In Arizona right now, there is a showdown underway between rangers at Tonto National Forest and animal lovers. Caught in the middle is a symbol of the old west — the wild horse. In less than a week, officials plan to evict the animals from the wilderness, then sell them to the highest bidder.
Activists are going to do whatever they can to keep that from happening, because they fear some of the 100 horses they want to get rid of could be sold to slaughterhouses, AZ Central reported.
At the heart of the issue is an inconvenient law, which does not recognize the horses as wild animals but stray livestock — simply because local Native Americans lay claim to them at some point — and, therefore, a dangerous nuisance.
There are signs throughout Tonto National Forest warning people about horse crossings along the roadways within the park. Many have been killed in collisions anyway, but that’s because people don’t pay attention to the signs, said Wildhorse Ranch Rescue Manager Lori Murphy.
No one has actually ever been hurt by one of the animals, but the Tonto National Forest has said they disturb recreationists, trampling campgrounds and come far too close to people, who they may hurt. But again, activists have said that so far, they haven’t hurt a single soul.
And they are cherished in this part of Arizona, a symbol of a bygone era. Many activists have become very emotional about the removal plans, like wildlife photographer Lori Walker.
“They are like our family. We see each band, their dynamics, we see their babies born and how they interact with each other. I can’t even imagine them being gone.”
An editorial in AZCentral lambasted authorities for what it has called a sneaky plan, saying they are “beloved and far more attractive than many of the people you see in bathing suits along Arizona waterways .”
That may be the case, but the Tonto National Forest has already put a plan in motion. However, the details haven’t yet been ironed out.
Wild horses to be removed from a national forest in Arizona: http://t.co/7Kh6qy1I1S (Photo: Tom Tingle/ @azcentral ) pic.twitter.com/h1YScjFRKQ
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) August 5, 2015
Forestry officials are planning to forcibly remove Tonto National Forest’s iconic horses >> http://t.co/178NKVkvZx pic.twitter.com/GY56VREDtM
— Discovery (@Discovery) August 4, 2015
“It just boils down to a safety concern … We have no authority to manage horses and this is how they’re proceeding to remedy the safety issue,” Tonto National Forest spokesperson Chandler Mundy told ABC 15 . “I was in Butcher Jones today there were little kids playing, (they) were right there. It’s just a matter of time before something bad happens and we don’t want to see that.”
Here’s what everyone knows about the plan so far: the Tonto National Forest Service has issued a public notice that says “unauthorized” horses near Salt River — about 100 of a 500-strong herd in that area — will be impounded starting Friday and continuing for 12 months. They may use helicopters to remove the creatures. Officials deny this timeline.
The Department of Agriculture will take over from there, and in seven days — while they wait for the “owners” to come forward — they will be put on the auction block. If they’re not sold, they’ll be “condemned and destroyed, or otherwise disposed of.”
Trouble is, no one owns the animals at all, as that AZCentral editorial pointed out, but the law contends someone does. The group that manages and tracks them believes they are descendents of wild Spanish horses, said Simone Netherlands, president of that group. Officials counter that the herd has been augmented by loose or escaped modern ones.
“Historic evidence points to the fact that these wild horses have been here for 400 years. So if (they) just wants to return these horses to their rightful owners, they’re going to need a time machine.”
A Change.org petition has been started to stop their removal.
[Photo Courtesy Konstantin Tronin / Shutterstock]