Park officials at the Tonto National Forest in Arizona said they would begin impounding wild and unclaimed horses that live near the Salt River beginning on Friday, but many animal lovers are now fighting the move.
AZCentral.com reported that the horses, which number roughly 100, have become a danger and nuisance, wandering onto the Bush Highway near Mesa as well as many park campgrounds.
"We've had several cases where horses have been hit on the highway and causing vehicle accidents, and we have horses coming into the campground into a heavily used high recreation area," said Carrie Templin, a public affairs officer with the Tonto National Forest.
"These horses mean so much to not just us, but our entire American public, they are probably the most popular wild horses in America," Simone Netherlands, president of the non-profit Salt River Wild Horse Management Group,
told Fox affiliate KSAZ-TV.
"It's not hard to understand when you chase a one-day-old baby with a helicopter that it's going to break its legs."
Anyone who owns one of the impounded horses will have a grace period to come forward and claim them, while the remainder will go to auction.
"It's very likely there will be kill-buyers at that public auction, there's absolutely no telling how much suffering is in store for these horses," said Netherlands. "The forest service has pretty much sprung this public notice on us and has given the public absolutely no opportunity to voice how they feel."
The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group plans to seek an injunction to keep the horses put for the time being, while
one petition circulated on Change.org that's received 78,000 signatures of support also seeks to stop the removal of the horses.
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