Story by Denver Channel 9 reporters Jeff Wolf and Kevin Torres
BLM 101: “Keep Repeating Same Old Lies!”
Click on above image to view Video and to Comment ~ photo by Terry Fitch
A BLM spokesperson says it will likely have to round up 3,000 fewer horses next year.
At the turn of the 20th century there were more than 2 million wild horses in the United States. Today, there are fewer than 20,000.
The BLM has been rounding up horses in Colorado, Nevada and Wyoming for decades.
The BLM says it’s trying to control the wild horse population so it can make the land safer for other animals.
In the fall of 2010, Wyoming held one of its largest round ups in state history by collecting nearly half of the state’s wild horse population.
“We had thousands, thousands of wild horses when I returned to Wyoming in 1979,” Jeannine Stallings, a wild horse advocate from Cheyenne, said. “There are less than 1,500 in Wyoming right now.”
Like many wild horse advocates, Stallings knows how crucial the 1970s were. In 1971 the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed, giving the BLM power to control wild horse populations.
“The first time I saw a wild horse was the first time I went to a gathering outside of Rock Springs, Wyoming,” Stallings said.
The towns surrounding Rock Springs are home to hundreds of wild horses. A number far less than it used to be.
“We take pride in what we do,” D’Ewart said.
D’Ewart is in charge of the Divide Basin herd. He’s a horse specialist for the BLM.
“The appropriate level is 400 to 600 animals and at this time we’re over double the high end of the appropriate manage level,” he said.
D’Ewart says it’s necessary to round up the wild horses so they don’t take over the land.
“These public lands are multiple use and there are a lot more creatures that depend on it, especially at this time of year,” D’Ewart said.
“They’re not damaging the land. Cattle do far more damage to the land,” Stallings said.
Advocates believe the BLM is helping ranchers who want more land for their cattle. They allege there’s a money exchange going on.
“It’s a lack of education on their part for saying what they’re saying,” D’Ewart replied. “It’s like politics and religion. No matter what you say to them, they’re going to believe what they believe and they’re going to say what they want.”
A portion of Wyoming is divided in to “checker board” land. That means each square mile is either owned by the federal government or by a private entity.
The BLM believes many advocates are confused by that.
Wild horse advocates have a different view.
“They flat out lie about everything,” Stallings said.
Advocates are especially angry with the way the BLM describes the wild horses. The BLM says the horses are starving and don’t have much to eat.
“The horses that are coming off the range are fat and sassy horses,” Linda Hannick, an advocate from Estes Park, said.
“There isn’t enough feed out there or water,” Amy Ruhs, a BLM horse specialist, replied.
Ruhs is in charge of the BLM’s adoption program in Wyoming. When the horses are rounded up, they’re brought to a horse holding pen in Rock Springs.
“If you have kids and you send your kids off to school and prepare them for life, well, I kind of look at the horses here the same way,” Ruhs said. “We’re not necessarily breaking up families. I feel like we’re bringing the horses to families.”
Advocates will argue horses are not humans. They’re animals. Out of the 2,000 wild horses that were rounded up in the southwest corner of Wyoming last fall, the BLM says only 25 of them have been adopted out.
“Like it or not, some of those horses are not adoptable horses. Some are very old. Some are not in good health. Some are so wild that probably the best trainer on earth couldn’t get through to them,” Stallings said.
Then there is the concern over the collection process. Each year, dozens of wild horses are killed during the round ups.
“They are terrified,” Stallings said, “utterly terrified.”
According to the BLM, most of the horses die because they’re sick.
“They [advocates] have different opinions,” Ruhs said.
It is a tough debate that will likely carry on for years to come. While the BLM looks for more ways to round up horses, advocates will continue to search for ways to keep the west wild.
Horse slaughter
Another debate in Wyoming and Colorado focuses on horse slaughter. Horse slaughter is illegal in the United States.
However, a legislator in Wyoming is trying to make it legal. Rep. Sue Wallis (R-Recluse) sponsored a bill to create a slaughter house in Wyoming.
“That’s not right,” Stallings said. “We should never put any animal through that.”
Currently, people who sell horses to slaughter houses have to send their horses to Mexico or Canada.
Although some horse advocates oppose the practice, others believe it’s a more humane way to put down the animals.
“There are plenty of horses starving out in the wild,” Wayne Kruse, owner of the Centennial Live Stock Auction in Fort Collins, said in an interview with 9NEWS in 2010. “Would you rather see a horse starve to death or be put down for slaughter?”
It’s not just Kruse. Some horse owners say they would like to see it as well.
“It needs to be done,” Mary Owens, a rancher from Wyoming, said. “These animals are being left to die and suffer and that’s wrong”.
Horse slaughter is a pretty big business. Each year, more than 100,000 horses are sent to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico from the United States.
Most of the horses are bought at auction houses. Kill-buyers are paid by the pound.
“Before, a horse destined for slaughter would bring in .40 to .60 cents (per pound), now it is .20 cents or less,” Kruse said.
It appears the proposal to build a horse slaughterhouse in Wyoming won’t make it very far. There’s too much opposition.
Federal legal issues could also get in the way.
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