Society for Range Management
POSITION STATEMENT:

Wild Horse Management Method

The Society believes in the practice and enhancement of multiple use values of rangelands, while maintaining basic soil, water and vegetation resources. The Society also believes that a “thriving natural ecological balance” is essential to the health and maintenance of viable wild horse and burro populations.

Therefore, SRM recommends that public land agencies develop the planning, implementation and monitoring of vegetation management that incorporates wild horse management strategies along with other resource demands. Funds saved through the following recommended strategies should be used for the basic resource management in the herd management areas.

The Society for Range Management believes new and innovative herd management strategies can reduce the number of unadopted wild horses that are removed from the rangelands. These herd management strategies should include:

  1. Leaving the breeding herd on rangeland for its natural life.
  2. Removing excess from young of the herd.
  3. Leaving sufficient young to offset death loss and sustain the integrity of the herd.
  4. Retaining desirable characteristics.
  5. Removing undesirable characteristics from the gene pool.
The Society for Range Management urges the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service to adopt the use of herd management strategy and explore other cost effective methods.
Society for Range Management
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