OPINION — Protecting the Salt River Wild Horse herd has been an ongoing battle. Ten years ago, Gov. Doug Ducey and the Arizona Legislature passed the Salt River Wild Horses Act prohibiting the removal of the Salt River Wild Horses.
Gov. Hobbs has now betrayed the public (and the horses) with a mandate by her Arizona Department of Agriculture requiring the removal of horses over the next five years, reducing the herd to 120 horses; an arbitrary number chosen by the AZDA with no scientific backing.
A study completed by Dr. Gus Cochran, the country’s leading equine geneticist, concluded the minimum number of horses needed to sustain viability is 150 to 200. Less will degrade the herd into extinction.
