JudyJB wrote:The problem with the burros is that no one hunts them like they do with the deer, and the deer are losing habitat and in numbers to the burros. They also don't have as many predators as the deer do so there is little control on their numbers. Got to be sympathetic to the deer also.
The same predators prey on deer as on burros - except for humans. Too few deer, curtail deer hunting by humans.
Deer and burros are not directly competitive. They do not eat the same things - deer are primarily browsers (they eat twigs, leaves, berries, acorns, etc. - being ruminants - four stomachs - they can more easily digest such things). Burros are primarily grazers (grasses) - they have one stomach.
It seems to me that the BLM puts out a fair amount of misinformation about this, so that they can have a reason to round up/shoot the burros. The same kind of BLM misinformation is put out about wild horses. It is often stated that wild horses need to be removed from BLM land because the horses are overgrazing and thus damaging range land. Now when a person hears about this overgrazing and wild horse round ups they might be thinking how good it is for the range land to get rid of those pesky wild horses, so the range land can be wide open and empty and free as it once was.
But. . . not so fast. Range land is not left empty - dirt cheap grazing leases are sold to ranchers so that thousands of cattle can be put on the range land instead. So the story goes out that a few hundred horses destroy the range, and ten thousand cattle do not.
Anyone buying this story about horses vs cattle? Yes? PM me. I have a really nice bridge that I would like to sell.
Anne
