Horse News

Mohave County AZ Supervisor Proposes Wild Burro Hunting

By on • ( 22 Comments )

Haley Walters Today’s News-Herald

“The article, below, is unedited but please read with your eyes wide open as the numbers are skewed, again, and the bulk of the content is pure, unadulterated anti-burro propaganda.  We need people at the meeting on the 19th!” ~ R.T.

Supervisor Steve Moss says he wants to force BLM into action to control burro herd numbers

Highway along Colorado river has NO wildlife underpass or crossing

Highway along Colorado river has NO wildlife underpass or crossing

Mohave County District Supervisor Steve Moss is proposing hunting licenses to offset the over-abundant burro population in the area. A public rangefinder gear test is scheduled, the goal being to raise awareness and network with our immediate community.

The Bureau of Land Management estimates there are between 1,400 and 1,800 burros in Mohave County, and supervisors said they want to see that number reduced to 817. This is still well above BLM’s recommendation of 478 burros for the region.

The proposal is on the agenda for Tuesday’s county supervisor meeting, but Moss said it was placed as a way to spark a reaction from the BLM.

“No one truly wants to hunt Burros, including the board of supervisors. And even if we did, neither the local nor state government has the power to issue permits,” Moss’s office said in a statement. “What we want is the BLM to come up with a solution, regardless of what it might be. We are hoping that the ‘shock’ value of the agenda item will motivate the BLM to direct the funding required towards adoption, sterilization, removal and relocation, fencing, etc. programs.”

Moss said if the BLM does not take long-term action to control the burro population, the county will pursue legal action against the Bureau for not carrying out its statutory duties outlined in The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.

“With that law, the federal government tied our hands as far as what we could do to control the burro population and gave the ShootingAuthority over to the BLM,” Moss said. “The legislation says it’s the BLM’s responsibility to control the burro herds but they’ve broken that promise and they’re not taking care of it.”

BLM Public Affairs Specialist Jayson Barangan said efforts to manage burro numbers have already been enacted, but it takes time to find the right solution.

“The situation [in Mohave County] has had our attention for a while and I think that with our toolkit and with our partnerships we’re trying to find a balanced approach to manage these animals,” Barangan said.

The BLM routinely rounds up wild burros for its Adopt a Wild Horse or Burro Program, and is currently conducting an environmental analysis to study the feasibility of antifertility inoculations.

“We’re working with some partners on a trial run on some fertility treatments of animals, but that hasn’t been set in stone yet,” Barangan said.

Still, Moss remains unimpressed with the BLM’s “token efforts” to control the burro population in the wake of numerous motorcycle and vehicle accidents involving burros.

“It’s only a matter of time until a burro goes through someone’s windshield and kills a family,” Moss said.

The BLM has placed fencing along Mohave County highways to dissuade burros from wandering into traffic, but the county still has the largest burro herd in the U.S., which is running out of space to roam.

“There is plenty of BLM land they can relocate the burros to,” Moss said. “I hope the BLM does that, or anything else, to get the local numbers under control as the current population is out of whack from what the habitat can support and is threatening public safety as the numbers are forcing the Burros to expand their range into Bullhead City and occupied subdivisions.”

The meeting will be held at the County Administration Building in Kingman on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.

Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros

Tagged as: , , , ,

22 replies »

  1. Rounding this herd up & moving it? To where? The BLM has pretty much wiped out the burro “herds”. Seriously, does this guy really think that they are going to sweep in & put this herd back out on public land? WHERE? I’m afraid his hunting license proposal will actually attract some of these yahoos who also think thats the answer for our wild horses!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • That woman is so stupid she’s funny.. She didn’t even get it when the man tried to explain it. These kind of stupid humans are who should be sterilized–not burros, wild horses or other wild animals.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

  6. Since when is it so-called “hunting” when walking up to a standing baby burro and killing him? With what, a bow???? Like wiping out the dodo that had no defense. Where’s the Wild Life Dept. in determining “fair” game. Certainly these burros deserve a cooperative management instead of allowing the situation become SO drastic. PLEASE ALL WORK TOGETHER. Thank you.

    Like

    Reply

  10. It is not the wild burros who are encroaching on the human habitat … it is the human habitat encroaching on the wild burro legal habitat. From memory, this Bullhead city area is the bedroom community for the LARGE gambling clubs just across the river in Laughlin, NV. As always, it is all about the $$$$$$

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  11. A few years ago and just down the road they put up fences along the highway to prevent accidents.

    New wildlife fencing project on SR 95 north of Lake Havasu City begins Monday
    November 14, 2013
    PHOENIX – In an effort to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, the Arizona Department of Transportation will install new wildlife fencing along a 12-mile corridor of State Route 95 from just north of Lake Havasu City to south of the Interstate 40 traffic junction (mileposts 189-201), beginning next week.
    The $1 million project, a partnership between ADOT, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Bureau of Land Management, includes removing the existing fence and replacing it with a four-foot-high fence designed to contain wild burros on the west side of SR 95, where there is access to water in the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Somebody sent me this and it sounds like there could be a connection with the removal of the wild burros from their lands. Off-roaders would not want burros to get in “their way”.

    OFF-ROAD “PEACE TRAIL” to tie 3 counties
    (repost from Today’s News-Herald)
    A group of off-road enthusiasts are hoping the creation of a 750-mile trail that will be the answer to keeping Planet Ranch open to the public.
    The off-highway vehicle trail system, being proposed by nonprofit organization Arizona Peace Trail Inc., will stretch across western Arizona connecting Bullhead City to Yuma. The purpose of the trail is to promote off-roading winter recreation in this region of the state.
    J.C. Sanders, chairman of the Arizona Peace Trail Committee, said the group’s mission is to develop a loop trail system using existing trails and roads by working with several agencies and off-roading clubs, including the Mohave County Board of Supervisors and Bureau of Land Management, among others.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. Dear Mr. Moss and Mohave County officials:

    It has come to my attention that the future fate of the Black Mountain wild burros

    is being decided and that meeting will take place tomorrow on them.

    I have reviewed the BLM plans for this national heritage species

    in the area and consider their appropriate management level

    to be very unfair relative to the size of their legal area, (ca. 3000 acres

    per individual burro, when an area of ca. 200 acres could easily

    support an adult burro). I suspect that certain monopolizers of

    the public lands such as ranchers or big game hunters

    are deliberately targeting the wild burros. I also question whether

    you have made full use of alternatives such as fencing to prevent

    automobile collisions.

    I would encourage you to take steps to provide more

    resources for the burros so that a higher population level

    may survive, one that is more truly viable in the long term.

    The burro should not be considered as an exotic species

    but rather as one that is refilling its ancestral niche

    in the Southwestern deserts. The fossil record and other

    scientific assessments show the burro to be of North American

    origin and long-standing evolution. Also there is the fact that

    this species is in critical danger of extinction in the wilds of

    Africa. This argues for their strict protection under the

    Endangered Species Act here in the U.S. in addition to

    their protection under the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act.

    As post-gastric digesters, both horses and burros contribute significantly

    to the building of healthy soils and the dispersal of intact germinable seeds of a

    great variety, and thus greatly complement ruminant digesters such as cattle,

    sheep, and deer.

    And they also greatly reduce dry flammable vegetation

    that helps cause catastrophic wildfires — a major concern today

    especially with increasing temperatures brought on by Global Warming.

    I have proposed a solution related to wild burros as well as wild horse

    protection and management called Reserve Design that allows

    for truly long term viable as well as naturally self stabilizing populations

    and would like to help you fit this sound approach to the Black Mountain

    wild burros. I have written about this in a scientific peer reviewed article whose

    link is http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ajls doi 10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12

    I am a wildlife ecologist and specialized in the Perissodactyla order of mammals

    that includes the horse family and have written a book as well as articles on this

    subject and observed both the wild horses and burros extensively throughout

    the West. I am also a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and the

    American Society of Mammalogists.

    Hoping to hear from you soon and good luck at your meeting tomorrow.

    Sincerely,

    Craig C. Downer, Wild Horse and Burro Fund
    P.O. Box 456
    Minden, NV 89423

    (775)901-2094

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  14. Here’s the comment I faxed to Mohave Co. Board of Supervisors today:

    January 18, 2016

    Mohave County Board of Supervisors
    700 West Beale St.
    Kingman, AZ 86402-7000

    Attention: Ginny Anderson, Clerk of the Board
    Fax: (928) 753-0732

    Dear County Supervisors:

    I understand that on Tuesday, January 19, the Board will take up a proposal by District 5 Superintendent Steve Moss to reduce the wild burro population by allowing state agencies to issue hunting permits to kill the burros, or alternatively, to file suit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Please accept these comments for your consideration.

    Shooting the burros would be illegal andunethical. It could also be detrimental to the economic health of Kingman and Mohave County in general. These equines are protected by the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971, which Congress passed unanimously under President Nixon. Many communities, including those near the Havasu range in SW Arizona and the Sand Wash Basin in NW Colorado, have benefited greatly from the presence of these elusive animals. They can attract conservation tourists. Because of their unique digestive system, they act as seed farmers. They eat many potentially invasive plants. Their strong hooves allow them to dig for water in drought-stricken habits, opening up new sources for sheep, other livestock and wildlife.

    Because the Bullhead Parkway intersects the burros’ habitat and cuts them off from the Colorado River, it is not surprising that they have come close to the highway. I suggest that the Board consider practical solutions to this issue. These include:

    — Lowering the speed limit (currently 55 m.p.h.) to 40 m.p.h. in areas of concern;

    — Setting up water tanks while night lighting solutions can be set up;

    — Installing Streiter light reflectors;

    — Installing motiong censors that activate flashing lights when wildlife is present;

    — Installing signings and reflective paint.

    Grants are available for Streiter lights, which several communities in Colorado have used successfully to reduce accident from deer and elk crossings. (See: Energy Efficiency and Conservation Program; Dept. of Transportation or AZ DOT) Durango, CO has had good results from motion censors/flashing lights, which scare away wild animals.

    There are less than 8,000 wild burros left in the West. Many communities in our states would not have been founded without burros opening up new trails, hauling materials, working in the mines, and accompanying prospectors. To abuse them is unacceptable. Going in this direction could potentially generate economic boycotts. At the least, it would bring unwanted national and international attention to Kingman. On the other hand, working with the BLM to resolve this issue cooperatively will generate positive attention that can build public confidence and pride.

    Please keep these suggestions in mind as you deliberate tomorrow.

    Sincerely,

    Charlotte Roe
    Smallholder and Writer/Analyst
    Berthoud, CO 80513

    “The world is full of animals, large and small, beautiful and ugly — and there is a place for them all, but there is one that has been for too long totally ignored and underrated – the gentle donkey, who has worked harder for man than any other species, and who up until recently could expect no reward.” Dr. Elisabeth Svendsen, MBE, in “Traveling with Donkeys”

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  16. If you listened to the Mohave Board of Supervisors meeting then you heard one of the supervisors bring up the idea of “packing houses” and using the burros as “protein” as the solution they used in past years. He admitted to being a livestock rancher. Not sure which one he was but his attitude is VERY common in other welfare ranching areas. Wonder if he has a grazing permit and if he gets subsidies and I wonder how many wild burros he has “helped” cross over the rainbow bridge?

    The meeting was a farce in my opinion – but these meetings are often just a farce and the real “deals” are made behind the scenes. The main theme that I noticed was that they believe the BLM propaganda as to the population and the TRUE facts were not mentioned – the reasons the burros are in the area of the city, such as:
    1) destruction of range by livestock
    2) perimeter highway fencing and wildlife underpasses were not mentioned
    3) the original legal land for the WH&B was not mentioned (legal herd area land stolen)
    4) loss of their legal habitat- including safe access to water and forage on their legal Herd Area lands and on and on and on and on and on … the meeting was based on inaccurate data fed to them by both the BLM and some public with personal anti-burro agendas such as the trophy hunters.

    I do believe that MORE letters could and should be sent that give REAL facts about the issues and one more thing … could Supervisor Moss’ declaration suggesting shooting the burros be considered a conspiracy which is illegal and punishable by law?

    …threatening to take this action or threatening to break a federal law and their threat alone is a conspiracy against the citizens of the United States of America. The action taken need not itself be a crime, but it must indicate that those involved in the conspiracy knew of the plan and intended to break the law. All collaborators involved and showing intent to break the law can be charged with conspiracy to commit the crime, regardless of whether the crime itself is actually attempted or completed…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. fencing works were the parks area we need open land so they can roam we could direct them to other water areas from what I have seen there only one male to 14 females how did this happen or is this the way to slow down the population

    Like

    Reply

Care to make a comment?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.