Nevada Begins Wild Horse Roundup; Willie Nelson Cries Foul

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The big roundup in Nevada has begun. But rather than being fodder for a old-fashioned Western, this one is kicking up a fight. Yesterday the Bureau of Land Management launched its mission to capture 2,500 wild horses from public and private lands across the state. Contractors in helicopters and on horseback herded some of the mustangs into corrals in the Black Rock Range, a chain of mountains 100 miles north of Reno, according to a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management. Heather Emmons said she did not know how many horses were captured on the first day of the roundup, which will take two months and stretch across 1,750 square miles in the Calico Mountains Complex [Los Angeles Times].

According to the BLM, the Nevada lands can't sustain the 3,000 wild horses that now live there, as the population will likely double in four years. So, the agency argues, winnowing the population will sustain the environment and protect the horses, too. But where the horses will end up remains uncertain. Long-term plans call for the mustangs to be placed for adoption or sent to holding facilities in the Midwest. The agency said a facility in Reno was full of adoptable horses, making it unclear when the animals gathered in the latest capture could be put up for adoption [AP].

To say that the helicopter roundup riled up some horse lovers would be an understatement. "To start this immense roundup … on private land where members of the public are forbidden to attend is a brilliant, insidious move on the part of the BLM to hide the suffering and death that they are about to inflict on our mustangs," said activist Eylse Gardner [San Jose Mercury News]. Activists say that helicopter-assisted roundups frighten the horses and can cause injuries like broken legs, which cause horses to be euthanized. However, a federal judge last week denied a request to stop the operation by ruling that it didn't violate the law, paving the way for its commencement yesterday.

Opposition remains, in both local activists and celebrity sympathizers—it seems the Rolling Stones aren't the only musicians with a soft spot in their hearts for "Wild Horses." Celebrities including singers Willie Nelson and Sheryl Crow and former Playboy models Shane and Sia Barbi have tried to call attention to the issue. "We must act now before the BLM has managed these magnificent animals into extinction," Nelson said [USA Today].

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[Jasman0717 9]

But where the horses will end up remains uncertain. Long-term plans call for the mustangs to be placed for adoption or sent to holding facilities in the Midwest.

Holding facilities in the midwest I used to work for a slaughter house in Greeley Colorado way back in the 'olden days' and there was such a severe winter that all the cattle were freezing to death so they started processing horse meet. Geeze, that's like eating Trigger or Mr. Ed

[Nagishkaw 510]

With the way the economy is, how likely is there that there's plenty of people willing to adopt these poor creatures....besides the slaughterhouses?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Horse meat is better for you than beef! When I was a kid, you could buy it right at the supermarket. Where do people think food comes from?

Recipes

Picula ad Caval

This traditional Italian recipe will serve 6

21/4 pounds ground horse meat

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2-1/2 ounces ground cured lard (or pancetta)

2 onions, minced

1 glass dry white wine (though some Italian chefs prefer broth)

6 ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, chopped, and drained

2 bell peppers, ribbed and seeded, then diced

2 Tbsp. minced fresh herbs (basil, sage, and rosemary in proportions to taste)

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil, lard, and onion in a skillet. Sauté until the onion has become golden but don’t let it get really brown. Add the horse meat and brown it, stirring frequently. When it has browned, sprinkle in the glass of wine and reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Cover it, and let it cook for at least an hour. Mix in the chopped tomatoes and diced peppers, and continue cooking for another half hour.

Ten minutes before removing the dish from the stove, sprinkle the minced herbs over everything. Serve it hot with salt and pepper to taste.

Pastissada

Another traditional Italian recipe from the Verona area.

2 pounds horse meat

2 ounces lard or porkback fat

2-3 carrots, cut into slivers

2 sticks celery, diced

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves

a dozen coriander seeds

1 bay leaf

1 clove garlic

1 bottle Italian red wine

flour, enough to brown the meat with

1/4 cup olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

1 Tbsp. butter kneaded into enough flour to make a small ball

paprika to taste

Slather the meat with the lard and slivers of carrots. Dice the other vegetables and put them, with the meat and spices (except the paprika) in a bowl. Pour the wine over everything, then cover and marinate in the refrigerator for three days, turning the meat occasionally.

Pat the meat dry with paper towel (keep the vegetables and the marinade), flour it, and brown it in the oil over a brisk flame. Add the vegetables. When they’ve cooked for a few minutes, pour the marinade over the meat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about three hours. Once the meat is done, remove it to a platter saving the sauce that has been formed with the marinade.

Return the sauce to the fire, thicken it with the butter-flour ball, and season it to taste with paprika. Pour the sauce over the meat, and serve with a good traditional side dish.

Filet Mignon

This simple French classic serves 4.

4 four-ounce filets of horse

4 slices bacon

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare exactly as for a filet mignon. Wrap outside of filet with uncooked bacon slice and secure with toothpicks. Broil to taste.

Sauerbraten (Sour Roast)

Practically a German sacrament

2-1/2 lbs. horse meat roast

4 strips bacon (optional)

soup vegetables: carrot, celery, leek (optional), parsley root (optional), onion (optional)

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 pint red wine (optional)

1 garlic clove

2 bay leaves

1 Tbsp. juniper berries

3 allspice corns and/or cloves

3 peppercorns

1 thyme branch

1/4 cup pork lard

1 Tbsp. flour (optional)

1/2 cup raisins

salt

pepper

maple syrup (to taste)

Vigorously rub the roast with the bacon. Clean and wash the vegetables and cut them into pieces. Bring the vinegar to boil with some water or stock, then let it cool down a bit and add the meat, garlic, spices, and the vegetables. Let it marinade in a closed bowl for several days (but at least 24 hours) in a cool place.

Remove the horse meat from the marinade and roast it in the lard. Then slowly add the marinade, together with the vegetables and the spices. Braise it in the oven for 2 to 21/2 hours at 350 degrees. Remove the bay leaves, the cloves and the juniper berries from the gravy. Strain the gravy, and perhaps thicken it with some flour. Add the raisins and season it with salt, pepper, and maple syrup. Serves 4.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/chance88.html

[Ban Hammer 14,665]

Horse meat is better for you than beef! When I was a kid, you could buy it right at the supermarket. Where do people think food comes from?

you don't eat trigger!

[Nagishkaw 510]

When I was a kid, you could buy it right at the supermarket.

I remember.

[mawilson 2,133]

...

Edited December 29, 2009 by mawilson

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

you don't eat trigger!

Why does everybody get so upset? Horses are about as native to North America as rabbits are to Australia, hence the problem.

[HannahP 119]

I'd adopt some of Willie's weed.