CHINCOTEAGUE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Va. — In the cold months, this barrier island is a place of austere stillness, its famed wild ponies grazing along brown marshes, their long faces reflecting in waters often skimmed in ice, their seasonally shaggy coats flickering in the chill breeze.
But the offseason calm covers a foreboding anxiety. There is a danger lurking, literally, underfoot. In recent months, seven of the horses have picked up a fungus-like infection in their hoofs and legs, probably by stepping in contaminated wetlands. Seven have died, including four that were euthanized Friday at a field hospital set up to treat them on the Chincoteague Fairgrounds.
“Shadow, Lightning, Calceti’n and Elusive Star as well as the others received the very best care money could buy,” Denise Bowden, a spokeswoman for the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, which manages the herd, announced on Facebook Friday night. “They just couldn’t fight this off.”
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3 comments:
Good maybe this will end the theft of national park property!
You are not allowed to take so much as a leaf from a national park, yet a Fire Dept. steals the offspring of these wild horses for their financial gain.
Just try and take a baby Deer, or Squirrel from a national park! Even worse, take this baby animal and then sell it for personal gain!
Good point 12:07
12:07 is right, how do these firemen get away with stealing animals from a national park? This needs to be looked into and reported.
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