Re: wild horses shot to death in nevada

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Having ridden with the wild mustangs in Nevada I think the best we could do
is each an every one of us send a dollar to that reward.  You know if it
gets high enough some one will squeel.  2:05 PM 12/31/1998, Joie Rowles wrote:
>The recent post from Karen Clanin about the killing of these horses filled
>me with such emotion; tears to outrage and about everything in between.  I
>can't recall when I have ever wanted to do SOMETHING about something as
>much as I do now; the only thing is, What do I do?  My first response was
>to kill the person(s) that did this, but this goes against my pacifist
>nature(and after some reflection, I truely don't think this would solve
>anything).  If it is true what the authorities think, that it was done by a
>'sadistic sickie' (see articles below), I am left to question what is
>happening to our world.  Perhaps the best thing that I can do is to teach
>to all that I come in contact with as much love toward our selves and the
>other animals (and plants) with which we share our home (the earth) as
>possible.
>
>Joie, Arizona
>
>the following are the full length articles:
>
>Psychologist Ponders Horse Killer 
>
>                  By Scott Sonner
>                  Associated Press Writer
>                  Thursday, December 31, 1998; 12:43 p.m. EST
>
>                  RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Investigators completed the last field
>autopsis on 34 wild horses slaughtered in northern Nevada today and began
>trying to figure out what kind of person would shoot dozens of mustangs,
>leaving them for dead. 
>
>                  ``It's hard to guess who would do something like this,''
>Washoe County Sheriff's Lt. Janice Lee said today. 
>
>                  ``You don't get a good feel for it until you get up in a
>helicopter and see they are just randomly littered along the mountains.'' 
>
>                  Law officers found the 34th victim late Wednesday when
>they widened their helicopter search because dead horses were turning up
>miles from
>the original shooting scene, apparently limping away wounded before they
>died. 
>
>                  ``I believe we will probably find a few more,'' said Paul
>Iverson, administrator of the Nevada Division of Agriculture. 
>
>                  Leaders of the investigation in the hills five miles east
>of the Reno-Sparks area were expressing growing confidence they would
>capture the horse killers as total rewards for a conviction grew to more
>than $35,000. 
>
>                  ``We have some very good physical evidence,'' said John
>Tyson, a Storey County range management officer and deputy state brand
>inspector. 
>
>                  ``I have enough good leads to fill up a folder. There's
>no question in my mind we're going to catch this guy or persons,'' Tyson
>said. 
>
>                  Iverson, Tyson and other investigators have dismissed the
>possibility that the shootings stem from a dispute between ranchers and the
>government over wild horses competing for feed for livestock. 
>
>                  ``I think this is just an act of wanting to kill
>something,'' Iverson said today.
>                  ``It has nothing to do, I don't think, with the ranching
>community.'' 
>
>                  A leading psychologist in the area suggested a sadistic
>personality was at play. ``This is someone who takes pleasure in the pain
>of other creatures,''said Ole Theinhaus, chairman of the Psychology
>Department at the University of Nevada-Reno, told the Reno Gazette-Journal. 
>
>                  All of the horses appeared to have been shot multiple
>times. 
>
>                  Investigators started discovering the horse carcasses on
>Sunday about five miles east of Sparks. Several young colts and pregnant
>mares were among the victims, including one filly that was clinging to life
>but had to be destroyed. 
>
>                               © Copyright 1998 The Associated Press
>___________________________________________________________________________
>CBS News
>Correspondent
>Bill Whitaker
>Reoports
>                33 Horses Shot Dead In Nevada
>                 Horses Were Tortured And Shot At Close Range
>                 $25,000 Reward Offered For Information
>
>                                AP
>            RENO, Nevada
>            Wednesday, December 30,1998 - 08:01 PM ET 
>
>
>            (CBS) They were shot at close range with a high-powered
>            rifle. Thirty-three wild horses slaughtered over the weekend -
>            each shot numerous times by killers unknown...apparently
>            shot for target practice. CBS News Correspondent Bill
>            Whitaker reports. 
>
>            Members of a local animal rescue group were some of the
>            first at the scene. They made a video, which was obtained
>            exclusively by CBS News. 
>
>            "We only saw two horses at first," said Bobbi Royle, of
>            the horse adoption group Wild Horse Spirit. "Then, oh my
>            God, we saw another one. And then a fourth and a fifth.
>            It was horrible." 
>
>            By Wednesday, the death toll had grown to 33, the biggest
>            single shooting of wild horses in Nevada since as many as
>            600 were killed during a two-year period in the mid 1980's. 
>
>            "All of the horses appeared to have been shot multiple
>            times before dying," Washoe County Sheriff's Sgt. Bob
>            Towery said Wednesday after a helicopter search discovered
>            the two latest bodies. 
>
>            A $25,000 reward was offered for information leading to the
>            arrest and conviction of the killers who apparently used the
>            horses for target practice several miles east of Reno. 
>
>            "This kind of stuff is just sick and absolutely
>            senseless," said Paul Iverson, administrator of the Nevada
>            Division of Agriculture. "Some of them were shot and left
>            to suffer for a long period of time." 
>
>            Several young colts and pregnant mares were among the
>            victims, including "one little filly still alive, probably just
>            8 or 9 months old," Royle said. 
>
>            "She was shot in the back and paralyzed," Royle said.
>            "She could only move her front a little, her head. She
>            had to be put down." 
>
>            Twenty-five of the horses were found in and around a valley
>            known as Devil's Flat on Sunday and Monday. Six additional
>            horses were discovered Tuesday. 
>
>            "I think it's absolutely tragic that somebody would
>            come up and do this. These animals, you know, they're
>            fine here. They're not bothering anybody," says one
>            official. 
>
>            Some of the horses were maimed and at
>            least one was tortured with sprays to the
>            head from a fire extinguisher after being
>            shot, Towery said Tuesday. 
>
>            "There's no rationale for it," Towery
>            said. 
>
>            The horses were not technically considered wild horses as
>            defined by the Federal Wild Horse and Burro Act because
>            they did not descend from horses living on public land at the
>            time the act was passed in 1969. 
>
>            Investigators do not believe the killings are related to
>            long-standing tensions between ranchers and managers of
>            wild horses over limited desert food, said John Tyson, a
>            Storey County range management officer. 
>
>            State officials used a metal detector Tuesday to locate and
>            remove bullets from the carcasses to be sent to a forensics
>            lab. 
>
>            "There's just total outrage. People are so upset," said
>            Lydia Hammack, president of Virginia Range Wildlife
>            Protection Association. "These animals are magnificent
>            animals and I really can't understand how somebody
>            can do this. It's a real sicko out there."
>            
>
>
>