Madeleine and T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire couple who swooped in to New Orleans with a rented jet and saved hundreds of dogs and cats after Hurricane Katrina, announced this week they plan on saving 35,000 wild horses from potential slaughter by creating a new home for them.

The horses -- representing about half the current population of the west's wild horses -- are in danger because the Bureau of Land Management, which manages (or mismanages, depending on who tells the story) wanted to eliminate them. The BLM manages 33,100 horses in 199 herds in 10 states.

The BLM also wants to cut the wild herd to 27,000 -- that's down about 18% from its current level and about 1% of its population of about 2 million in the 19th Century. Plus, they have another 30,000 in custody -- up from 9,800 in 2001. Critics say there's no reason for the reduction and no proof the horses are hurting the land.

When people suffer financially, their animals face hardship, too. At the beginning of the year the Humane Society warned about about shelters being overwhelmed. Dogs and cats were losing their families when those families lost their homes. Now we're hearing about all kind of animals suffering in the financial downturn. Basically any animal that depends on humans is a little bit less secure.

Dogs and Cats
Shelters around the country report a surge of animals surrendered. Some have surely been forced into the situation, but lots of animals seem to be cast out as if they were impractical luxury goods. In Los Angeles, an 11-year-old shepherd was left scared in the shelter; the Animal Shelter of Sterling, MA, tells the Worcester Telegram that they haven't seen this many surrendered animals in 15 years; dogs in Dallas are being dumped on the side of the road. And, as I wrote about earlier, some people cruelly abandoned their pets in the house as a way to inflict suffering on the bank -- never mind what it did to the animal.