Nature vs. Nurture... Yesterday

a mustang stallion by the name of Sundance was observed at a waterhole in Oregon (Steens) He was very thin and badly injured. He was clearly suffering and beyond recovery. Advocates requested the BLM to intervene. A wrangler went out confirmed the condition and shot the horse...We all know this probelamtic:question: When we see suffering in the WILD whether it is a bird or a rabbit or a mustang, can we, should we interfere and help or end struggle...I have experienced several times: In Wyoming I  witnessed a young mustang mare in a snowstorm in February dying from a stillborn foal, she could not bear...I was helpless. In the Pryor Mountains I witnessed a very young foal suffering from a severe bite on his neck which did not allow him to lift his head and nurse...I tried to approach him, but could not help. In the Sand Wash Basin is a horse (Tripod) with a severe injury to foot and hock, his foot is turned back...it must be excrutiatingly  painful...Is it really that the advocates who are against roundups want to see these animals suffer? When do they become our responsibility? When our eyes fall on them or when we own them? Or after we have interfered with their natural rhythm (Fences and other forms of management). I think it depends on the individual...This should not be a point of debate...Nature is not kind, mankind is not kind...Sometimes we have the right to interfere sometimes we do without the right...It takes courage either way. I have to add though nature has surprised me with amazingly miraculous recoveries. What we have to learn is tolerance for suffering and the timeframe to heal...This does not apply to cases as described above.

To end with a humorous note: With ample supply of time and benign neglect time will heal...