Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act (H.R. 126;113th Congress)
.svg) |
|
| Full title | To direct the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement to provide for management of the free-roaming wild horses in and around the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge. |
|---|---|
| Introduced in | 113th United States Congress |
| Introduced on | January 3, 2013 |
| Sponsored by | Rep. Walter B. Jones (R, NC-3) |
| Number of co-sponsors | 0 |
| Agencies affected | United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service |
| Legislative history | |
|
|
The Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act (H.R. 126) is a bill that was introduced into the 113th United States Congress, where it passed the United States House of Representatives. The bill would affect wild horses living in North Carolina.
The Banker horse is a breed of feral horse (Equus ferus caballus) living on the islands of North Carolina's Outer Banks. It is small, hardy, and has a docile temperament. Descended from domesticated Spanish horses and possibly brought to the Americas in the 16th century, the ancestral may have become feral after surviving shipwrecks or being abandoned on the islands by one of the exploratory expeditions led by Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón or Sir Richard Grenville. Populations are found on Ocracoke Island, Shackleford Banks, Currituck Banks, and in the Rachel Carson Estuarine Sanctuary.
About 400 Bankers inhabit the long, narrow barrier islands of North Carolina's Outer Banks. These islands are offshore sediment deposits separated from the mainland by a body of water such as an estuary or sound. The islands can be up to 30 miles (48 km) from the shore; most are less than one mile (1.6 km) wide. Vegetation is sparse and consists mainly of coarse grasses and a few stunted trees. Each island in the chain is separated from the next by a tidal inlet.
As a consequence of Corolla's development in the 1980s, horses on Currituck Banks came into contact with humans more frequently. By 1989, eleven Bankers had been killed by cars on the newly constructed Highway 12. That same year, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, a nonprofit organization, was created to protect the horses from human interference. As a result of its efforts, the remainder of the herd was moved to a more remote part of the island, where they were fenced into 1,800 acres (7.28 km2; 2.81 sq mi) of combined federal and privately donated land. Corolla commissioners declared the site a feral horse sanctuary. The population is now managed by adopting out yearlings, both fillies and gelded colts. Conflicts over the preservation of the wild horses continued into 2012. In 2013, legislation was introduced to help preserve the herd on Carrituck.
...
Wikipedia