Save the Mustangs

Stampede into Oblivion
Medium: Photoshop paint

This is a piece I made about BLM Mustang roundups. The BLM rounds up free-roaming Mustangs in the western U.S. states in order to reduce their population. The BLM believes the Mustangs to be overpopulated and tells the public that they are starving. However, when unbiased facts are brought into the question, a different story emerges.

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=13511&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nationalacademies%2Fna+%28News+from+the+National+Academies%29

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13511

Mustangs, although not native to the U.S. are not a major invasive species. There is no doubt that Mustangs are eating endangered plants. However, other, native wildlife, such as elk, deer, and rabbits eat those same plants. Mustang advocates are surprised at the apparent narrow-mindedness of many anti-Mustang groups: all herbivores are eating the plants, but only Mustangs are targeted as invasive. Thus the question arises: we know that Mustangs existed in populations much, much larger than they do now, and that native wildlife lived comfortably alongside them, including plants and animals that are now endangered, so what has changed? What has caused horses and wildlife to move into and graze in areas that they didn't inhabit before?

Fortunately, the answer is clear as to what has changed: cattle. Domestic cattle and sheep number around 4 million on public lands. They outnumber Mustangs 50 to 1 in most states, and 200 to 1 in others. That's 3 million more than there ever were of Mustangs on those same lands, and 160% more than the modern Mustang population. The huge cattle and sheep populations have pushed out native wildlife and Mustangs, displacing wildlife and causing them to live in and eat plants that are unnatural for them to eat. Although cattle are rotated seasonally, there are still millions on the land at any given time. Even when a space of land is evacuated, it is typically so run-down that wildlife do not move back into it. Thus, cattle move back and keep the land as their own. Even though it's clear that cattle greatly outnumber Mustangs and are also forcing Mustangs and other wildlife into unnatural and often inhospitable areas, anti-Mustang groups continue to argue that Mustangs, not cattle, are the true invasive animal. They say that because Mustangs are non-native, that they are automatically invasive. However, they completely ignore an enormous factor in the equation: cattle and sheep, the other non-native species. It's not logical to ignore the more abundant, newer, non-native animal and choose to accuse the rarer non-native animal that has lived in North America for hundreds of years longer, and also lives in populations much, much smaller than it used to, back when the ecology of the land was relatively harmonious. Since Mustang populations are lower than they ever have been, it's not logical to pin all the blame on them. The main cause of degradation to public lands is cattle and sheep, not Mustangs. Cows graze within a mile of water, often standing in it until the water is so soiled it’s unusable for some time, while wild horses are highly mobile, grazing from five to ten miles from water, at higher elevations, on steeper slopes, and in more rugged terrain. Horses and donkeys also have solid hooves which don’t tear apart the earth nearly as much as a cow’s cloven hoof. A congressionally-mandated study by the National Academy of Sciences found that wild horse forage use remains a small fraction of cattle forage use on public ranges. Private livestock outnumber wild horses at least 50 to 1 on public lands. (4 million cattle and sheep > 25,000 Mustangs.)

 

Mustangs also don't pose much of a threat to cattle ranchers as studies have shown that even after massive roundups, the land is not much improved for cattle, if it is improved at all. On top of that, there are so few Mustangs in the wild now that they simply can't out-graze and starve domestic cattle.

 

Mustangs are not the main cause of damage to rangelands. The main cause of degradation of public lands is livestock use, not Mustangs. Cows graze within a mile of water, often standing in it until the water is so soiled it’s unusable for some time, while wild horses are highly mobile, grazing from five to ten miles from water, at higher elevations, on steeper slopes, and in more rugged terrain. Horses and donkeys also have solid hooves which don’t tear apart the earth nearly as much as a cow’s cloven hoof. A congressionally-mandated study by the National Academy of Sciences found that wild horse forage use remains a small fraction of cattle forage use on public ranges. Private livestock outnumber wild horses at least 50 to 1 on public lands. (4 million cattle and sheep > 25,000 Mustangs.)

 

The idea that Mustangs are starving is a well-believed lie propagated by the BLM to rally people to their cause. The truth is that on average, Mustangs are not starving and many are fat. Despite federal protection, wild horses have been relegated to the most inhospitable areas of the range. Still, they have adapted and survived. Wildlife biologists in Mustang areas frequently photograph and watch Mustangs. They say that the majority are in good condition and there are always fresh horse hoof prints around the waterholes. Also, how could the Mustangs be starving when the land they are being removed from can feed over 4 million domestic cattle and sheep?

 

The few Mustangs that are starving are starving because their food and water has been fenced off for cattle. There is more than enough public land to comfortably house all the Mustangs and an appropriate number of cattle. At the time being, cattle outnumber Mustangs 50 to 1. There are currently more than 3,000,000 beef cattle on public grazing lands, around 1,000,000 sheep on publics grazing lands, and fewer than 25,000 Mustangs on all American wild lands combined. Grazing on public lands is a privilege, not a right, and can be taken away. But while Mustangs are being squeezed out of their legal lands and managed to extinction, no one is managing the ranchers. Occasionally natural disasters such as droughts and floods will take away graze or water and special action needs to take place, but that’s relatively rare.

 

America does not need more cattle. The fact that Americans like beef is irrelevant to the Mustang debate considering that America throws away tons (using the actual measurement of weight) of beef every year. In addition, cattle on public lands shared with Mustangs contribute an whopping 3% of America's beef consumption. Wildlife and cattle are killed for nothing but rancher and government greed. Instead of pouring more money and land into the beef industry, the economic response would be to find an alternative outlet for ranchers seeking more profit.

 

BLM helicopter roundups are inhumane. The BLM only allows the public to view carefully-staged roundups where a few horses are trotted into a pen. The other roundups are often photographed and documented by undercover or lucky individuals, and they can be shocking to behold. Horses are frequently killed during roundups. Helicopters drive entire herds (including pregnant mares and newborn foals) at the speed of a flying helicopter over land deemed too rough for vehicles. As I have young and/or sensitive watchers, I won't post more on the violence of BLM helicopter roundups here, but if you would like to learn more you could visit my Mustang website (savethemustanghorses.blogspot.com) or you could Google "BLM Mustang roundup results." Not all the information on Google will be accurate, but a lot of it is.

 

BLM helicopter roundups are irresponsible. Because the BLM manages Mustangs to such low populations, much lower than the natural carrying limit of the lands, Mustangs work to rebuild their numbers after each roundup. The horses spring back as they would after a natural disaster or plague. In essence, the BLM is triggering an endless population bloom. As the BLM wants to reduce the number Mustangs on the range, they perform more and more roundups, which in turn cause greater and greater population growth. The National Academy of Sciences estimates a population growth of 10-15% each year. With more and more horses being removed each year, the cost of helicopter roundups and caring for the captive Mustangs is skyrocketing. It costs around $100,000 every day to feed the captive Mustangs. It's estimated that it will cost around $80,000,000 by the end of this year to continue rounding up Mustangs. Where does this money come from? Your tax dollars. The BLM is headed for a financial train wreck.

 

Also, by removing horses from the range, the BLM is forcing Mustangs to inbreed, which is destroying the breed. As it is now, around 85% of the Mustangs on the range are below genetic viability. If more genetic information is removed, what will our Mustangs be like in a few years?

 

 

In the end, I have nothing against keeping Mustangs at a manageable number in the wild, but we must do so responsibly. Helicopter roundups are costly, inhumane, and irresponsible. Better approaches would be fertility drugs such as PZP. The BLM allots 70% of its budget to roundups and stockpiling Mustangs (even while the public's demand for Mustangs has hit rock-bottom) and only 6% to fertility drugs and on-the-range management. If you would like to learn more, feel free to visit my Mustang website and read the different pages (listed as links on the right-hand side.) http://savethemustanghorses.blogspot.com/