Navajos agree to end horse roundups for slaughter
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Albuquerque, N.M. • The Navajo Nation says it will end its support of wild horse roundups and a return to domestic horse slaughter following talks with former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly said Tuesday he met with Richardson over the weekend and they agreed to work together to find more long-term and humane solutions to the horse overpopulation problem.
Tribal officials estimate the Navajo Nation has 75,000 feral horses drinking wells dry and causing ecological damage to the drought-stricken range.
Richardson and actor Robert Redford have created the Foundation to Protect New Mexico Wildlife, which is fighting efforts by a Roswell company to a horse slaughterhouse.