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Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971: Difference between revisions

Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (view source)

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In 1946, the BLM was formed by combining the General Land Office and the Grazing Service.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Long and Varied History|url=http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/About_BLM/History.html|website=Bureau of Land Management|access-date=August 18, 2015|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924004434/http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/About_BLM/History.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>  It no longer directly removed horses from the lands it administered, but issued permits to hunters.  It is unknown how many free-roaming horses were on the public lands at that time,<ref name=Myths /> and it is not clear if there were too many horses, or if the land was incurring damage due to the presence of the horses,<ref>Ryden, p. 211</ref> but removal probably exceeded the animals' reproductive rate, resulting in a decline in numbers. After World War II, captured horses were often slaughtered to meet the demands of the pet food market.<ref name=Curnett/>
In 1946, the BLM was formed by combining the General Land Office and the Grazing Service.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Long and Varied History|url=http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/About_BLM/History.html|website=Bureau of Land Management|access-date=August 18, 2015|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924004434/http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/About_BLM/History.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>  It no longer directly removed horses from the lands it administered, but issued permits to hunters.  It is unknown how many free-roaming horses were on the public lands at that time,<ref name=Myths /> and it is not clear if there were too many horses, or if the land was incurring damage due to the presence of the horses,<ref>Ryden, p. 211</ref> but removal probably exceeded the animals' reproductive rate, resulting in a decline in numbers. After World War II, captured horses were often slaughtered to meet the demands of the pet food market.<ref name=Curnett/>


By the 1950s, the free-roaming horse population was down to an estimated 25,000 animals.<ref name=Curnett>{{cite book|last1=Curnutt|first1=Jordan|title=Animals and the Law: A Sourcebook|year=2001|publisher=ABC-CLIO| isbn=9781576071472| page=142 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2p0MptGeBkC}}</ref>  Horses were being chased to exhaustion by airplanes, poisoned at water holes, and removed with other inhumane practices.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ispmb.org/AnniesStory.html|title=Annie's Story|access-date=January 23, 2016 |website=International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros}}</ref>  Between 1950 and 1959, led by [[Velma Bronn Johnston]]—better known as "Wild Horse Annie,"—[[animal welfare]] and horse advocates lobbied for passage of a federal law to prevent the capture of wild horse by inhumane methods.<ref name="History and Facts">{{cite web|title=History and Facts|url=http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/whbprogram/history_and_facts.html|website=Bureau of Land Management|access-date=26 January 2016|date=12 December 2015|archive-date=28 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228184238/http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/whbprogram/history_and_facts.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Their efforts were successful. On September 8, 1959, President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] signed into law the Hunting Wild Horses and Burros on Public Lands Act, {{USPL|86|2345}}, also known as the "Wild Horse Annie Act", which banned the hunting of feral horses on federal land from aircraft or motorized vehicles.<ref>{{cite news|title=Eisenhower Signs Bill Protecting Wild Horses|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A06E4D81E3FE53BBC4153DFBF668382649EDE|access-date=26 January 2016|work=The New York Times|date=9 September 1959}}</ref>
By the 1950s, the free-roaming horse population was down to an estimated 25,000 animals.<ref name=Curnett>{{cite book|last1=Curnutt|first1=Jordan|title=Animals and the Law: A Sourcebook|year=2001|publisher=ABC-CLIO| isbn=9781576071472| page=142 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2p0MptGeBkC}}</ref>  Horses were being chased to exhaustion by airplanes, poisoned at water holes, and removed with other inhumane practices.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ispmb.org/AnniesStory.html|title=Annie's Story|access-date=January 23, 2016 |website=International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros}}</ref>  Between 1950 and 1959, led by [[Velma Bronn Johnston]]—better known as "Wild Horse Annie,"—[[animal welfare]] and horse advocates lobbied for passage of a federal law to prevent the capture of wild horse by inhumane methods.<ref name="History and Facts">{{cite web|title=History and Facts|url=http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/whbprogram/history_and_facts.html|website=Bureau of Land Management|access-date=26 January 2016|date=12 December 2015|archive-date=28 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228184238/http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/whbprogram/history_and_facts.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Their efforts were successful. On September 8, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the Hunting Wild Horses and Burros on Public Lands Act, {{USPL|86|2345}}, also known as the "Wild Horse Annie Act", which banned the hunting of feral horses on federal land from aircraft or motorized vehicles.<ref>{{cite news|title=Eisenhower Signs Bill Protecting Wild Horses|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A06E4D81E3FE53BBC4153DFBF668382649EDE|access-date=26 January 2016|work=The New York Times|date=9 September 1959}}</ref>


Ownership of free-roaming herds remained contentious, and ranchers continued to use airplanes to gather them.<ref>Ryden,  p. 233</ref>  Horses were still subject to individual states' [[estray]] laws,<ref name="Fischamn, p. 120">Fischamn, p. 120</ref> and no law prevented the complete elimination of horse herds.  Federal agencies also continued to try to eliminate horses from areas where they were perceived to be causing resource damage.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}  Under BLM policy, ranchers could release a [[livestock branding|branded]] mare into a herd then later round up not only the [[mare]], but the band the mare ran with, for slaughter or sale.<ref name=Strive>{{cite news|last=Settle| first=Gary| title=A Devoted Few Strive to Save Wild Horses; Groups Fight to Save Mustangs|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E03E3DE1E31E135A25756C1A9679D946190D6CF|work=The New York Times|date=15 November 1970}}</ref> In Nevada, state law permitted ranchers to round up any unbranded horses on their private land and slaughter or sell them.<ref name="Ripley" /> Concerned about these practices, and about continuing horse hunts in unprotected areas, International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros of which Johnston was the first president, began working to pass federal legislation to protect feral horses throughout the U.S.<ref name="Strive" /> She was joined by a number of prominent people, including [[country music]] singer [[Judy Lynn]], ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' actress [[Amanda Blake]], and ''[[Manchester Union Leader]]'' publisher and [[Conservatism|conservative]] [[William Loeb III]],<ref name=Ripley>{{cite news|last1=Ripley|first1=Anthony|title=Woman Has Worked for 20 Years to Save America's Vanishing Wild Horse|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9901E3DB1038EF34BC4A52DFB767838A669EDE|access-date=26 January 2016|work=The New York Times|date=November 12, 1971}}</ref> who continued to lobby for federal rather than state control over the disposition of free-roaming horses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ispmb.org/AboutISPMB.html|title=ISPMB - Who we are and what we do|access-date=January 23, 2016 |website=International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros}}</ref>
Ownership of free-roaming herds remained contentious, and ranchers continued to use airplanes to gather them.<ref>Ryden,  p. 233</ref>  Horses were still subject to individual states' [[estray]] laws,<ref name="Fischamn, p. 120">Fischamn, p. 120</ref> and no law prevented the complete elimination of horse herds.  Federal agencies also continued to try to eliminate horses from areas where they were perceived to be causing resource damage.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}  Under BLM policy, ranchers could release a [[livestock branding|branded]] mare into a herd then later round up not only the [[mare]], but the band the mare ran with, for slaughter or sale.<ref name=Strive>{{cite news|last=Settle| first=Gary| title=A Devoted Few Strive to Save Wild Horses; Groups Fight to Save Mustangs|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E03E3DE1E31E135A25756C1A9679D946190D6CF|work=The New York Times|date=15 November 1970}}</ref> In Nevada, state law permitted ranchers to round up any unbranded horses on their private land and slaughter or sell them.<ref name="Ripley" /> Concerned about these practices, and about continuing horse hunts in unprotected areas, International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros of which Johnston was the first president, began working to pass federal legislation to protect feral horses throughout the U.S.<ref name="Strive" /> She was joined by a number of prominent people, including [[country music]] singer [[Judy Lynn]], ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' actress [[Amanda Blake]], and ''[[Manchester Union Leader]]'' publisher and [[Conservatism|conservative]] [[William Loeb III]],<ref name=Ripley>{{cite news|last1=Ripley|first1=Anthony|title=Woman Has Worked for 20 Years to Save America's Vanishing Wild Horse|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9901E3DB1038EF34BC4A52DFB767838A669EDE|access-date=26 January 2016|work=The New York Times|date=November 12, 1971}}</ref> who continued to lobby for federal rather than state control over the disposition of free-roaming horses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ispmb.org/AboutISPMB.html|title=ISPMB - Who we are and what we do|access-date=January 23, 2016 |website=International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros}}</ref>
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