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Uncle Sam cries "Uncle"All livestock owners in the United States, including the U.S. government itself, are feeling the effects of high feed costs. On June 30, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) made this announcement. In addition, rising energy prices have increased costs. In one year alone, energy costs for transportation and feed have increased almost $4 million. It is clear the agency cannot continue current removal and holding practices under existing and projected budgets. Neither can the BLM allow horses to multiply unchecked on the range without causing an environmental disaster. That's why the BLM is exploring options to exercise its legal authority to (1) sell older and certain other unadopted animals "without limitation" to any willing buyers and (2) euthanize those wild horses and burros for which no adoption demand exists. We know this is not a popular option, but we are at a critical point where we must consider using the legal authorities allowed us. As a refresher course, the BLM has 33,000 horses running wild on federally owned lands in the West. In addition, they have another 30,000 horses that are in long-term holding facilities, costing thousands of dollars per day in feed costs and care. Horses have been gathered with the hope that someone would adopt them; but, instead, they have been piling up costs that amount to about three-fourths of the total $37 million budget for the whole program. So it was inevitable that something must be done. I must admit that it is quite gratifying to see that the government, who likes to make mandates that contribute to record high feed prices, feels the same pain that we do. But more importantly, I am somewhat surprised that they are attempting to make a logical decision about culling the herd, in order to help corral the runaway cost of the program. As you would expect, the calls from so many in the past week have been disbelief about how the government could kill these horses. They were even referred to as "the same horse that Paul Revere rode in the Revolutionary War" in one news report. My personal opinion is that these horses should not be euthanized but, rather, they should be viewed as the true resources in the cycle of life that they are. We have hungry people in the world who would love the chance to supplement their diet with a bit of horse protein. Unfortunately, before these horses could help starving children around the world, they would have to be shipped to Mexico or Canada because our elitist American society is above harvesting horses for human consumption and does not have one operating harvesting facility. Certainly, there are zoo animals that would benefit as well. And what happens with a pile of 6,000 dead horses that have been killed by a lethal injection of some drug cocktail? How does that affect the ground and groundwater in the area where they are to be buried? If you believe, as I do, that it is a good idea that Uncle Sam finally implements some of the same animal husbandry standards that most livestock owners have to use, don't sit back and do nothing. The fact that the BLM made this announcement in the manner that it did tells me that they are simply testing the waters. "Let's see how bad the wound might be if we cull 6,000 horses and then we will make our final decision." So, yes, I am telling you that if you agree, you must tell someone how much you agree. The vocal minority will control the outcome of this situation and our screams need to be loud, long and elevated. One final thing is that you may have noticed that I referred to horses as livestock. I still believe the most dangerous thing about the current relationship between humans and horses is that we no longer consider them livestock. In fact, there is a movement to get the government to reclassify the horse as a companion animal. The horse needs to remain recognized as livestock because they need to be under the jurisdiction of the USDA in order to maintain control of such diseases as West Nile. If the horse is classified as a companion animal, the horse will suffer. Hopefully, this little educational opportunity will resonate with Uncle Sam, the largest horse owner in the United States. They need to realize that the unintended consequence of banning horse slaughter does create a glut of unwanted horses. Who knows, maybe this new level of awareness will shed a positive light on the need for South Dakota to build a new horse harvesting facility. In the meantime, the stud pile continues to grow. Editor's note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.FacesOfAg.com, or e-mail Trent at trent@loostales.com. 7/14/08 Date: 7/10/08
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