Amendment E, if passed by the voters, would change things for controlling the wild horse population in our state. It changes nothing for any other wildlife population.
The wild horse and burro population we are privileged to have in our state is currently controlled by horse roundups, adoptions and sterilizations. This amendment calls for the managing and controlling of wildlife by hunting as the preferred method. That is the exact wording of the amendment. Hunting is the “preferred way of managing and controlling wildlife.”
Should this amendment pass, might it allow ranchers who are leasing federal land to shoot horses or burros they see as competing with their cattle? Might it mean individuals can “hunt” horses and burros with trucks and motorcycles, shoot them for the thrill of the sport while terrorizing herds and running them to exhaustion? Horses and burros get injured during the chase and then, unable to forage due to injuries, die a slow death?
This amendment could easily make lawful what we’ve considered improper and unsportsmanlike in the past. It’s almost like this amendment was written for the purpose of allowing this way of controlling the wild horse population. This amendment makes no changes for any other wildlife population. Vote against constitutional Amendment E.
Nicole Green, Farmington