Thank you Currituck County Board of Commissioners

It’s the law. At their December 8th meeting, the Currituck County Board of Commissioners voted amendments to the county Code of Ordinances into effect that will further protect our small herd of historic horses. Section 10-55 has been amended to read, “It shall be unlawful for any person to keep, harbor, maintain, possess, ride, walk or bring a horse into or upon that area of the county on the Outer Banks from the terminus of the paved portion of N.C. State Highway 12 to the Virginia state line. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a horse may be used on private property with written evidence of the owner’s permission or on a cartway, a neighborhood public road, a dedicated right-of-way, the foreshore or beach strand or any other public vehicular area in that area of the county on the Outer Banks from Dare County to the terminus of the paved portion of N.C. State Highway 12.”

We commend the members of the BOC for taking this step. Precedent has been set in all other wild horse sanctuary areas. All current physical and behavioral science regarding the exposure of wild horses to domestic horses advises against it and the decision of the Board mirrors national wild horse management practices.

Doing the right thing is often difficult and certainly not always popular, but this change was absolutely imperative if we are to protect one of our most valuable historic assets and the symbols of what makes the Currituck Outer Banks unique. The BOC is charged with protecting the safety of the public and the change to the ordinance does just that. It was the right thing to do and we are very grateful.