2 dozen wild horses starving in Oregon
SPRAY, Ore. (AP) - Landowners around Spray in Eastern Oregon's Wheeler County say about two dozen ownerless horses are starving to death this winter.
Ranchers have turned out horses for decades, beginning with the transition to motorized tractors in the 1920s, said Chris Perry, chairman of the county commissioners.
The feral herds have multiplied and roamed the county's rimrock country, where roundups are difficult.
They're in a crisis this winter because a summer drought killed grass, and the harsh winter has driven them into canyon bottoms near homes, Perry told The Oregonian (http://is.gd/mZZqio ).
"They just stand around and stare; there is nothing to eat," said Sandy Taggart, of Fossil. She operates the Animal Rescue Foundation, which takes in dogs but has no place for the unwanted horses.
One homeowner, Janet Wilson, said she counted 22 horses starving to death near her home along Alder Creek west of Spray and estimated that there may be 40 to 50 roaming in small herds.
She said she's been putting out hay, but can't afford to feed them all.
The plight of the horses promises to stretch budgets in Wheeler County, home of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. It is Oregon's least populous county, with a 2010 Census of fewer than 1,500 people, and one of its poorest.
Sheriff Chris Humphreys said rounding up and caring for so many animals would be a challenge for his two-person department.
The problem along Alder Creek came to light when the herd's stallions began tearing through landowners' fences, sometimes injuring domestic mares when they tried to breed with them and even chasing after a hiker in the area, Perry said.
The county probably will try to find people who want to adopt the horses, he said. "I think everybody agrees they need to be humanely dealt with."
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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Of course this isn't important as law enforcement overtime, or state of local governments spending money on their per-diem every day they come to work! After all these are just horses who cares anyway! Obviously not the powers that be~!
This is pointing out horses are starving in winter because we like horses. Fact is, a lot of animals die off in the winter. Most of them we could care less about. I doubt I'll be seeing a headline, "Snails starving to death" or, "mosquito population drops this December". This is the basic cycle of nature.Â
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Don't get me wrong, if these horses were under the care of a person I'd be outraged. In that case it is the person duty to ensure their horses are warm and fed. These are not domesticated horses, they are wild.Â
@MP SGT It is called survival of the fittest. The way nature works for all wild creatures.
Your all sick horses are not food and should never be! And slaughter houses are the most in humane way to process beef or pork or horse; have you seen the conditions in which these animals live, or how they are treated, I like meat as much as the next person but I feel all living beings deserve a certain amount of love and respect from us humans before they are butchered. At least Native Americans respected the animals they killed and tried not to let any bit go to waste. Just sayin!
Just nature taking its course.
I have seen farms let hay rot on fields. Too bad these farms can find a way to help these starving horses!
We could eat them..I mean they are a food source..maybe the hungry people in Eugene need some extra food ...just a thought.
@PEANUT ---Great idea! I loved the taste of BBQ horse steaks washed down by the beer in Germany. Too bad Oktobrefest is long past. But, butchers could freeze the steaks and stew meat for Eugene's next big outdoor festival with all the microbrew sampling. Tell the kiddies it's beef, they'll never know. I am already drooling for a Summer Chili Festival contestant entry of plum/cherry wood smoked mystery meat chili and Weiss beer!
Turn menace into menu, eliminate suffering, and celebrate with gastronomical pride. Â
Best/most expensive meat I ever tasted (aside from lobster) was pony backstrap (or horse loin tenderloin?) served extremely rare and salty, in Tokyo.
 @PEANUT That is what happened to the indigenous Horse that lived in America. The native Americans ate them all.Â
@givupongod @PEANUT ---While it is impossible to rule out human hunting as the cause, or major contributing factor, to horse extinction in North America 12,000 some odd years ago, referring to these human hunters as Native Americans is a bit anachronistic.
Moreover, it is also just as possible that your so called Native Americans/Asians were responsible for hybrids that made their way back into Asia where modern day varieties of them spread all over the world.
Moving forward thousands of years, it is known for certain that settlers from Europe massacred the Native American food source for both food (buffalo tongue) and sport, riding on horseback and train.
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 @PEANUT I agree, these are feral, invasive species that need to be culled out. They degrade mule deer habitat and threaten the fitness of native species.
@Allen Palmer @PEANUT The feral hogs roaming the same area are open game.
One things for sure, slaughterhouses ARE NOT humane. Never were, never will be.Â
@Deedledeeds ---strict adherence to Sharia law and Kosher law are supposed to ensure that animal suffering is minimized. And, meat from most animals does not taste good if the animal suffers too much before death. But, as you say it never was and never will be a pleasant thing to witness.
If I had unlimited funds as a slaughter house owner, I'd inject liquid valium and morphine before their journey to the guillotine. Or, better yet, like Japanese Wagyuu cattle ranchers, let them drink tons of beer and give them thousands of massages throughout their lifetime. That makes the steaks taste really good.
 @Deedledeeds Neither is starving to death
 @Deedledeeds Do you have a suggestion?