Wild Horses Shot To Death Near Calif.-Nev. Border

[Kadie]

Dec 11, 2009 12:30 pm US/Pacific

Wild Horses Shot To Death Near Calif.-Nev. Border

RENO, Nev. (AP) ― Investigators are looking into the suspected shooting deaths of a group of wild horses in Nevada and the possibility the case could be linked to heated debate over the future of mustangs in the West.

U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokesman John Dearing said Friday that five horses died of apparent gunshot wounds, while the cause of death of a sixth horse nearby was unknown.

The bodies were found Saturday on public land along the Nevada-California border in Washoe County, about 120 miles north of Reno. Authorities believe the animals had been dead for about two weeks.

Dearing said investigators haven't determined a motive so far but would consider the possibility the case stems from controversy following the government's announcement earlier this year of a plan to round up and relocate thousands of wild horses.

While horse advocates brand the plan as inhumane and unnecessary, some Westerners view mustangs as a menace and think they should be euthanized instead.

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http://cbs13.com/local/wild.horses.shot.2.1364808.html

[kestrel91316]

1. The mustangs are not a native species of wildlife, they are an introduced

species. That wouldn't pose such a problem if the Western sagebrush ecosystem were otherwise intact, with its full complement of pinnacle predators.

But it's not.

They need a much more aggressive program or removal and adoption, with perhaps a large land reserve set aside for some of them to roam in (with birth control measures instituted).

[Richard D]

3. The mustangs are not a native species of wildlife, they are an introduced

So are we.

[kestrel91316]

5. True. But this thread is not a discussion of human overpopulation.

[izquierdista]

4. Pinnacle predators

Since the idea of lions running wild would not be too popular, the job of pinnacle predator falls to:

[kestrel91316]

6. The last time horses ran wild in N America, saber-toothed tigers and

giant bears were the pinnacle predators. I'm not so sure modern-day wolves and mountain lions could keep them in check.

[izquierdista]

8. Wolves keep moose in check

But any pinnacle predator is going to annoy ranchers when they go after the easier to kill cattle instead of sticking to the feral horses.

[kestrel91316]

9. Hence the quandary.

[Double T]

2. What a tragic waste of these beautiful animals; and for what?

[FarCenter]

7. Yes, too bad. They would have fed a lot of mink for weeks.