Letters for November 16, 2017

Las Vegas and guns, again

Re “Las Vegas and guns” (letters, Oct. 12):

McKechnie implies that Republicans are responsible. All of his examples are erroneous, or, already covered by state or federal law.

Congress is apparently going to regulate “bump” stocks. Bump stocks, mostly unheard of, and somewhat unreliable, are only slightly more technically advanced than a baseball bat. They have no moving parts, and can be made with a piece of PVC pipe, a piece of scrap wood, and a hacksaw, for maybe 10 bucks.

The oft heard song, that our forefathers did not envision modern weapons, is horse mierda as well. The Revolutionary War era saw advanced rifles already being designed and fielded. To imagine that our forefathers would not consider evolving technology underestimates their foresight. Bailek brings up the Second Amendment. The Second has nothing to do with hunting!

The militia was “every male citizen, 16 or older.” And even if the Guard has replaced the militia, during the LA riots, law of any stripe—federal or local—was spread way too thin! Some took advantage of the Second. Self defense from any criminal element is only one reason the Second exists.

One common denominator with every event seems the fact that all the attackers have been on some kind of mood drug. Yep, every single one, Paddock included.

Ronal Ryder

Fallon

Horse birth control

Re “Hold your horses,” (news, Nov. 2):

I am a wildlife ecologist and have investigated and researched PZP and its effects not only on wild horses but on other species of wildlife. PZP advocates tend to look at this tampering with the most intimate organs and systems of the biological functioning of the horse, deer or whatever species through “rose-tinted glasses.” This is turning into a most tragic mistake as it not only tortures the darted animals and their band members but sets the bands and herds up for social disruption and decline. It also favors the reproduction of mares with weaker immune systems, and thus in the course of a few short generations, the herds would be subject to massive die-out when some new strain of disease or environmental stressor hits them, like very hot or cold weather, violent storms, or ecological disruptions caused by people.

Please consider supporting me on the respectful Reserve Design approach to saving wild horses and wild burros and all the species of wildlife that go together harmoniously in a natural ecosystem. This would be to fulfill the true intent of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act—not PZP or other ignorant, arrogant and disrespectful approaches to the “management and protection” of wild horses. People must learn to manage themselves and to share the land and freedom with the wild ones, and this means making adjustments so they can live out their lives in peace and establish their own wonderful relation to all the rest of life. For more in-depth information and how you can help, please go to my website thewildhorseconspiracy.org and check out my book of this title.

Craig Downer

Minden

As someone who studies desert ecosystems and the ecology of rangelands, I was disappointed to read this article on the “fate of the mustangs” and seeing how one-sided this article was, rather than focus on what our rangelands can support, and why we need to manage horse populations to conserve these ecosystems. The more we refuse to acknowledge our rangelands are in grave danger of desertification due to unchecked populations, the greater the problem will become.

Wild horses are wildlife and are part of the ecosystem in which many other wildlife species exist. They need to be managed in a way that isn’t going to degrade our rangelands further, and as “activist” groups continue to litigate the BLM, wild horse populations continue to remain unchecked. We need to realize that at this point, we have to take responsibility for letting horse populations get so out of control that birth control methods are not going to solve the mass problem right now. The immediate decisions we need to make for the health of our rangelands and wildlife may not be so pretty.

Mariel Boldis

Reno