BOC changes UDO to prohibit Domestic Horses in 4X4 area

In an email from Karen McCalpin, Director of the Wild Horse Fund, she explains that domestic horses are now prohibited from being on the 4x4 beaches in an effort to protect the Corolla Wild Horses. Below is her email:

At last night’s Board of Commissioner’s meeting, the Board voted to change the Unified Development Ordinance to prohibit domestic horses from the RO2 district. There was also a majority vote to have language written to make it a criminal offense to house domestic horses or ride them in the RO2 district. Wesley, Kimberlee Hoey, Mike Hoff, Bo Dame, and I had an opportunity to meet with the Commissioners at their work session prior to the meeting and we also testified at the Public Hearing.



This is incredibly good news for the wild horses. We were able to acquire written expert testimony from the following: Dr. Rachel Cachero, Dominion Equine Clinic, Suffolk, VA; Dr. Charles Issel, Chair of Equine Infectious Diseases, University of Kentucky; Dr. Philip Sponenberg, VMR College of Veterinary Medicine, VA Tech University; Karen Sussman, President of the International Society for the Protection of Wild Horses and Burros, Landry, SD; and Mike Yoder, Coordinator, Regional Equine Information Network System, Animal Science Extension, North Carolina State University. All the experts, including Carolyn Mason of the Shackleford Banks Foundation strongly recommended that domestic horses be prohibited from the entire area inhabited by the wild horses. Very briefly, their reasons included the strong possibility of transmission of disease to the wild horses from the domestic horses; the disruption of wild horse social structure; safety of mares and foals as stallions violently confront the domestic newcomers in an attempt to protect their harems, as well as the safety of the public.



If you would like to view the testimony and resulting vote, go to the video for Nov. 17 under Archived Videos. The Corolla Wild Horse Fund commends the Board of Commissioners for taking this critical step to protect the health and longevity of the wild herd as well as protecting the public.




Karen H. McCalpin

Executive Director

Corolla Wild Horse Fund