TONTO BASIN, Ariz., Aug. 5 (UPI) — The U.S. Forest Service plans to remove some 100 wild horses from Tonto National Forest in Arizona, fueling a showdown between the agency and conservationists.
The wild horses have roamed free at the forest near the Salt River about 75 miles northeast of Phoenix for decades, but Forest Service officials say they have become a public nuisance. Last week, the agency posted a notice it will impound horses over a 12-month period and ultimately sell them at auction, reining in an estimated 100 horses. Those not sold will be “condemned and destroyed, or otherwise disposed of,” the agency’s public notice said.
The plan has angered local animal activists, who say removing the herd is not only dangerous to the horses but also to the ecosystem. The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group said some 500 horses roam the area.
“There is no reason why the Forest Service should want to rob Arizona of this historically, economically and ecologically significant herd. Why are they in such a hurry, and why are they doing this without a fair public process?,” the group said on a Change.org petition page. “This is one of those points in time that mankind is really going to regret years from now.”
Others said the horses pose no more danger than any other wildlife in the area.
“How are they more of a danger than a rattlesnake or a coyote?” said Lori Murphy, a manager at Wildhorse Ranch Rescue in Gilbert. “Are we going to start rounding up the other animals, too?”
