Wild horse gets home, avoids slaughterhouse with BLM sale

[NVMojo]

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- At 20 years old, Loner started a new life after becoming the first wild horse sold in Colorado under a new law.

The mare that once roamed the Little Bookcliffs Wild Horse Range north of Grand Junction, Colo., will live out the rest of her days at a ranch.

Chris Egelston, Loner's owner, is the first person in Colorado to buy a wild horse from the Bureau of Land Management under a law some critics say will lead hundreds of horses to slaughter. The law allows the BLM to commercially sell 10-year-old wild horses and those unsuccessfully offered for adoption.

Three plants in the United States kill horses and ship their meat to foreign countries like Italy and France for human consumption.

At least 8,400 horses could be sold under the provision attached by Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., to a spending bill signed by President Bush in December.

more...

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Mar-26-Sat-2005/news/26158054.html