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The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board met on Monday. As Americans were making plans to celebrate Independence Day, BLM announced it is considering putting to death thousands of our wild horses, as a "solution" to its budget shortfall. How did we come to this? In 2001, BLM obtained a 50% increase in annual budget for implementation of an aggressive removal campaign. 24,000 horses were slated for capture, with no long-term plan for their welfare. Now, predictably, the federal agency finds itself in the untenable positions of warehousing over 30,000 horses (more than remain in the wild); the funding it wants to save by putting our wild horses to death was wasted on years of unnecessary round-ups to cater to special interests. 6 million head of private livestock graze our public lands and BLM wants us to believe that 25,000 wild horses are overpopulating the range? Removals are based on flawed and biased data; BLM itself admitted at Monday’s meeting that not even its censusing techniques are accurate. In 2005, while in the process of rounding up thousands of horses supposedly due to poor range conditions, BLM eased public land grazing restrictions for private cattle. BLM’s irresponsible approach to wild horse management created the problem, and the agency is now asking the American public to swallow a very bitter pill, all the while continuing to round up horses by the thousands (2,000 are slated to come off the Nevada range in the coming weeks alone). America cannot let this stand. Congress is in recess for Independence Day week, but stay tuned for a national action plan next week, as our Coalition members work with key lawmakers to identify a solution-based proposal that protects America’s wild horses, living symbols of our nation's spirit.
June 30, 2008 - Speak out on behalf of the Pryor Mountain horses BLM’s Draft Herd Management Area Plan for the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range in Montana, home of famed stallion “Cloud,” calls for a drastic population reduction, down to 90-120 and targets older horses for removal, the same horses who end up in long-term holding and could now be threatened with a BLM bullet to the head. Please send your comments by Friday, July 11, via email to MT_WildHorse@blm.gov (subject line: “Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range/Territory Preliminary EA and Draft HMAP”) or mail, to Jared Bybee, BLM-Billings Field Office, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, MT 59101 BLM should be urged to:
Please also relay your concerns to Montana’s two U.S. Senators: - Senator Max Baucus;1-800-332-6106 - Senator Jon Tester; 1-866-554-4403 (ask to speak with Tracy Stone Manning or Bill Lombardi).
The Fish and Wildlife Service is preparing a Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for Nevada’s Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge. The CCP, to go into effect in 2010, will dictate future management considerations for the Refuge, including that of its horses and burros. The half-million acre refuge is home to some 800 wild horses. Fish and Wildlife Service has a mandate to manage "native" plant and wildlife species. Under current classifications, wild horses are considered an "exotic" species, so Sheldon officials intend to call for the removal of most if not all of the horses from the Refuge. However, while it may take years for Government red tape to catch up with the most current science, new evidence proves that the modern horse did in fact evolve on the North American continent - making the American wild horse a "reintroduced native wildlife species". Please submit your comments to Sheldon officials, emphasizing the following points:
Comments are due by Monday, June 30th, and should be emailed to SheldonCCP@fws.gov.
The Bureau of Land Management's National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will meet Monday, June 30 in Reno, from 8 am to 5 pm at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino, 407 North Virginia Street. Based on proposals floated around during the Board’s last meeting, we are gravely concerned with the direction BLM policies seem to be taking. After massive round-ups over the past 7 years, the federal agency finds itself in the untenable positions of warehousing over 30,000 horses (more than remain in the wild), without a long-term plan. It was this irresponsible approach that led to passage of the infamous Burns Amendment in 2004 (click here for the background story). Attempts to sell wild horses at auction under the Burns Amendment have been largely thwarted by public outcry, so BLM appears to be considering building a quick-fix directly into its “adopt-a-horse” program: a fee waiver with immediate titling of adopted horses. In other words, BLM is considering giving away America’s wild horses and removing protections against their resale for slaughter. This, in BLM’s own words, would “open up the Canadian market.” Canada is a horse slaughter hub and BLM’s idea would indeed open up that market, as “adopters” would be able to immediately sell their freshly-adopted horses to slaughter, turning a handsome profit on a government “freebie” (while we, as tax-payers, keep picking up the hefty tab for round-ups!). This is exactly what happened in 1984, after massive round-ups had landed 40,000 horses in holding corrals: a fee-waiver program resulted in an estimated 20,000 wild horses ending at slaughter. The course of events currently unfolding is all too familiar and cause for serious concern. We urge you to take preemptive action: voice your objections to a fee-waiver program in your comments to the Advisory Board and, more importantly, contact your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators to voice your concern and protest the federal government’s irresponsible management of America’s wild horse herds. Call the Congressional Switchboard to find your members of Congress - 202.224.3121, or visit www.congress.org and enter your zip code. Those who cannot attend the BLM Advisory Board meeting should submit statements via mail or email by Wednesday, June 25:
What is next after the Burns Amendment’s sale authority? Kill authority? TAKE ACTION TODAY! Our voice is the horses’ only hope against systematic eradication by a government program designed to fail. Pass the message far and wide - it is critical that the phones resonate on Capitol Hill.
The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing a new grazing system on Wyoming public lands for a private livestock allotment known as Green Mountain. The new plan has critical implications for three wild horse Herd Management Areas (HMAs): BLM itself admits that the proposed miles of new fences would cause an increase in wild horse mortality by “severely limiting” known migratory routes and critical access to summer/winter habitat, thereby trapping horses in winter to die in the snow. BLM’s records show that fencing in the same area caused 60 to 80 horses to die over a single winter in the mid-80s. BLM also admits that the new fencing would result in a severe loss of genetic diversity by segregating herds that are currently able to inter-breed. Citing drought, BLM has already removed so many wild horses from the three affected HMAs that population levels are now below what BLM itself deems to be an “appropriate management level.” BLM acknowledges that wild horse losses caused by the new fencing would be detrimental to ecotourism opportunities in the area, “causing a visitor loss by as much as 90%.” Yet, BLM continues to support heavy livestock grazing in that same area, citing concern for the economic welfare of local ranchers. The new grazing system would benefit 16 private livestock operators who pay $1.35 per month per cow/calf pair grazing on our public lands (about one-tenth of private grazing rates!), while American taxpayers continue to pick up the real costs. Please voice your support for Alternative 3, the only option that will reduce livestock grazing, not add any new fences, will protect wild horse/wildlife habitat, and supports the creation of a wild horse-viewing loop. Comments must be received by Friday, June 27, 4:30 pm MST Lander Field
Office Make sure to include your name and address as well as a reference to the Green Mountain Allotment, EA# WY050-EA07-153.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will host a public meeting next Thursday, June 12 at 7:00 pm at the Bellaire City Hall Auditorium, 7008 South Rice Avenue, Bellaire, TX. The meeting will focus on natural and cultural resource management activities on state park properties, with a focus on management challenges at Big Bend Ranch State Park. As you may remember, Big Bend and its century-old burro herd were the focus of intense controversy after Park officials shot 71 burros last year. The Park-sanctioned removal policy was driven primarily by a plan to introduce big horn sheep into the Park, presumably to enhance a state-run big game hunting raffle program. The 35-year veteran Park employee who exposed the shootings was transferred and ended up quitting. An investigative officer also quit in disgust, reporting that burros were left to suffer a slow death, shot in belly, hips, and that orphaned babies were left to fend for themselves. If you can attend, please comment on the Park’s misguided idea of wildlife “management” as applied to wild burros. Media Contact:
Lydia.saldana@tpwd.state.tx.us
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will conduct a public hearing on May 15 to discuss the use of helicopters in wild horse round-ups. Please contact BLM to protest the harsh practice of chasing wild horses and burros with helicopters, often over exceedingly long distances. Please also ask that what appear to be no-bid contracts to BLM’s primary round-up contractor, Catoor Livestock Roundup, Inc., totaling about 18 million dollars (our tax dollars!) since 1996, be subject to review. BLM’s primary concern in round-up operations continues to be efficiency, to the detriment of the horses’ welfare. Instead of helicopters, urge officials to use bait trapping, a much safer and more humane method of capture. BLM has refused to use bait trapping in such instances as last year’s Jackson Mountain round-up, when 185 horses ended up dying at the holding facility due to stressed immune systems. Demand that limits on distances over which horses may be chased be enforced, and that accountability and penalties be established for round-up contractors who violate humane handling procedures. The 10:00 a.m. hearing will be held this Thursday, May 15, in the Learning Center of the Nevada State Office, 1340 Financial Blvd, in Reno. If you cannot attend, please send your comments by Tuesday, May 13, to the Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resource Division, P.O. Box 12000, Reno, NV; fax 775-861-6712 ; email: Mike_Holbert@blm.gov For eye-witness accounts of helicopter round-ups, please click here.
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the House of Representatives’ landslide vote in favor of H.R. 249. The bill, which would restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros, has since been stuck in the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Please urge Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (NM) to bring the bill to a vote: senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov; 703 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510; ph 202.224.1792. Remind the Senator that the very first picture at the top of his website is of wild horses. Surely, we can expect him to be consistent and allow a bill that would protect these magnificent animals from slaughter to come to a vote. If your state is represented on the Committee, please also contact the relevant Senator and urge him/her to help bring this crucial piece of legislation to a vote. Click here for a list of Committee members.
Nevada’s Virginia Range is home to about 1,000 wild horses. Because it is located on state, rather than federal land, the herd is under the jurisdiction of the Nevada Department of Agriculture. The Department’s new Director, recently appointed by Governor Gibbons, just recommended the removal of many of the horses from the Virginia Range and their sale at auction, where they will likely be picked up by kill-buyers. Grossly inaccurate data was put forth in support of this decision. Please protest this irresponsible and unwarranted plan:
The REPAIR Act (H.R. 767) has been making its way quietly through the U.S. Congress. The stated goal of this seemingly harmless piece of legislation is to eradicate “harmful nonnative species” from federal wildlife refuges and adjacent private lands. This could have dramatic consequences for wild horses on wildlife refuges: although they are a reintroduced native wildlife species, horses are treated by the government as nonnative. This means that the REPAIR Act would allow refuges such as Sheldon to appropriate federal dollars (our tax dollars!) specifically to eradicate wild horses (click here for a report on Sheldon’s last round-up). The REPAIR Act passed in the House and is now awaiting a Senate vote. As Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Barbara Boxer (CA) controls if and when the bill is brought to a vote. Please alert Senator Boxer to the unintended consequences H.R. 767 could have for thousands of wild horses. Urge her NOT to move the bill until it is amended to exclude wild horses from its scope. Web-form; ph: 202.224.3553.Our Florida members should also urge bill-sponsor, Senator Nelson, to add such an amendment to his bill. Web-form; ph 202.224.5274. If a Senator from you state sits on the Environment and Public Works Committee, please also contact him/her to voice your concern. Click here for a list of Committee members.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking public input on several areas in northern Nevada managed for livestock and wild horses. Please show your support for viable wild horse herds by asking BLM to consider the following in their management plans:
As taxpayers, we want government officials to ensure that our wild horses are not sacrificed to private interests. Please urge BLM to propose plans that ensure a “thriving ecological balance,” not just for livestock and big game animals but for wild horses too! Comments must be receive by Friday, February 15th: Surprise
Field Office Make sure to include this reference in your comments: “Scoping Proposal - Massacre Lakes, Massacre Mountain, Nut Mountain and Tuledad Allotments.”
Last December, we asked you to provide input into a management plan the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was developing for the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, home of famed stallion “Cloud.” In true BLM form, the agency just issued recommendations that completely ignore the will and input of the public: its proposal to drastically downsize the herd from 143 to 92 animals, a number too low to ensure genetic viability, is a terrible and unexpected blow. BLM should be urged to maintain the herd at a genetically viable number by increasing the horses’ range and by focusing tax dollars on range improvements rather than on costly and traumatic removals. The Pryor wild horses, the only remaining herd in the entire state of Montana, are of unique Spanish descent. Please voice your concerns to james_caswell@blm.gov and jared_bybee@blm.gov. In other news, BLM will be holding a National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meeting in Tucson on Monday, February 25. For those able to attend, please make sure you are there for public comments by 3:00 pm at the Radisson Suites located 6555 E. Speedway Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85710. Those who wish to speak should provide the Board with a copy of their comments before noon.
This Tuesday, January 22, is National Call-In Day for Horses: please call your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators and express your support for the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503/S. 311) which would end the transport of American horses for slaughter in Mexico and Canada. While our Campaign’s main focus is on keeping wild horses in the wild, we must also ensure that the thousands of wild horses unnecessarily rounded up each year do not end up over the border at Mexican or Canadian slaughterhouses. Although the last remaining U.S. slaughterhouses have closed their doors, slaughter remains our wild horses’ greatest threat once they have been removed from the range. Nothing the Bureau of Land Management says or does will change that sad reality. Please visit www.congress.org and enter your zip code to locate your federal legislators. Remind them that horse slaughter is NOT humane euthanasia and that America’s wild horses are also being slaughtered - we should not allow these living symbols of our Nation to end up as a gourmet meal for diners in Europe and Asia (which is where horse meat is exported to).
The Bureau of Land Managemen (BLM) is currently accepting public comments to a Draft Resource Management Plan for Utah. This Plan will determine the management of rare pinto wild burros in the Canyonland Herd Management Area (HMA) for the next 10-20 years. Utah only has two areas set aside for wild burro preservation. The current proposal is offering Alternatives that will double the Canyonland burros' appropriate management level up to 200. Please show your support for viable herds by requesting Alternative D, subject to the following conditions:
Your comments are crucial to the future of America's wild burros, whose target population the BLM has set below 3,000 nationally, a level that had once been deemed desirable for Southern California alone! For more information on the declining state of burros in the West, please refer to this case study. Comments must be submitted in writing by Friday, January 23, 2008. Email: UT_Richfield_Comments@blm.gov Make sure you include your name and address. To view the Plan, go to http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/richfield/planning.html
As 2007 is coming to an end, we would like to thank you for your support over this past year and to give you an update on recent developments affecting America’s wild horses. Round-up
Numbers BLM,
Transparency and Public Input We can only hope that these roadblocks will not intensify in the coming year and that the American public will be given the continued opportunity to provide input into decisions that affect our natural resources and national heritage. 71
Burros Shot by State Employees at Big Bend State Park Pryor
Mountain Wild Horse Range Management Plan
Two of our Coalition members, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund and the Humane Society of the United States, have partnered to offer a reward of up to $12,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a series of unsolved wild horse shootings on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. In November 2001, five of the famed wild horses of North Carolina’s Outer Banks were shot on the same day. A second shooting occurred on December 26, 2005. In July 2006, members of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund were called to the United States Fish and Wildlife Currituck Wildlife Refuge where they observed the body of yet another horse with a large hole in its side. These cases may or may not be connected. The Currituck County Sheriff’s Office is investigating this case. Anyone with information is urged to contact that office directly at 252-453-2121. Corolla Wild Horse Fund Contact: Karen McCalpin, 252-453-8002, director@corollawildhorses.com
Thank you to all of you who, despite the short notice, managed to send your comments to the Fish and Wildlife Service last week regarding the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge. Our protests were not in vain, as the comment period has now been extended until Tuesday, October 9. Those who did not have enough time to send their comments last week should take advantage of this extension to have their voices heard by emailing sheldon-hart@fws.gov, or writing to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 111, Lakeview, OR 97630. Below are additional talking points for comments in response to the EA:
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has temporarily closed its National Wild Horse and Burro Center in Palomino Valley, NV, after the death of some 130 wild horses. The deaths were attributed to poor health combined with pneumonia and severe diarrhea related to salmonella. The pneumonia is blamed on dust and lack of moisture, compounded by wide fluctuations in fall temperatures. The salmonella bacteria developed when the horses switched from eating wilderness brush to hay. The horses’ poor body condition at the time of their round-up, combined with the stress of the round-up and captivity conditions, are likely to be the cause of the outbreak.
The US Fish & Wildlife Service has issued a revised Environmental Assessment for wild horse management at the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge. The revised draft EA, provided via a link below, is available for public review and comment until September 26, 2007. Written comments should be e-mailed to sheldon-hart@fws.gov or mailed to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 111, Lakeview, OR 97630.
Draft EA: http://www.fws.gov/sheldonhartmtn/sheldon/horseburro.html
- Last May we alerted you to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan to capture more horses from the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada, despite the deathly results of last year’s round-up. Your protests to this plan were not in vain: we are happy to report that the Fish and Wildlife Service has cancelled the proposed round-up and will issue a revised Environmental Assessment. Our heartfelt thanks to U.S. Representative Nick Rahall who has been at the forefront of the battle for Sheldon’s horses. - Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives once again agreed to stop the slaughter of American horses for human consumption, by adding a provision to the Agriculture spending bill for 2008 that prohibits the use of funds to allow horse slaughter to continue. The funding restriction for horse slaughter was first enacted two years ago, but the USDA has stubbornly refused to implement the law. Consequently, the battle continues for enactment of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which would once and for all put an end to the slaughter of America’s horses. Action Alert Our Canadian Coalition members just alerted us to the fact that Canada is gearing up to round up wild horses and foals in September to send them to slaughter. Corrals have already been built in Alberta in preparation for the capture. Please contact the Canadian government and the Alberta tourism board to protest this cruel plan. Canadian citizens should also contact their members of parliament. You can send your comments by e-mail to, or write or fax Stephen Harper, Canada’s prime Minister at: Stephen
Harper Please also express your concerns to the Alberta tourism board: Fay
Orr Derek
Coke-Kerr
BLM is proposing to remove 150 wild horses from the Jakes Wash & Moriah Herd Management Areas (HMAs) in Nevada, leaving only 30-40 horses on 208,000 acres (less than one horse per 5,000 acres!). BLM will only leave very old horses on the range, as they are likely planning to “zero out” these HMAs completely as part of the new 2007 Land Use Plan. While BLM claims the HMAs’ wild horse population is “excessive,” livestock in that same area have been allocated 3,300% more forage than wild horses, despite the fact that the range is legally designated for horses. This latest effort to “reduce competition” with livestock is just another egregious example of BLM’s bias in favor of subsidized private ranchers on public lands, and will cost an estimated $317,000 of our tax-dollars. Please protest this gross waste of tax-dollars and mismanagement of our natural resources. Send your comments to BLM by Tuesday, July 17, 4:00 p.m. PST: BLM Ely Field
Office Urge the government to take “No Action” on the scheduled round-ups. Be sure to reference the EA # NV-040-07-002 - Jakes Wash & Moriah Herd Management Area Capture Plan, and to include your name and address.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will conduct a public hearing on May 16 to discuss the use of helicopters and motorized vehicles in wild horse round-ups. BLM claims that “no objections have been raised for a number of years about the use of helicopters and other motor vehicles to manage wild horses and burros." Please help us “refresh” BLM’s memory by protesting the harsh practice of chasing wild horses and burros with helicopters, often over exceedingly long distances. Demand that limits on distances over which horses may be chased be enforced, and that accountability and penalties be established for round-up contractors who violate humane handling procedures. Instead of helicopters, urge BLM to use bait trapping, a much safer and more humane method of capture. The 10 a.m. hearing will be held this Wednesday, May 16, in the BLM Nevada State Office, 1340 Financial Blvd., in Reno. If you cannot attend, please send your comments to the Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 12000, Reno, NV 89520; fax 775.861.6712; email Susie_Stokke@nv.blm.gov. Comments must be received by May 16. For eye-witness accounts of helicopter round-ups, please click here.
Click here for the draft Environmental Assessment and here for a detailed rebuttal. Many of you still remember last year’s disastrous round-up from the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada, during which foals were trampled or left behind to die. Determined to make good on its plan to eradicate wild horses from the Refuge, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) is planning yet another round-up this year. The stated reason for the removal is to enhance the populations of pronghorn antelope and sage grouse, two species that bring in revenue from hunting permits. FWS’ long-term plan is to leave as few as 75 horses (down from 1,500) on the Refuge's half a million acres, or less than one horse per 6,500 acres! This target number is based on 30-year old data gathered at a time when livestock grazing was prevalent on the Refuge, and despite a 1980 Environmental Impact Statement that had determined that forage allocations could easily support a herd of 400-600 wild horses and 60-100 burros with no threat to wildlife. Last year, FWS only allowed “mass adoptions” of the captured horses, paying three adopting agents $300 per horse (our tax-dollars!) to take them by the truckload. Just this past winter, several Sheldon horses had to be seized from their adopters by the Canadian police due to neglect. As Canada is a horse-slaughter hub, the mere fact that these horses were allowed to be sent across the border in the first place is cause for grave concern. Please write the Fish & Wildlife Service to protest this disturbing plan and such a gross misuse of our tax-dollars. If you live locally, please also attend the meeting to be held this Tuesday, May 8, at 7:00 pm in the Daly Middle School Auditorium, 220 South H Street, Lakeview, Oregon 97630. A strong show of public support is critical. Specifically, the following issues should be raised:
Please send your comments before May 17 to sheldon-hart@fws.gov, or write U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 111, Lakeview, OR 97630. Make sure you reference the “Environmental Assessment for Horse and Burro Management at Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge”, and include your name and address. Please also write your Members of Congress to denounce the Fish & Wildlife Service plan for wild horses on the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge. Visit www.congress.org and enter your zip code to locate your US Representative and two US Senators.
This morning the House of Representatives passed H.R. 249 by a landslide vote of 277-137. The legislation, which restores the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros, will now move on to the Senate. Our deepest gratitude goes to bill co-sponsors Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Ed Whitfield (R-KY), and to all our supporters who made their voices heard.
Two pieces of legislations critical to the welfare of America’s wild horses will come under consideration this week. Your help is urgently needed to push them through. Please call your members of Congress in support of the following measures: - H.R.
249: Call your U.S. Representative - S.
311: Call Senate Commerce Committee members
Wild horses of the McCullough Peaks (WY) are at risk due to increased oil and gas drilling activities on the public lands on which they range. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently allowed the drilling of one gas well which is now in production; the drilling company is now planning two to three additional wells in the same area. Without proper planning and oversight, drilling can severely damage wild horse habit and threaten the herd’s survival. Please contact Tricia Hatle, local BLM wild horse specialist, to express your concerns for these horses. As taxpayers, we want government officials to ensure that our wild horses are not sacrificed to private interests. BLM should be urged to implement protective measures as necessary to mitigate damage to the land and the horses. Please email your concerns to Ms. Hatle at Tricia_Hatle@BLM.gov and include your name and address.
The State of New Mexico, where in 1974 there were 6000 wild horses, now has a population of less than 400 of the beautiful animals. Yet Bill Richardson, New Mexico Governor and Democratic presidential hopeful, has not yet announced his position on signing a Wild Horse Protection Bill - after it passed unanimously in the New Mexico House, and with only one opposing vote in the New Mexico Senate! SB655, The Wild Horse Protection Act, creates a legal definition for the wild horse in New Mexico and establishes protections conserving the Spanish Colonial Horse, now extinct in Spain. Please urge Governor Richardson to sign this bill. Let him know protecting wild horses is an incredibly popular position nationally, as they are truly majestic symbols of the West for all Americans. Please call Governor Richardson’s office today at 505.476.2200 or use this web-contact form.
The Bureau of Land Management is currently accepting public comments to a Draft Resource Management Plan for Arizona. This Plan will determine the management of wild horses and burros on public lands in Arizona for the next 10-20 years. As it is currently drafted, the proposed Plan eliminates 80,000 acres of historic herd areas, sells or transfers access to natural water sources and critical habitat, reduces population levels, and generally fails to ensure future protection and survival of the herds. Please request that the Plan be revised as follows:
Your comments are crucial to the future of Arizona’s wild horses and burros. The more comments received, the more significant the impact. Comments
must be submitted in writing by Thursday, March 15.
Legislative Update: on the heels of Reps. Whitfield and Rahall reintroducing H.R. 249 to repeal the 2004 Burns Amendment, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act was also reintroduced , as H.R. 503 in the House of Representatives and as S. 311 in the Senate. Both H.R. 249 and H.R. 503/S. 311 are critical to the protection of our wild horses. The House Natural Resources Committee will be voting on H.R. 249 this Wednesday, March 7. If your Representative is a member of the Committee (click here for list), please contact them and urge their support for H.R. 249. To locate your U.S. Rep., please visit www.house.gov. Round-Up Report: despite public protests, BLM went ahead with the Clark Mountain (CA), Spring Mountain (NV), and Adobe Town/Salt Wells (WY) round-ups, capturing a total of 1,100 horses and 704 burros. The Wyoming round-up took place despite serious concerns over the health of horses being run for miles in extreme weather conditions. For each round-up, the public and media were kept at a distance, unable to document the proceedings. In Nevada however, a film crew was able to capture footage of a baby burro being roped and dragged, and of another burro being kicked in the head by a wrangler. Hundreds of sheep brought in after wild horses removed: a supporter contacted us to report that, after 200 horses were removed in December from the Dry Lake Complex in Nevada, he was shocked to see about 1,000 sheep trucked in to that very area, less than two weeks after the round-up. Questioned on the issue, BLM confirmed that the area includes a grazing allotment for 2,200 private sheep, whereas for horses the “appropriate management level” is set at only 128 head, or one horse per 5,500 acres! What BLM failed to address is why substantially more forage is consistently allocated to private livestock on the very areas that should be “devoted principally” to wild horses under the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act. Livestock grazing fees lowered yet again: in January, BLM announced that fees to graze private livestock on public lands would be lowered to $1.35 per animal unit month (less than 6 cents per acre per year!). When BLM eased public land grazing restrictions for private cattle in 2005, two retired government scientists denounced the decision as “whitewash,” saying that their conclusions that the proposed new rules might adversely affect water quality and wildlife, were replaced with language justifying less stringent regulations favored by cattle ranchers.
The Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) is planning to remove 65% of wild horses from
the Stone Cabin Complex in Nevada, leaving only 300 horses on over 1 million
acres, or less than one horse per 4,000 acres. By way of comparison,
that same area was home to over 2,500 horses in the 1980s.
On January 5, legislation was introduced to reverse the Burns Amendment, which had opened the door to the slaughter of thousands of our wild horses. Our deepest gratitude goes out to Reps. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) and Ed Whitfield (R-KY) for introducing H.R. 249, which would restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros. There are currently about 30,000 wild horses in government holding, more than remain in the wild. Last year, only half of the horses rounded up got adopted. 7,000 more will be rounded up this fiscal year. Because of the Burns Amendment mandate that horses deemed ‘unadoptable’ be sold without any restrictions, including at livestock auctions, there is real concern as to the fate of thousands of wild horses currently in government holding. Faced with public outcry over this situation, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) claimed to have worked on an arrangement with US-based slaughter plants whereby the plants would no longer have accepted BLM-branded horses. Yet, America’s wild horses are still finding their way to slaughter in the US, as well as Canada and Mexico. Just a few weeks ago, the Humane Society of the US released an undercover video that revealed the barbaric practices of Mexican slaughterhouses, where workers repeatedly stab horses with a short dagger in an attempt to sever the spinal cord, leaving them paralyzed and unable to breathe, but still sensible to pain as they are hoisted up by a chain and their necks slit. As this New Year ushers in a new Congress (sans Senator Burns and with Rep. Rahall as head of the Resources Committee), we hope that America’s wild horses will finally get their rightful place in the American landscape and a reprieve from government mismanagement.
The Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) is relying on a brand new population estimating
method to justify the removal of 1,349 horses from the Adobe Town-Salt
Wells Herd Management Areas (HMAs) in Wyoming. After horses were rounded
up from the area just last year, only 861 were estimated as remaining
on the range. Using their new estimating method, BLM later increased their
population estimate by about 800% for the Salt Wells HMA alone!
This stunning discrepancy is of great concern as it brings into
question the ‘standard’ population calculations that BLM has been using
for decades to manage our wild herds, and opens the door to equally drastic
population adjustments for other herds.
The Clark Mountain burros, a small, genetically unique herd located in California’s Mojave desert are threatened with total eradication: unless we make our voices heard, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will soon round up ALL the burros from the area. For a disturbing eye-witness account of last year’s round-up, please go to this page. The removal decision is based on a faulty land use plan that decided, without supporting evidence, that the burros were affecting desert tortoises. The fact is that, provided they have adequate water, the burros do not even range in the same area as the tortoises. The burros’ access to water was closed off when part of their range was allocated to the Park Service. All it would take to remedy the situation is for Park Service to allow water to be piped back to the burros’ range. Park Service officials had originally agreed to that, but then reneged on their offer. Concerned citizens have volunteered labor and materials to complete the simple project at NO COST to taxpayers. PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW - Contact BLM to protest this eradication plan. Express concern over the fact that using helicopters for the capture will put this rare genetic line further at risk and that California’s burro population will soon be too low to sustain itself. Email your comments to ca690@ca.blm.gov before December 29. Include your name and address, and this reference number: CA-690-EA-04-27. - Urge the National Park Service to allow water to be piped to the burros. Your tax-dollars should not be wasted on rounding up burros when an alternative is available at no costs to taxpayers. Contact Mary Bomar, NPS Director, phone: 202.208.6843 - fax: 202.208.7889 – email: mary_bomar@nps.gov - Urge the Department of the Interior to reconsider its arbitrary land use plan for the Mojave desert. Point out that there is no scientific evidence of cumulative impact to the land or any other species. Contact Dirk Kempthorne, Interior Secretary, phone: 202.208.3100 - fax: 202.208.5048 – contact via web form - It is also critical that our California supporters contact Senator Diane Feinstein. The Senator spoke out last year to oppose removal of the burros. She has since remained silent on the issue. Please urge her to follow through on her efforts on behalf of the burros. Senator Diane Feinstein, SH-331, Washington, D.C. 20510-0504 - phone: 202.224.3841 - fax: 202.228.3954 - contact via web form A public meeting will be held on this issue Wednesday, December 13 at the BLM Barstow Field Office, 2601 Barstow Road, in Barstow, beginning at 6:00 pm. Please attend if you can. Please also alert the media to this irresponsible plan.
The Bureau of Land Management has issued its 2007 Round-Up Schedule. Close to 7,000 horse and burros will be captured, further threatening the genetic viability of our wild herds. The absolute minimum estimated cost of these round-ups and annual containment of the captured horses exceeds 15 million of our tax-dollars. Of immediate concern is the plan to zero out horses and burros from yet more Herd Management Areas (HMAs) in Southern Nevada, leaving less than 100 horses on over 1 million acres. After this latest round, BLM will have zeroed out horses from 6 out of 9 HMAs in the area. A total of 4 HMAs will also have lost their entire burro populations. Cold Creek near Las Vegas is of particular interest, as it was the site of a mystery helicopter round-up last summer. About 200 horses are feared gone, yet BLM denies any horses were taken. Officials have failed to investigate the matter, despite repeated pleas by concerned residents who witnessed most of this beloved herd being hauled away to an uncertain fate. Please protest this gross waste of tax-dollars and mismanagement of our natural resources by contacting the following: - Karla
Norris - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV), who should be urged to revise his position on wild horse management in his state. You can email him by clicking on his name above, or write him at 528 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510-2803 - fax: 202.224.7327. - Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington DC 20240 - fax: 202.208.5048 - Please also alert Nevada to the fact that continued mismanagement of its wild horse herds will hurt tourism in the state. Contact the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, 3150 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89109 – ph: 702.892.0711; fax: 702.892.2906, and the Nevada Commission on Tourism, 401 North Carson Street, Carson City, NV 89701 – ph: 800.638.2328. - Our Nevada supporters should also contact their U.S. Representatives to protest this eradication plan (locate your Representative at www.house.gov).
The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act urgently needs to be brought to a Senate vote. Please call your two Senators and urge them to co-sponsor the bill (S. 1915). It is critical that this be done before the end of this Congressional year, or our victory in the House will be lost. To locate your Senators, please visit www.senate.gov.
This morning the House of Representatives passed the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503) by a landslide vote of 263-146. The legislation will now move on to the Senate. Our deepest gratitude goes to bill sponsors John Sweeney (R-NY), John Spratt (D-SC), Ed Whitfield (R-KY) and Nick Rahall (D-WV).
Round-up season is now in full swing. On the heels of the Sheldon debacle, we have received yet another disturbing report of abuse at a round-up site, this time in Utah, home of the treasured Sulphur herd: one mare reportedly was run into a panel and broke her neck; a lost foal, carelessly turned in with other horses, was kicked and died; and a mare who had suffered neck injuries apparently from roping, was left for days to agonize on the ground of the corral. For a full report and pictures, please click here. Please protest this abuse by emailing Gene Terland, Utah’s Associate State Director at Gene_Terland@blm.gov and Kathleen Clark, BLM Director, at kathleen_clarke@blm.gov. For a list of upcoming round-ups, please click here (wait for file to load).
Cold Creek near Las Vegas, NV, was the site of a mystery helicopter round-up on August 5-6. While no BLM round-up was officially scheduled, local residents witnessed two helicopters flying over the area for hours; a wrangler told one of them that 204 horses were being rounded up that week-end. Locals familiar with the herd have reported that most of the new foals are now missing, as well as many mares and at least one stallion, yet BLM will not acknowledge any horses were taken. Officials have refused to investigate the matter, despite repeated pleas by concerned residents who witnessed most of this beloved herd being hauled away to an uncertain fate.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing to remove 402 of the estimated 482 wild horses of the High Rock Herd Management Area in Washoe County, NV, citing “lack of forage and available water.” Yet, the environmental assessment states that “the canyons are relatively well-watered.” The BLM is working with the Department of Wildlife to permanently re-route the horses’ water to “water developments” for big game and cattle. The absolute minimum estimated cost of this round-up and annual containment of the captured horses is $203,000. Please protest this gross misuse of our natural resources and tax-dollars by sending your comments before August 23 to: E-MAIL: asurian@ca.blm.gov Or write to: SURPRISE
FIELD OFFICE Make sure to include your name and signature, and this reference number: # CA-370-06-16
Many of you contacted your federal legislators to express outrage over the disastrous results of the late June round-up conducted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) at the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge. Well, your efforts were not in vain: on July 19, US Representative Nick Rahall wrote FWS Director Dale Hall requesting that FWS cease and desist from any further wild horse removals at the Refuge. Read Mr. Rahall's letter here. FWS has now cancelled its planned September round-up. Our deepest gratitude goes out to Representative Rahall.
Starting this Friday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be rounding up 1,700 horses, leaving the 12-million acre Buck & Bald Complex in Nevada with only 500, if that (see BLM’s fuzzy math below). Unlike the Fish and Wildlife Service (the agency responsible for last month’s Sheldon round-up), BLM has a legal obligation to manage wild horses on public lands. For this round-up, BLM has failed to provide a current Environmental Assessment (EA - a fact-finding process required by law for each round-up), relying instead on last year’s EA. In its 2005 EA, BLM estimated that the population in the Buck & Bald Complex totaled approximately 1,286 wild horses; 795 were removed. The agency now claims the complex has a population of 2,200 wild horses. Even with a 20% increase in the population from the summer of 2005 until the present, that’s a miscalculation by nearly 1,600 animals – an error of approximately 350%. In other words, the BLM now plans to remove more wild horses this summer than they originally estimated even existed on the Complex. Something is very wrong here. Local observers tell us that range conditions currently appear good on the Complex, which contradicts BLM’s justifications for the round-up. In addition to the usual pressure from private cattle interests, oil and gas exploration seems to be a factor motivating this sudden ramp-up in population reduction. Although it appears too late to stop this round-up, we hope the media may be interested in observing the proceedings on the heels of the Sheldon debacle. Please contact CNN using this form and suggest they do a story on wild horse round-ups. Specifically, Anderson Cooper’s “Keeping Them Honest” segment would be a good venue for this topic.
We are sad to report that a foal that had been trampled during the Sheldon round-up and later rescued by a couple of good Samaritans did not make it after all. He died of internal injuries last night. On a more positive note, the Fish and Wildlife Service is facing a barrage of angry protests and having to answer questions from Washington D.C. After adamantly denying that any horses had been killed during the round-up, FWS had no choice but to acknowledge the deaths in a “progress report” issued after the release of our incriminating report.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has done a very good job of convincing the public that last week’s controversial round-up at the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge went smoothly and that no horses were killed. That could not be further from the truth. Granted, all round-ups are traumatic events for horses chased by helicopters, torn from their family groups and getting their first taste of confinement; injuries are common. However, nothing could prepare our investigators for what they witnessed. In total, over 330 horses were captured, including very young foals; reportedly, one adult and at least seven foals died, mares aborted their fetuses, and several foals were injured. Some captured mares still had their foaling placentas attached to them, with their newborns unaccounted for. Some foals were simply left behind in the chaos of the round-up. Wranglers could only locate eight of them: three, aged four to six weeks, were rescued after spending days as orphans on the range; the five others were already dead. Supposedly due to security concerns following public outcry, FWS had law enforcement set up a two-mile security perimeter. In spite of the secrecy, our investigators were able to document the process up close. Their report, including some very disturbing pictures and a corroborating vet report, can be found here: www.wildhorsepreservation.org/sheldon.html (WARNING: some graphic pictures) Throughout this process, FWS showed no consideration for public concerns and chose to ignore pleas by humane groups and Members of Congress. All they had to do was postpone the round-up by a month so that days-old foals and heavily pregnant mares would not have to endure such conditions. All in all, a gross betrayal of public trust. Please forward the above link to your federal legislators and to the media. Tell them that you expect public servants to be held accountable for their actions. Dale Hall, Director of Fish and Wildlife Services, should be made aware of his agency’s misdeeds: email him a link to our round-up report using this web-contact form; you can also voice your protest by Phone: (202) 208-4717 or Fax: (202) 208-6965.
We are pleased to inform you that the time has finally come for the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (HR 503, S 1915) to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives! Sometime in the next few days, the House will vote on HR 503, a bill that bans the inhumane practice of horse slaughter in the United States. While our Campaign’s main focus is on keeping wild horses in the wild, we must also ensure that the thousands of wild horses unnecessarily rounded up each year do not end up at the slaughterhouse. Slaughter is our wild horses’ greatest threat once they have been removed from the range, and nothing the BLM says or does will change that sad reality. Contact your federal Representative today by calling the Capitol Switchboard and providing your zip code: (202) 224-3121. Ask them to support HR 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. After calling, take a moment and send an email or fax. You can find and email your Representative online through www.house.gov. Please remind your Representative that:
Many of you have inquired about the status of the Sheldon round-up denounced in last week’s alert. Despite Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) being inundated with calls and emails protesting its plan, it went ahead with the round-up on Monday and Tuesday: over 330 horses were captured, including heavily pregnant mares (some foaling at the round-up site) and orphan foals, some only days old. Please note however that your efforts were not in vain: FWS is facing a massive public outcry; the media has picked up on the story; two federal legislators sent stern letters of protest; and Governor Schwarzenegger even contacted Nevada authorities to inquire about the matter. The fact is that, over the past year, wild horse advocates have generally been recognized in Washington D.C. as the most efficient grassroots group. This was confirmed again just recently by several Members of Congress to the Institute for a Democratic Future, who called us to congratulate wild horse advocates on their grassroots efforts. So please do not let placating responses from government officials shake your confidence. FWS staffers have been very diligent in responding to concerned citizens. Unfortunately, they are not doing so in an honest, truthful manner, spreading lies and misinforming the public. We would like to take this opportunity to address some of their statements:
These public servants' salaries are paid by our tax-dollars. The least they owe us is the truth. Please alert the media and your federal legislators.
On Thursday, June 29th, the Bureau of Land Management will hold a meeting to hear public comments regarding their plan to use motorized vehicles to round up wild horses from the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range in Montana. The meeting will be held from 7:00-8:00pm at the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area Visitor’s Center in Lovell, WY. The BLM plans to remove about 24 wild horses from the Pryor herd and make them available for adoption. The use of motorized vehicles causes excessive stress and needless suffering as the animals are chased to exhaustion. If you can attend this important meeting, please plan to do so and let the BLM know that you do not approve of the use of motorized vehicles in the capture and removal of wild horses. Please also take the opportunity to remind them that you would like to see wild horses remain in their rightful home, on America’s vast public lands and that this continued removal of horses threatens the genetic viability and long-term survival of one of our most treasured natural resources – the American wild horse. Those who are not able to attend can mail their comments to: BLM Field Office, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, MT 59101
Without any opportunity for public review or comment, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has engineered a plan to eradicate wild horses from the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada. The plan calls for the capture of as many as 1,200 animals, starting June 19, at the height of foaling season. Even the BLM does not conduct round-ups during foaling season, because new-born foals risk being separated from their mothers, trampled to death, or run to exhaustion, and pregnant mares may abort their foals. The stated reason for the removal is to enhance the populations of pronghorn antelope and sage grouse, two species that bring in revenue from hunting permits. However, FWS has failed to conduct a legally-required Environmental Assessment in connection with this removal. Their long-term plan is to leave as few as 75 horses on the Refuge's half a million acres, a number too low to ensure genetic viability of the herd. Even more disturbing, the newly-announced plan allows only “mass adoptions” of the captured horses, with FWS paying three “carefully screened” agents $300 per horse (those are our tax-dollars!) to take them by the truckload. An investigation has shown that the address provided by one of the adopting agents is virtually a Grand Central Station of horse slaughter, used by killer buyers for two slaughterhouses located in Texas. In addition to the $300 paid by FWS, each horse may bring in $500 or more at the slaughterhouse. This plan for the Sheldon horses is extremely disturbing at every level and a gross misuse of our tax-dollars. Please contact the Fish and Wildlife Service and ask them to put a halt to the plan until proper environmental studies have been conducted, as required by law, and until the safety of any captured horses can be ensured; denounce the plan to round-up horses at the height of foaling season:
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