Assateague horse killed during deer hunt
One of the wild horses at Assateague Island National Seashore was shot and killed over the weekend during an authorized deer hunt there, the National Park Service reported today.
The 28-year-old bay mare was found Saturday by a hunter and reported to a park ranger the following day. Superintendent Trish Kicklighter was quoted in the release saying that she hoped the shooting was accidental, but an investigation is under way.
While most national parks do not allow hunting, it was authorized by Congress when it created the national seashore in 1965. Several hunts are held there every fall and winter to help control populations of white-tail and sika deer on the barrier island.
Sika deer were introduced in 1920, and park service officials say without hunting to limit their numbers the non-native deer would harm the island ecosystem. While there's been concern about the wild horse population outgrowing the resources of the seashore as well, the park service has been controlling that by treating mares with contraceptives.
The National Park Service is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to arrest of the individual (or individuals) involved in killing the horse. Even if the shooting was accidental, failure to report it violates federal regulations. Anyone with information is encouraged to call Chief Ranger Ted Morlock at 410) 629-6055 or email ted_morlock@nps.gov
For more on the seashore and its horses, go here.
(Wild horses at dusk at the old ferry landing, Assateague Island National Seashore, 2003 Baltimore Sun photo by Algerina Perna)
Comments
Why is the original article, along with the reader comments, now replaced with a blog?
TW: An editor's decision, not mine. I brought the news to the desk's attention, but didn't realize the wire story had been posted online. Feel free to post comments here.
Posted by: Rick | January 20, 2011 5:47 PM
The culprit is probably back in Baltimore or PA. They go down there and think they are woodsman and shoot whatever moves.
Posted by: undermine | January 20, 2011 6:19 PM
When I was a kid I read many books and saw several movies that depicted these "horses" as beautiful majestic wild stallions and mares. What a load of crap! These poor creatures are stunted pygmies from generations of inbreeding; they suffer from disease, malnutrition and parasites. The humane thing to do would be to take them out of the extremely harsh environment of a barrier island swamp. They aren't really wild animals; they are domesticated livestock that were abandoned or shipwrecked on a tiny spit of land. Their bellies are bloated from eating salt marsh grass. How they survive is beyond me.
Posted by: CD | January 20, 2011 6:48 PM
CD, The ponies are stunted from the saltwater marshes. They are in good health. They are no more full of parasites than any other wild animal.
Posted by: undermine | January 20, 2011 7:22 PM
It's ridiculous that deer hunting is allowed at any national park unit, particularly one where humans or other animals can be harmed. Assateague Island should be a refuge for wild horses, not a place where yahoo hunters can injure or kill them. For deer population control, use birth control.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 20, 2011 7:40 PM
If you've never been around these horses, please do not slander their name. To call them pygmies is abserd. Most of the Assateague herd has good conformation, some mixed with Arab blood. Regardless no animal should be mistreated, or shot.
Posted by: Loree Sole' | January 20, 2011 9:59 PM
Species identification FAIL. Whoever did this is a disgrace to hunting and a danger to themselves and everyone around them.
Posted by: Baltimocker | January 21, 2011 10:37 AM
Lorre,
It sounds like you haven't been around these horses. They are certainly stunted in growth from malnutrition and inbreeding. As for their health, I stand by the claim that it is overall poor. I saw one of these pony-sized horses with hooves so over grown that it had trouble walking. They have little to no fresh water to drink and by the US Park Service's own website the swamp grasses they eat provide little nutrients and causes their stomaches to bloat. Sorry, but the Assateague horses are a far cry from Arab Chargers with "good conformation"... They are potbellied, tick infested, malnourished, unkempt ponies. If you saw an animal on someones farm in such a condition you'd very likely call the police.
Posted by: CD | January 21, 2011 5:21 PM