January 21, 2005
By JESSICA HAWLEY / Staff Writer, The Bandera Bulletin
"Congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West," states a congressional declaration dated Dec. 15, 1971.
Yet, in a surprising and highly protested move, Congress recently passed a bill that allows for the slaughter of the American wild mustang reportedly effective Wednesday, Jan. 5.
Republican Senator Conrad Burns of Montana introduced the one-page Rider #142 into the 3,000-page Federal Appropriations Bill HR 4848. |

A mustang foal basks in the sunlight at the Wild Horse Foundation in Franklin while his mother, a former wild mustang, grazes nearby. Photo by Jessica Hawley |