HYGIENE - A sanctuary for abused and neglected horses is under
attack for turning its pasture into a killing field for prairie dogs.
Boulder County, which applauds the work of Colorado Horse Rescue,
is threatening sanctions against the organization for last week's prairie
dog poisoning.
The state also may ask the nonprofit agency to repay more than $6,000
for a revegetation effort on the 50-acre site.
Moreover, the poisoning has created a new enemy out of another animal-rights
group, Boulder's Rocky Mountain Animal Defense.
"They have to have been ethically disconnected about this,"
said David Crawford, executive director of Rocky Mountain Animal Defense.
"It makes me suspicious about how good of a job they do with their horse-rescue
operation."
Horse Rescue officials couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday. But
late last week, spokeswoman Penny Storchevoy said the organization has not
wavered in its agreement with Boulder County to make its ranch more hospitable
for prairie dogs.
"We believe we're fulfilling our contractual obligation to Boulder
County," Storchevoy said.
The county approved the horse group's relocation to Hygiene from
Broomfield in 1999 under several conditions, including growing more vegetation
on the site to prevent dust and soil erosion.
The county also said Horse Rescue would be required to relocate prairie
dogs on the site if they hindered the revegetation.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife spent more than $2,300 reseeding
35 acres of the property with native grasses and trees for prairie dogs, rabbits
and other small mammals, said Division of Wildlife spokesman Todd Malmsbury.
But last week a county zoning-enforcement officer, acting on a tip
from a neighbor, found workers hired by Horse Rescue stuffing prairie dog
holes with newspapers soaked in a deadly gas solution.
As many as 20 people from Rocky Mountain Animal Defense arrived at
the scene to remove the poison from about 200 burrows. "Very few of the
animals survived," Crawford said.
In a letter this week, the county threatened to repeal Horse Rescue's
operating agreement because of several violations. One is the "slaughtering
of prairie dogs after agreeing to allow them to co-exist on the property."
The Division of Wildlife, meanwhile, could ask that Horse Rescue
give back $6,871 used for materials and labor in the revegetation effort,
Malmsbury said.
"Horse Rescue is a very honorable and worthwhile group,"
said county spokesman Jim Burrus. "But it's ironic that a group involved
in saving abandoned horses has this problem with prairie dogs."
On Tuesday, prairie dogs scampered from hole to hole on the Horse
Rescue property as horses munched on grass and weeds.
Neighbor Kay Clements, a longtime opponent of Horse Rescue, said
the county has only itself to blame for allowing the group to move there.
"(Horse Rescue) come across as good guys," Clements said. "But
the county was duped."
Kim Lampert, owner of nearby Foothills Equestrian Center, said thinning
the prairie dog population is understandable. Prairie dog holes can injure
horses, and the rodents also sometimes carry diseases.
"It's unfortunate when you poison animals," Lampert said.
"But the overpopulation of anything is bad. You have to control things
when you take away their land space."
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