International News: American wild horse advocates seek freeze on roundups

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New Zealand paper reports: 

The Bureau of Land Management is wiping out America’s wild horses,” says Anne Novak, executive director of the group. “We need to stop the roundups and protect our native wild horses.”

Protect Mustangs described the appropriate herd management level of 138 for the area as out of date and lacking in scientific merit.

“We must ensure native wild horses can survive upcoming environmental changes,” Novak says.

“The minimum population for a genetically variable herd is 150. Why are PZP advocates and the BLM allowing wild horse herds to fall below safe numbers?”

Read the full article here: http://horsetalk.co.nz/2014/11/03/american-wild-horse-advocates-seek-freeze-roundups/#axzz3HzasTBgg

PZP advocates put wild horses at risk of sterilization after roundup

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Stop the Roundups!

Protect Mustangs calls for a freeze on roundups for scientific reevaluation

Tonopah, NV (October 31, 2014)–The Battle Mountain District, Tonopah Field Office is rounding up about 120 wild horses from within the Reveille Allotment and Herd Management Area (HMA) located approximately 50 miles east of Tonopah, NV to remove alleged excess wild horses on 600,000 acres of public land.

“The BLM is wiping out America’s wild horses and taxpayers are paying for the abuse,” states Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “We need to stop the roundups and protect our native wild horses.”

The roundup will stampede native wild horse families by helicopter over a fragile ecosystem and possible sage grouse habitat in the Great Basin Desert. Often wild horses are injured and die in roundups. The treacherous roundup is paid for with tax dollars, and began October 30, 2014. Most herds need to be rounded up before given PZP.

After the roundup, approximately 70 wild horses will be permanently removed, 60 wild horses will be sent to holding facilities in Ridgecrest, California and about 10 horses will be offered for adoption after the roundup in Tonopah, NV on November 8. The remaining 50 wild horses will be released back into the HMA for a post roundup population of 98 wild horses, putting the survivors at risk. The minimum number for genetic variability is 150 wild horses.

Often the BLM returns wild horses with conformation defects to the range, instead of placing them in adoptive homes or long-term holding where they will not breed. Apparently the agency doesn’t realize that by returning wild horses with defects they will ruin the breeding pool. The BLM claims mares selected to maintain herd characteristics will be released back to the HMA. The public must watchdog the agency to ensure wild horses with defects are pulled from the breeding pool and rehomed. Euthanizing them is not an option supported by the American public.

The informed public is outraged over an EPA approved restricted use pesticide called PZP, made from pigs ovaries, to be used on native wild horses. PZP advocates campaign rigorously to treat mares with the Porcine Zona Pellucidae (PZP-22) in order to temporarily sterilize mares. PZP advocates hail the use of PZP in spite of the fact that wild horses are underpopulated on millions of acres of public land.

Experimental research on ovary damage in mares given the immunocontraceptive PZP is used to hone the drug for eventual human use. This could be where the “follow the money” piece fits in. Wild horse advocates are furious America’s herds are being used as lab rats. Science has proven the drug sterilizes wild horses after multiple use. PZP advocates are pushing for BLM to manage wild horses “in the wild” using these risky drugs.

The devastation of wild horses in the Reveille Allotment appears to be subject to a 1987 District Court Order and two orders issued by the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) in 2001 and 2002, requiring BLM conduct an annual inventory of wild horses in the Reveille Allotment and initiate a roundup to remove alleged excess native horses from the Allotment when the inventory shows that population numbers exceed the out of date Appropriate Management Level (AML) of 138 horses.

Current AML does not represent healthy herd populations and lacks scientific merit. AML must be updated to ensure healthy herds remain on public land. The herd census must never fall below 150 wild horses to maintain genetic variability.

The current estimated population, based on previous inventory flights is 168 wild horses, according to BLM. This is the low end of the genetic viability scale. The orders need to be challenged based on scientific reevaluation of wild horses benefiting the ecosystem as a native species, livestock causing range damage and the minimum number of wild horses needed for genetic variability.

“We must ensure native wild horses can survive upcoming environmental changes,” states Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “The minimum population for a genetically variable herd is 150. Why are PZP advocates and the BLM allowing wild horse herds to fall below safe numbers?”

According to a press release from National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released June 5, 2013, “The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) current practice of removing free-ranging horses from public lands promotes a high population growth rate, and maintaining them in long-term holding facilities is both economically unsustainable and incongruent with public expectations,” says a new report by the National Research Council.

The NAS report states there is “no evidence” of overpopulation. Only tobacco science and spin backs up BLM’s population claim to justify roundups and fertility control/sterilizations. PZP advocates lobbied NAS to have fertility control recommended even though the herds are underpopulated.

Roundup activities within the Reveille HMA were analyzed in the 2010 Reveille HMA Wild Horse Gather Plan and Environmental Assessment (EA) and the 2014 Reveille Wild Horse Gather Determination of NEPA Adequacy (DNA). The EA, DNA, and Decision Record can be accessed on the Reveille Wild Horse Gather website: http://on.doi.gov/10qLBlh.

Members of the public are encouraged to witness the helicopter stampede and document America’s icons losing their freedom to spread awareness that cruel roundups must stop. Observation protocols and visitor information are available at http://on.doi.gov/1xAMeTp. The BLM will post updates, photos and other information about the roundup on the Reveille website and on the hotline at 775-861-6700 throughout the course of the roundup.

The BLM is wiping out wild horses for the extractive industry and New Energy Frontier in the West. The agency manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM focuses on their mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2013, the BLM generated $4.7 billion in receipts from public lands.

BLM’s roundups disturb the thriving natural ecological balance by disturbing habitat dynamics. This crime against nature causes abnormally high birthrate and puts native wild horses at risk of inbreeding.

“We are calling for an immediate freeze on roundups and removals for scientific reevaluation,” states Novak. “Right now native wild horses are at risk of being ruined by bad policy.”

Protect Mustangs is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of native and wild horses. The group is against using PZP in the wild. Today most wild herds are threatened with low numbers and a lack of genetic variability. Using PZP in a sanctuary setting where acreage is limited is a different situation. Wild horses must not be managed in the wild as if they were a zoo exhibit.

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Links of interest™:

Info on PZP sterilizing mares: The Effects of Porcine Zona Pellucida Immunocontraception on Health and Behavior of Feral Horses (Equus caballus), Princeton http://dataspace.princeton.edu/jspui/handle/88435/dsp01vt150j42p

Princeton study on the pros and cons of adoption and immunocontraception: http://www.equinewelfarealliance.org/uploads/IEC.Rubenstein.pdf Not sure about EWA’s position on PZP now they might have embraced it like some others have.

Jamie Jackson’s piece on PZP: http://protectmustangs.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/PM-Jamie-Jackson-Using_Science_to_Improve_the_BLM_Wild_Horse_and_Burro_Program.pdf

Management of Wild Horses with Porcinezona Pellucida Pellucide: History, Consequences and Future Strategies, Cassandra M.V. Nuñez, Princeton: http://bit.ly/1rJywKl

Restricted use pesticide info: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/pending/fs_PC-176603_01-de info: Jan-12.pdf

Injection-Site Reactions in Wild Horses (Equus caballus) Receiving an Immunocontraceptive Vaccine, By James E. Roelle and Jason I. Ransom, http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5038/

Pilot project to treat wild horses in Fish Springs community: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/info/newsroom/2014/april/blm_approves_pilot.html

and http://www.wildhorsepreservation.org/media/pzp-pilot-project-treat-wild-horses-fish-springs-community

BLM Nevada Advisory Council Endorses Fertility Control Plan (Oct. 20, 2014) http://www.returntofreedom.org/blm-nevada-advisory-council-endorses-fertility-control-plan-october20-2014/

BLM partners with The Cloud Foundation in the Pryors: http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/mt/main_story.Par.31432.File.dat/TopStoryHorse.pdf

Why end natural selection in the Pryors? http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4941

Are wild horses at risk of being sterilized due to an advocacy campaign? http://protectmustangs.org/?p=6356

Ecologist Craig Downer speaks out against using PZP in the Pryors: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4178

Horse contraceptive study raises concerns  Horsetalk, NZ: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2010/10/220.shtml#ixzz3Hti8ioCv

Appeal to stop the wild horse wipe out: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=6527

The Horse and Burro as Positively Contributing Returned Natives in North America by Craig Downer PhD candidate: http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/paperinfo.aspx?journalid=118&doi=10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12

Wild Horse Conspiracy by Craig Downer:  www.amazon.com/dp/1461068983

Conformation defects: http://www.thehorse.com/articles/10115/conformation-in-horses

Genetic viability: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_viability

Genetic variability: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_variability

J. Kirkpatrick team get $100K for wild horse fertility control drug PZP: http://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/jay-kirkpatrick-team-get-100k-for-wild-horse-fertility-control-drug-pzp/

Making PZP at The Science and Conservation Center: http://www.sccpzp.org

Native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562

Petition for shelter and shade for captive wild horses and burros: http://www.change.org/p/bring-emergency-shelter-and-shade-to-captive-wild-horses-and-burros

Petition for 10 year moratorium on wild horse roundups for recovery and studies: https://www.change.org/p/sally-jewell-urgent-grant-a-10-year-moratorium-on-wild-horse-roundups-for-recovery-and-studies

Petition to defund and stop the wild horse roundups: http://www.change.org/p/defund-and-stop-the-wild-horse-burro-roundups

Join the Walking Billboard Campaign to STOP THE ROUNDUPS in Nevada: https://www.booster.com/protect-mustangs-nevada

Sample of viral news clippings: https://newsle.com/AnneNovak

Anne Novak on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAnneNovak

Protect Mustangs on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProtectMustangs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs

www.ProtectMustangs.org

Science proves PZP is sterilizing wild horses

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The truth

The Effects of Porcine Zona Pellucida Immunocontraception on Health and Behavior of Feral Horses (Equus caballus)

Authors: Knight, Colleen M.
Advisors: Rubenstein, Daniel I.
Department: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

The horse population on Shackleford Banks, a barrier island off the coast of North Carolina, has been controlled using a program of porcine zona pellucida immunocontraception since 2000. Prior studies found no negative physiological effects of the immunization, but suggested some adverse effects on behavior such as increased harem switching and extended reproductive season. Although no mares were immunized in the year of study (2013), we examined the effects of past contraception and foaling on health and behavior of the mares in an attempt to better understand its impacts on both the individual and the population. Current lactation was found to be the best predictor of health and behavior: lactating mares were in worse physical condition, spent more time grazing, and switched harems fewer times. Mares that had never foaled also were in better physical condition than mares that had foaled in the past, but did not differ in behavioral measures. There were indications that the PZP treatment has had effects other than preventing pregnancy: an increased number of years since immunization was correlated with better body condition and fewer harem switches, independent of lactation. Contraception treatment intensity or timing did not have any significant adverse effects on health and behavior on its own. However, three or more consecutive years of treatment or administration of the first dose before sexual maturity may have triggered infertility in some mares. Inducing sterility, while relieving the mares from the energetic costs of lactation and reducing the stress from harem switching, may have unintended consequences on population dynamics by increasing longevity and eliminating the mares’ ability to contribute genetically.

Read more here: http://dataspace.princeton.edu/jspui/handle/88435/dsp01vt150j42p

Sign and share the urgent petition: Grant a 10-year moratorium on wild horse roundups for recovery and studies

PZP is an EPA approved restricted use pesticide and Protect Mustangs is against using it on wild mares especially when there is an underpopulation problem on public land despite government spin. The truth is most wild herds are being threatened with low numbers and a lack of genetic variability.

BLM Ely, Nevada, district to roundup native wild horses

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Visit Nevada?

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ely District is scheduled in early November to begin rounding up and removing approximately 120 alleged excess wild horses from in and around the Triple B and Silver King herd management areas (HMAs) in eastern Nevada.

Details will be posted on the district website as they become available. The roundups are allegedly necessary to prevent further damage to private property and provide for public and animal safety.

The district will remove about 70 alleged excess wild horses from the Triple B HMA, located about 30 miles northwest of Ely, that are allegedly damaging private property, and allegedly harassing and breeding domestic stock resulting in landowner complaints. Appropriate Management Level (AML) for the Triple B HMA is 215-250 wild horses. The current population is 1,311 wild horses.

The district will remove up to 50 excess wild horses from in and around the Silver King HMA. The horses to be gathered are located about 120 miles south of Ely. They are an alleged safety concern on U.S. Highway 93 and are damaging private property, resulting in property owner complaints. The AML for the Silver King HMA is 60-128 wild horses. The current population is 452 wild horses.

The BLM claims attempts to keep wild horses away from private property and the highway, including trapping and relocating animals to other portions of the HMAs, have been unsuccessful.

The BLM will utilize the services of roundup contractor Cattoor Livestock Roundup, Inc., of Nephi, Utah, which uses a helicopter to locate and stampede wild horses toward a set of corrals to be trapped and who has already been paid millions of tax dollars, year after year. The pilot is assisted by a ground crew and a domesticated horse, known as a Judas horse who is trained to lead wild horses into the corral.

Wild horses removed from the range will be transported to the National Wild Horse and Burro Center at Palomino Valley, in Reno, Nevada, where they will be offered for adoption to qualified individuals. Wild horses for which BLM is unable to adopt out will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be allegedly humanely cared for and retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

A Wild Horse Gather Information Line has been established at 775/861-6700. A recorded message will provide information on daily gather activities and schedules. The BLM will also post daily gather information on its website.

Public lands within the HMAs will be open to the public during gather operations, subject to necessary safety restrictions, and the BLM will make every effort to allow for public viewing opportunities. The BLM has established protocols for visitors to ensure the safety of the wild horses, the public, and BLM and contract staff. The protocols are available at http://on.doi.gov/1lGnDYC under “Observation Opportunities.”

Roundups in and outside the Triple B HMA were analyzed in the Triple B, Maverick-Medicine, and Antelope Valley HMA Gather Plan and Environmental Assessment (EA), signed in May 2011 and available at http://on.doi.gov/1tgdHc6. Gather activities in and around the Silver King HMA were analyzed in the Ely District Public Safety and Nuisance Gather EA signed in August 2014 and available at http://on.doi.gov/1lx856K.

For more information, contact Chris Hanefeld, BLM Ely District public affairs specialist, at 775/289-1842 or chanefel@blm.gov.

Controversy over PZP

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nt B:W

 

Know this

Ken Salazar’s Wild Horse Plan Fuels Accusations That He’s In The Pocket Of Ranchers, Associated Press, 2010: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/17/ken-salazars-wild-horse-p_n_324799.html

“Wildlife ecologist Craig Downer of Nevada accused Salazar, a former rancher, of acting on behalf of those who view mustangs as taking scarce forage away from their cattle herds. Downer contends cattle are more destructive to the range because they concentrate in high numbers around water sources instead of grazing over a wider area as wild horses do.

“Both the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management have the right to remove livestock to ensure viable, healthy populations of wild horses. But they refuse to exercise that,” Downer said. “Their master is primarily these traditional ranching interests.”

Opposition grows to Salazar’s plan to move wild horses to Midwest preserves, Associated Press 2009: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/opposition_grows_to_salazars_p.html

“Horse defenders have stepped up their efforts in recent weeks, suing to block a proposed roundup of 2,700 horses in northern Nevada and lining up the support of celebrities such as Sheryl Crow, Lily Tomlin, Bill Maher and Ed Harris.

Crow took her concerns directly to Salazar in a telephone call this past week.

“One of the first things he said was something must be done because the horses are starving. We (advocates) don’t believe it,” Crow said in an interview with The Associated Press.”

7 Preserves Envisioned to Manage Wild Horses, New York Times, 2009: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/us/08horses.html?_r=0

“HELENA, Mont. — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday that he was proposing to create seven new wild-horse preserves, including one in the East and one in the Midwest, to address the problem of a growing population crowding the Western range.

The program, which also applies to wild burros, would expand the use of contraceptives and would geld more herds on public lands in the West, Mr. Salazar said.”

. . . ”

Yet the proposal quickly drew criticism from wild-horse advocates. Ginger Kathrens of Colorado Springs, a maker of documentary films who has chronicled the lives of a wild-horse herd in Montana, said that blocking reproduction could alter the animals’ behavior.

“It takes the wild out of wild-horse herds,” she said. “They’re families in sophisticated societies. Creating gelding herds and preventing them from reproducing is managing them toward extinction.”

But ranchers, who see wild horses as competing with cattle for grasses and water, welcomed the proposal. Jeff Eisenberg, executive director for the Public Lands Council, a group that works on public lands issues for ranchers, said Mr. Salazar’s proposal was a big step toward a solution.”

Sheryl Crow Slams Salazar’s Wild Horse Plan, Huffington Post 2010: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/22/sheryl-crow-slams-salazar_n_366809.html

“With one voice we are insisting that our government stop managing these beautiful and important animals to extinction,” Crow said in a statement released by the Cloud Foundation, a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based horse advocacy group”. . .

“It’s time for all of us to speak up for our wild horses and burros so we do not lose these living legends and inspiring symbols of our freedom in America,” she said.

Madeleine Pickens praises Salazar wild horse plan, Horsetalk, 2009: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2009/10/077.shtml#axzz3HKN0uSuY

“Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced wide-ranging proposals this week in which horses taken from the Western rangelands would be relocated to new preservation areas further east, utilising better quality grassland.

His plan includes the aggressive use of reproduction controls to manage numbers. Salazar hoped the new herd areas would provide tourism opportunities for nearby communities” . . .

“Pickens said she would support Secretary Salazar’s efforts, and would gladly compete to offer the wild horse sanctuary that she has planned to the bureau as one of the facilities proposed by Secretary Salazar.”

 

MANAGEMENT OF WILD HORSES WITH PORCINEZONA PELLUCIDA: HISTORY, CONSEQUENCES, AND FUTURE STRATEGIES, Cassandra M.V. Nuñez, Princeton: http://bit.ly/1rJywKl

“However, recent research in other populations has revealed behavioral and physiological side effects of long-term PZP use.”

 

Injection-Site Reactions in Wild Horses (Equus caballus) Receiving an Immunocontraceptive Vaccine, By James E. Roelle and Jason I. Ransom, http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5038/

“Abnormal dart trauma included cases where the dart hit bone or the needle broke off. We found strong evidence (odds ratio = 5.023, P = 0.001) for a higher probability of occurrence of swelling when darts were delivered by blowgun. We found some evidence (odds ratio = 8.729, P = 0.07) that abnormal dart trauma led to a higher frequency of nodule formation. Nodules were the most common reactions observed and often persisted for a year or more, but in our observations they did not appear to change any animal’s range of movement or locomotor patterns and in most cases did not appear to differ in magnitude from naturally occurring injuries or scars. We were unable to perform histological examinations of these nodules, but they may be similar to granulomas reported by other investigators following administration of Freund’s adjuvant.”

Ecologist Craig Downer speaks out against using PZP in the Pryors http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4178

Why end natural selection in the Pryors? Should humans run a wild horse breeding program or does nature know best? http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4941

The Horse and Burro as Positively Contributing Returned Natives in North America, Craig Downer  http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/paperinfo.aspx?journalid=118&doi=10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12 2014

Fundraising for Wild Horses and Our Long Term Goals

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Ghost Dancer Oct 2014

Dear Donor,

One of the reasons why we are fundraising on an open platform at GoFundMe http://www.gofundme.com/9xcfag and http://www.gofundme.com/fujloc is to provide transparency and education. Your donations are tax-deductible as well. Our transparency is important and crowd funding encourages transparency. We also accept donations via PayPal to Contact@Protect Mustangs.org Most people have no idea how much is really being donated to orgs and how much the true cost is to feed and care for rescued wild horses for example.

Out on public land it costs basically nothing to have wild horses and burros because they are part of the eco-system and fill their niche. It’s important to fight for their freedom to live in the wild.

Our plan is to create a sustainable eco-sanctuary where the the wild horses can graze and we can grow hay for the winter. The WY14 will be allowed to live in sanctuary and to be observed by visitors, students, artists, veterans, etc. They will only be minimally gentled to provide foot care and other care as needed but otherwise left in peace. The other wild horses in our Outreach Program are Ambassadors that interface with the public in a hands on way and will go to events to champion and encourage wild horse adoption as well as bust prejudice against WILD horses.

Val for example has already dispelled many myths to a lot of DVMs and vet students at UC Davis. It’s beautiful to watch it happen. Maybe now some of those people will think slaughtering wild horses is a bad idea because they met Val.

We are a national nonprofit organization based in California. Donations made directly to us via www.PayPal.com or by mail to Protect Mustangs, PO Box 5661, Berkeley, Ca. 94705 should be tax-deductible retroactively as we are filing with the IRS in 2014. Meanwhile the Andean Tapir Fund (501c3) is our fiscal sponsor while ours is in the works. When we have our own 501c3 status then we will start a fundraising campaign to create the ecosanctuary. In the meantime we need to feed, board, train and care for the wild horses in our program. We are 100% volunteer–no salaries. Your tax-deductible donations are going to the wild horses in our program.

Hay is extremely expensive and the only power we have to get a better rate is if we buy semi truck loads. We haven’t been able to raise that kind of money so we buy it in blocks of 30 bales or less at a time. Most rescues and sanctuaries are struggling with hay prices so high. For example, in the SF Bay Area hay retails for $25 a bale. In Reno the hay is cheaper. We always are sourcing out better prices to stretch out donor dollars.

We are not funded by corporations, oil, gas or big pharma so we have no conflicts of interest. We can speak out without any hidden agenda. Read this week’s Washington Post article to see how we often champion to the voiceless wild horses: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/feds-to-gather-nuisance-mustangs-in-nevada/2014/10/23/d8ef5aae-5ade-11e4-9d6c-756a229d8b18_story.html

We are here for the wild horses, period. We are a dynamic org and we need more volunteers so let me know if you would like to help : )

Many blessings,
Anne

Anne Novak
Executive Director
Protect Mustangs
Contact@ProtectMustangs.org

(Photo of Ghost Dancer taken in October 2014)

Captive wild horses and burros need your help!

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Dear Friends of Wild Horses and Burros,

You have the power to make change.

People protested and public outcry grew with the number of signatures on the petition. When we investigated Nevada’s captive pens filled with roundup survivors, we found young captive wild horses were dying in the triple digit heatwave. (Video: http://bit.ly/1w5l4pp)

A few months later, the BLM held a public workshop in Reno, Nevada to address public outcry for shade and shelter in BLM holding pens. Instead of working with the public to brainstorm, they announced their decision to place shade only in the sick pens and informed the public they would be conducting shade “studies” to determine if captive wild horses needed shade.

Now BLM Wyoming at Rock Springs is making similar changes. You can read about it here. They will be installing wind screens along the west side of the facility and placing protective shelters in the sick pens. This is not enough!

The feds’ proposed remedies in Nevada and Wyoming are a small step in the right direction. We must bring them to understand that ALL the captive wild horses and burros need access to shelter from the elements.

The BLM is dragging their feet and the federal employees whose salaries are paid for with your tax dollars are very lazy. They will only change their inhumane policy if we all get much louder!

Keep up the pressure and turn up the volume. Share the petition daily to get more signatures. http://www.change.org/p/bring-emergency-shelter-and-shade-to-captive-wild-horses-and-burros This is a grassroots effort and together we can do this for the captive wild ones!

Meet with your senators and representative. Show them the petition to bring shelter and shade to captive wild horses and burros. Play for them the video exposing roundup cruelty: http://bit.ly/1toytZY Politely request they intervene to put an end to the suffering in the pens. Let them know you would like a response to your request and follow up with them often.

If you cannot meet with your elected officials then mail them a handwritten letter requesting they bring access to shelter and shade for all captive wild horses and burros at the holding facilities. After all, this is what the BLM requires of adopters so why should it be any different for the BLM? The cruelty must stop now!

Keep fighting for the voiceless who suffer. Together we can turn this around.

Many blessings,
Anne

Anne Novak
Executive Director
Contact@ProtectMustangs.org
www.ProtectMustangs.org

The petition is working: Wyoming BLM to install some shelters and wind screens

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“The petition is working. The BLM held a workshop in Reno Nevada to address international public outcry for shade and shelter in 2013. The feds’ proposed remedies are not enough but it is a beginning at changing policy. Keep up the pressure and turn up the volume. Share the petition daily. Meet with your elected officials. Show them the petition to bring change to captive wild horses and burros. Politely request they intervene to put an end to the suffering in the pens.” ~Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs

BLM schedules modifications to the Rock Springs wild horse holding facility

Changes will include a new office building to accommodate public tours and facilitate the adoption process; adding storage shelters to protect hay; constructing a roof over the trimming chute area; installing wind screens along the west side of the facility; placing protective shelters in the sick pens; redesigning the preparation area to improve animal and employee safety; and replacing worn or damaged corral panels. These projects will be phased in throughout the year and should not impact the wild horses.

Facility Manager Jake Benson states, “We’re taking a good look at our set-up and reworking things to increase safety and efficiency and at the same time see how we can reduce costs.” He adds, “While these changes are not required, we will evaluate their effectiveness and continue to make adjustments as necessary to provide outstanding care for the horses.”

The facility remains closed to allow wild horses recently removed from the Adobe Town, Salt Wells Creek and Great Divide Basin herd management areas to acclimate to their new environment. No public tours will be conducted during the closure; however, the public viewing kiosk is open. The public will be notified when the facility reopens.

More information about the facility is available at www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Wild_Horses/rs-wh-facility.html

Petition for emergency shelter and shade for captive wild horses and burros: http://www.change.org/p/bring-emergency-shelter-and-shade-to-captive-wild-horses-and-burros

AP reports: Feds to gather nuisance mustangs in Nevada

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Well it is Mercury Retrograde which can cause some communication glitches so it’s no surprise it happened to me today in the Associated Press article, Feds to Gather Nuisance Mustangs in Nevada. It seems an important word is missing from what I said. The word ‘nuisance’ was edited out and not by the reporter. Here is how the article reads:

Anne Novak, executive director of the California-based horse advocacy group Protect Mustangs, acknowledged the  roundups are legal under the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971. But she said the ranchers are “grabbing at straws to remove native wild horses.”

“If people are going to live outside the city and don’t want wild horses and other wild animals eating their grass, then they need to pay for fencing with their own money, not expect another government handout,” Novak said.

This is what I said specifically about the nuisance roundup:

The nuisance roundup is allowed in the 1971 Act. It seems like the ranchers who want wild horses removed are jumping on the bandwagon. I’d like to see ranchers work with wild horse advocates to find the win-win. After all “wildlife and cows can be partners, not enemies in search for food” according to Princeton University’s Dan Rubinstein. http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S32/93/41K10/index.xml?section=featured It’s time to stop the fighting and focus on improving range-land health. Old grazing practices can be improved with holistic land management incorporating America’s wild herds.

You can read the corrected version in the Washington Post: http://wapo.st/1DKtvc5

A big thank you to the Associated Press for reporting on America’s wild horses!

Anne Novak