Stop Horse Slaughter: Is There Another Solution?
The biggest problem with the campaign to stop horse slaughter in the U.S. is the lack of a better solution for dealing with an over-population of horses and a declining economy.
One of the headline articles in the New York Times online this morning was a general overview of the horse slaughter debate, “Death Across the Border Awaits Horses Spared It in the U.S.” The author did a great job of outlining the various issues and doing it objectively.
There is no pretense about what happens to the horses sold in this area of the auction, known as the kill pen. Just a few months ago, many of them would have met their end at a slaughterhouse in neighboring Illinois. Now almost all will be shipped to Canada and killed there.
Amid pressure from animal rights groups, horse slaughter virtually ended in the United States last year, as courts upheld state laws banning it in Texas and Illinois, home to the nation’s last three horse slaughterhouses.
But there have been unintended consequences, including more grueling travel for tens of thousands of horses now being sent to slaughter in Canada and Mexico, where, animal advocates say, they sometimes face more gruesome deaths …
… The slaughterhouse closings themselves may have added to the population of the unwanted. In some parts of the country, auctioneers say, the closings have contributed to a drop in the price of horses at the low end of the market, and the added distance in the shipping of horses bound for slaughter, combined with higher fuel costs, means that some small or thin horses are no longer worth the fuel it takes to transport them …
… But opponents of horse slaughter say its domestic demise is a victory, if an incomplete one, in their fight to protect animals they see as devoted companions.
“It’s a step closer to the long-term goal of banning slaughter in North America,” said Wayne Pacelle, chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States. “There are fewer horses slaughtered.”
One major hole in successfully shutting down horse slaughter in America is that horses are still being sent to slaughter over the border. The double-decker trailer crash in Wadsworth, IL that killed 17 Belgian horses is proof that closing down the slaughter houses in the U.S. has led to deteriorating conditions for horses that are still being shipped to Canada and Mexico. Travel is more dangerous and harder on these horses, and their deaths are reportedly more gruesome and painful. However, legislation is currently in Congress that would ban the sale of horses for or their transport to slaughter.
A second major problem in making horse slaughter illegal is that there is an over-population of horses whose owners can no longer care for them properly as hay prices rise and the economy declines. This has been making national news this week, as well.
So, if we don’t send all these extra horses to slaughter (we shouldn’t!!!!!), what do we do with them?
Maybe we should be required to obtain a license for breeding horses. Maybe we should put limits on how many horses may be bred a year. Maybe we should have to be licensed to own a horse just like we have to be licensed to drive a car or to go hunting. With horse ownership, and even breeding ability, open to just anyone, there are too many people who can’t or don’t know how to care for their animals and too many horses who aren’t useful. We, not the slaughter houses, are our horses’ worst enemy.
One of the stories making headline news in the Wall Street Journal is about horse neglect cases rising along with the cost of hay. A woman in Florida had nearly 20 horses taken away who were gaunt and skinny; she couldn’t afford to take care of the them and nobody wanted to buy them.
If you can’t provide for your horse yourself and nobody is buying, find someone who can and give the horse away. Riding stables always need good school horses, therapeutic programs need therapy horses, and many people are willing to take horses and retire them in their pastures just because they love the animals. Your horse’s well-being is more important than padding your pocketbook. Call local (reputable) riding stables, horse rescues, or horse organizations and see if they can direct you to someone who is willing to take your horse.
One of the problems is clearly that people take on too many horses. What was the woman in Florida doing with 20 of them?!? Once slaughter is no longer an option, fewer horses will be purchased (on the assumption that if they are not sold to owners, the price can be recouped to some extent by the meat buyer) and eventually fewer horses will be bred. It will take some time to level out, but it will. That is how a free-market economy works.
Karin,
I was just reading an article about how workers lives are being changed by lay-offs and more people in my home state are living below the poverty line. The economy is down. I think a few short years ago, pre-recessed economony and higher costs of living for people and horses, they could afford more horses. But they are still responsible to find some way to take care of all those horses when finances are down.
I sure hope you’re right about the population leveling out! If it can decrease over the next few years, there’s a better chance of banning slaughter and keeping it that way, and a better chance that less horses will live neglected or in abusive homes.
You have to get to the HEART of the problem!That means stop wild horse gathers!Wild horse gathers imposed by the Bureau of Land Management as a method of herd management in the name of land preservation as been supplying horses for slaughter for over 50 years. Eighty five percent of horses sent to slaughter are wild horses. There are fifty four thousand wild horses in captivity and 73%of those get sent over the border for slaughter. Domestic horses comprise of 11%of horses sent to the bolt.We have to hit the bureaucracy right where it lives and breathes.If the horse slaughter industry had to rely souly on stolen or aged domestic horses it would collapse within a year. Rallying for congress to legislate laws that prevent horse slaughter is just the tip of iceberg.
Thanks for adding to this conversation on the issue of horse slaughter in this country. Horse slaughter is, as you say the tip of the iceberg, the symptom not the problem. That’s exactly what I was saying in this post. If we want to stop it, we need to address it at the root of the problem which is an over population and a declining economy. Like you said, it’s important to keep in mind that significant portion of horses being sent to slaughter are wild. My issue isn’t which horses are going, it’s that any are going at all. Period.
We’re talking about a solution here. So what do we do with that 73% of wild horses living in captivity that are slaughter bound? If they don’t go to a slaughter house, what do we do with them? Especially now with the economy in recession and hay scarce?
A response from TJ:
” I just had a post from someone on youtube and that person is in favor of wild horse gathers because they are so misinformed by the Bureau of Land Management. Wild horse gathers are a positive thing to most adopters because like the one on youtube believes wild horses are starving to death on the rangelands.That is a fallacy to protect cattle and sheep ranchers interests. Having said that,the solution for what is to be done with the surplus of wild horses in captivity is very complicated and basically futile to refute. As you know there is no solution other than establishing more sanctuaries and adopting and releasing as many horses as possible.That in and of itself is no easy task. However,the root of the problem is deep and politically corrupt.”
1 Question….
Why do you feal horse slaughter is SO wrong?
Jess,
That’s a good question. It’s a tough issue to grapple with certainly, and just gets more clouded the more I study.
First, I don’t see horses as livestock animals like cattle, pigs, or sheep. They are companion animals, athletes, hard workers. They aren’t bred for food. They are bred for riding and driving and even just as pets. We don’t have slaughter houses for dogs and cats do we? Second, I feel that most of the time horses are sent to slaughter because a human is shirking responsibility. It’s cheaper or easier to sell a horse to slaughter when we no longer want them or can’t quite afford to care for them, or they’re old or lame and we can’t ride them any more. We bred them to be our pets or our partners or our workers, and it’s not right that we send them to their death because they no longer live up to our expectations. I think slaughter is an easy way out.
Yes, there is a demand for horse meat in other countries. But horse steaks are not part of our culture here in the US, and something that rarely happens here. We aren’t raising horses for their meat. But when we don’t want them any more, that’s where we send them. It’s not responsible, and it’s not fair to the horses who’ve given their lives and bodies to racing or showing or whatever we originally wanted them for.
But they are. I know of a few people who have lost their homes because horse slaughter was stopped. It ruined their lives, mine included.
I also know of a few who do. It’s not that uncommon.
Though for some that could be the case, but now horses are being put down and thrown into a pit to rot for nothing. We took some calves we lost to a pit that they burry every two hours and saw over 50 to 60 horses in one and horse hooves sticking out of the ground every where. Stopping horse slaughter is just stopping the consumption of their meat not the killing.
This is just from what I have learned. I don’t want you to feel I have attacked you in any way. If I did I apologize now.
I’ve only recently been made aware of the issue and have been studying everything I could over the past few days. To address Jess’ view that he lost his home and other people have lost their jobs, that is a regrettable consequence, but it happens when society’s shift their views on a subject. What about the people who lost their homes years ago because slave labour was stopped and they had to pay employees? Society moves on and correcting some wrongs to make a right, shifts jobs to other ways of making money. You will have to find another source of income and I’m not being callous, but we can’t continue to do something that is that is cruel so a person can make a living. I live in Canada and I think the seal hunt is also cruel. I’m sorry if people lose their livelyhoods if its banned, but find another way to make money. To address what is wrong with slaughtering, I don’t find the death of the animal wrong. We ALL die. It’s just the method of the killing. The transportation (no food/water/rest) is cruel. The KILLING is cruel… horse (and even cows, etc), poked, prodded, being around their own kind who are screaming in pain and fear. And my guess is these animals are not dead before they are being gutted and skinned. In China they skin dogs and cats alive for their fur. How barbaric you say? We are doing the same thing! Horses, seals, cows, chickens, etc. I am not vegetarian and don’t think I ever will be, but this whole issue has opened my eyes to the cruelty of how our meat is obtained. PETA (and I don’t agree wholeheartedly to their methods) have over 5 years worked with KFC and made sure that the chickens they now use are allowed to live and die humanely. I say good for them. Now I’m waiting for McDonalds, Wendys, etc to all agree to the same thing. I am going to try to buy organic meat, I will not buy prepared meals with meat in them until the manufactures agree to organic meat, and I am going to boycott ALL meat from any slaughter house in Canada who slaughters horses. As for letting their bodies rot, it is probably because they can’t afford to send them to a meat rendering plant or there are not enought meat rendering plants or they plan on composting the carcarsses for fertilizer, or as I did when I had to put my horse down, I loved it and would never allow it to be used as meat/glue/leather or anything else. I hear there are people who eat dogs? Does that mean I have to get my dog rendered when it dies? Absolutely not… let it’s body rot or burn… which is what I want done when I die. I think we all hope to die in our sleep… no pain, no suffering and frankly I don’t want to see it coming. Can’t we all do the same for the animals? Let’s make sure they don’t see it coming…
I just wanted to add one more thing…. even if done humanely, I would never agree to the slaughter of horses. If other countries find horse meat a delicacy, then they can slaughter their own horses and let the chips fall where they may. Like Jackie, I (and a lot of other people) don’t look on horses as livestock. Have you ever heard a little girl begging to get a cow for their birthday? No, but they will ask for ponies. I think the slaughter of horses for ANY reason should be stopped. Old, lame, or sick and can’t find anyone to take it? Have a vet put it down. Can’t afford it anymore, the novelty has worn off? Sell it privately, give it to horse rescue, or have it put down by a vet if all other avenues have been exhausted. Can’t find a horse rescue to take it, but can’t afford to keep it or put it down? Maybe a vet, the SPCA or horse rescue would help pay for the euthanasia. NEVER, EVER should they be subjected the horror of the slaughter house… they deserve better. And please, don’t let them starve to death in your field or barn. There are people who will help.
I can see your point of view. But why stop horse slaughter? Vegetarians are against all slaughter so what is stopping the US from stopping ALL slaughter? I find it is a very selfish stupid move to stop a slaughter of one type of animal because someone finds it wrong. This has only created one BIGGER problem. Now not only do the horses STILL suffer from inhuman slaughter they are now being sent across the border to Canada and Mexico. The US has NO say in what they do. I think that the problem should have been focused on the fact that they were slaughtering horse (as well as other animals) inhumanly and should have tried to change that. As for PETA I CAN NOT STAND THEM! They were caught “rescuing” animals from the pound to find them homes, when really they were killing them and throwing the animals like kittens in garbage’s behind fast food restaurants.
My freind has been wanting a cow for her birthday for years.
If that Belgian firm takes over the Anhauser-Bush plant, what will happen to the Clysdales horses? They won’t be taken to Europe and slaughtered? NO, please tell me that.
Horses are being raised for feedlots as part of production agriculture in Alberta, Sask. B.C. and Manitoba. There are also a large group of mares and foals in the states that are sent to Canada for processing. Some are grown specifically for the Japanese market. They are shipped live by plane from Calgary. Slaughtered within 3 days and the meat is eaten raw. End price is $20,00.00 per horse. This information is part of an Alberta goverment report.
http://afac.ab.ca/reports/08horsesreport.paf
Maybe a natural life for a few years is better than being broken down by training or racing and then being butchered.
Thanks for your website! This is such a complicated issue. I don’t have a solution to all the unwanted horses but I feel some of the solution is in the breeding. It seems everyone who has a backyard horse just has to breed them. I pass by a broken down farm every day and every mare in the pasture has a foal by her side. Too many TBs broken down and thrown away.
I could not bare to think of my OTTB packed into a trailer and shipped off for slaughter. I would rather see horse euthanized humanely than sent for food. I am not completely sure about regulating breeders but I know without demand there will be no supply, Possibly take a two pronged approach one with breeders and discontinue allowing horses to be shipped to Mexico and Canada out for slaughter.
Well becuase horse slaughter was stopped rescues are full and they are now debating to kill all mustangs
I live in Oklahoma. We own 200 acres and are blessed. 23 horses call our pasture home. 2 are “strays” that wandered in, starved to the point of death. Several others are race track rejects, elders, or just cheap, nice horses. Owners here are leaving their horses to starve, turning them out, or hauling them to sales and leaving them, even if they do not bring a bid. 20 yearling paints were hauled in and sold for $20 each. 15 horses were left after the sale was over, abandoned by their owners. Just because your stud is a great great great great grandson of Doc Bar, or a distant relative of Hollywood Dun It, does not mean it needs to be a stallion!! In Europe, the studs have to pass a rigorous test, with certain scores, or they are not awarded papers. The value of these horses is high, and if they do not meet certain criteria, they are gelded. Breeders here should not breed unless they have a good buyer for that baby. If they don’t, don’t breed!! I, in the past month, have had 3 people try and give me horses. Unbroke, untouched 3,4 year olds!! HELLO, if you own a horse, at least teach it how to lead!! The horse pays for irresponsible breeders and owners. I have saved several horses from the killer pen, one was a second-level dressage horse who was headed out unless I bought him. Ran at the track, loved by someone, donated to a Boys Ranch, and headed for the killers. If Ferdinand, THE KENTUCKY DERBY WINNER, can be sold for horsemeat, any horse can. I would have bought him just to say, Hey, look, a Kentucky Derby winner in my pasture. None of us can save the whole world, but we can all ease some suffering somewhere. Do what you can, and urge all breeders in your area to stop, there are enough already. If you want some nice horses cheap, come to Oklahoma.
I recently did a speech about horse slaughter at my school, so I have been doing a lot of research and I know quite a bit about it now. Horses are legally required to be slaughtered humanely in Canada and Mexico. There have been no cases of inhumane horse slaughter in Canada, but Mexico is a whole other story. I live in Canada and I do not agree with horse slaughter, or the HORRENDOUS conditions horses are transported in across the border. Did you know they can be trailered in double-decker trailers, sized for cows for up to three days without food or water and at least one horse is found dead on arrival? (generally speaking). I agree with the idea of a license for breeding or stallions. Not just anyone is allowed to hunt or drive. So why should everyone be allowed to own and breed horses? For goodness’ sake, I have to have a dog license to own my golden retriever!
The problem is not enough slaughterhouses. Each state should have a licensed and inspected horse slaughter house. I live in PA and the “saintly”Amish are the biggest culprits in horse abuse (as well as puppy mills) all their horses go to slaughter after they can no longer work and that culture will never change. If each state had facilities to slaughter it would at least avoid the horrific transport ordeals these horses face. I think it was a big mistake for the Humane society and others to fight to close down the US facilities because unfortunately slaughter is not going to stop no matter how much we would like it to so lets keep it under strict control (not just for horses but ALL animals). As for the wild horses, geld all but the best stallions and return them to the wild where they belong and stop subsidised welfare for the cattle and sheep ranchers
This is a very difficult issue no doubt about it. But I do think that people really need to think very hard about both sides of the story. The other day I was driving down the road here in Saskatchewan and saw a wonderful huge herd of horses. It was plain to see they were all brood mares with a foal by their sides. I couldnt help but stop for a bit. As I was standing there having a conversation with them the man who looks after them drove up. We chatted for a bit and I asked if he owned them, he said no, a fellow in Alberta did. I asked whether or not he ever sold any of the older mares. He said he wasnt sure about the mares but would check with the owner, but that he knew the foals were for sale. Long story short, by the time we had finished talking he had promised to cut me out two colts when they were weand. I was thrilled, but after I got home and told someone about this herd they informed me that these horses were being raised for food in China. At first I was horrified, but did sit down and really think about my part in all of this. When I was younger I had dinner at a ranch and loved the meal. When we were done I was asked did I like the meat. I said yes it was great. I was then informed that it was horse. I was in shock and didnt quite know what to do . I try to live my life honestly and so admitted to myself that it was good meat. I would not choose to purchase horse meat, but I can not be a hypocrite either. This being said, I believe that it is the method of slaughter that is our problem not the fact that slaughter is happening. As someone else has mentioned, slaughter will continue no matter what and if we can regulate it all the better and shipping methods must change. I have seem many horses go through the auction who are buted up and full of pain, this is not the way to go either in my opinion. There are some who say we do not raise horses for meat, but if you look back to where the horse came from, you will find that in fact they were looked at as a herd animal for food. We cant solve this problem by hiding from it and I know the horses I saw out in the field living as a horse is meant to live, without mans interferance, are much better off than many I have seen in peoples so called care. Should they be shipped for food, that is still hard for me to accept, but again I can not be a hypocrite and eat beef, venison or for that matter any meat or use any product that is made from an animal and say that slaughter must be stopped. I will say again it must be regulated and inspected daily if need be.
I completly agree with you Susan
I agree with you as well Cindy. I raise goats. Now before you laugh and say they are just goats i love them all equally as i do me horses. We have boers which are raised for meat. I try my hardest to find good homes for them but if they go to sluaghter the purcheser must a sure me they will sluaghter them humanly. Now I know that it is no garentee that they die peacfuly but I did all I could do.
Now with the horses they are being sent CLEAR to Mexico and Canada. Still they suffer a painful death, and there are no laws against it but also have to ride in a trailer even LONGER.
People truly need to think before they act. Sure there is no more slaughter in the us but now the horses still sufer, plush a hot cramped ride.
I’m from the UK and there are unknown slaughterhouses in the north of England, I’m sure of it.
“Southhall Market” was recently closed – for good, which was a place where meat men take their pick, or in fact, a child pick their first £50 pony.
You have to have cattle licenses and livestock licenses I’m sure, so why not horse licenses?
It makes no sense… A woman in the field next to me at my yard has 19 “race horses” (which are in NO fit state to race) and in ABYSMAL condition. I think the problem is that this is not addressed by anybody important enough to stop things like overbreeding.
I agree though; Geld the stallions, leaving the toughest few in the wild; stop gatherers etc.
And it was only a few years ago that the wild Dartmoors were sold to France for meat.
Disgusting.
Probably to make room for houseing developments.
Horse slaughter should be kept in America to defray costs and overpopulation of horses. On top of those issues is the issues of “Unwanted horses”. When there is an overpopulation of horses that are no longer “useful” or barely alive. Agreeingly with other comments, every state should have slaughter houses. What will slaughter of cattle come to if people start to think the same as horses? PITA has already outlawed this, and they plan to outlaw much more.
You cannot just GELD alll the stallions. That is not possible. BRING SLAUGHTER HOUSES BACK. Yes, some horses can have uses, but when they can’t this is when they become unwanted and there is a problem of what to do with it. What about the large lots of horses that go unfed with todays economy? I’m sure there are lots of people who would love to have something in their stomach, who haven’t eaten in days.
KEEP HORSE SLAUGHTER HOUSES IN AMERICA FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY!
i cannot believe their are people that think slaughter houses should be kept and are ok. yes the economy is in a poor state, therefore horses are going to end up being mistreated, left unfed, left without the things that they rely on us for. this doesn’t mean the end of the line should be the slaughter house though.
it is extreamly unhumane, im sure your all aware that the horses before even reaching the slaughter house normally have to travel many hundred miles in the back of a lorry with no food or water, in cramped conditions as their is far to many other horses in the back of that lorry too. half of the horses wont even make it alive to the slaughter house as they have starved to death, fair? humane? nope sick.
Then they will arrive, horses aren’t stupid, far from, neither is any other animal really, we may look at cattle being stupid compared to the horse but they will arrive at the slaughter house and know that some thing isnt right,any animal would, they’d be able to smell the blood. if they haven’t clicked on then, they will no exactly what is install as they watch another horse fall to the ground. poor animals.
with that in mind i don’t know how any of the owners of these horses can live with it, knowing they have put their horse through hell. clearly not a lover of animals therefore should defiantly not be a owner of animals in the 1st place.
if the time did come when their was no way you could continue being a horse owner for whatever reason, their is the selling of the horse, taking to charity organisations or if worst comes to worst to be put down humanely. they make humane mouse traps for goodness sake!!
NEVER KILL A HEALTHY ANIMAL.
my boy is an ex racehorse and i know if we didnt buy him then he’d have been one of the unfortunate ones and he has never let me down, he’s perfect.
I don’t think that horses should be slaughtered but with this economy it is the easiest way for horse owners who cant afford their horse. One thing that I have noticed is that, no one talks about zoo animals. The Albuquerque zoo stopped feeding their big cat horse meat and started on beef. It did not work, the zoo had to call Wild life west in Edgewood to use their horse meat because their tiger was literally starving to death. He would not eat beef. what should we do? Is there any way to get meat for zoo animals without pain being inflicted
fair point.
but zoo’s are just another problem in my oppinion. they’re only their for human entertainment and the animals would have a better life in the wild where they belong instead of stuck behind metal bars. then what they eat wouldnt be our problem, they would go out hunting naturally.
lets face it the worse animal on this planet is the human, all we need to do is take a look around and we can see that. i know were not all bad but a large majority of us are.their is cruelty to animals going on every day.
This whole mess is due to overpopulation.
We have overpopulated this beautiful planet, and have caused the overpopulation of the animals we domesticated. Slauhterhouses are houses of torture. Zooz are full of innocent prisoners. Animal shelters are full of man’s inconvenience, 800 dogs & cats are euthanized EVERY hour in the US. It’s endless. All animals, domesticated and wild, suffer at the hand of our human ‘civilization.’
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated … I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Wow that is super sad!!!!Can u send me some names of jockeys that sloter their horses i need to know for a school progect?IF u do know some names then email me at josiedickie@Gmail.com thank u sooo much!!
I think that horse slaughter is just plain wrong they should not do it we are going to raise as much money as possible to stop horse slaughter. people who are horse lovers will not want this to happen. so I think they should put a stop to it. all the horses that are being killed all they are used for is dog meat and for us to eat it’s not right. it’s not just horses it’s some dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, geese, and other animals. none of them deserve it really its not right. please, please, pleeessse make a stop to it. also the horses are being killed in a nasty way too. hung by there legs,shot in the head and other things.
please make a stop to it.
Press Release
The Cloud Foundation reports documents obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) via the Freedom of Information Act by a Phoenix-based non-profit, The Conquistador Program, reveal shocking and detailed plans to destroy healthy wild horses in government holding and in the wild on public lands.
BLM employees and a USDA veterinarian held weekly “Implementation Team” meetings beginning in July 2008 in which they discussed and developed strategies to rid BLM of thousands of mustangs. In October they completed a 68-page document titled “Alternative Management Options.” Tactics included in this document are reminiscent of those used to wipe out Native Americans in the 1800s.
The BLM team created scenarios for killing mustangs using barbiturates, gunshots, or captive bolts. Bodies would be disposed of through rendering, burial or incineration. They discussed killing 1200-2000 wild horses per year. Minutes from the Implementation Meeting state that “increased support from public relations and management staff would also be needed to insulate those doing the actual work from the public, media and Congressional scrutiny/criticism.”
“These meetings and the Draft Plan reveal what amounts to ‘the final solution’ for the American mustang,” states Ginger Kathrens, filmmaker and=2 0Director of The Cloud Foundation.
Division Chief, Wild Horse and Burro Program, Don Glenn told The Cloud Foundation that “no decision has been made to move forward on a large scale with this plan, yet.”
Meeting minutes speak for themselves: “Security at facilities and at gathers would need to be increased to combat eco-terrorism. Having the people that are willing to put down healthy horses at gather sites could be a problem.”
During meetings Team Members formulated ways to circumvent laws, asking “[h]ow many could be euthanized during a gather without having NEPA?” and discussing ways to avoid the federal carcass disposal law. Conversations included how many wild horses could be rendered at a Reno plant or “disposed of in pits”.
Kathrens has spent 15 years documenting wild mustangs, chronicling the life of the wild stallion, Cloud, for PBS. “Even Cloud and his little herd in Montana are in serious danger if BLM implements these options,” she continues. “A massive round up is planned for this herd beginning August 30, 2009.”
The BLM will not guarantee that Cloud will remain free.
More information, BLM documents20 and photos available.
Contact:
The Cloud Foundation, Inc.
107 South 7th St.
Colorado Springs, CO 80905
719-633-3842
Email Contact
http://www.thecloudfoundation.org
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Patricia Haight, Ph.D., (480) 430-2294, pathaight@yahoo.com
Julianne French, 520-309-5791, J_French@cox.net
Documents from Bureau of Land Management Reflect Intent of BLM for Wild Horses in Holding Facilities & on Public Lands
Quote from internal BLM document discussing euthanasia of wild horses: “Increased support from public relations and management staff would also be needed to insulate those doing the actual work from the public, media and Congressional scrutiny/criticism.”
(Phoenix, June 6, 2009). The Conquistador Program announced today that it has received material obtained under the Freedom of Information Act that indicates the Bureau of Land Management is continuing to plan for the euthanasia of a large number of wild horses now in long-term and short-term holding facilities across the United States and for direct sale authority for many more. Notes of conference calls extending from July 22, 2008 through September 23, 2008 by a six-member implementation team and a draft Alternative Management Plan document demonstrate that several options are being planned. Among the options are:
Euthanasia of animals for w hich an adoption or sale demand does not exist (The section addressing euthanasia also includes the following statement, “Increased support from public relations and management staff would also be needed to insulate those doing the actual work from the public, media and Congressional scrutiny/criticism.” The section also includes a discussion on psychological counseling for those involved in the destruction and disposal of the bodies because it will be so stressful).
Direct sale of animals who have not been adopted after three attempts with no restrictions on the buyer. (This would allow for the purchase of horses by killer buyers for sale to slaughter).
Direct sale of horses eleven years and older with no restrictions on the buyer. (This option also would allow for the purchase of horses by killer buyers for sale to slaughter).
Direct sale of horses of all ages with no restrictions on the buyer. (This option also would allow for the purchase of horses by killer buyers for sale to slaughter).
Spaying mares and returning them to the wild. (This option holds the risk of a minimum 10% mortality rate to the mares. The statistic is provided by a BLM staffer based on data from the spaying of 30 mares by the United States Fish20and Wildlife Service at Sheldon Refuge in Nevada).
Adjusting the ratio of stallions to mares and reducing the ratio to 50:50 thus increasing the number of stallions. (This section includes a discussion indicating that information from the 80’s suggests that the mares and stallions should be allowed to adjust to their natural numbers but BLM thinks 50:50. The section also includes a discussion of whether changing sex ratios would affect behavior including a statement, “Do we care?”).
The documents also contain information included below related to euthanasia of wild horses in their custody:
BLM discussed ways to circumvent the federal carcass disposal law, 43 CFR 4730.2, that prohibits them from paying any agency or individual for burial, burning, incinerating, composting carcasses and paying for disposing of remains. BLM explored paying for carcass disposal through rendering by contract.
As one alternative, the BLM has been in discussion with slaughter businesses from Denmark and Canada to take 10,000 wild horses for slaughter.
BLM discussed strategies to kill horses without having to perform a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assessment. They discussed killing horses in numbers of 1200-2000 per year to avoid greater criticism and scrutiny from Congress, media and the public. The BLM noted the public would be prohibited from viewing euthanasia. There is fear among horse advocates that such activity is already taking place or will take place soon.
BLM discussed methods of changing current policy to fast track horses using the 3 strikes regulation and offer as many as 12,000 wild horses and burros under age 11 for sale earlier hence making more animals at risk of going to slaughter.
The agency also is discussing as one alternative euthanizing horses in the field during round ups at an estimated cost of $500.00 per horse and considering among other things, shooting the horses or use of the captive bolt. The $500.00 figure is the same cost denied to Madeline Pickens who offered to take the wild horses and give them a home.
In a 1978 court case in which the Bureau of Land Management was caught shooting wild horses, a federal judge noted, “Horses were loaded into a truck, six or seven at a time and driven to the burial trench where they were shot while in the truck and then unloaded. …such wholesale slaughter of animals (especially horses) is considered by many to be degrading to the human spirit, and inappropriate conduct for a civilized hum an being.” The judge further noted,” It is also undisputed in the evidence that the most humane way to kill a horse is by the injection of a barbiturate, “which he mandated.
The documents are available on The Conquistador Program website at http://www.conquistadorprogram.org. ; The public is urged to review the documents. The material was obtained with the assistance of attorney Debra Sirower who guided the Conquistador Program through an initial request process and then appeals process to obtain the documents under the Freedom of Information Act. Sirower is the attorney who successfully worked with attorney Anthony Merrill to obtain a temporary restraining order preventing the removal of wild horses in the Apache Sitgreaves National Forests. In a second set of documents containing more than 800 pages of contract information, obtained under FOIA this week, it also was verified that the BLM has continued to use a contractor for gathers who was charged and pled guilty to violations of the Wild Horse and Burro act.
###
Pamela Reed copyright 2005
Read the BLM FOIA response and minutes of teleconference meetings regarding alternative management options by clicking here.
Read the draft alternative management options by clicking here.
Read the court documents and guilty plea of a contractor for BLM gathers.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the BLM FOIA documents and Word to view the court documents.
The Conquistador Equine Rescue & Advocacy Program is a nonprofit 501c3 equine welfare organization. Federal tax identification #20-8776240.
The Conquistador Equine Rescue and Advocacy Program
Phoenix, AZ
ph: (480) 430-2294
contact@conquistadorprogram.org
Send a mesaage to President Obama and sign this Peition.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/vote-for-horses-at-obamas-changeorg
The Horse Our Symbol of Freedom
Happy Fourth of July
The Horse
Our Symbol of Freedom
Most of us believe the horse was brought over by the Spanish, but in fact, this beautiful creature was here long before that. We now have fossils that prove the horse did in fact, originate in North America.
The Native Americans have a saying, “the grass remembers them.” Horses readily took to the western plains, because they started out there, long ago. They died out, possibly because they were over-hunted, or because of drastic climate changes, but they are a re-introduced native species, not a introduced non-native species. You can visit Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument and see the fossils for yourself.
We have relied on the horse for many things, for many, many years. Without them, The West surely would not have flourished and become the United States of America, the birthday we celebrate this weekend.
Please take a few moments to watch our video, and while you are enjoying your holiday, giving thanks to our forefathers and for our freedom, please remember to thank the horse by taking action and letting your representatives know how you feel. Right now, in particular danger, are 11 herds of wild horses in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management is planning to “zero out” all eleven herds on the basis that they are over-populating the area they have been given on which to survive. Zeroing out means taking them all away! The deadline for public opinion on this matter is July 6, 2009, (however this is something where you should voice your opinion even after that date as it is a trend happening across the entire country). This is expensive, morally wrong, in direct opposition to the mandate of the Wild Horse and Burro Act which was signed into law in order to protect and preserve the wild horses and burros of our country, and not based on true research and facts. It is a move to clear the way for cattle ranching on public land, and other destructive practices like gas and oil leases and mining. The Bureau of Land Management is supposed to protect our public lands, not sell it off to the highest bidder. Please make your voice heard, stand up for the wild horses and stand up for our public lands. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave!
You can easily contact BLM Director John Ruhs by clicking here…the letter is already written for you and will go directly to his email at his office so it can be read by Monday morning.
Fact: America’s wild horses are being eradicated in violation of the Wild Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act, which protects them as “living symbols” of our Nation’s spirit.
Fact: From over 2 million in the 1800s, fewer than 25,000 remain on our public lands.
Fact: There are now more wild horses in government holding pens than remain in the wild.
Fact: The round-ups continue, and a recent change in the law opens the door to thousands being sent to slaughter.
Fact: Although in-the-wild management would save millions of tax-dollars, special interests have been successful in pressuring the government to systematically remove wild horses from public lands – specifically corporate cattle interests who want our horses replaced with private cattle for subsidized grazing.
For more information about our wild horses, and to hear interviews with Ecologist/Biologist Craig C. Downer who has studied the horses for years, plus country western sensation Lacy J. Dalton and wild horse advocates, please click here.
We hope you have a very safe and happy fourth of July and thanks for helping our symbol of freedom! Please know that it does not matter where you live, you can help the horses!
Please just copy the letter below, paste it in your email, add your own comments if you wish, and send it to eyfoweb@nv.blm.gov with a copy also being sent to nancy@theblendmagazine.com and
feedback@ios.doi.gov
Beacause this issue will eventually end up in front of your representatives for voting, sending a copy to your own representatives is also a good idea. Click here and you can easily find out who they are:
Write your House Representatives
Write your Senator!
You can also contact Director John Ruhs directly at
Phone 775-289-1800 Fax 775-289-1910
To learn more and help the Wild Horses, visit http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com and
sign the petition.
We asked our BigBlendMagazine.com readers: ‘Horses are a historically a symbol of the old west – what do they mean to you?’
Here are some of their answers:
“Without the horse being introduced into America modes of transportation would have been completely different. Think of the impact the horse had on movements of the Indian tribes that lived on the plains. How far reaching it has been in our history. The fact that now they kill wild horses as a means of clearing the range for cattle is sad.“ – Roger from Gilbert, AZ
“The Horse has been a vital part of the old west from the settlers to the gold miners, farmers and so on. Without the horse the west would not have made it.” – Rebecca from Antelope, CA
“Being from Nevada where we still have wild horses they mean Freedom to me. Incredible animals that still need protection to preserve that Freedom!” – Cynthia in Las Vegas, NV
“They’re a symbol of my family to me. My family were riders in the Pony Express.” – Angela from Eureka Springs, AR
“Horses have really helped man and civilization. They are amazing, intelligent, and loyal creatures!” – Erica from Greensboro, NC
“When I first saw the wild horses in Nevada, I was already in my 40s. The majesty of those animals, looking just slightly different than the domesticated ones=2 0I was accustomed to seeing, tugged at my heart strings. They are a magnificent creature representing a part of our heritage that can never be replaced. They should be cherished like the national treasure they are.’ – Betty in Julian, CA
“They made the old west what it was.” – Paula from El Cajon, CA
“I love thinking about the old west how these majestic animals helped our ancestors pull wagons, plow fields and were the only means of transportation.” – Vaughn in Salt Lake City, UT
For more answers from our listeners,
please click here.
Director John Ruhs & Secretary Salazar:
Wild horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of The West; they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people.
The Bureau of Land Management’s current policy of aggressive removal of wild horses favors private cattle interests ov er the will of the people; this is unacceptable and un-American, and a waste of our taxpayer dollars.
We respectfully ask that the BLM and the Department of the Interior review the scientific findings that contradict BLM’s claims of wild horse overpopulation and negative impact on the range; – a moratorium on all round-ups until actual numbers of wild horses and burros on public lands have been independently assessed; and restoration of the Herd Management Areas designated by the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act.
We ask for an implementation of in-the-wild management, and that fences currently blocking the wild horses from water supplies, be removed. Further, we ask that your plans for zeroing out herds be stopped immediately.
America’s wild horses are a reintroduced native wildlife species and an American zoological treasure. I ask you to ensure that they will be allowed to thrive in genetically viable herds for future generations to enjoy on our public lands.
Sincerely,
Send Page To a Friend
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
BLM Does Not Care What Public Thinks!! and Will Continue to Wipe Out America’s Mustangs! (Whether you like it or not)
Department of the Interior
feedback@ios.doi.gov
1849 C Street, N.W.
Dear Secretary of the Interior
In order to adequately represent public input on critical issues such as land use plans and natural heritage resources all authorized offices must be able to accommodate public comments by email. This is not always the case.
Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro advocates have been asking for answers to the obvious illegal “zeroing out” of these herds since last fall with no one YET stepping up to the plate to provide sincere answers…. It is painfully apparent that the BLM Ely District will circumvent public protests and accommodate special interests that continue to wipe out our Heritage Herds.
Thank you,
Kathleen Hayden
POB 64
Baker, Nevada 89311
July 12, 2009
Public Comments on the Caliente Complex
Victoria Barr – Field Manager
Caliente Field Office -Bureau of Land Management
P.O. Box 237 – Caliente, NV 89008
Fax #: (775) 726-8111
Is it true that BLM plans to zero out 11 wild horse herd areas (HAs) from Nevadas Ely district?
Is it true that only 620 wild horses, or one horse per 2,237 acres occupies 11 Herd Areas containing 1,386,992 acres?
Isn’t the Caliente Complex wild horse removal proposal the last leg of the Nevada Ely District’s Office ongoing march towards the final elimination of almost 1.6 million acres of wild horse habitat “zeroed out” this past December in their new Resource Management Plan (RMP) – even while Madeleine Pickens is trying to secure 1 million acres to protect them?
Isn’t it true that despite the fact that the ROAM Bill is working its way through Congress, BLM continues its aggressive gathers egregiously circumventing the intent of the 1971 Act?
Is it a fact or NOT that once BLM signs the final decision to remove these horses down to the new “allowable management level” (AML) of 0, this will initiate the one and only opportunity for the public to legally appeal BLMs decision to zero out the Herd Management Areas through the Interior Board of Land Appeals (BLM calls it “dropping its Herd Management Area status”, which is why the former HMA’s are now being called Herd Areas instead)?
Is it true that alhough BLM already zeroed these areas out this past December, in order to legally appeal a BLM decision, first BLM must issue a final decision to take action on that decision?
Is it true that the land use plan could NOT be appealed last December because BLM failed to take definitive action on the habitat wipe out and their issuance of a zero tolerance policy for any wild horse population whatsoever in this livestock dominated area?
WHO determined that these removals are “legally crucial” and will BLM issue the final decision under the “Full Force and Effect” clause they created for themselves back in the 90’s, which allow removal of the wild horses before the decision?
Doesn’t this then allows IBLA to rule (like they always do) that since all the wild horses are now sitting in holding pens, appealing their removals is a “moot point”?
As a result isn’t it true that a federal court will not stop BLM either by issuing an Injunction if the removals are already underway ? Isn’t this a perfect choice for government officials seeking to permanently extinguish our free roaming heritage herds?
Restated, is there any way the public can stop BLM from a Full Force and Effect issued the day before the final removals? What would that process be?
Will BLM use the “Nuisance Gather” or the “Emergency Gather” clause to take them out, prior to releasing the news of the new RMPs Final Decision to the public as done in prior instances?
Will BLM only to give a “verbal order” to remove them as done on the Nevada Wild Horse Range gather last summer?
Doesn’t, BLM circumvent any legal challenge by failing to “sign” a decision and IBLA is bound by the fact that they can’t rule on a decision without a signature?
Isn’t it convenient that the Regional Solicitor can submit evidence regarding the actions taken as a result of those “verbal orders”, as if those actions don’t exist because it was only done “verbally?
Is there is a special division of IBLA that legal challenges to a land use plan must be filed in – and NOT the place BLM tells you about in the “Public Notice of Right to Appeal” included in every decision?
Doesn’t the flyer state that the public has the right to appeal the decision at a n address that only applies to the REMOVAL of the wild horses, not the AMLs that BLM is reducing the wild horses and/or burros to, in the removal proposal?
Isn’t that an unrelated, disconnected department?
Isn’t it true that the public has to file one appeal for removing all the wild horses and then a separate appeal for the new AMLs of 0 issued in the land use plan, …and that these two appeals won’t be enough to cover all the areas BLM zeroed out because BLM is splitting up the decisions via separate proposals.?
Is it a fact that in order to address all the herds and habitats the new RMP zeroed out, the public would have to file at least two appeals per each final decision BLM issued?
Wouldn’t it be ruled a moot point since the wild horses will most likely already be gone before anyone could submit legal documents to IBLA or a federal court anyway?
Doesn’t the process incur an an overwhelming burden of astronimical legal fees, an impossible hurdle for the members of the public?
For all intents and purposes doesn’t this effectively deprive individuals due process in order to defend its’ Heritage Herds?
Isn’t it true that one of the federal laws BLM and other government agencies are bound to examine is President Clinton “Environmental Justice”to see whether the proposal disproportionately affects the environment of people granted minority or low income status?
Where/when was “in depth monitoring” information released to the public?
Weren’t these exact same HMAs that were issued “new” AMLs in 2003 and the “monitoring reports” BLM made reference to as an Appendix never managed to make it to THAT EA either?
Where does the ruling exist allowing BLM the authority to override a Congressionally mandated land use designation to maintain free roaming heritage herds (preserved and protected) where they were found in 1971).
Isn’t it true that Ely BLM issued the lowest AMLs while boosting livestock authorizations?
Isn’t it true that acreage deals were given to “priority” wildlife species of which wild horses weren’t considered part of and how thousands of acres of wild horse habitat just “disappeared” in the land use planning process?
Isn’t it true that the legally mandated issues of forage production and carrying capacity to determine AML, were never actually included in BLMs decisions to zero out both herds and habitat?
Please explain BLM’s circumvention of the Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro act by approving two huge new multi-million dollar developments in the same areas as the wild horses are being removed from.
What is the percentage of free roaming horses compared to other wild life and livestock in the Ely District?
What is the percentage of impact, past and present, of environmental damage compared to other wild life and livestock?
Please define specific damage attributed to free roaming horses compared to other wild life and livestock.
Isn’t it true that all free roaming herds are an integral part of each local geographical heritage landscape and subject to preservation laws? (National Historic Preservation Act Sec 106 review and foreclosure).
Isn’t it true that distinct population segments have evolved in geoghraphic areas and are subject to Endangered Species Act mandates for critical habitat called (ACECs areas of critical environmental concern)
Isn’t it true that there were deficiencies in the 1971 inventoried herd areas resulting in fatally flawed and politically motivated land management plans that mandate emergency NEPA review , prior to moving these herds to extinction as they exist in the wild?
Explain the descrepancies between the free roaming herd AML process and the AUM’s for livestock.
Please provide an answer from the AG to the legal question posed is: 1. Are free roaming herds and their Congressionally mandated Herd Areas, a permanent encumbrance (A claim, right, or lien) upon the title to real estate which passes with title.
2. this pre existing covenant may not be extinguished through land manangement plans.
Isn’t it true that expanding herd areas would make the cost of maintaining free roaming herds less than the cost of round ups, short and long term holding, and adoptions?
I protest further roundups pending resolution of the issues and state for the record that I believe DOI has violated its fiduciary duty to maintain our historic cultural resource of free roaming herds for the American Public.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Hayden
POB 64
Baker, Nevada 89311″
Posted by KidsHorsinAround at 9:03 AM
Labels: BLM, BLM Mismanagement, BLM Mustangs, H.R. 1018, Wild Horses, Zero out
1 comments:
Help Stop The Destruction Of Cloud And His Herd
August 5th, 2009 Liz Posted in Animal Rights, Peace | No Comments »
“We live in the best of times and the worst of times” ~ Charles Dickens
Stop the Round ups of Cloud ~ His Herd and
All Wild Horses & Burros
BLM plans to zero out 11 herds in Nevada and
Zero out the Pryor Herd of Mountaina satiability.
Let them ROAM ~ FREE
STAND YOUR GROUND with Ginger Kathrens of the Cloud Foundation.
How to help ASAP ~ See Below!!
1. Watch this 2 minute video above by Ginger Kathrens, Drastic Removal Planned for Cloud’s Herd.
2. Write and SPEAK OUT!! Cloud and his Herd are on the roundup list now….. Don’t let this round up & death sentence happen. What do you do? Address and e-mail below.
3. Go into silent vigilance of hope prayer and meditation for Cloud and his Herd and all the Wild Horses.
4. Send the letter below to Director of the Interior ASAP!
Time is of the essence.
“Cloud and his family (herd) could be killed before his October 2009 movie comes out on PBS.”Ginger Kathrens
Email Ken Salazar and the Bureau of Land Management now! There is an easy format below you can use just add your name.
To this e-mail:20exsec@iosdoi.gov
Mail: Ken Salazar
Department of Interior
1849 C Street , N.W.
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: 202-7351
http://www.doi.gov/contact.html
Dear Kenneth Interior Secretary Salazar,
Interior Secretary Salazar and the Bureau of Land Management I’m asking you to stop the Roundups of Cloud and his Family!
I am writing to express my extreme disappointment in THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT’S (BLM) DECISION to continue THEIR plan to euthanize or hold in captivity thousands of wild horses and burros and ROUNDUPS ~ AT THE EXPENSE OF THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER.
The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act (1971) was created with the hope of managing healthy herds of wild horses and burros on healthy Western rangelands. With the goal of managing the sizes of these herds, the BLM believes that wild horses and burros consume unfair amounts of forage on BLM lands. “On March 3, 2009, it was stated by a BLM representative that the forage depletion on public lands leaves cattle with nothing to eat. Contrary to that statement, a Wild Horse Ecologist, Craig C. Downer, of Nevada, stated in his speech (Wild Horse Speech With Tables And Charts, Wild Horse Summit, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 2008) that wild horses and burros only consume a mere 5.6% of the forage consumed by livestock on BLM land. “
It is not necessary to hold these wild horses and burros in captivity or round them up for sla ughter (an expense to taxpayers). THE Cloud Foundation OFFERS an Alternative Herd Plan & SOLUTION. (The Cloud Foundation Web) This was given to the BLM in June 2009.
The BLM holding costs for the BLM in 2009 are $33 million, and in 2014 it is estimated to be $85 million. This business plan will help unravel the problem that the BLM has created in gathering horses off the range land at the tax payers’ expense.
1. Stop the BLM from managing our wild horses and Clouds Herd to extinction.2. Halt all round-ups of wild horses until range conditions and herd numbers can be verified.
3. Return wild horses in holding to the 100+ herd areas (19+ million acres) that have been zeroed out.
4. Expand the Pryor Mountain. Wild Horse Range for Clouds Herd & protect herd at viable population level of at least 150 adult horses until range is expanded.
Sincerely thank you for any and all consideration to saving our National Treasure and Cloud‘s Herd and family.
You’re Name (_______________________)
I believe “The Truth shall set the Horses free one way or another.”
Barbara Ellen Ries, Arizona Horse Advocate and Pro-ROAM
If your organization can help please e-mail me at ~ spirithorsebr@aol.com
Thursday, December 10, 2009A recent decision by multinational advocates to boycott beef and for those who want to protect beef one day a week on Fridays.
Horses~ They are worth our efforts in Protest!!
Titled : ” NO MORE BULL ~ BOYCOTT BEEF ”
We advocate need peaceful projects ~ which encourage the respect of Wild Horses.
Do not lose Hope, Freedom and Our National Treasure for future generations.
Join the BOYCOTT of Beef & The Gathering of Wild Horses.
Join me in protest or only protest once a week~ today please join me in this peaceful protest
Write one media person a day.
Write one senator or representative and President daily
Protest BEEF or do it one day a week
I hope they are not removing (Cloud of The Cloud Foundation ) for The mining uranium, cattle or other minerals. I could live with less of all of technology if we keep the wild horses.
A message Martin Luther King and Gandi learned, protest in peace to make them talk. Let the beef price go down for the BLM and they will listen.
They cater to special interest groups and don’t disclosed information to everyone, especially when they believe it does not matter.
Support Cattle gazing moving east so the Wild Horses can be in the west.
http://www.thecloudfoundation.org/
HomeNewsPress ReleasesUnified Letter Requesting a Moratorium on Roundups 11/18/09
Unified Letter Requesting a Moratorium on Roundups 11/18/09 18 November 2009
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
A Unified Call for an Immediate Moratorium on Wild Horse & Burro Roundups
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (The Cloud Foundation) – November 18, 2009
120 Organizations, celebrities and scientists in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Africa signed onto the following letter sent to the President, Congress and the Department of the Interior to rein in the Bureau of Land Management today.
A Unified Call for an Immediate Moratorium on Wild Horse & Burro Roundups
And a humane, fiscally responsible plan for preserving and protecting the iconic,
free-roaming wild horses and burros of the American West
President Obama, Members of Congress and the Department of the Interior:
We, the undersigned, request major changes to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro program. This must begin with an immediate moratorium on all roundups. While we agree that the program is in dire need of reform, and we applaud your Administration’s commitment to avoid BLM’s suggested mass-killing of horses, the plan outlined in October by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar raises numerous concerns. These include:
•Perpetuating the flawed assumption that wild horses and burros are overpopulating their Western ranges. In reality, the BLM has no accurate current inventory of the 37,000 wild horses and burros it claims remain on public lands. Independent analysis of BLM’s own numbers reveal there may be only 15,000 wild horses remaining on public lands.
•Continuing the mass removal of wild horses and burros from their rightful Western ranges: The BLM intends to spend over $30 million in Fiscal Year 2010 to capture more than 12,000 wild horses and burros. This stockpiling of horses continues even as an astounding 32,000 are already being held in government holding facilities at enormous taxpayer expense.
•Scapegoating wild horses and burros for range deterioration even though they comprise only a tiny fraction of animals and wildlife grazing our public lands. Far greater damage is caused by privately-owned livestock, which outnumber the horses more than 100 to 1.
•Moving wild horses and burros east off their Western homelands to “sanctuaries” in the east and Midwest at an initial cost of $96 million creates significant health concerns if animals adapted to western landscapes are managed on wet ground and rich grasses.
Removing tens of thousands of horses and burros from their legally-designated Western ranges and moving them into government-run facilities subverts the intent of the 1971 Wild Free-roaming Horse and Burro Act, which mandated that horses be preserved “where presently found.” A 2009 DC district court case held that “Congress did not authorize BLM to “manage” the wild horses and burros by corralling them for private maintenance or long-term care as non-wild free-roaming animals off the public lands.”
We appreciate your Administration’s recognition of the horses’ value as an ecotourism resource. However, the display of captive, non-reproducing herds in eastern pastures renders them little more than zoo exhibits, further discounting the contribution to our history and the future of the American West.
We believe that workable solutions to create a healthy “multiple use” of public rangelands, protect the ecological balance of all wildlife, and preserve America’s wild horses and burros in their rightful, legally protected home can be achieved. We are calling on the Obama Administration to reform the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Management Program.
We ask that you reverse the current course and immediately take the following actions:
1.Place a moratorium on all roundups until accurate and independent assessments of population numbers and range conditions are made available and a final, long-term solution is formalized.
1.Restore protections included in the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act. Update existing laws that protect wild horses by reopening certain public lands to the mustangs and burros, thus decreasing the number in captivity. Return healthy wild horses and burros in holding to all available acres of public land designated primarily for their use in 1971. If these lands are not available, equivalent and appropriate western public lands should be added in their place.
1.Support federal grazing permit buybacks. Reduce livestock grazing and reanalyze appropriate management levels for herd management areas to allow for self-sustaining, genetically-viable herds to exist in the west.
1.Conduct Congressional hearings regarding the mismanagement of our wild herds and further investigate the inability of BLM to correct the shortcomings of the program as audited by the Government Accountability Office’s 1990, 1991 and 2008 reports.
Join today this is still an active effort. Contact Makendra at the Cloud Foundation ~ makendra@thecloudfoundation.org,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are also horse satuaries like Karen Sussmans , ISPMB.Barbara Ellen Ries says:
May 21, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Travel on a Eco- Spiritual Vacation: Times of Walking with the Wild Horses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JDcQE0a0uw ~ You tube
Karen Sussman is charming as well as educated about 400 hundreds of horses. She is the only women in the world with 4 wild horse herds. Karen has navigated a talk in front of Congress and has met with the most resistant to mediate the lives of wild burro’s after a blood bath near Oatman, AZ. The battle was settled by Karen’s guidance to end the slaughter.
She raised her children in Scottsdale, AZ. But was invited by a calling to help USA’s horse herds. Nothing is impossible for Karen she has help organized the freedom for the Apache Sitgrave horses with Dr Pat Haigh.
the only free herd to moving buffalos to Catalina Island.
Karen feels comfortable on her rural South Dakota farm and conservation and mothering nutures acres on a grazing prairie. The Lakota believe they would have a person come to them to re-unit the horses with their horse culture. They believe the horse woman is “Karen.”
Return of Sungnuni glugluka (mustang)
The Lakota people once relied on and lived with the wild horse. The horse was used in ceremonies, games, hunting, and war and in everyday life. The horse was a symbol of freedom, strength, pride and courage. The Indian people believe that they had the horse long before the Spanish arrived. The horse was bred for specific purposes. Similar to the Arabian it was bred for endurance and speed. It was necessary to travel many miles sometimes non-stop for days. The speed was required for hunting, war and games. A fast pony was a highly cherished animal with the Indian people. Today we have the privilege of having the wild horse in our midst again. As the Indian people search for their roots and regain their ceremonies, language and culture it becomes evident that the return of the wild horse is part of becoming whole again.
Returning us to nature, Karen Sussman makes the magic real again.
Princeton University is coming this summer and its Founder is going to be Hollywood movie, Wild Horse Annie, her spirit still smiles down on Karen and her horses.
Pictures:
http://www.wildhorsefoundation.org/images/karen%20sussman.JPG
Hello to ISPMB, President Karen Sussman, wild horse advocates and all international media outlets,
Thank you for your great support of ISMPB.
Please except my retraction statement : To Whom It May Concern: On, or in the month possible June by it was in July of 2010 ( I ), Barbara Ries sent out a press release on behalf of Karen Sussman in hopes of helping her raise funds for ISPMB , International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros.
I apologize that this was sent without her knowledge or permission and the statements made in the press release were taken completely out of context.
Specifically, Princeton University is not at this point involved with ISPMB. However, ISPMB is working with Mary Ann Simonds of the Whole Horse Institute
and Dr. Cassandra Nunez from Princeton University in designing a wild horse ecology study to define functional and dis-functional wild horse behaviors relative
to various equine cultures. This program needs funding in order to be implemented.
Please accept my apology as my eagerness to help overshadowed my journalistic professionalism. I apologize for any time or inconvenient in my behalf to ISPMB and it’s President.
Sincerely ,
Barbara Ries
To ISPMB , President Karen Sussman
PO Box 55
Lantry, SD 57636-0055
Tel: 605-964-6866
Cell: 605-430-2088
Saving America’s Wild Horses and Burros since 1960
http://www.ispmb.org
——————————————————————————–
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT:
July 12, 2010 Barbara Ries – 520-509-6268
Radio and TV Shows Karen Sussman- 605-964-6866
MEET THE WOMAN WHO WALKS WITH WILD HORSES
International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros ( ISPMB ) Lantry, SD- Creating a new paradigm for the protection of wild horses and burros through the development of the International Wild Horse and Burro Conservation Center, the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, is the only privately funded organization managing entire herds of wild horses.
The Conservation Center began eleven years ago with the acquisition of the last of the White Sands Missile Range horses from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The capture and release onto private lands of the White Sands wild horses was documented by Life Magazine in 1999. The following year, ISPMB obtained its second wild herd known as the Gila Herd. These rare Spanish horses are the descendants of stock from Father Kino’s mission (1600’s) in southern Arizona. These horses have appeared twice in National Geographic Magazine (2004 and 2009) and most recently this year’s Smithsonian Magazine.
Both the aforementioned herds exist only on ISPMB’s ranch. ISPMB received two more herds under the premise that these herds existence were threatened with possible elimination from their home territories in the state of Nevada. They are the Catnip Herd and the Virginia Range Wild Horses.
Living amongst the wild herds, Karen Sussman, president of the ISPMB, has documented wild horse behaviors for years and can provide interesting topics of discussion and public engagement such as: The Need to Protect America’s Wild Horses and Burros Who Are Fast Disappearing from the American Landscape; The Connection of Horse and Human Culture; Wild Horse Annie’s ( ISPMB’s first president ) Outstanding Achievement’s in Wild Horse and Burro Preservation; Anything You Wanted to Know About Wild Horse Behaviors and Their Highly Evolved Communities; How You Can Help to Protect America’s Wild Horses and Burros for Future Generation to Enjoy; Ecotourism – Enjoying the Beauty of Wild Horses.
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Karen A. Sussman
President, ISPMB
PO Box 55
Lantry, SD 57636-0055
Tel: 605-964-6866
Cell: 605-430 -2088
Saving America’s Wild Horses and Burros since 1960
http://www.ispmb.org
Become a member of ISPMB today!
http://www.ispmb.org/how-to-help-2/membership/
What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say – Ralph Waldo Emerson