For the sake of wild horses, Currituck County plans to ban riding or owning domestic horses in the four-wheel-drive area north of Corolla.
The herd of about 110 wild horses has no immunity to diseases and parasites carried by domestic horses, said Karen McCalpin, director of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.
"There is no good reason to have domestic horses where they can intermingle with wild horses," McCalpin said.
Also, wild stallions tend to challenge unknown horses, putting people at risk. Last summer, a stallion charged a group riding horses along the beach. One horse reared, throwing its rider, then galloped through a crowd of tourists on the beach, McCalpin said.
Domestic horses could also introduce invasive plants to the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge, said Mike Hoff, refuge manager.
After a public hearing Monday, commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance. But with one commissioner missing, a second vote has to be taken on Dec. 7.
McCalpin presented to Currituck commissioners letters from scientists and veterinarians verifying the threat of domestic horse diseases.
" We can't afford to lose the golden goose," said Currituck Commissioner Vance Aydlett. "If we lose them, we've lost a tremendous resource."
Billy Clayton, the only owner of domestic horses in the area, will not be allowed to keep his horses there any longer, said Ben Woody, director of the Currituck County Planning Department.
Clayton was sent notices in June and August for not having a permit to board horses there or to conduct riding tours through a business called Barrier Island Eco-Tours, he said.
Phone numbers listed on the Barrier Island Eco-Tours Web site were out of service. Clayton's home number is unlisted.
Former Currituck Commissioner Ernie Bowden, who has lived on the northern Outer Banks most of his life, criticized the decision.
He said his family and neighbors owned horses on their farms, and sheep, goats, hogs and chickens roamed the area. As an adult, he owned horses while he ran a livestock farm up there. The Coast Guard used horses for beach patrol.
If wild horses were susceptible to domestic disease, they would have died a long time ago, he said.
"I think it's another right they're taking away from people," he said.
The law is the latest effort over the past 20 years to protect the wild herd. Formed in 1989, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund led construction of sound-to-sea fences at both ends of the four-wheel drive area, a strand about 11 miles long and about a mile wide. Later, Currituck passed an ordinance making it illegal to feed the horses or intentionally get within 50 feet.
Wild-horse supporters have opposed commercial development in the horse habitat.
Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com
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Tour operators not all the same
Maybe there should be a distinction between personal horses and domestic horses used for tours. The wild horse fund is too subjective as to who it condones and condemns. The tour operators coming in for the summer from other states and even other countries who are making every dollar they can off of the horses remain in the fund's good graces as long as they make some token contribution to the fund and feign interest or concern, true or not. The herd manager has publicly told everyone what is really going on up there. These devious tour operators can certainly afford to contribute a few thousand when they are herding hundreds of tourists up the beach and making hundreds of thousands of dollars without paying a dime to the county. Open your eyes and stop believing the "Eddie Haskells" of Currituck County before the situation with the horses becomes impossible, these folks don't care about this county or these horses, these are not tax-paying, law abiding citizens, they're parasites on our county who will move on to whatever else makes them a buck without having to work too hard.
Sticking to the Science
In the 1980s, when there were a handful of domestic horses living on the north beach, the wild horses had three times the range they have today. The majority of the herd lived from Corolla south. There also was no paved road to Corolla until 1985. The massive development that has resulted in enough houses to support 50 - 60 thousand new tourists per week had not yet taken place, and no one was monitoring or managing the wild horses back then. Things have changed drastically over the last 20 years. What worked then will not work now. A traffic study, one day in July, documented over 3,000 cars on the north beach.There are now over 1,300 houses on the north beach. There have been two accidents involving riders on domestic horses that required medical attention. And, there is now significant science available to guide decisions regarding the wild horses and the safety of the public. The Board of Commissioners decision mirrors the management policies for wild horses all over the country.
In regard to riding on the beach, anyone who wants to ride on the beach in the off season can still do so from South Nags Head to the fence in Corolla. That's about 36 miles of beach.
A Little Too Much 1984
One hopes the information provided by experts is the best available. How about a public hearing with all sides being heard. Sounds like this is railroad job. Why the big rush?
wild horses
I can not believe what I am reading about the wild horses. Domestic horses have always been going up there. BAck in the 80s there were domestic horses up there all summer, there was no problems. I have been up there in the winter and rode. They are still there and healthy to. No one that I know of has ever been hurt, only the wild horses from the four-wheel drives have been killed or hurt. There is danger in anything we do, that is just the way it is.
This is a fact, if horses, domestic or wild isn't expose to other groups of horses there immune system quits working. And Yes they will get sick.
Also its a Federal Law, Horses can go where ever truck, or cars go. What about that Law? We need to keep them safe, but this isn't the way. Take a look at how many horses have been killed by vehicles, not by domestic horses going up there or being up there. Dixie Hunt
Imagine the year 2100 if you can
I'd imagine we'll all be living in a box, breathing filtered air, never going outside, having our meals prepared by some machine, and still listening (via electronic communication) our elected "leaders" passing still more stupid laws, rules, regulations, etc to protect people from themselves...
We are on the fast-track to a nanny state as it is. Can you imagine how utterly ridiculous it will be 100 years from now????????? I am so happy that I'm in middle age. I'd be angry if I were 20 years younger.
Please define domestic
Please define domestic disease? A horse is an outside animal, unlike an indoor cat. It seems more likey that a domestic horse could catch a disease from a wild one.
Actually
That's not the case. Domestic horses are exposed to a myriad of diseases that, while they are vaccinated and safe, they can, indeed, infect wild horses. If they could not, why does the BLM bother to vaccinate and test wild horses they capture?
Too far
Well, I have always loved and been a supporter of the Corolla wild horses, but I think this restriction goes too far. There have been domestic horse in this area for centuries and the wild horse are doing just fine. If this passes, I will no longer be a donator to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.