Corolla Wild Horses

Floor Speech

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Mr. SULLIVAN. Madam President, I come to the floor to talk about something that is very important to many of us in North Carolina and to the people who come to the North Carolina coast to enjoy our beautiful beaches and a group of wild horses at Corolla.

They are called the Corolla wild horses. They are a piece of American heritage. They have been there since ships have been wrecked in what we call the graveyard of the Atlantic. These horses of Spanish origin ended up finding their way to shore, and they set up a habitat on the East Coast that is actually an attraction to tourists and something that brings a smile to your face when you are out on the water and you see them coming to the shore. They have been there for almost 400 years, and they are roaming over about 7,500 acres of land right now.

The problem we have, though, is that with development over time their habitat has shrunk. As a result of that, we only have about 80 horses out in Corolla now. To have a healthy population, we have to figure out a way to provide them with genetic diversity or they are going to become extinct in a very brief period of time. The entire herd is in grave danger as a result.

The solution to the problem is to try to figure out a way to produce genetic diversity, which is why the senior Senator from North Carolina, Mr. Burr, has offered an amendment that I hope we can get support for.

The horses roam mostly on private land, but there are some public lands they roam freely on that are managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife. The county and private philanthropic organizations are managing the horses. No taxpayer dollars are being used to manage these horse populations, but they do need some help and relief from the amendment Senator Burr has put forward.

To give an idea of what we are dealing with, I want to tell a story of a typical example of what is happening in Corolla. This is a heartbreaking story. It was shared with me by Karen McCalpin, the executive director of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, who manages the horses now with no taxpayer dollars:

When Cordero was first seen, the tides were too high to bring a trailer up the beach so we had to wait until the next day at low tide to bring panels and a trailer. We looked for him every day for 4 days after that. We went through wooded areas and marsh with no success. We finally found his harem on July 20, 2013. It was a difficult capture and the poor thing was trying to run to keep up with his mother. We had to capture her as well. Due to his young age and poor condition, he needed his mother's milk as well as her company to help relieve some of the stress of captivity. Unfortunately, that became an exercise in futility.

Cordero, because of his health problems, had to be euthanized.

We want a solution to this problem. It is a great solution that only requires a minimum amount of influence from us to get this done-- largely done by private and local entities. What we need to do is put an amendment forward that requires the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the State of North Carolina, and Currituck County--the State of North Carolina and Currituck County want to do this--working with the Corolla Wild Horse Fund to establish a management plan that would allow for the transfer of horses from a related herd located at Shackleford Banks. This would allow the herd size to grow and will provide more genetic diversity to prevent situations that poor Cordero experienced.

Our amendment asks for no money. The amendment is supported by the Humane Society, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Animal Welfare Institute, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, and other key animal welfare organizations.

Contrary to what some people have said who may oppose this amendment, it doesn't change the mission of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services. It doesn't require any taxpayer dollars. All it simply does is allow local government to solve this problem.

I hope that later today or tomorrow, when we can get on these amendments, we can convince our Members that this is a very important asset not only for North Carolina but for the Nation, and a simple gesture on our part can solve a very difficult problem on the part of the Corolla wild horses.

Thank you, Madam President.

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