It's a 37-year-old federal law

Yes, this law was created those many years ago for very humane reasons ... the very same reasons it should remain in effect today.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20081117-0725-wst-wildhorses-euthanasia.html

"........ wild horse advocates decry the proposal by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as a travesty of a 37-year-old federal law that deemed the horses “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.”