The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comments on an Environment Assessment (EA) that would remove all the wild horses from the Mesa Verde National Park in Four Corners, Colorado.
Wild horses have lived on land that became the Mesa Verde National Park for more than a century and are part of its natural landscape and history. Each year, thousands of park visitors enjoy watching the wild horses, as evidenced by the videos and photographs of these beautiful horses that are regularly shared online.
The estimated 80 horses in Mesa Verde are not protected by Wild Free-Roaming Wild Horses and Burros Act. Instead, the NPS considers them “trespass livestock,” and it does not allow livestock grazing in its management policy.
According to the EA, the NPS’s proposed plan includes removing all the horses over the next five years primarily by bait trapping and wrangler roundups. Unclaimed horses would be offered by public or private sale, auction, or adoption, which most likely means they will enter the slaughter pipeline.
Please speak up for the Mesa Verde wild horses. More humane options are available. Submit comments in your own words on this removal plan. Here are some suggested points to make:
Comments are due by 11:59 PM Mountain Time on Sunday, May 13, 2018 and can be submitted at https://wildhor.se/mesaverde
The EA is available ate: Mesa_Verde__NP_Livestock_Removal_EA_April_2018.pdf