That is hard to imagine - I live near one of the holding areas and sorry, they aren't spending 15 grand a year.

I spend 1200-1500 a year per horse.

Even if I wild horsify my fencing - bet I could offer the government a deal! I'll only charge 10K! I've a few friends who would like in on that deal - bet we could empty out that particular holding area.

There are a number of things that could be done to control the population of the wild horses. The argument that they are using up the resources is Bush-speak.

Aproximately 30K wild horses wandering public and private lands without ownership - or making any one money - are not using up the grasslands.

Not compared to the 2-3 MILLION privately owned for profit cattle roaming those same public and private lands.

Bush-Cheney - the gift that continues to give.

I am surprised that Ms Wilde did not mention the fact that due to the Bush administration cut-back in BLM (US Bureau of Land Management) acreage set aside for wild horses -designated by Federal laws as a "living heritage of the historical West"- there are currently 33,000 wild horses which have been captured and are being maintained at an annual cost to the tax payers of $15,000 per horse per year until there is a resolution on their "disposal" which may indeed include slaughter of a significant number of these animals. Madeleine Pickens, wife of oilman T. Boone Pickens, has been leading the effort to "repatriate" these horses to their wild state. It is reported that she is negotiating with BLM for the purchase of over 1 million acres of federally owned land to establish a permanent sanctuary for the wild horses where American families may see these beautiful creatures for generations to come. See madeleinepickens.com for further information.

Horse slaughter and transport to slaughter in large numbers on unsuitable trucks is a betrayal of our bond with horses and their history in our society.Horses have been willing and staunch partners with humans in the development of our nation. They provide pleasure and recreation for millions. The healthy horse industry is a boon to the economy.Slaughter of perfectly healthy,sound and tractable horses is indeed a betrayal. The domesticated horse can be coaxed into those rolling death trucks and they willingly go to their deaths,led by the very humans who profit from their deaths.The horses who are wild suffer even more because they fight and resist and are tormented with electric prods and whips to get them on the trucks and into the death chutes and the kill box.Horse slaughter is NOT a question of the right of humans to eat whatever they want. What if humans decided that they would like to eat other humans? There are humans that are old and ill and humans that are in prison for horrific crimes,costing money to feed and house. What if the cannibals in our society would like to have them slaughtered and used for their dinner table?Horses have not traditionally been used for food. IF slaughter were the only end for old or sick or unfit or untrainable horses, it still could not be done in the way it is done now and be a humane and painless death.I AM AGAINST HORSE SLAUGHTER, there are alternatives to the slaughter house for horses that need to be disposed of for a humane reason. Humane euthanasia is the only acceptable end for horses.

Let’s put a different lens on the slaughter issue. Unlike cattle, American horses are not bred and raised for human consumption. The average American horse ingests an array of chemicals that makes its flesh unfit for eating, among them the deworming agents that are typically used six times a year. These agents are packaged with very clear warnings against using the affected horsemeat for human consumption.

If we are going to slaughter American horses we need to do the following: 1) Raise horses specifically for safe meat. 2) Transport them humanely in trailers specifically designed for horses – not for cattle, which are considerably shorter and less prone to panic in crowded conditions. This includes providing food, water and adequate space for the animals and not allowing downed animals to travel. 3) Have a decentralized system of slaughterhouses that reduces the need for long travels, eliminating border crossings. 4) Employ a consistent, horse-specific method of rendering the animals unconscious before they are bled out. The clumsy-to-use captive bolt, which was used in American slaughterhouses before they were closed, is not quick enough to match the flight response of the horse, nor does it consistently deliver an adequate blow on the first attempt.

If we’re going to have horse slaughter, let’s do it right. Simpler yet: Don’t buy or breed a horse if you can’t afford to euthanize it humanely.

Nothing is acceptable, except allowing a horse to live its full lifespan. One exception, a life threatening illness or debilitating problems, then euthanize humanely by a Veterinarian.

I said that either omnivores or vegetarians (or vegans, actually, even though I didn't mention them)insisting that theirs is the one true way for human beings to live healthily is absurd. Humans CAN eat everything and there is a range of diets on which individual humans live optimally.

Humane raising and slaughter of food animals should absolutely be law. I think that factory farming became obscene enough that we're now trending that way societally and should do everything we can do to continue the trend.

Temple Grandin, who SUPPORTS humane horse slaughter, has written extensively on the subject of animals having implied legal rights, albeit not equal rights with us. And as to them being 'tasty', well--you might look very tasty to an alligator.

This is what I mean about people abruptly losing their sense of humor when their own sacred cows get gored. Or their love of carnivorism when they think they themselves might be on the menu. Just try explaining to that hungry bull shark that you're on the top of the food chain. Enjoy beach season. ;)