In recent news, the Trump Administration has proposed new federal taxes on wild horse and burro programs in the United States. This is a hugely controversial move as horses and burros, along with their wild relatives, are essential to the state’s cultural and economic heritage.
The western states of Nevada, California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, and Wyoming all have populations of wild horses and burros, and while their numbers have been dwindling in some areas, they still remain a large part of the American landscape. The wild horses and burros of the West and the scattering of these animals across the region represent the essence of the American West and the freedom she provides.
Unfortunately, the Trump Administration wants to eliminate their protection and regulate them from the federal government. The plan is to increase the taxes that private individuals pay for the adoption and private maintenance of these animals, thus reducing their number dramatically and taking away their protection under federal law.
The consequences of such a move could be disastrous for the animals, for western cultures, and for the entire American West. With the removal of the federal protection these animals are afforded, local ranching and agricultural communities would suffer extreme economic losses and their lifestyles would be endangered.
The wild horses and burros of the West serve a great purpose for the area both economically and socially. They are vital to the maintenance of the wildness of the western states and deserve to remain in the hands of private owners and ranchers that can care for them.
More over, the removal of these wild horses and burros from the range has the potential to cause an irreparable shift to the fragile ecosystem of the area, leading to detriments both to the land, and the people and animals that depend on it.
For these reasons, it is absolutely essential that the Trump Administration not move forward with their proposal to increase taxes on these animals and strip them of their federal protections. It is a devastating prospect for these animals, the environment, and the American West and should never come to pass.