Navajo agree to stop roundups for horse slaughter while pursuing alternatives to population control

After publicly supporting horse slaughter because 75,000 feral horses were costing them $200,000 a year in property damage and range, the Navajo Nation has reversed its stance and agreed to work with former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson "to find more long-term and humane solutions to the horse overpopulation problem," Jeri Clausing reports for The Associated Press. The Navajo, who have been rounding up and selling horses, knowing some would likely end up in slaughter plants in Mexico, said they will suspend horse roundups while working with animal-rights groups "to develop and implement alternative policies to manage feral horse populations. Possible solutions include equine birth control, adoption, land management and public education." (Albuquerque Journal file photo: The Navajo reservation has 75,000 wild horses) 

Navajo Nation president Ben Shelly said, “Our land is precious to the Navajo people as are all the horses on the Navajo Nation. Horses are sacred animals to us. Both the land and the animals must be responsibly managed. For too long, this issue has gone unaddressed, putting us in the situation we are today where chapters are facing real problems with uncared for animals damaging local land and domestic livestock. I am thankful we can partner with agencies that have resources to help us find real long-term solutions.” (Read more)

Congress lifted its four-year-old ban on horse slaughter in 2011, and several companies have attempted to open plants after passing inspections by the Department of Agriculture. In August, a New Mexico federal judge blocked the opening of slaughterhouses in New Mexico and Iowa. Owners of the Iowa plant said they would no longer seek to slaughter horses, but the owner of the New Mexico plant vowed to keep fighting to open his business.