Wild Horse Round-Ups in Utah

[Catherine]

The Bureau of Land management, a US government agency is allowing wild horse round-ups in Utah.
They want to use the land for cattle grazing which of course brings in money which of course wild horses don't.
They are using helicopters and driving the horses into pens. Horses are killed and injured in the process. All of them are terrified.
It is brutal and clearly government sponsored animal cruelty.

https://www.thedodo.com/in-the-wild/wild...nd-up-utah

Once they are caught the trauma isn't over. Mares are separated from their foals and stallions from their herds. 
Some are killed outright for perceived defects. They are held until they are adopted. Originally they were sent for slaughter, but now there is an attempt to adopt them out. However there is no market for wild horse adoption. There are domestic horses waiting to get homes. Horses that are kept too long run the risk of being sent for slaughter.

It is a cruel thing that is being done to animals that deserve better. Horses are not native to North America. They are here because humans brought them here. That gives us a responsibility to look after them. If we have let their numbers  increase that is on us. We have a responsibility to find a humane solution to any horse over population problem. When you look at the stats on how many horses live in an area (one horse for every 1278 acres) it doesn't seem like over crowding to me. The real reason is the money grazing cattle will bring in.

This should never have been allowed to happen and it needs to be stopped. The American Wild Horse Campaign is working hard to help the horses. Whatever they are able to do, many horses have suffered and even died already. This whole action is shameful in a country that once was proud of its "wild west" with all its wild horses.

[Tobi]

It is shocking and cruel, but sadly, not surprising. As you say, Catherine, this is all about making profits from cattle grazing.

And yes, horses were introduced....then I presume mis-managed (by humans!) or they would never have become wild.
Now they suffer for something WE did in the first place.

There should be areas of wildlife safety and conservation. The horses should be part of this. They once weren't native. Now they are.

I am so sad to read about what's happening to them.

[Catherine]

I found about this when I found a video about a horse that was rescued.

http://www.animalloverswebforum.com/show...1#pid22891

This is cruel and unacceptable. We have introduced animals all over the world and now that they are a problem we are being cruel  and inhumane towards animals whose only fault is being descended from animals that we introduced in the first place.

We need to find a way to deal with the consequences of past mistakes in ways that are not cruel. The animals involved did not ask to be where they are and none of this is their fault.