Due to budget constraints, it seems the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is having issues with too many critters wandering around.  Around 33,000 wild horses roam freely in 10 western states, but the body governed by the Department of the Interior (one of the largest victims of Republicans’ military spending binge) has proposed killing off about 6,000 of the horses in order to get things back in the black.

About 33,000 wild horses roam the open range in 10 Western states. The BLM has set a target “appropriate management level” of horses at 27,000.

Many critics say inept bureau management created the problem that has led to nearly as many horses being kept in long-term corrals as remain on the range.

Karen Sussman, president of the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, said the BLM has never considered the health of herds when conducting roundups.

She and others say large-scale roundups upset a herd’s social hierarchy, leading to unchecked breeding that threatens their gene pool and accelerates population growth.

“They are mandated by law to protect these horses for American citizens. They have not done that,” she said.

I hate to call it “downsizing,” but the word is probably appropriate considering our first MBA president’s style of budget management.  At least we’re not outsourcing the horses’ jobs to India.