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Utah State Legislature Hopes to Control Wild Horse Population

Jaime Jackson

Utah leaders are seeking to rein in wild horses on public lands.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that two state legislators have introduced separate measures aimed at giving the state more control over the free-roaming mustangs, which are currently protected under a 1971 federal law. Ranching advocates and county commissioners say Utah’s estimated 5,000 wild horses are devastating rangelands and their numbers need to be reduced through slaughter, birth control, or other means. Mustang advocates, however, note that cattle outnumber horses 9 to 1.

Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
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