FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — The Navajo Nation is offering $50 for each surrendered horse to encourage the removal of unbranded, free-roaming horses from tribal land.
The Daily Times reports the nation's Department of Agriculture rolled out a voluntary horse sale and equine reward program last week to mitigate the overpopulation of animals on the range.
The department will issue a promissory note for each horse surrendered at the auction yard in Naschitti. According to the department, payment will be issued within 30 days.
The department funded the program through a $250,000 grant awarded this year by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The Navajo Nation has removed more than 2,000 horses this year by roundup and entrapment.
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Information from: The Daily Times, http://www.daily-times.com