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April 29, 2005
Slaughters halt wild horse sales
By SAMANTHA YOUNG Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., said two incidents this month in which mustangs sold by the government were resold to an Illinois meatpacker provided "graphic evidence" that Congress should restore federal protections to the animals. "When Americans picture the West, I hardly think that they envision horses being rounded up and sent to commercial slaughterhouses to be processed into cuisine for foreign countries," Rahall said. Rahall in January introduced a bill to repeal a 2004 law instructing the Bureau of Land Management to sell all captured wild horses and burros that are more than 10 years of age or unable to be placed through adoptions after three tries. The BLM has sold and delivered 992 horses to individuals, groups and Indian tribes that signed pledges to provide humane care for the animals. In two cases, horses were later resold to an Illinois slaughter plant, which pays 47-cents a pound for horsemeat and packages it for sale to Europe. BLM director Kathleen Clarke this week suspended further sales and the delivery of 950 more horses while agency attorneys review the program. I think it's a shame on the U.S. Congress to allow something like this to happen," said Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., who called on the BLM to gather public input to write sales regulations. Wild horse advocates maintain the incidents also have given momentum to legislation that would effectively ban the killing of horses for human consumption. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., plans to introduce a bill banning the transport of horses across state lines for purposes of being slaughtered for food, he said. Advocates of the wild horse sales expressed regret at the 41 slaughters but pointed to the hundreds of other horses that have been placed in safe hands. "The statute stimulated sales that weren't happening otherwise," said Jeff Eisenberg, executive director of the public lands council for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. "We believe the program is an indispensable tool to bringing public lands in balance," Eisenberg said. "A healthy range is important to recreation, wildlife, grazing and horse interests." The BLM estimates 37,000 wild horses and burros roam public lands in 10 western states, roughly 9,000 more animals than government range experts say can survive in the wild. About half the herd is in Nevada. The BLM has struggled financially to capture enough horses to bring the herds down to manageable levels. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., last November authored the provision directing the government to sell 8,400 "excess" horses without any limitations. Instead of selling horses, Rahall said the BLM should be given more money to care for the animals as the public expected when Congress enacted a bill in 1971 protecting the wild horse. Horse advocates said 102 herd management areas are no longer home to wild horses, and BLM could utilize those 13 million acres for horse care. "There is room for our wild horses on the range," said Nancy Perry, vice president of governmental affairs at the Humane Society of the United States. BLM director Kathleen Clarke earlier this week said attorneys are reviewing legal options regarding the sale program. Clarke declined to say when sales might resume. |
