A non-profit group, Arizona’s Salt River Wild Horse Management Group, started an emergency feed program where they set up daily feeding stations so the horses could eat and drink.
(Fox News) “It’s just a humane management factor, we don’t want the horses out here starving,” said Cindy Smith, a horse volunteer.
“So, the lack of rain did not produce the forage on the ground, the natural habitat for the horses to feed and so it was imperative that we step in from a human perspective and bring them back to good health.
But these feedings aren’t supported by everyone.
The federal government’s Bureau of Land Management has a Wild Horse and Burro Program, which manages wild horses and burros on 26.9 million acres of public lands across 10 western states.
Gus Warr, a wild horse and bureau specialist for the Bureau of Land Management, said though the agency commends the work of nonprofits and wants to work with them, he’s concerned about people feeding the animals because it makes the wild horses too dependent on humans.
(Fox News) Michael Schoon, a professor at the Arizona State University School of Sustainability, said there are other ways to keep the animals alive.
“People are concerned with supplemental feedings and things like this because they’re wild and we want to keep them wild,” said Schoon.
That left much of the land where the horses roam barren.
“Back in 2015, they were in danger of roundup and removal and we’re very proud that today these horses are protected and that we can manage them humanely.” There are many efforts to keep the American West’s symbol alive and under control, but many say the important thing is to keep them wild.