Pickens' wife proposes way to save wild horses

Published: 11/18/08, 4:06 PM EDT
By JAMIE STENGLEDALLAS (AP) - The wife of Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens
says she'll create a refuge for wild horses, after the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management announced it was considering euthanizing some of the animals.
About 33,000 wild horses roam the open range in 10 Western states. In order
to protect the herd, the range and other foraging animals, the BLM wants to
have about 27,000 horses in the wild. So those too old or considered
unadoptable are sent to long-term holding facilities.  Madeleine Pickens
said Tuesday she has proposed purchasing around 1 million acres to serve as
a refuge for the horses being kept in pens.   BLM spokesman Tom Gorey says
the agency welcomes the offer. He says the costs of keeping animals in the
holdings pens has caused them to consider euthanasia.