VOA标准英语2010-Critics Protest Capture of Wild Horses

Wild horses are a legendary¹ symbol of the American West.  They mostly roam on vast areas of public land overseen² by the U.S. government.   To prevent overpopulation, the government periodically removes some of them.  But critics say the practice is inhumane and could lead to the extinction³ of wild horses.

Wild horses, in the thousands, run free in 10 states in the American West.  They are protected by law and live in remote areas where people don't normally see them. 

Suzanne Roy is with the American Wild Horse Preservation⁴ Campaign.

"It is a thrilling experience. It is an educational experience. It really strikes a deep cord with people everywhere," said Roy.

Roy and other advocates of wild horses came to Washington to protest the capture of herds⁵ by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The government has been moving the horses to the American Midwest and south.  The horses are not slaughtered⁶. They are put in holding pastures or fenced pens where they can be adopted, but fewer people are adopting because of the recession. 

Currently, there are more horses in holding facilities than on public land.

Roy says despite the law to protect wild horses, the government has other priorities. 

"The Bureau of Land Management manages our public lands, not for the interests of the public, but for the interests of the livestock⁷ owners that graze their cows on our public lands," added Roy.

Tom Gorey is a spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management. He says the government values the horses.  He says the bureau does the roundups to protect the herds because there are 10,000 more horses on the land than there should be.

"We are not managing for extinction as some of the critics have said," said Gorey.  "We're just trying to get down to that appropriate management level.  We don't want starvation on the range."

Activists⁸ say the government should use other methods to control the herds.

"By managing the horses on the range, through things like fertility control and limiting livestock grazing," explained Roy.

While birth control is used when wild horses are moved, Gorey says it is impractical⁹ to do that on the millions of hectares of public land.

"We're not at a point right now where we can just apply fertility control to control the population of the herds, which grow about 20 percent a year, and therefore, double in about four years," said Gorey.

The government is spending $63 million on the wild horse program this year and has proposed $75 million for next year.  A separate request of $42 million is for the purchase of land for a wild horse preserve.

Despite their differences, both sides agree the wild horse program is too costly¹⁰. 

"We're eager to get out of the holding business," added Gorey.  "We only want to hold the number that is consistent with public adoption¹¹ demand.  We're working on that."

But older horses often are not adopted. Critics say moving the horses is a waste of money and the roundups should stop until the system is fixed¹².
 

1 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

2 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

3 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

4 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

5 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

6 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 impractical   

adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的

参考例句：

• He was hopelessly impractical when it came to planning new projects.一到规划新项目，他就完全没有了实际操作的能力。
• An entirely rigid system is impractical.一套完全死板的体制是不实际的。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

11 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

12 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。