Argumentative Essay On Wild Horses
The mustangs run with a spirit that makes them legendary here in the west. On a bitter cold
morning, dozens of wild horses descend off the mountains of eastern Oregon, galloping miles across
the rangeland. Stallions and mares, guiding their young. It is an incredible sight, but also one that
infuriates many hard working Americans. Horse's hoof prints in cattle grazing lands, drinking the
water supply dry. Farmers are losing their grazing rights before their cattle even step foot on the
property. There is another animal taking over the land. Wild horses.
Feral horses are viewed as a symbol of freedom and power here in the United States. However, they
are also a relatively unmanaged, non–native grazer. Information about their influence on vegetation
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When Congress passed wild horse protection in 1971, the government estimated 17,000 wild horses
and burros roamed across 10 western states. Today, the BLM estimates that population has grown to
over 40,000.
There are over 40,000 wild horses running wild in the western states, and almost 50,000 in captivity.
It costs five dollars and fifty cents per day, for almost 50,000 horses. That is over forty six million
dollars a year! The Oregon Corral for wild horses expanded in 2013 to hold 800 horses, at one time,
it held 1200 horses. "It is completely Full!" Rob Sharp, the manager for the BLM's Oregon wild
horses says, "It absolutely can't go on forever. This is not a sustainable way of managing these
horses."
For decades, the Bureau of Land Management has relied on the strategy of rounding up excess
horses with helicopters and storing them in a system of private ranches and feedlots. But now, with
almost 50,000 horses in storage, the system is out of space and money. In response, the agency has
drastically cut roundups, leaving horses to multiply out on the range.
The Bureau of Land Management says that Western rangelands can sustain about 26,000 wild
horses. There are now over 40,000. In five years, there could be more than 100,000, according to
agency
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