Arena One hosts horse adoption

By Rupert Howell
Horses will be available for adoption Friday and Saturday, April 7and 8 from the Bureau of Land Management at Arena One west of Batesville at 562 Cutting Horse Lane according to Shane Banks with that department.
The ongoing program is a way to remove an overabundance of wild horses located on federal lands out west for which the Bureau of Land Management is responsible.
Banks estimated 60 or 70 horses will be available at the satellite adoption site that will be offered to the public for a standard fee of $125. Although the agency continues to own the horse for the first year, the buyer will be issued title or ownership papers after then.
The Bureau of Land Management created the Wild Horse and Burro Program to implement the Wild-Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act, passed by Congress in 1971 and have the responsibility to manage and protect herds in their respective jurisdictions within areas where wild horses and burros were found roaming.
According to the BLM  website, to maintain wild horses and burros in good condition and protect the health of public lands, the BLM must manage the population growth of wild horse and burro herds.
Without natural population controls, such as predation, herds can increase at a rate of up to 20 percent annually, doubling in size in just 4 to 5 years, if not appropriately managed. Population control must be implemented to protect scarce and fragile resources in the arid West and ensure healthy animals.
To carry out this mission, the BLM controls herd growth through the application of fertility measures, such as birth control, and through the periodic removals of excess animals and the placement of those animals into private care such as the satellite adoption program to be held at Arena One.