The Yakama Nation of Washington is struggling to manage wild horse herds on the reservation.

An estimated 12,000 horses roam the reservation. They are depleting resources needed by other animals and are starting to starve to death, officials said.

"Every five years, they double in size," council member Virgil Lewis Sr. told King 5 News.

The tribe says one way to deal with the population is to allow horse slaughtering. But the Obama administration and animal rights groups don't want to see the practice resume in the U.S.

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