ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Once Again the Famous Salt River Wild Horse Herd Has Come Under Fire!

Updated on January 20, 2020

Don't Fence Me In...Or Out!

Monday, 13 January the Forest Service said it would begin construction of a metal fence on the Salt River. Officials said the fence is needed to keep the wild horses off the Bush Hiway. In the past, there have been several accidents resulting from the wild horses crossing the road and horses have lost their lives. Not to mention the property damage. But the real problem seems to be that this fence will prevent the wild horses from traveling to where they always have..And will limit their habitat greatly. Wild horse advocates say they would like to see a livestock overpass built over the highway to accommodate the wild animals.

Source

Having the fence would be fine... but!

The forestry department is in charge of building the fence along the Bush highway. However, the fence will be cutting off part of the wild horse habitat. In other words, the horses couldn't get across the road..And getting to the water. The logical step would be to build a wildlife bridge across Bush Highway. This has been done in other places and it works. For instance, Australia had a similar problem with Kangaroo. They built a passage UNDER the highway. Problem solved. No Fence/

A passage under the highway.In Australia the problem is the Roos. Utilizing these under road passages keeps the Kangaroo somewhat away from the roads.

Source

Fences are fine for farm livestock. Not so much as in the above video for horses!

I was raised a farm boy. Fences are fine for Cattle, Sheep, and the like, but you never use barbed wire for horses. Always board fences. Horses tend to rub and try to run a fence just because it is their nature. Boards are easier to see than thin barbed wire and sooner or later they will get caught or cut with barbed wire. The same goes for the gates. Wooden boards. It's just common sense.

Everyones mind on the same page... safety for all.

While I believe the Forestry Service may have the wild horses well being in mind, it seems to me this has not been fully thought out. Here in this instance, you are combining wild horses with people coming and going all along the river. The Forestry people have stated there will be numerous gates if you will, for everyone to get back and forth through the fence. There is also a lot of recreational events such as Tubing here. That's fine, but what happens when a curious horse decides to follow the passer-by through the gate? He is going to end up along the roadway, possibly, right where they weren't supposed to be. Horses are smart and curious. It's bound to happen sooner or later. One part of the fence is to be wire, the other part metal slats. I believe an overpass, or underpass would work out better... my opinion.

This is just one of many wildlife overpasses in use today.

Source

Wildlife overpasses are becoming more and more prevalent all over the world.

The above is just one of many different styles of wildlife overpasses in use today There are many different types in use depending on the area they are in. These overpasses can accommodate more than just wildlife. They can be used by State and local governments for just about anything where you don't want to interrupt the flow of traffic. Loggers moving back and forth, oil people, park rangers the list goes on. The cost to build is unknown, but if it saves one life, it is worth the cost to build.

Government officials, wild horse advocates, engineers, the battle is comming!

I'm sure before it is over, there will be much said by all that are involved in the final decision. But it all comes down to a fence. Will it be or not. There are good reasons for, and good reasons against it. Who will win? One thing is certain. However it ends, I am sure everyone has the same thing in mind...safety for all. Safety for motorists, safety for the wild horses, and safety for the people coming and going. And that is what it is all about. Safety.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)