefore, there’s a potential for basically fatal complications.”

Agree.  See the report posted today by Oregon Public Broadcasting.  Both sides of the debate are presented.  The story did not indicate if a reduction in livestock AUMs was under consideration to alleviate damage attributable to overgrazing.

RELATED: Sterilization Research Proposed for Wild Horses.

Readers Debate Wild Horse Sterilization

Two opinion pieces in the East Oregonian:

How many elements of the wild horse narrative can you find in the response?

AMLs tell you how many animals can inhabit a parcel of land.  They don’t tell you anything about the available resources and how they’re allocated across that land.

The total AML of 26,690, cited in the response, corresponds to HMAs covering 26.7 million acres, for an average population density of one animal per thousand acres on lands managed by the BLM.  (The population density of the Virginia Range, not managed by the BLM, is ten animals per thousand acres.)

The estimated population of 81,951 animals probably corresponds to HMAs and lands outside HMAs, wherever WHB are found, for an unknown number of acres.  You can’t compare 81,951 to 26,690 because the figures don’t have the same land-basis.

Population_and_AML-1

Instead of looking at AMLs, we should be looking at pie charts that show how the available resources are allocated among the various consumers (horses, burros, cattle, sheep, antelope, deer, etc).  A chart may indicate that, although the wild horse population of a given area is three times larger than AML, the horses only account for half the available resources.  The situation isn’t as serious as originally portrayed.

UPDATE: Added graphic.

RELATED: Sterilization Research Proposed for Wild Horses.

Wild Horse Propaganda

Here’s a presentation about wild horses for a professional communications course at Colorado State University.  Purpose of this post is not to criticize the speaker but to question the content of the speech.  Maybe the student did what he had to do to get a passing grade from his Marxist professor.

Where did he get his information?  From the ranching industry?  Presentation seems to be very one-sided.  Includes the infamous photos from the Cold Creek herd in 2015 and contains several elements of the wild horse narrative.

  • Habitat damage
  • Competition for scarce resources with other native species
  • No natural predators
  • Overpopulation

The talk even mentions climate change, a sure sign the speech was produced by liberals for consumption by liberals.  The discussion beginning at 3:01 blames wild horses for damaging riparian habitats, when it was the fence that caused it, by interfering with the free-roaming nature of these animals and their search for food and water.

Wild Horse Awareness

Posting this video as a guest commentary.  More people are learning about these icons of the American West, and that’s a good thing.  Additional remarks:

  • BLM allows oil and gas exploration and production on public lands, along with timber harvesting and mining, but the greatest threat to WHB comes from the ranching industry
  • The conflict goes back many years
  • Horses and burros removed from public lands are also placed in off-range pastures
  • BLM spends about $50 million annually to care for animals removed from western rangelands
  • BLM tries to place these animals into private hands through adoption and sale
  • PZP is a contraceptive, extended use may lead to sterilization
  • BLM is moving ahead with sterilization research as a potential long-term ‘solution’ to the wild horse ‘problem’

H/T to Laura, a new voice for our wild ones at Gone to the Horses.

Cash and Carry

Refer to this opinion piece posted 07/25/18 in the Elko Daily Free Press about new rules for selling wild horses.

These letters often give the serious reader an opportunity to ferret out elements of the wild horse narrative, like one of those word puzzles.  Not so in this case.  There’s only one, namely, that horses are non-native species.

The government serfs, who fatten their cattle on public lands at fire-sale prices, are delighted that individuals can now purchase up to 25 animals at one time.  It was smart move by the BLM.  The waiting list is long and people have been hanging on the fence for years to just to adopt one or two horses.  There are many WHB enthusiasts that have large ranches and deep pockets, and can easily care for 25, 50, 75 or more horses.

These cattlemen are an entitled bunch.  They see these changes as a step toward ranching utopia, where wild horses and burros have been removed from public rangelands, no longer consuming forage that belongs to them.

In other parts of the country, hard-working farmers and ranchers use their own land to put food on our tables.  We need more of that.

Raise the grazing fee on public rangelands to $25 per AUM.  Or $50 or $75 or more.

Humanae Vitae at 50

Today, the Encyclical Letter written by Paul VI turns 50.  The Church has always taught that contraception is evil.  Until the middle of the last century most people accepted it.

WTWT.  Pay attention to the four predictions (section 17 in the original document).

  • Marital infidelity
  • Lowering of moral standards
  • Loss of reverence due to a woman
  • Government involvement in the details of married life

H/T Michael Voris and the folks at Church Militant.

Fish Springs Roundup Set for First Week of August

The Pine Nut gather will occur in November, according to a report dated 07/21/18 by KOLO-TV in Reno, NV.

Over half the area where horses were found in 1971 (when the WHB Act became law) has been designated a herd area (red border in the map below), which has no AML and is not managed for WHB, due to inadequate food and water.  However, it does have sufficient resources for other animals, such as, ahem, cough-cough, cattle and sheep.

Pine_Nut_Mountains_Map-2

These roundups, especially on herd areas, aren’t about saving money or protecting an endangered species.  They’re a payoff to the beef lobby and the crybabies they represent.

One way to put an end to this crap would be to raise the grazing fee from the current $1.41 per AUM to $25 per AUM, in line with grazing costs on private land.  The government serfs would be loading their cattle back on 18-wheelers faster than you can say Slaughterhouse Sue.

RELATED: Opponents of Fish Springs Roundup Protest in Reno.

Let’s Cut the Crap

Roles of the two major political parties in America, 2018.

  • Democrat: Drive us toward communism
  • Republican: Make sure we don’t turn back

The Democrat Party consists mostly of liberals and the Republican Party has a large and growing number of liberals.  They’re moving further to the left.  Conservatives are a shrinking minority.

Dem_Socialists_America-1

Remember, these people did not force their way into office.  They were put there by the voters, some of whom are your friends, family members and co-workers.

The problem is not liberalism, the problem is liberals.

“…contraception in all forms is a grave sin against the 6th Commandment, and is at the very root of almost every problem in the post-Christian, post-modern West today.  In fact, it could be argued and argued well that the West officially became the POST-CHRISTIAN West when it first began to ratify contraception.”

Now we can have a meaningful conversation on the enemies of our wild ones.

RELATED: Stepping Stones.

H/T WRSA for the photo, Barnhardt for the quote.

Sterilization Research Proposed for Wild Horses

There are some sick minds in the federal government and the BLM is no exception.

They’re trying to develop methods for cutting ovaries out of mares (while keeping the mortality rate to an ‘acceptable’ level, of course).  In the following video, one of the wild horse Mengeles carries out the procedure for your viewing enjoyment.

According to the statement posted with the video, “…no highly effective, easily delivered and affordable fertility-control methods are currently available to manage wild horse and burro populations.”

In other words, PZP darting of mares is too expensive, too difficult to administer and doesn’t provide a lasting solution (to the wild horse ‘problem’).  We have to come up with something better, such as sterilization or euthanization of ‘excess’ animals.

All of this is a scam.  It’s not about saving money on roundups.  There are no plans to close departments, sell buildings and lay people off if the techniques are successful.  The goal is to clear the deck for more livestock grazing on public lands set aside for wild horses and burros in 1971.

And don’t forget the kooks at Protect the Harvest who put together a rodeo to showcase these mutilated ponies.

Clearly, they are in bed with folks at the Burns office, who posted the video.

RELATED: Stepping Stones.

RELATED: These Guys Are Not WH Advocates.