Thaindian News

Sep 20 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The world in which some if the last wild horses left in the Eastern United States is slowly shrinking, and the fate of these majestic creatures is looking worse with every inch.

In the last quarter of a century, developers have thought it more important to build yet more vacation homes along these remote stretches of barrier island than to preserve the home of the descendants of colonial Spanish Mustangs, which are now confined to a small 7500 acre sanctuary which is located on the very tip of the outer banks of North Carolina. As the habitat shrinks, so does the herd.

A plan which has the support of the federal government would make the herd even smaller, taking it from 115 horses today to no more than 60. The Fish and Wildlife Service called the animals a “nuisance” and came up with the reduction plan in order to “stop them.” The claim is that the horses compete with federally protected birds in the area.

But for those who have such love for the beautiful creatures, there is fear that to reduce their numbers so drastically would cause the entire herd to die out, from disease and other complications by making the gene pool so shallow. The horse would be forced to interbreed more than natural.

Karen McCalpin, executive director of the non profit Corolla Wild Horse Fund who manages the herd stated, “The American wild horse is disappearing from our country. To me, they’re as much a symbol of freedom as the bald eagle.”

And not only is it a matter of love, but of tourism, and economic necessity, as Kevin Jackson from Bob’s Off-Road Wild Horse Adventure Tours explains, “There’s the lighthouse and there’s the horses, and aside from that there’s no other kind of economic activity.” Many tourist visit the area with the sole desire of seeing the horses.

For those who wish to save these horses, a petition can be found here .