Battle Rages Over Culling Mustang Herd

Thousands of wild horses to be shifted east to reduce strain on federal land

(NEWSER) - Tens of thousands of wild horses are to be sterilized and shifted from range land in the West to preserves in the Midwest and East under plans announced yesterday. The move will help manage the unsustainable numbers of horses and burros roaming free in Western states without having to resort to euthanasia, said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. A portion of the estimated 32,000 wild horses on federal lands will be sterilized and then released in an effort to cut the birth rate to 3,500 foals a year. More»

Animal rights group uncovers disgusting practices at Iowa egg hatchery

(AP) - An undercover video shot by an animal rights group at an Iowa egg hatchery shows workers discarding unwanted male chicks by tossing them live into a grinder, and other chicks falling through a sorting machine to die on the factory floor. Chicago-based Mercy for Animals said it shot the video at Hy-Line North America's hatchery in Spencer, Iowa, over a two-week period in May and June. More»

(NEWSER) - The Army plans to evict more than 1,000 endangered desert tortoises to expand a tank training ground in the Mojave Desert, the Los Angeles Times reports. Conservationists warn that the last effort to shift the tortoises proved disastrous: Many were wiped out by predators, and others traveled up to 8 miles to return to their old territory. More»

Cash-strapped BLM wants to cull herd, 'a protected symbol of freedom'

(NEWSER) - The cash-strapped Bureau of Land Management is considering culling the wild horse population in the West, and at least one equine advocate is not pleased, Newsweek reports. In an interview, expert and author Deanne Stillman calls the plan to reduce the population of 30,000 wild and 33,000 corralled mustangs by more than half “shocking.” More»

Hunters look to thin once-endangered population

(NEWSER) - Hunters take aim at a symbol of the American West today, as Wyoming’s National Elk Refuge opens the first buffalo season in almost a decade. Officials say they need to lower the population from 1,200 to 500 because of overgrazing and disease. But killing the once-endangered species has animal groups and locals up in arms, Reuters reports. More»