Free-Roaming Wild Horse & Burro Act 1971

• Keep speaking up for America's Wild Horses

Two Congressional hearings this week on BLM budget

Now is the time to urge our representatives to stop the mass roundups and reform the wild horse and burro program

(March 9, 2010) Last week, as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee about his agency's Fiscal Year 2011 budget request, he faced serious questions from two Senators about the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) request for additional funds for its controversial and troubled wild horse and burro management program.

In her opening comments, Senator Lisa Murkowsi (R-Alaska) expressed her concerns over the Secretary's plan to continue to move thousands of horses off their western ranges to government holding facilities in the East. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) expressed her strong concern about the cruelty of the recent Calico roundup, in which over 70 horses so far have lost their lives and urged the Mr. Salazar to find a better way to manage this program.

"I would think that watching a herd of wild horses run free in the West is one of those things we don't ever want to shut out to our children," Landrieu said. "In my view, we're on the verge of a disaster policy if we don't work hard to change that."

The Senators' comments were not only a result of their admirable personal concern about our nation's wild horses, but also a reflection of the growing concern by American citizens about the government's treatment of these iconic animals, who are protected by federal law as important parts of our national heritage.

Last week, thousands of supporters of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, Return to Freedom American Wild Horse Sanctuary and other coalition members wrote and called Congress. Our voices on behalf of mustangs are beginning to be heard.

This week, as Secretary Salazar testifies again before two additional Congressional committees (House and Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittees), we need you to speak out again to keep the pressure on for cost-effective and humane reform of the BLM's wild horse program.

Please see below to take action. Secretary Salazar's testimonies and the beginning of the appropriations process and present the most important opportunity that we have this year to ensure that business-as-usual at the BLM comes to an end.

Thank you very much for being a voice for America's wild horses and burros, and stay tuned as we provide you with more updates over the next critical weeks and months.

TAKE ACTION TODAY:

1. Personalize, cut, paste and send the sample letter below to the Senate and House Interior Appropriations Subcommittees:

TO: INT@appro.senate.gov, INApprop.Detailee@mail.house.gov

Subject: DOI/BLM Wild Horse Appropriations

Dear Members of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee:

As a taxpayer, I urge you to critically evaluate Secretary Salazar's request for an increase in the budget for the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) highly controversial and troubled Wild Horse and Burro Program.

Currently, the BLM program relies on mass roundups and removals of wild horses in numbers that far exceed adoption demand. As a result, the BLM has now stockpiled more wild horses in government holding facilities (33,000+) than are left on the Western range. This inefficient and inhumane policy costs taxpayers $44 million a year, and the price tag continues to grow as more and more horses are captured and removed from their natural habitats. (12,000 wild horses are targeted for capture and removal in FY 2010 alone.)

Allocating even more funds to this poorly managed program without serious requirements for reform would be fiscally irresponsible. Please ensure that any appropriations for BLM's Wild Horse and Burro program include these requirements:

A suspension of roundups in all but truly emergency situations;
A prohibition on the use of any funds to euthanize healthy horses or sell horses directly or indirectly to slaughter;
Phasing out long-term holding and shifting BLM resources toward managing horses on the range in a humane and minimally intrusive manner as Congress intended;
Suspension of any plan for the relocation of wild and free roaming horses and burros until Congress has a chance to review the program. Thank you for your attention to this issue.

2. Please email or fax and call your own Senators and Representatives to express your concern. Find contact information here.

For your convenience a sample letter for you to personalize is included here:

Dear __:

As your constituent I request that you contact the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee to include strict requirements for reform of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) highly controversial and troubled wild horse and burro program in Department of Interior budget authorizations for the Fiscal Year 2011.

A suspension of roundups in all but truly emergency situations;
A prohibition on the use of any funds to euthanize healthy horses or sell horses directly or indirectly to slaughter;
Phasing out long-term holding and shifting BLM resources toward managing horses on the range in a humane and minimally intrusive manner as Congress intended;
Suspension of any plan for the relocation of wild and free roaming horses and burros until Congress has a chance to review the program. Thank you for your attention to this issue.

3. PLEASE also forward this alert to as many friends and family as possible. Congress must know that the American public is demanding it hold BLM accountable and the appropriations process is the place to start.

Thank you very much for being a voice for America's wild horses.

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