Cody Reim Rips Katie Hobbs for New Salt River Horse Management Plan

State Representative Cody Reim (R-3) is ripping Governor Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) for announcing a late, watered-down version of his own proposed program to manage the Salt River herd of wild horses.

Reim's Earlier Push

In May, State Rep. Reim advanced Senate Bill 1199 in the Arizona House, which imposes a three-year moratorium on the removal of specimens from the herd for population control (medical and veterinary removals notwithstanding) while a peer-reviewed genetic study is conducted.

SB1199 requires the Arizona Department of Agriculture to award the testing contract through competitive bidding.

Gov. Hobbs's plan, which was announced Tuesday, imposes a shorter removal moratorium, gives the genetic study to Arizona's public universities, and does not provide details on the genetic measuring requirements.

State Rep. Reim is less than satisfied.

What Reim is Saying

"The people who fought for these horses earned this victory," the Fountain Hills representative said in a press release. "They made the calls, demanded meetings and kept the pressure on Governor Hobbs until doing nothing carried a political cost. Her administration had the authority to stop these removals months ago. She waited until August to do what we were asking her to do in April and May."

Reim further emphasized that the lack of transparency on the study's parameters demonstrates the politicized nature of Hobbs's plan, questioning, "Will the Governor require effective population size, allelic diversity and inbreeding coefficients to be measured? Who sets the methodology? What equine-genetics qualifications will be required? SB 1199 answered those questions. Governor Hobbs has not."

"Governor Hobbs is giving herself political cover," Reim concluded. "If advocates later challenge the methodology or the study is used to justify more removals, she can blame the universities. We wanted the standards, qualifications and accountability established in law before the study began... Governor Hobbs does not get to decide by press release that this issue is settled. I want to hear from the people who fought for these horses. If they believe her plan falls short, we will identify what is missing and be ready to act."