In the Wild West of the USA, the Bureau of Land Management rounds up wild horses with expensive helicopters and keeps them on “retirement farms”, gives expensive birth control to mares, does everything to reduce the uncontrolled growth of horse herds. There are arguments that the animals are not natural and endemic to the regions, that cattle ranchers are greedy and don’t want grazing horses as a disturbance.
Sources:
http://www.rgj.com/article/20100206/NEWS/2060341/Activists–death-rate-at-mustang-roundup-excessive
Good intentions cause ill side effects
I mix these animal rights in with “human rights”, because they come from the same attitude. Our inborn tenderness and goodness, badly and selectively applied, makes us take inconsistent decisions. We see one side of the coin and don’t think through the consequences of our laws.
Horses, cougars, bears, all animal populations under total protection will grow and expand. At some time there will be too many horses, with no predators. Cougars and bears are not hunted, they don’t respect people, endanger hikers and even US villagers when rummaging for food. I am talking about Americans, because seems to care about African peasants whose harvests are trampled down by elefants and kids endangered by lions rummaging in the village.
Find the middle ground: don’t exterminate nor allow uncontrolled breeding
I never thought I would become a redneck, but I agree: hunt the bastards!
What are the alternatives to control by hunting?
- Let nature solve it! Let the animals spread to bearing capacity, until they overgraze and then starvation limits population.
- Or introduce predators, wolves etc whose large numbers also endanger our livestock and kids.
- or go to great expenses with constant efforts at birth control like it is being done now.
Definitely shoot some bears and cougars, who venture too close to humans. The shy ones will survive and be selected for. Hunt some horses to keep them at the desired numbers. Yes, sell hunting licenses, sell and eat the horse meat. Eating healthy happy range mustang meat is better in every respect (health, morality, environment, carbon neutrality ….) then eating “concentration camp chicken” breast or corn fed cattle locked up in stalls.
|
“Good” intentions |
Overlooked side effects |
Overlooked other victims |
Solutions |
| Horses are cute and our friends. They need total protection. They must not be killed, horse meat must not be eaten. | Horse populations will grow too big at some time. If not now, then in 50 years. Advance population planning should have been made. | Chicken, cows, are grown under “inhumane” conditions, unhealthy for consumers. High cost to energy usage, environmental damage, … | Controlled hunting |
| Bears & Cougars must be protected from extinction and must not be hunted | Dangerous animals lose fear of humans. It is easier to attack pets, livestock and smaller humans then to hunt scarce wild animals | Controlled Hunting |