The harsh truth is that the majority of deer don’t make it to one year of age. Predators go after the young fawns. Getting through winter is hard even for a full-sized deer. Other wild animals don’t have it any better. Predators often go a week before getting a good meal.

That’s life in the wild. We can’t change it and we shouldn’t try.

Invasive species can devastate an ecosystem. It doesn’t matter if it’s a cute bunny in Australia or the cane toad meant to eat pests. It’s best to keep the environment like it was before humans arrived.

That’s also true of the “wild” horses of the Southwest. These horses are domesticated horses that have escaped or have been released. Some will try to convince others that horses were here before white man arrived. That’s true, but they were more closely related to a very small zebra than any of the modern horses that now roam the Southwest.

Horses are an invasive species that can and do chase full-grown elk away from water holes.

The Wild and Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 is the most destructive law for the environment of this area. It needs to be repealed.

I love horses. They are beautiful and majestic animals. I also love dogs, but if collies, Rottweilers and German Shepherds were to form large wild packs, killing prey meant for natural predators, I would be advocating for their extermination.

We need to think about the environment as a whole. I say open up horse slaughterhouses. I realize not many Americans would want to eat horse meat, maybe some could be exported, but the best use of the horse meat is pet food. Good dog food with plenty of meat is expensive. That issue might be resolved if we can repeal the wild horse and burro act.

Some think that any animal that is born should die of old age. Those people need to learn about the environment and the food chain. Don’t push your vegetarian views onto others.

Dave Norman

Durango