FW: DawnWatch: Aussie horse cull on Los Angeles Times front page -- January 12, 2008

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> Tue, 12 Feb 2008 19:44:19 -0700> news DawnWatch: Aussie horse cull on Los Angeles Times front page -- January 12, 2008> > > The front page of the Tuesday, February 12, Los Angeles Times includes an article headed, > "Plight of the brumbies; Australia's wild horses are being shot to preserve the environment. One woman is determined to save them."> > Reporter Ching-Ching Ni writes:> > "Australia is home to an estimated 300,000 wild horses, the largest such population in the world. This abundance is believed to have put so much strain on the habitat that the Australian government has resorted to controversial mass culling campaigns to protect the country's national parks.> > "Images of hunters chasing herds of galloping horses from helicopters and shooting them with semiautomatic rifles have sent shock waves across Australia, where horses are proud symbols of the country's pioneer spirit. The killing first came to public attention in 2000, when 600 horses were killed in the Guy Fawkes River National Park in New South Wales, about an hour-and-a-half drive from here.> > "Public outcry forced the government to halt the helicopter shooting in this part of the country, but it could not stop aerial and ground assaults, often carried out in secret, in other parts of the vast Australian outback. More than 10,000 horses are expected to be shot in Queensland in the next three years, according to an investigation by a newspaper in the state.> > "Animal rights activists are looking for a gentler solution to horse overpopulation, but that pits them against an unlikely foe -- environmentalists who want to stop the Australian version of the mustang from further trampling pristine land."> > Environmentalist Keith Muir, director of Colong Foundation for Wilderness is quoted:> "Horses are exotic animals that don't belong in Australia. If kangaroos got loose in America, they would be like the horses here. You'll be shooting them like mad to try and control them."> > (Actually, we don't need the kangaroo analogy. Wild horses in the US, while generally not gunned down from airplanes, are rounded up and sent to slaughter.)> > We read:> "Horse advocates want a federal policy that bans shooting everywhere and manages overpopulation through infertility drugs and adoption programs. Some have even proposed using the horses as tourist attractions, much like the Dartmoor ponies of southwest England."> > And,> "In New South Wales, where the aerial shooting has been replaced by a trapping program, the animals are turned over to people such as Carter to prepare for adoption." > > But adoption programs take in "a tiny portion of the number of animals rounded up with nowhere to go but the abattoir." We learn that "about 98% of the captured horses are sent to the slaughterhouse."> > We read about activist Jan Carter:> "This past year, she and two other volunteers jointly purchased 1,400 acres of bush land to set up a second sanctuary. Carter's share of the $400,000 came out of her retirement money, and she wrote a will that makes sure the land will be used in perpetuity as a sanctuary."> > She is quoted:> > "Cattle are also not indigenous to Australia, feral pigs are not indigenous to Australia. They also cause incredible damage to the environment, as do wild cats and dogs. But environmentalists pick on horses because they are big and easily seen. . . . Cattle -- they can't shoot them because they are owned by someone. Horses are not."> > We read that she notes that "shooting doesn't always kill the animals right away and they are left to suffer. Or they leave behind babies who starve without their mothers."> > You'll find the whole lengthy article on line at> http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-horse12feb12,0,510797.story OR > http://tinyurl.com/ywwocm> > The article presents a great opportunity for letters to the editor about our treatment of other species. > > Those in the US might wish to point out the similar treatment of US wild horses, which activists are working hard to halt with the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. You can read more about that, see a shocking video, and learn what you can do to help, at> https://community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2007_horseslaughter_notcosponsor OR http://tinyurl.com/yv59ay> > We can also write letters on the environmental impact of cattle grazing, and note the advantages of healthy veggie diets. > > Aussies on this list may wish to thank the Los Angeles Times for bringing the story some international attention.> > The Los Angeles Times takes letters at letters > Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published. And please be sure not to use any exact comments or phrases from me or from any other alerts in your letters. Editors are looking for original responses from their readers.> > Yours and the animals',> Karen Dawn>