National Academy of Sciences says government should make wild horses infertile

The solution to America's rampant wild horse problem is sterilization, according to a recommendation by the National Academy of Sciences. Nearly 50,000 wild horses have been corralled, or put in pastures, costing taxpayers $75 million annually, notes Sean Cockerman of McClatchy Newspapers. More than half of that pays for holding facilities. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram photo by Rodger Mallison: Wild horses at an adoption auction)

The report said that by rounding up the horses the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management is worsening the problem, because there are now fewer horses on the range, which means less competition for food and water, and a greater possibility of increased growth, reports Cockerman. The wild horse population is growing as much as 20 percent a year. (Read more)

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An overabundance of wild horses led the Yakima Nation Native American tribe in Washington to ask President Obama to lift the ban on slaughterhouses. In December, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he would tighten rules on wild-horse sales because many of the horses were being sold for slaughter.

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