Trump admin pushes to annihilate this wild horse herd on 9/11 . . . public widely opposes

[KPN]

25. It has actually been a hot button issue for

a couple of decades and an issue for several or more. At its core, the issue is the federal government has been subsidizing a way-of-life for ranchers who have relied on public land grazing “rights” to raise their livestock for many decades. The grazing fee that the federal government charges per animal is well below the rate charged on lands leased from private landowners by and large. In addition, the amount of beef/lamb produced by grazing on federal lands is an insignificant percent of the total beef/lamb raised and consumed in the US. So we tax payers really are subsidizing a way of life for a relative few throughout the western states. And these few are the same people who have been leading the sage brush rebellion out west for the past 40 years or so — the push to transfer federal public lands (your lands, my lands, the public’s lands) to the western States and ultimately privatize them.

I would also clarify that not all grazing allotments are overgrazed, and probably most are not. But no doubt most ranchers would overgraze federal lands when not monitored. And ranchers balk at having their grazing rights or allocation reduced due to the presence of wild horses in federal efforts to support wild horses and not overgraze the lands.

It’s a complex issue, but eliminating/euthanizing horses is probably the least acceptable solution.