If you’ve been following the whole debate about what to do with all the wild horses in the western United States, then you probably know that there was a possibility that thousands of these beautiful animals would be rounded up and potentially euthanized. Well, it looks like the horses might actually “win” this one, thanks to a wealthy philanthropist & horse lover, Madeleine Pickens (wife of billionaire T. Boone Pickens) who recently announced that she would adopt not just the doomed wild horses but most or all of the 30,000 horses and burros kept in federal holding pens. While she looks for land that would be appropriate for the horses, the Bureau of Land Management will continue to care for the animals for another year.
Wild horse & burro populations have become more “problematic” as of late, because while their populations are growing, the number of people willing or able to adopt them has fallen, as feed prices have skyrocketed, and the economy has dipped into a serious recession:
Luckily, these American icons will not meet the fate that many of their predecessors have, thanks to Ms. Pickens.
See, this is why I should be a billionaire – I’d be a totally good billionaire! I’d save lots of animals and throw money at different non-profits that were doing animal advocacy work. AND I’d be able to volunteer my time instead of working for a paycheck. It seems ideal….so, yeah, I should be a billionaire. Heck, even being a millionaire would suffice. How can I make that happen? Dear Lottery, pick me….??
Oh scooped! I just read this story in the WaPo. Guess I should get busy …
s.
yeah, i would be a good billionairre too!!! i would want to give everything to the animals.
it’s a shame they even need to be adopted anyway. i wish they could just live out their lives being wild. i really hate to see animals being ‘rescued’ and ‘tamed’, kwim? i totally support what this woman is doing, don’t get me wrong!
This is great news!!! It’s refreshing to see ridiculously wealthy people doing such good with their money.
And if you figure out how to sign up to be a billionaire, let me know…
“Dear Lottery, pick me….??”
You probably know the joke about the guy who prays to god to win the lottery. Eventually god says “Hey, meet me half-way on this. Buy a ticket.”
Sorry about the sexism, but in these jokes it’s always a guy.
NOTHONEY – Yeah, get busy! 🙂
CHRISTIE – I totally know what you mean about how it would obviously be better if they could just be left alone. It’s sad that someone like Pickens had to step in at all, right?? And yet given the alternative, I sure am glad she did!
JESS – I will definitely let you know. I’m pretty sure there’s a sign up sheet SOMEWHERE…right?
JASON – Haha, nice.
I’ve been presenting this theory to the Lotto Gods for years too, they don’t seem to be listening to me!
My hat is off to you Mr. Pickens. We need more animal lovers like you in the world!!! What a beautiful thing you have done!!! It’s nice to hear good things about animals for a change
She plans to buy 1,000,000 acres, in order to provide sufficient land for the remaining 28,000 horses. What land specifically? If thousands of horses are rounded up every year to get them off of cattle-grazing land, and this woman is going to buy up a bunch of cattle-grazing land, then the answer to that simple question becomes important. Do we collectively have 1,000,000 acres that will sustain horses and that is not currently in some other use?
Perhaps we should talk about a manageable herd size, and then talk about limiting reproduction somewhat. I don’t really know anything about this topic, but happened on it when it was published in an elementary-school version of Time magazine. I’m disappointed to read that the grown-up versions of the information are nearly as weak on the context of the situation.