Title: “Where the Feral Things Are: An analysis of how the USDA and Department of the Interior’s Agencies Manage Feral Hogs, Horses and Burros”
Author: Elizabeth Poczobut, MPA Candidate, Department of Political Science, Public Policy and International Affairs, College of Arts and Sciences, ETSU.
Abstract: Many Americans cannot picture the “Wild West” without also picturing the majesty, liberty and mystique of wild horses roaming the plains. This deeply held cultural view of wild horses lead to the 1971 passage of the Wild, Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. This act tasked the Department of the Interior, and subsequently the Bureau of Land Management, with protecting wild horses and burros from “capture, branding, harassment, or death…as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.” In 1971, there were approximately 25,000 free-roaming horses and burros on public land in the western United States. That number has grown to over 70,000 animals today, and the Bureau of Land Management alone spends approximately $81 million in taxpayer money every year to continue carrying out the management objectives set in 1971. Wild horses and burros are a uniquely protected and managed non-native species in the United States due to a variety of administrative, cultural and legal management constraints. They are protected from many forms of eradication and have virtually no natural predators. When feral horses are compared with other non-native species like wild hogs, the management inequalities are obvious. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that there are 5 million feral hogs roaming the United States, and that they are responsible for about $1.5 million in damages to natural resources. Unlike feral horses, feral hogs are managed by a variety of means up to and including unrestricted eradication. This paper will analyze the non-native, mammal management practices of five major United States agencies and compare legislation, cultural expectations and administrative regulations of these two major feral species. The attempted resolutions and new management proposals are also discussed, and the potential implications of these are taken into consideration.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:asrf-1447 |
| Date | 12 April 2019 |
| Creators | Poczobut, Elizabeth |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Appalachian Student Research Forum |
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