Although I agree that wild horses are a symbol of the American West, I also believe that it is the responsibility of Congress to ensure that these animals are managed, protected, and controlled in an effective manner.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I represent a district in Nevada, a state that is home to more wild horses than all other states combined.
The government sends low-flying helicopters to chase the horses into corrals and then takes them from the plains of the American West to federal holding pens. The government claims it's to save the horses from starvation. Critics claim the real motive is to clear the land for cattle grazing. Critics also say the horses are brutally traumatized.
We had a great many horses, of which we gave Lewis and Clark what they needed, and they gave us guns and tobacco in return.
I didn't grow up around wild horses, no. But I've appreciated their beauty and their power ever since I can remember.
I think some horses are meant to do... eventing or dressage. We have Western horses who canter around. I think it takes, especially at the level I'm at now, it takes a horse that wants to do it.
If a horse doesn't want to do something, you're not going to make him do it. They're incredibly powerful animals.
It's time for compassionate Americans to send a wake-up call to their members of Congress and demand passage of legislation to end the wholesale slaughter of America's horses once and for all.
There are a lot of great animal rights organizations who save dogs and save cats, but the Humane Society is actually really good at working with Congress and getting legislation actually passed.
States should pass laws making it illegal to own or trade wild animals; the phony 'educational' permits that many private owners have used to skirt those laws should be eliminated.
I don't mind what Congress does, as long as they don't do it in the streets and frighten the horses.