Climate Change Is Forcing Forest Service to Stop Time-Honored Tradition of 'Obliterating' Dead Horses with Explosives

Wyoming forest officials have been forced to pause the gruesome tradition of blowing up horse carcasses due to an increased risk of wildfires in the state's backcountry.

The state of Wyoming has experienced increasingly frequent heat waves and droughts as a result of climate change, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. Almost 500,000 residents of the state live in drought-affected areas, with the state experiencing a temperature increase as the years go by.

Disposing of horse carcasses with explosives is commonplace in Wyoming, as forest officials use the method to prevent gatherings of grizzly bears feeding on the carcasses and terrorizing the state's open spaces.

The U.S. Forest Service even developed a manual titled "Obliterating Animal Carcasses With Explosives" in order to educate people on the best and safest ways to detonate horse, mule and deer carcasses.

"Carcasses that have been partially obliterated will generally not show any trace of existence the next day," reads the manual.

However, forest officials decided to suspend the practice following the deaths of two horses that slipped and fell near the town of Cody due to the unrelenting weather conditions, citing concerns of accidentally starting a wildfire with the explosives.

"Each incident is approached as a unique event and assessed individually. In this particular case, the area was thick with timber and brush that was too dry to safely obliterate the carcasses," Evan Guzik, public affairs officer for Shoshone national forest, told the Guardian.

"[The] folks on the ground made a risk based decision and felt that they could minimize the hazard of a carcass near a trail by creating the re-route and canvassing the area with signs alerting trail users of the potential for grizzlies in the area ... without increasing the chance to spark a new wildfire," he continued.

Guzik added that the state expects wetter conditions as cold weather approaches, and that grizzly bears will enter hibernation soon as well.

"All our fingers are crossed for rain or snow," said Guzik.