There have been other stories regarding issues involving the beautiful wild horses and burros that roam freely. Such is the case with these feral animals that habitat in areas in Oregon. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are now using helicopters on this public land as a means of rounding up these creatures, with a target as stated to gather up 1,500 wild horses that are literally federally protected. You can read the full story at http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/wild-horses-in-oregon-threatened-by-livestock-industry-how-you-can-help-now/
These proposed roundups of the wild horses and burros will shatter the lives of these animals, with some of them surviving the events while others will perish from injuries sustained in the stampedes and confinement. These federally protected animals, as stated in the article, are “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that … enrich the lives of the American people.” So why are they not being protected??
The understanding seems to lie with the livestock industry; ranchers believe that the wild horses and burros are grazing in the public areas where cattle graze. The ranchers, who pay a grazing fee, feel the wild horses are a threat to the cattle and in competition with them. We are asking the BLM and the members of the southeast Oregon resource advisory council to ban this possible roundup of the wild horses and burros and protect them as they are meant to be. We are also asking that the BLM intervene for these animals and their right to graze just as the group of ranchers concerned with their cattle.
Members Of The Southeast Oregon Resource Advisory Council & The BLM – We strongly urge you to ban a roundup of wild horses and burros. Guaranteeing them a lifetime warehousing in government holding facilities. These roundups will be tragic for many of the animals, shattering their lives and well-beings. In regards to the Beatys Butte Grazing Association allowing their cattle to graze on these public lands. We are asking that you devise a more humane method of controlling these issues with the wild horses and burros as an alternative to removals and roundups. The horses and burros are only present on about a fifth of the public lands, not infringes on grazing areas for other cattle that seems to be shared with cattle. Resolve these conflicts between ranchers of livestock and the wild horses and burros foraging on public lands in Oregon; find a resolution that does not destroy the remaining wild horse and burro herds.
