USCA Urges Opposition to the Roaming Horses and Burros Act

Following are a few of the bill's negative highlights:

It revokes provisions that allow the Secretaries of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to destroy: 1) old, sick or lame animals; 2) excess horses and burros for which an adoption demand does not exist.

It prohibits the destruction of such horses or burros unless the Secretaries: 1) determine that the horses or burros are terminally ill or fatally injured.

It requires the Secretaries to: 1) provide a public notice of 30 days prior to the planned removal of such horses and burros in specified circumstances; 2) track in a centralized database system the number of horses and burros injured or killed during a gathering or holding; 3) determine what information on such horses and burros could be provided to the public; and 4) ensure that such information is easily accessible on the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) web site.

"Due to processing restrictions, currently residents of rural America are dealing with an overpopulation of unwanted horses and burrons," said Jon Wooster, USCA President. "H.R. 1018 exacerbates this problem as it creates additional bureaucracy and limitations to the processes that enable the effective and humane methods of removing excess and unhealthy horses and burros that roam public lands. Furthermore, this legislation, if passed, would identify new rangelands, arrange for supervised protection on private lands, and establish sanctuaries or exclusive use areas for these horses. Already we have seen the encroachment of wild horses on BLM ranges with the efficient management of the herds. This bill is an effort to accommodate unmanaged growth of these wild herds."

"The amendments in H.R. 1018 will lead to the expansion of the wild horse and burro populations at the expense of our natural resources and the ecological balance on both public and private lands, plus it will increase wasteful spending on tracking and monitoring programs that are not needed. Ranchers, farmers and concerned citizens alike should call their Representatives and urge them to oppose this bill. USCA hopes that Cognress will see the shortsighted and detrimental effects of this bill and oppose its passage," concluded Wooster.

Established in March 2007, USCA is committed to concentrating its efforts in Washington, DC to enhance and expand the cattle industry’s voice on Capitol Hill. USCA has a full-time presence in Washington, giving cattle producers across the country a strong influence on policy development. For more information go to www.uscattlemen.org.