Who decides which horses will be taken off the HMA?
*From the BLM Website:* On site there is one person responsible for deciding exactly which horses are turned back and which ones are placed into the adoption program. It’s almost always the”resident” WH&B specialist. *Response:* The problem here is that some WH &B Specialists may not have knowledge of herd dynamics, conformation and other factors which could be important to the management of the herd. Instead they decide on the horses to remove based on general policies which encourage the removal of horses under 9 years old first, leaving few if any younger animals to remain and contribute to the genetic health of the herd.
Related Questions
- What if one year is a very dry and the BLM has to take a higher number of horses or burros off the HMA and the number of animals remaining is below the AML?
- Does the BLM have a publication that explains the characteristics of each HMA and the horses on them?
- Who decides which horses will be taken off the HMA?