Horse fossils have been found at most Pleistocene fossil sites, proving they were once common and widespread throughout North America as well as Europe and Asia. Paleontologists assigned new species names to many late Pleistocene horse fossils. However, it’s likely the great variation in size within the horse population confused the scientists, and all late Pleistocene horse fossils can be lumped together into just 2 species–horse and donkey. A DNA analysis of 12,000 year old horse bone from Idaho determined that the late Pleistocene horse was the exact same species as the modern domesticated horse. Between ~15,000 BP and ~7,000 BP, humans gradually overhunted these beautiful beasts into extinction on the North American continent. Obviously, climate change could not have been a factor in their extinction across the entire continent because when Europeans reintroduced horses in the 15th century, they thrived everywhere including Florida and Georgia. We can’t fault the Indians for their extinction. They had no way of knowing they were roasting the last of the American horses over the campfire. For millennia the Indians wandered into new territory, wiped out the big game, and moved on, not knowing there were no new territories left with herds of horses. Act I of the North American horse holocaust is understandable, but there is no excuse for Act II.
The Bureau of Land Management claims there are 38,000 wild horses roaming western lands, though horse advocacy groups insist that number is closer to 10,000. The BLM is the government agency charged with managing America’s wild horses. When they determine the range is being overgrazed, they conduct helicopter round-ups. The horses are driven into crowded corrals and eventually are sold at auction. Some people keep them as pets and attempt to tame them. Some of the horses allegedly are sold to meat processors who transport them across the Mexican or Canadian border where they are slaughtered, and the meat is sold to fancy French restaurants. Horses that remain unsold are euthanized. Wild horse advocacy groups and humane societies are understandably upset about this. They accuse the BLM of cruelty, and many believe the ultimate goal of the agency is to annihilate all wild horses, so greedy mining companies and cattle ranchers can have all the public land to themselves. I’ve come to the conclusion that the wild horse advocates are right.
I think the BLM stands for the Bureau of Lying Morons. Because activist groups are critical of the BLM’s inhumane and destructive management of wild horses and burros, the BLM has a webpage where they defend their department from some of the accusations. It’s in the style of a myth vs. fact structure. As the following photos show, the so-called myths are true and the so-called facts are lies. George Orwell’s 1984 comes to mind.
Myth #2: Horses are held in crowded “holding pens.”
Fact: This assertion is false. The BLM’s short-term holding corrals provide ample space to horses along with clean feed and water.
BLM corral. Looks like a miserable crowded holding pen to me.
Myth #7: Gather of horses by helicopter is inhumane
Fact: This claim is false. The BLM’s helicopter assisted gathers are conducted humanely…Helicopters start the horses moving in the right direction, and then back off sometimes a quarter to a half mile from the animals to let them travel at their own pace.
Another lie exposed. This helicopter is practically bumping this herd in the ass.
Myth 8: If left alone, wild horses will limit their own population.
Fact: There is absolutely no scientific evidence to support the idea that wild hoses will automatically limit their own population.
The BLM is wrong again. A recent study found that cougars kill enough horses to control their population. In some areas of Nevada wild horses make up a greater proportion of cougar diet than any other animal including mule deer.
Myth 5: The BLM removes wild horses to make room for more cattle grazing on public rangeland.
Fact: This claim is totally false. The removal of wild horses and burros from public rangeland is carried out to ensure rangeland health.
I don’t have a photo for this one, but the logic behind the BLM’s defense defies logic. The BLM allows an average of 8.3 million cattle on public lands every month. Compare this with 10,000-38,000 horses. Which is overgrazing the rangeland–millions of cattle or thousands of horses?
Myth 11: Wild horses are native to the U.S.
Fact: This claim is false. The disappearance of the horse from the Western hemisphere for 10,000 years shows that today America’s wild horses should not be considered native.
The fossil evidence proves wild horses are native to North America. Man is the reason they were driven to extinction once. It seems a travesty for man to drive this beautiful animal into extinction in the wild again.
A child could explain why the BLM is a wicked agency. They allow stripmining and they mistreat animals. It’s as simple as that. And a child could explain why the politicians who fund the BLM are evil. Yet, adults vote for them. This makes the American people the villain in my opinion.
A strip mine on land owned by U.S. taxpayers. The company that destroyed this mountaintop and stream in Arizona leased the land for $5 an acre.
President Obama could end the North American horse holocaust with an executive order. But he is a bastard who doesn’t give a shit about the environment. The only thing he has cared about since the day he got elected was getting re-elected.
Here’s the Horse-killer in Chief. I hate this bastard. His environmental policies have been worse than George W. Bush’s. I didn’t think this would be possible when I voted for him in 2008. Environmentalists have no reason to vote in the upcoming election. A choice between the democrats and the republicans is like a choice between shit and vomit. It’s the pigs vs. the pussies.
Tags: BLM, Bureau of Land Management, cougars killing horses, horse holocaust, Pleistocene horses
July 11, 2012 at 5:27 pm |
Yep, you may have a point. Hell, BP took over which company which can be traced to mineral extraction? Same morals transferred to BP.
Also, look at pictures of meetings where ranchers out west support the extermination of just about any large wild animal (horses, wolves, cougars,coyotes, etc.), and you will see lots of middle aged to older white people in hysterics over possible threats by the animals…unless it makes money for them like elk or mule deer, then it’s a different story.
Deliberate extermination might be a north European ethic brought over by our ancestors, and kept alive through fairy tales (Red Riding Hood, etc.). Heck, look at the ancestry of most of the ranchers out west that shoot stuff…mostly from the same area.
Obama is an ‘urban’ guy, he could care less because he has no attachment to land. I’m not sure what Romney would do but he hangs with some of the same ‘elitist’ hunters that want to close off hunting on public lands to everyone but themselves. Repugnican or Dumocrat doesn’t really matter anymore.
July 11, 2012 at 10:33 pm |
Dare I say Obama is a city slicker? Well, I called him a bastard. I guess he’s a bastard city slicker. Republicans openly say they want to get rid of the EPA. More on this on my next blog entry.
July 11, 2012 at 10:05 pm |
I used to think that wild horses should be removed since they were an invasive species. Of course I had forgotten my natural history lessons and that they had been here until the Native Americans had hunted them to extinction. We need them back. Leave them alone and let them return to some of the places where they once lived.
I’ve hiked alongside wild horses here in the South. There are wild horses at Cumberland Island National Seashore where I spent several days camping and hiking. It was nice to see them. There are wild ponies in the Grayson Highlands of Virginia. I always get a kick out of seeing them in the vast highland grassy balds there.
Let them have the few places they have recolonized, and allow them to return to North America where they should be.
July 11, 2012 at 10:35 pm |
There was a nature documentary on one of the many cable/satellite channels not long ago where they placed trail cams on the Appalachian trail. I think it was in Virginia where they were surprised tthe cam took photos of wild horses.
July 12, 2012 at 12:28 am |
We have wild goats on a mountain near me…they’ve been there over a hundred and fifty years, so I guess they are acclimating. I’d like to find somebody interested in studying feral goats if anyone knows much about it. I’ve heard about a trail cam near Blowing Rock, NC that got a wild horse or ass (all jokes aside).
July 12, 2012 at 2:46 am |
There were feral goats at a place called Cedar Cliffs in Gilmer County where I went to high school. We rock climbed to the caves where they took shelter and the floor of the caves were deep in dried goat poop. Not sure if they’re still there, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they still thrive along Talking Rock Creek. Those cliffs are impressive and offer safety for the goats.
February 3, 2013 at 6:30 pm |
Indeed, what has and continues to happen to America’s wild horses and burros is an utter disgrace. I am a wildlife ecologist and have studied into this issue in great depth plus have extensive experience visiting and observing the herds and countering the lies and plots against them. I spent four years writing a book: The Wild Horse Conspiracy which goes into all aspects of these magnificent animals and tells what must happen to restore the herds as naturally self stabilizing populations in their legal areas throughout the West. This is called Reserve Design and it is what the government should have been doing all along. You can get the book from me for a signed copy or through amazon as a print book at http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Horse-Conspiracy-Craig-Downer/dp/1461068983 or as an eBook with may color photos of the wh/b’s from all over the West at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009XJ64P4 I also have a project for Reserve Design and mean to investigate just how and where it will work and to present this to all concerned including the American people.