04/17/2019
Please be respectful and do NOT do this!
ETA: There is a lot of uncivil discourse happening in the comments on this post, which distracts from the point - trying to educate everyone on why this is so dangerous and harmful for the horses. We will not tolerate abusive comments; they will be deleted. This is exactly why the person’s identity has been hidden.
The horse in this photograph is the same horse that is in the photograph from Sunday, and we’ve been sent others this week of him interacting with people. The person in this photograph is not the first person who touched this horse yesterday. If this behavior continues, he will have to be removed from the wild. That’s why it is so important that we bring attention to the situation and ask that people understand why approaching, petting, and feeding is harmful. If a horse approaches you, move away! It’s up to us to make sure the horses remain safe in the wild and we cannot do it without your help.
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We’ve been dealing with this kind of stuff all. day. long. This particular photo has been sent to us at least four times. Our staff has been up and down the beach all day trying to keep a handle on things. Please, please, please do not interact with the horses. It’s dangerous and illegal. We absolutely hate having to post photos like this because it distracts from all of the good work we are trying to do, but if this keeps up someone is going to get hurt, and/or horses will have to be removed from the wild. Please respect their space, even if they approach you. Stay 50 feet away at all times. If you see behavior like this happening, contact the Currituck County non-emergency call center at 252-232-2216, or call our office at 252-453-8002.