coltsbykelly@hotmail.com  Colts By Kelly                         Making A Difference One Hoof At A Time Chad Kelly & Amigo
Wild horses and burros have virtually no natural predators and their herd sizes   can double about every four years.  As a result, the agency must remove thousands   of animals from Western public rangelands each year to ensure that herd sizes are   consistent with the land?s capacity to support them.        As of June 2008, there are more than 30,000 removed (or ?excess?) wild horses and   burros that are fed and cared for at short-term (corral) and long-term (pasture) holding   facilities. Currently, animals   placed in long-term holding live out the rest of their lives   there, which can be from 10 to 25 years depending on the age at which they enter   longterm holding.        The BLM attempts to place as many animals as possible each year into private care through public adoptions, but adoptions have   been declining in recent years because of higher fuel and feed costs.  Adoptions declined from 5,701 in Fiscal Year 2005 to 4,772 in   Fiscal Year 2007.  The BLM?s direct sales program, which primarily affects older animals, has met with limited success as currently   implemented.
The BLM seeks to bring the number placed through adoption or sold each year into balance with the number that must be removed   annually from the range.  As a result, fewer animals will need to be maintained in holding facilities.
It is essential to keep the BLM's wild horse and burro program in balance.  The cost of keeping animals removed from Western   rangelands in holding facilities is spiraling out of control and preventing the agency from successfully managing other parts of the   program.
In Fiscal Year 2007, the BLM spent $38.8 million on its wild horse and burro program; the cost for holding wild horses and burros in   short- and long-term facilities was $21.9 million, meaning holding costs accounted for more than half of what the BLM spent in Fiscal   Year 2007 on its total wild horse and burro program.      In the current Fiscal Year (2008), holding costs will exceed $26 million, accounting for three-fourths of the Fiscal Year 2008   congressional appropriation to the BLM of about $37 million.  This level of funding is not sufficient to support summer removals from   the range while maintaining lifetime holding for older unadopted animals.  To continue its current removal and holding practices, the   BLM would need for its total wild horse and burro program: $44 million in 2008, $58 million in 2009, $65 million in 2010, $74 million in   2011, and $77 million in 2012.
The BLM faces difficult choices in the West's wild horse and burro program.  Rising energy prices have increased costs and it is   clear the agency cannot continue current removal and holding practices under existing and projected budgets.  In one year alone,   energy costs for transportation and feed have increased almost $4 million.  Neither can the BLM allow horses to multiply unchecked   on the range without causing an environmental disaster.  The BLM is looking at all options at this point to manage through the   situation.  We have not made any decisions on which option to pursue, but we are in discussions with humane groups to find an   appropriate legal solution.  As quoted from the BLM website.  For more information go to www.blm.gov