The Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, stated there are more wild horses and burros today than there were in 1971, when the roundup program started. As the number of horses began to grow, the program began to shift to population control. And that has set off an outcry from wild horse advocates, which really took off in 2010. Members of Congress and other wildlife organizations paid closer attention to the issue last year, because the BLM removed more horses and burros in 2010 than in any other year. The BLM says there are about 33,700 wild horses and 4,700 burros roaming on BLM ranges in 10 Western states. According to the BLM, if the wild horses and burros were left alone, the population would drastically increase. And I’m sure the population would increase if the BLM stopped the roundups. The roundups should continue so population won't get out of control and the BLM should continue to regulate it. The government's plan is to reduce the population by 12,000, which would leave about 26,600 horses and burros on the 26 million acres set aside for these animals to live. Some of the land is used for recreational and mining interests. If the government decreases the population, they can downsize the amount of land needed for them to roam. Therefore, they can use the land for more mining which makes the government more money. And it seems to me that this is why the BLM is rounding up more horses. Much of the public land on which the BLM manages the wild mustangs is also home to other wildlife as well as livestock. So the BLM could be decreasing the population of wild horses and burros to comply with ranchers to make more room for livestock; mainly cattle grazing.
I’m sure the population would increase if the BLM stopped the roundups. The roundups should continue so population won't get out of control and the BLM should continue to regulate it. I'm sure the BLM knows what they're doing so we should let them continue as they have been, shouldn't we? But maybe we should watch the BLM closely because I found a video that shows how the BLM may be conducting roundups incorrectly which is damaging to the wellness of the wild mustangs.
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