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When Backyard Nature turns into ... Varmints!
Wildlife control operators walk the thorny terrain between protecting animals and killing them
Why on Earth Would You Rescue That?
Commonly odd creatures require some uncommon dedication
Social 'petworking' gives homeless animals a million more chances at adoption
By Kayla Sawyer
Albuquerque's top animal charity makes a huge leap toward no-kill
We mistakenly reported in Aug|Sept — “What’s the deal with girls and horses anyway?” — that “wild horses continue to be rounded up by the BLM for sale or slaughter.” In fact, wild horses and burros rounded up by the BLM are not sold; they are kept in holding for adoption by qualified buyers. Wild horse advocates claim that some of these animals end up being sold to slaughter-houses in Mexico and Canada once adoption is final (after one year). The problem has spread, they
say, since the 2004 Burns Amendment, which allowed the BLM to sell without limitation any animals over 10 years old or that have been passed over for adoption three times. The BLM has sold 5,400 animals under these conditions. According to the agency website, more than 47,000 horses and burros are in holding facilities, while 37,300 remain on public rangelands, exceeding by nearly 11,000 the carrying capacity of rangeland in balance with other uses (such as cattle grazing, mining, and oil/gas development). The BLM estimates that the wild population grows 20 percent each year in the absence of significant predators.