Ready, aim, slaughter

Thursday, December 30, 2004

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

Wild horses are a spirited part of the American landscape. For thousands of the magnificent animals, their place will probably soon be on French dining tables.

Without public hearings, Congress and President Bush have undone key parts of more than 30 years of federal law protecting wild horses and burros. The slaughter is about to resume, quite literally.

This favor for ranchers and sheepherders using public land is an embarrassment even amid the scandal of special-interest favors in the recent federal appropriations bill. Under a last-minute amendment from Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., the law now allows the sale of many horses, which can be expected to go to slaughterhouses that ship to Europe and elsewhere.

To be sure, Burns' explanations make his sneaky legislative maneuver sound almost like a wise act of tenderhearted mercy. He merely wants to encourage federal officials and animal advocates to expand adoption programs.

In fact, the Bureau of Land Management has placed more than 200,000 animals in homes since the mid-1970s. But as Burns should know perfectly well, the agency will be only too happy to have a new option for satisfying some Western ranchers' desire to remove a source of grazing competition on public lands.

Karen Sussman, president of the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, says the reductions in wild herds will result in a reduction of the gene pool. Sussman says that the number of horses and burros roaming free in the West and elsewhere has declined markedly since the first U.S. census in 1974 found nearly 60,000. The BLM estimates a population around 37,000 now, and wants to cut that to 26,000.

Wild horses roam proud and free across lands they and their ancestors have known for generations. But even the noblest creature may be no match for members of Congress lurking in plush offices and intent on serving special interests. Only public reaction can stop a slaughter.

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