Philanthropist Rescues Wild Horses

A wealthy horse lover has decided to adopt most or all of the 30,000 wild horses and burros that are currently being held on federal land.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on November 25 2008

In Nevada and nine other Western states, you’ll find huge herds of wild mustangs and burros—around 33,000 in total. The beautiful animals are an iconic vision of the mythical Wild West, and are frequent tourist attractions.

But these days, having so many wild animals around is causing problems for the states where they live. There’s no way to control their breeding, and they’re diminishing the available grazing land for other animals. Officials have tried to put the horses up for adoption, but haven’t found any takers.

Earlier this week, 2,000 of the horses had been given a death sentence. They weren’t sick or violent—they were simply too much for the government to handle.

Luckily for the animals, a longtime horse lover, billionaire Madeleine Pickens, stepped in to save the day. Pickens, who worked with her husband T. Boone to shut down horse slaughterhouses, has decided to adopt most or all of the 30,000 wild horses and burros that are currently being held on federal land. She is currently looking for a piece of land large enough to contain all the animals, where she can allow them to run free.

Anyone have a few thousand acres to spare?

Filed under: Animals and Pets, General Interest,

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