[mommadooo3]

I'm NOT a wacko peta type.

These horses are an integral part of our American heritage.

They may be just a 'dumb horse' to some. But then again, there was the issue of a 'dumb bird/bald eagle' to some.
And like any OTHER of GOD'S creatures, they have NO VOICE, unless WE speak up for them.

BLM talks about their 'aging horses'. But YET, if 'you' were to talk to the horse pros, you'd find that the horses are not considered 'contest worthy' UNLESS they are 10-12 y.o.!(barrel-racers...dressage...etc) AND, if you want a horse that is kid-safe/bomb-proof, you look for a horse that is 10 y.o. or OVER.

I HOPE there are enough horsey/pet-minded FReepers who will speak up for these magnificant animals that are so near and dear to the Lord's heart.

[Misterioso]

If the horses are near and dear to the Lord's heart, I'm sure he will find a way to save them.

[Sender]

I'll speak up for them. What is the best thing to do? Email the prez?

[Viking2002]

Now, what the hell is this all about? We're not talking about gophers here. Try giving some of them a nad-ectomy. Problem solved. Sometimes, the uniform, non-partisan stupidity of our elected officials makes me sick to my stomach.

Has it occurred to anyone else that, if a politican looks at a horse slaughter as a means to and end to get their little bite of appropriations pork, they probably don't hold us in much higher regard?

[dalereed]

Thinning them out is way overdue!

All they are good for is dog food.

[Indie]

"If someone under this program can now buy 300 horses and ship them to a slaughter house people will start making money," said Howard Crystal, attorney for the Fund for Animals. "I would expect under this law we're going to have far higher numbers of horses going to slaughter." The bill strips from federal law a clause that no wild free-roaming horse or burro can be sold or transferred for processing into commercial products.

I know you're not a PETA type. These horse are an asthetic and historic part of our history. This is the type of legislation that will make money for a few commericial types and would only have been slipped into legislation because some friend of a Senator lined their pockets to get it in there.

This type of thing has no other valid purpose.

The folks in DC are there to do whatever they can to perpetuate themselves and their buddies as long as what they do results in $$ and power..that's the name of the game. And it is a damned shame. I say throw them all out.

I have a buddy that is an extreme conservative and Bush supporter and an American Indian [her term] and will be really POed to read this one. You don't have to be a commie liberal to be against this one.

[ladyinred]

I am horrified at this, and will do the contacts. I hope it helps, but I won't hold my breath!

[ORECON]

Sorry, wild horses are not indigenous to North America. They were introduced by the Spanish and are crowding out native vegetation and other wild life. They are inbred and most of them are not pet quality. This is not a Disney Flick. We are spending millions of tax payer dollars on a nuisance that is getting out of control.

[farmfriend]

These horses are an integral part of our American heritage.

Wrong! These horses are a non native invasive species and should be removed from the land. It always amazes me that the same environmentalists who rave about over grazing by cattle do nothing to fight this non native grazer.

[deport]

the only hope left is to get Bush not to sign it - which he will do tomorrow, unless enough public outcry can be generated within the next less-than-24 hours.

---

The President isn't going to not sign an appropriations bill because of the 'management of wild horses' being a part of it. You protect the wildlife without proper herd control and at some point it becomes over populated or malnourished which leads to disease, etc. Management of a wildlife asset is a part of maintaining a viable species, imo.

[kstewskis]

The Wild Horse & Burro Act was signed into law in 1971, after a long campaign led by Velma Johnson, "Wild Horse Annie" and thousands of school children. Congress received more mail about wild horses than about Viet Nam.

I was one of those school children back in '71, and signed one of those letters.

And I'm not a PETA type either.

I grew up in a "horse town," and slowly watched our local culture and heritage circle the drain as more and more development barged in. If the wild horses out on the plains don't speak of our American heritage as a whole, I don't know what does.

What harm are they doing?

Doesn't FR have a Saddle Club to ping on this issue?

[Servant of the 9]

The BLM has been talking about their own nonexistant plan for 30 years.

There are more animals than the land can carry. Either humanely slaughter some or watch all the animals suffer and starve for months until enough die slowly to make room.

SO9

[Squantos]

The Spanish Mustang is a very tough pony......endurance is awesome.

[lodwick]

Thanks for this alert.

I wish that we could switch our fedgov with these ponies.

We'd be much better off.

[HairOfTheDog]

I hate this stuff. Only humans can create these kind of problems.

Ping!

[deport]

  SEC. 142. SALE OF WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BURROS. (a) IN GENERAL.--Section 3 of Public Law 92-195 (16 U.S.C. 1333) is amended--

    (1) in subsection (d)(5), by striking ``this section'' and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting ``this section.''; and

    (2) by adding at the end the following:

    ``(e) SALE OF EXCESS ANIMALS.--

    ``(1) IN GENERAL.--Any excess animal or the remains of an excess animal shall be sold if--

    ``(A) the excess animal is more than 10 years of age; or

    ``(B) the excess animal has been offered unsuccessfully for adoption at least 3 times.

    ``(2) METHOD OF SALE.--An excess animal that meets either of the criteria in paragraph (1) shall be made available for sale without limitation, including through auction to the highest bidder, at local sale yards or other convenient livestock selling facilities, until such time as--

    ``(A) all excess animals offered for sale are sold; or

    ``(B) the appropriate management level, as determined by the Secretary, is attained in all areas occupied by wild free-roaming horses and burros.

[Page: H10306]

    ``(3) DISPOSITION OF FUNDS.--Funds generated from the sale of excess animals under this subsection shall be--

    ``(A) credited as an offsetting collection to the Management of Lands and Resources appropriation for the Bureau of Land Management; and

    ``(B) used for the costs relating to the adoption of wild free-roaming horses and burros, including the costs of marketing such adoption.

    ``(4) EFFECT OF SALE.--Any excess animal sold under this provision shall no longer be considered to be a wild free-roaming horse or burro for purposes of this Act.''.

    (b) CRIMINAL PROVISIONS.--Section 8(a)(4) of Public Law 92-195 (16 U.S.C. 1338(a)(4)) is amended by inserting ``except as provided in section 3(e),'' before ``processes''.

[seastay]

[NRA2BFree]

This REALLY makes me mad. I'm so sick of that bunch of jackasses in DC not doing their job!!! This is the result of putting together such large bills that they don't even read them. What total incompetence on the part of our elected officials. They are TOTALLY worthless!!

[Duchess47]

Cindy, thanks for the ping.

First, there are no longer thousands of mustangs roaming America's deserts. There are very few left, herds are being picked up rapidly. They will become inbred if something isn't done, since there will be so few left free.

Until that point, stallions will run off their sons and daughters to start new herds. They do not inbreed in the normal course of events.

The mustangs do not impact the environment in the same way that cattle, sheep or even deer do. They do much less damage both to the ground and the plants. That has been an ongoing argument with cattle ranchers for years.

The mustang is a distinctly American breed, again something that is ignored by those wishing them gone. The rush to round them up is terribly wrong. However, those rounded up have been gentled and trained in pilot programs at the state prisons. That benefits the horses, their future owners, and most of all, the prisoners themselves.

When I first moved to this area of Nevada, we could go out riding or four wheeling and count wild horses in amounts of fifty or sixty in several different bands that called this valley their range. Now, I go days without seeing one. Developers have moved in, along with people who don't care to have mustangs eating their lawn. (they could just fence it.)

Their endurance is incredible, and they have the unique instinct to always protect themselves and their riders.

For more information on them, go to Lacey J. Dalton's website, http://www.letemrun.com/ It is so sad that the mustang can't hide from man, like the coyote does. They are chased and trapped and betrayed at every turn.

[Fatalis]

Nothing a few apex predators couldn't solve.

[tiki]

I bought 2 once, they were worthless.