10/07/09

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Interior Secretary Ken Salazar wants to create
wild horse preserves in the Midwest and East to protect wild horses
and burros that now roam the West.

Salazar says his plan will restore the health of America's wild
horse herds and the rangelands that support them. He says the plan
would not require killing any wild horses. Interior Department
officials had warned that it might be necessary to kill some horses
to combat rising costs of maintaining wild horse herds.

About 36,000 wild horses and burros roam in 10 Western states,
nearly half in Nevada. The BLM rounds up thousands of the animals
each year, but has had a hard time finding buyers in recent years.
The agency spent $29 million this year to maintain wild horses.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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