VOA慢速英语--Managing the Wild Horse Population

 

Everyone, including members of Congress and Native American tribes, wants fewer wild horses on Western lands and tribal¹ reservations. But there is little agreement on how the number should be reduced.

The wild horses come from horses that were brought to America from Spain in the 16th century.

By 1971, the number of wild horses had dropped sharply. So Congress passed a law to save them. Since then, the number of wild horses has increased three times in size. Experts predict there will be 115,000 wild horses by 2020.

An average adult wild horse eats more than two-and-a-half kilograms of grass and drinks 75 liters of water a day.

As a result, non-native plants begin growing in the affected² areas. The horses’ actions have also caused soil erosion around water sources, threatening water quality.

Gillian Lyons is a wildlife expert at The Humane³ Society of the United States.

She said, “Originally, when the 1971 act passed, it allowed the [Bureau of Land Management] to destroy healthy horses…if populations grew too large.”

Since 1994, except for one year, the BLM has been prevented from destroying wild horses. The agency now captures and places them in holding facilities. A few horses are adopted, but not many. It costs about $50 million a year to care for the captured animals.

President Donald Trump⁴ wants to cut the BLM budget by $10 million in 2018. If Congress approves the plan, the BLM would have to find other ways to manage horse populations.

“They’re going to do that in a couple of ways,” said Lyons. “One is by reducing any use of fertility control, which they use barely any of now. And the other way is by getting rid of horses in holding facilities.”

Recently, a House committee voted to permit the BLM to kill the horses. But a Senate committee voted against another bill that would lift the ban on horse killing⁵.

Native American tribes have struggled with the problem for years. Some support capturing the animals. But others, including leaders of the tribes, say the animals should be treated well and not killed.

The Northwest Tribal Horse Coalition⁶ is made up of five small groups and tribes in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. It says in the short term controlling the number of wild horse births will not stop overgrazing. It supports the slaughter⁷ of horses at “humane facilities.”

An estimated 48,000 wild horses live on the Navajo Nation’s 7,000 square kilometers in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.

Duane “Chili” Yazzie is the president of the Nation in Shiprock.

Yazzie has started a horse capture program he considers more humane. The program would euthanize sick and old wild horses and sterilize⁸ healthy ones before returning them to the wild. He is also looking to train them as farm animals.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

reservation – n. an area of land in the U.S. that is kept separate as a place for Native Americans to live

erosion – n. the gradual destruction of something by natural forces (such as water, wind, or ice); the process by which something is eroded⁹ or worn away

overgraze – v. to eat too much of the grass or other plants that are growing in a field, pasture, etc.

humane – adj. kind or gentle to people or animals

euthanize – v. to kill an animal that is very sick or injured in order to prevent any more suffering

sterilize – v. to make (someone or something) unable to produce children, young animals, etc.

1 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

8 sterilize   

vt.使不结果实；使绝育；使无效；杀菌，消毒

参考例句：

• Antiseptic is used to sterilize the skin before giving an injection.杀菌剂被用于在注射前给皮肤消毒。
• He pricks the blister on his heel with a sterilize needle.他用一根消过毒的针扎破他脚后跟上的水泡。

9 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。