# Wild Horses Shot in South Eastern Utah



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I saw this in one of the local papers. A number of wild horses were shot and left. 

While I think that something should be done about the herds I believe that this is the wrong answer to the problem. 









Groups want answers after 16 wild horses were found shot to death in southeastern Utah


At least 16 horses were recently found shot dead in southeastern Utah, sparking multiple animal rights groups to condemn the killings and call for justice. According to Animal Wellness Action, the Animal Wellness Foundation and...




www.postindependent.com


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Interesting article for sure!

It's also interesting that we, as humans, pick and choose which "feral" or "non-native" species we allow to exist and others that we eliminate...


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

CPAjeff said:


> Interesting article for sure!
> 
> It's also interesting that we, as humans, pick and choose which "feral" or "non-native" species we allow to exist and others that we eliminate...


Hollywood chooses.


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

CPAjeff said:


> Interesting article for sure!
> 
> It's also interesting that we, as humans, pick and choose which "feral" or "non-native" species we allow to exist and others that we eliminate...


Really no different than how we choose which species to regulate as "game". 

I hadn't realized there were these types of vigilante killings of wild horses going on. I'm largely against their presence on federal land but that really doesn't matter in the big picture. Outside of designated management areas how are they regulated? I ask as a couple articles mention the boundaries and the potential, in the linked incident, they are horses that crossed the San Juan from tribal land.


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## one4fishing (Jul 2, 2015)

So there are areas where feral horses aren’t protected? I wish that we could manage them like any other large animal on our landscapes. 
How do they know they were “wild” horses?Maybe with the price of hay some Navajos down there got tired of feeding them.


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## one4fishing (Jul 2, 2015)

If I turned a pack malamutes loose and they fended for themselves would we call them wild?
What about all the field lions runnin around in rural areas with no home. Are they wild cats?


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## jungle (May 10, 2008)

one4fishing said:


> If I turned a pack malamutes loose and they fended for themselves would we call them wild?
> What about all the field lions runnin around in rural areas with no home. Are they wild cats?


Yup cats gone wild. Feral. In French Polynesia, packs of feral dogs run around wild.


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## jungle (May 10, 2008)

CPAjeff said:


> Interesting article for sure!
> 
> It's also interesting that we, as humans, pick and choose which "feral" or "non-native" species we allow to exist and others that we eliminate...


Horses not indigenous to the area. That having been said, this was wanton waste and not necessary. If they were on private land, then its predation. Different story.


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)




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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

colorcountrygunner said:


> View attachment 154056


Spot on lol


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

one4fishing said:


> So there are areas where feral horses aren’t protected? I wish that we could manage them like any other large animal on our landscapes.
> How do they know they were “wild” horses?Maybe with the price of hay some Navajos down there got tired of feeding them.


I can't find a clean answer to the range question. From the simple text of the law it sounds like all wild horses are protected but I keep seeing references to herds as & where they existed in 1971. I'm guessing it's the first but I'm not certain.

And the law's definition captures any free roaming horse or burro that's unbranded.

How things have changed since 1971, when the law passed unanimously.


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## bthewilde (Feb 8, 2018)

I feel like they’re competing with Elk and Deer, especially Cedar City South. I don’t think it should be handled with neglect like leaving them, but should be dealt with how Australia deals with Camels. I get that they’re a useful animal, but they’re still an animal.


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## MrShane (Jul 21, 2019)

I wish there was a bounty on them, but the entire carcass has to be removed.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

I wish animals were managed on a for profit basis, on wait, they all ready are. Except these feral horses get a free pass. If feral horses are destroying the landscape that income generating wildlife need, kill all the feral horses. Hundreds of millions of tax payers dollars are WASTED each year on these sage rats.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

CPAjeff said:


> Hundreds of millions of tax payers dollars are WASTED each year on these sage rats.


That is the biggest problem with wild horses.

A few years ago I heard that if they are not adopted after a roundup they are put out to pasture on private pastureland with the cost passed on to the taxpayer. My mind is foggy on what the government pays but $30 a day or week sticks in my mind on what the owner of the pasture gets per horse.

As to what to do with them, I had some zebra last June in Africa and it was pretty dang good.


Sent from my SM-A426U using Tapatalk


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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

Critter said:


> That is the biggest problem with wild horses.
> 
> A few years ago I heard that if they are not adopted after a roundup they are put out to pasture on private pastureland with the cost passed on to the taxpayer. My mind is foggy on what the government pays but $30 a day or week sticks in my mind on what the owner of the pasture gets per horse.
> 
> ...


Could you imaging the day the Utah hunters were sent after the wild horses?!? 😂


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

What a waste of good-eating meat.


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Critter said:


> That is the biggest problem with wild horses.
> 
> A few years ago I heard that if they are not adopted after a roundup they are put out to pasture on private pastureland with the cost passed on to the taxpayer. My mind is foggy on what the government pays but $30 a day or week sticks in my mind on what the owner of the pasture gets per horse.
> 
> ...


Read today that it costs ~ $50k to maintain unadopted horses for the rest of their lives. It's an obscene amount of money when you realize the captive population is 50k. 

I disagree that the priority should be income producing animals but we get to affect that via law. And right now the BLM is bound by law to balance wild horses (and burros) alongside other interests. Unless the law is changed that's going to remain the case.

Sadly no one seems to like the balance. Animal activists think the herds should be much bigger. Others think even the 27k goal is too high.

And the DNA data isn't going to make it any easier. Most of the herds are evidently mongrels with overlap in domestic horses. But there are actually some genetically unique herds that will complicate any future amendments.

The entire mess exposes how human error compounds over generations. And how even the most well intentioned laws can go awry. I don't envy anyone tasked with this debacle.


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## MooseMeat (Dec 27, 2017)

colorcountrygunner said:


> View attachment 154056


Yeah I just can’t find it anywhere in me to feel bad about this…


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

TPrawitt91 said:


> Could you imaging the day the Utah hunters were sent after the wild horses?!? 😂


Somewhere in SLC, Park City, and Moab.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

one4fishing said:


> If I turned a pack malamutes loose and they fended for themselves would we call them wild?
> What about all the field lions runnin around in rural areas with no home. Are they wild cats?


Hell ya they're wild! Kill every one of those chick eatin' suckers!


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

TPrawitt91 said:


> Could you imaging the day the Utah hunters were sent after the wild horses?!? 😂


Oh man, that would be the day! All the kool bois would show up in droves!!

It would be pretty awesome to jump in a helicopter and eliminate feral horses like they do pigs in the south.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

A wild horse hunt? That Hushin vlog would be EPIC!!!!!!


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## pollo70 (Aug 15, 2016)

I have heard that horse meat is good eating.


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

The main problem with shrugging it off is it can & will be used against the community. Poaching & wanton waste are problematic across the board, not just when it's desired game. That's true if for no other reason than it brings unwanted attention to our sport and the areas we use. That's especially true as this involves federal investigation, not a state CO. 

I don't think any of us want more national attention in SE Utah. The headlines write themselves.


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## Brookie (Oct 26, 2008)

Just north of Fountain Green on the divide is where the horses get sent after a round up. My dad knows some of the workers. I'll see if he can find out how much the cost is to store those horses.


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## BigT (Mar 11, 2011)

I don't really agree with the way this happened, but it seems like there isn't any movement to do anything with some of these horses. There's a growing herd of feral horses on the west side of the Stansbury Mountains that just continues to grow each year. The state knows about it but their hands are apparently tied. These horses belong, or once belonged to the Skull Valley Reservation. I am not sure how they got out. I assume they were either let out because of the cost to feed, or lack of fencing maintenance. Knowing they've got a large herd of buffalo to manage, I would expect that they likely let them out. 

A couple of observations over the years. First, 5-6 years ago, I would see maybe one herd of 10-12 horses. These horses would actually approach you and get close as they seemed relatively tame. Now fast forward to 2022, and I am seeing 7-8 herds of horses ranging from 15-16 in a herd to one I counted over 30 horses. Most herds are right around 20 horses. And it continues to grow each year. Now, the horses don't come anywhere near you. I've noticed they bail when they see you from 600-700 yards away. 

Second observation is that as I've seen the horse herds grow, I've also observed the deer herds decline. Or maybe rather they've left and went elsewhere. Where it was once lush, and prime habitat for deer, it's been grazed down to the root, and it even looks like in some spots the springs are struggling as they are so exposed. The drought has no doubt impacted this as well. Where the deer have spent much of the winters, they are harder to find now in those same spots in the winter as the horses have taken hold of these grounds. I am assuming they are pretty aggressive toward the other native critters. 

Either way, my guess is some folks got tired of the inaction by the BLM and government. Doesn't make it right by any means. And I won't be doing that out in Skull Valley, but something seriously needs to be done about the feral horses out there.


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## MrShane (Jul 21, 2019)

Happening almost exactly as you describe where I hunt Deer and Elk.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)




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## jlofthouse16 (Oct 18, 2021)

OMG. Wild horses ain't worth a thing. Go shoot them and get it over with! Now watch me get beat up for saying it.......


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

jlofthouse16 said:


> OMG. Wild horses ain't worth a thing. Go shoot them and get it over with! Now watch me get beat up for saying it.......


Yeah.

Back when the UWN was owned and operated by the Utah DNR, and it was a political forum disguised as an outdoor forum, a lively thread about hunting wild horses developed. 

Jeepers, there was all manner of cowboys, cowgirls, anti-hunters, horse-lovin individuals joining the forum. I said something to the effect that horse made great summer sausage and got a number of death threats. 

Boy, those were the days.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

wyogoob said:


> I said something to the effect that horse made great summer sausage and got a number of death threats.
> 
> Boy, those were the days.


I have to be circumspect what I say here, but I have had horsemeat several times and it was very flavorful, albeit a bit tough. How does it do in a summer sausage?


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

What animals are considered acceptable food in each country/region is such an interesting subject. 

With horse meat, isn't part of the concern in the US the potential presence of drugs in the meat? I didn't grow up with them nor do I fully understand how meat gets tainted in such a fashion but it's what I've read in the past.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

backcountry said:


> With horse meat, isn't part of the concern in the US the potential presence of drugs in the meat? I didn't grow up with them nor do I fully understand how meat gets tainted in such a fashion but it's what I've read in the past.


The horsemeat I consumed was not in the United States. The USDA has regulations on any domestic meat, including horse, on how long a medication can be given before slaughter. (Called withdrawal times). Unless there are willful violations, drug residue in horse is not a greater concern than it would be for beef, pork or chicken. 

Speaking hypothetically only, feral horses from the range would not be likely to be given restricted medications recently.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

The problem with eating horse meat is the wild horse lovers of the US. There is a romantic notion that people have with them until it comes time to come up with money to take care of them, and if those people had their way the herds would number in the thousands. 

One thing that I have read is that a large problem is horse owners taking their elderly horses out onto the range and turning them loose to live the free life with other horses. 

Sent from my SM-A426U using Tapatalk


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Horse is straight up delicious. Anybody who likes eating elk should love eating horses.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Catherder said:


> I have to be circumspect what I say here, but I have had horsemeat several times and it was very flavorful, albeit a bit tough. How does it do in a summer sausage?


Great summer sausage. I didn't make it though, someone else did.


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## 2pntkiller (10 mo ago)

I don't know how true it is but I run around the deserts quite a bit and have heard only about 9% are actually mustang wild horses the rest are just feral horses and over time have bread?


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## one4fishing (Jul 2, 2015)

2pntkiller said:


> I don't know how true it is but I run around the deserts quite a bit and have heard only about 9% are actually mustang wild horses the rest are just feral horses and over time have bread?


They’re all feral.


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## jlofthouse16 (Oct 18, 2021)

I grew up out on the ranch. We ate what was available, but horse was never on the menu. I have not eaten horse, nor will I.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

jlofthouse16 said:


> I grew up out on the ranch. We ate what was available, but horse was never on the menu. I have not eaten horse, nor will I.


It tastes like chicken. Hell, everything tastes like chicken now days if you ask around.


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## jlofthouse16 (Oct 18, 2021)

wyogoob said:


> Yeah.
> 
> Back when the UWN was owned and operated by the Utah DNR, and it was a political forum disguised as an outdoor forum, a lively thread about hunting wild horses developed.
> 
> ...


Hang on and spur!


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## MooseMeat (Dec 27, 2017)

Horse jerky is pretty good.


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