ASPCA opposes bill that would deny water to Nevada mustangs
May 11, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
By Frank X Mullen, Reno Gazette Journal
May 10, 2011
Read online here.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has joined wild horse advocates in opposition to an Assembly bill that they say would deny access to water for wild horses and burros in the state.
AB-329 would change the definition of “wildlife” in state water rights laws to specifically exclude wild horses and burros but include all other animals, birds and fish, “found naturally in a wild state, whether indigenous to Nevada or not and whether raised in captivity or not,” according to the bill.
“While couched as a neutral water appropriation bill, AB-329 was clearly drafted to have the cruel and illegal result of depriving wild horses and burros in Nevada of their access to water,” wrote attorney Bruce Wagman of Schiff Hardin LLC, who represents the groups, in a letter sent Monday to Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Senate.
“Contrary to the claims of …supporters, this proposed law could have a catastrophic impact on wild horses and burros, who depend on these natural water sources for survival.”
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign joined the ASPCA in opposition to the measure. The bill passed the Assembly in a 35-7 vote in March and is awaiting a hearing before the Senate Natural Resources Committee.
The bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea, R-Fallon, has said he introduced the bill at the request of cattlemen and hunters from rural northeastern Nevada. Those groups have traditionally viewed wild equines as competition for commercial livestock grazing and game animals on public lands.
Betsy Dribben, vice president of ASPCA Federal Affairs, said the bill, if passed, would conflict with federal wild horse protection laws. She said the measure is moving through the Legislature without any analysis.
“This bill is trying to do covertly what both the public and federal law oppose doing, causing injury or death to wild horses,” Dribben said. “(Nevada lawmakers) need to take a closer look at what this bill will mean to the state and federally.”
