Posted on 05/03/2009 1:48:03 PM PDT by jazusamo
Wild horses are icons of the West, but growing herds have become a costly problem. Tribes say the horses damage their land and need to be managed — maybe by bringing back slaughterhouses.
WARM SPRINGS INDIAN RESERVATION —Here on this reservation in north-central Oregon, horses are woven deeply into daily life. They are traditionally used by tribal members in their work and their culture, whether it be for rodeos or horse parades.
Gathering, breaking and selling wild horses has long been part of the tribe's economy. Horses that don't make the grade are sold for slaughter.
But the nation's final three slaughterhouses were shuttered two years ago, and a perfect storm has formed with a glut of horses, lack of a market and economic recession.
Tribal rangeland managers now estimate 20,000 wild horses are overrunning Indian Country in Washington, Idaho and Oregon, with an annual foal crop raising the population by some 20 percent a year. At the Yakama reservation, range managers say 12,000 wild horses are damaging medicinal plants, depleting forage for wildlife, eroding fragile rangelands and harming salmon streams. Domestic animals, including cattle, add to the problem.
"We have been spending billions on salmon and steelhead recovery, and it goes for naught if we don't do something that fixes these other problems," said Arlen Washines, program manager for the Yakama Nation Wildlife Program.
Agricultural and rangeland experts from five tribes have been meeting quietly since last winter to explore options to manage horse populations on reservation lands. Their ideas, still in discussion, run the gamut. The most controversial: opening a slaughter plant at the Warm Springs reservation, and maybe someday packing the meat for human consumption overseas, if the regulatory hurdles can be cleared and economics pencil out.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
AR activists Ping!
Horse is higher in protein and lower in cholesterol than beef. Tastes like elk.
That’s good to hear.
Will the meat be for human consumption and if so how did they get around the USDA inspection thing?
my dad had horse meat in spain and he said the same thing. around here, in ohio, you can buy a horse for c. $25, as well as find many a willing farmer to slice or grind the meat for a small fee.
To my knowledge, the USDA has no authority out on a rez.
"Wild" horses are also a big problem in Nevada. Were it not for stupid government policy, the state could simply issue hunting licenses for horses, just as they do for other game animals. This would turn "wild" horse control from a cost center to a profit center.
The reason that I put quotes around "wild", is that there are no wild horses in the Americas, there are merely feral horses. These horses were introduced and came from domesticated breeds. They cause big problems for native species.
Savages, i guess it never ends.
They almost certainly did not. The USDA puts inspectors in slaughterhouses.
How about dog? Any particular breeds better for the grill?
Eat more chicken Wilburrrr.
I think you’re right but for the meat to be sold for human consumption off the rez I believe it has to be USDA inspected.
Europe is a big market for horsemeat and that’s what the AR activists and our legislature killed.
That’s correct, they’re only called wild, they are indeed descendants of domestic horses and there’s way too many now.
I don’t have any problem with them being killed humanely. They are overpopulating the areas they’re in.
That said, think I’ll pass on the saddle burgers and bareback steaks myself.
Yes, I’ll pass on the burgers and steaks too but I think it’s a legitimate industry and should be legalized again.
Wild hogs are an even more serious problem but I don’t have any issues with eating them. I’ve read that 10 years ago there were wild hog populations in 6 or 7 states but now there are sizable populations in at least 40 states.
Before Ted Nugent moved to texas he kept some European boars and some PETA freaks managed to turn them loose. The damage they were doing was starting to cost him a lot of money so he put out the word with local hunters to kill them if they see them. A friend of mine got one with his bow.
“Daddy, Can I have a pony?”
“You just did for lunch, sweetie”.
NNOOOOOOO. Let them live!!!!!! Don’t murder horses!!!!!
Love,
PITA
;{
Chihuahas cook like a chicken.
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