| The
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign is dedicated to preserving
the American wild horse in viable free-roaming herds for generations
to come, as part of our national heritage.
Its grassroots efforts are supported by a coalition of over forty
organizations.
An
aggressive wild horse removal campaign is currently under way
by the U.S. government, at the cost of millions of tax-dollars.
The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) removal policy is contrary
to the spirit of the 1971 Wild
Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act. The Act was the
result of an unprecedented public outcry and effected the
will of the American people; its intent was to preserve wild horses
and burros as part of our national heritage.
Over
the past 30 years, under pressure from special interest groups and
in blatant disregard of the public’s wishes, the BLM has systematically
favored subsidized livestock grazing on public lands to the detriment
of wild horse populations. The Burns
Amendment, slipped into the 2005 federal budget without
so much as a hearing or opportunity for public review, was the last
nail in the coffin of federal wild horse protection, opening the
door to the slaughter of thousands of these living symbols of our
Nation’s spirit. A few months later, while in the process
of rounding up another 10,000 horses supposedly due to poor range
conditions, BLM eased public land grazing restrictions for private
cattle.
The AWHPC
Coalition is calling for a Congressional inquiry into the government’s
wild horse management policies, and coordinating a grassroots campaign
in support of:
- the
review of scientific
findings that contradict BLM's claims of wild horse
overpopulation and negative impact on the range;
- a
moratorium on round-ups
until actual numbers of wild horses and burros on public lands
have been independently assessed; and
- implementation
of in-the-wild management,
which would save millions of tax-dollars.
For
a few politicians to continue dismissing this issue as "emotional,"
simply because the American public deeply cares, is a slap in the
face of
democratic principles. Special interest groups do not hold a monopoly
over
sound public policy. The American public has enough common sense
to see that
scientific data, ethics and fiscal responsibility all fall squarely
on the
side of America's wild horses.
Please take action
now.

©
B. Flores
At
this critical juncture, we encourage the public and the media to
draw from the continually updated information and research found
on this site to help raise awareness of the plight of the American
wild horse. For Campaign updates and alerts, please
join our email list.
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