Horse slaughter?

[Parnell]

You all see this story in the news?

https://www.rt.com/usa/359135-blm-shoots-horses-dont-they/

45,000 horses on federal land to be destroyed for what I'm reading as "making room for cattle"?

I'm hoping there are some educated points of view on this that will enlighten me, because I'm not getting it...

[JoJoDapyro]

Here in Utah the herds go unchecked. They did do roundups and sell off some of the horses for a time, but it has stopped. Fro a while they were sending them to the prison, the prisoners in Gunneson were able to train them and then the state sold them. They have looked into sterilizing some of the horses to reduce the numbers, but there isn't any money to do it.

http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro.html

Also, the estimated number of wild horses in the US is only 33,000

http://theweek.com/articles/460722/american-west-being-overrun-by-wild-horses

[osage outlaw]

It all comes down to money.  It says they spent 45 million to hold and care for them last year.  I'm sure the cattle ranchers are willing to pay to lease the grazing land.  What doesn't make sense is the part of the article that says the horses are damaging the earth with their hooves.   The cattle that will be brought in will do the exact same thing. 

[bubby]

It's all just another case of a governmental con job there is no need to put them down, they really don't want to lease the land to ranchers. Just going to be a land grab in the name of environmental issues

[SLIMBOB]

Amen to that bubby.

[Chippintuff]

The logical solution would be to put buffalo in there and phase out some of the horses. As for money, our government has money to do anything they want to do. Their cup knows no bounds.

WA

[YosemiteBen]

at least process them and send them to food banks....

[JoJoDapyro]

I'm not sure where the Article you linked got it's information. The BLM stats are all laid out, and the total wild population as of 2015 is 67,000, and the total captured population is 44,580. It doesn't make much sense to me to keep paying to house these animals. They wouldn't be killed to make room for cattle, they have already been removed to make room for cattle. The damage is done. So, Either start eating Horse meat, Raise your own cows, or this is what you get.

http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/whbprogram/history_and_facts/quick_facts.html

[Zuma]

at least process them and send them to food banks....

There is a big market in Europe for horse meat.
I bet there would be a big boo-ho from the American people
if the meat was sold.
Zuma

[DC]

What do they do with the carcasses, pet food???

[JoJoDapyro]

at least process them and send them to food banks....

There is a big market in Europe for horse meat.
I bet there would be a big boo-ho from the American people
if the meat was sold.
Zuma

Sadly it is acceptable to kill animals that can't find homes in a shelter setting if they are dogs or cats, but not horses. I'm willing to bet once people got passed the "Horse meat" mentality, they would eat it as readily as beef, or lamb, or any other meat deemed ok to eat.

[DC]

I remember when I was a kid there was a small shop in Vancouver BC that only sold horse meat only. My Dad said it was for Europeans(well, he didn't say Europeans but I have to be politically correct))

[Del the cat]

Horse ,cow, deer, pig, goat ... I don't get it....
What's the beef with eating horse? The French manage it ok... mind they also eat snails
Del

[Fred Arnold]

Hold your horses!! We may need them for transportation and companionship when the gas money runs out.

[Aaron H]

Boy that would be some great sinew