Secretary Sally Jewell Photo by BLM

Letter to the Secretary of Interior, Sally Jewell on Flag Day

June 14th, 2013

Dear Secretary Jewell,

First of all we would like to congratulate you on your new position as Secretary of Interior.

The National Academy of Sciences published a report last week. According to a press release from NAS released Wednesday, “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.”

Despite the fact that there is no evidence of overpopulation, The NAS is suggesting a broad use of fertility control–sterilization and risky birth control approved by the EPA as a “restricted use pesticide”.

You can read about the issue in the Washington Post here as it went viral around the world: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-06-05/national/39747528_1_roundups-fertility-population-growth

The FDA would not approve this fertility control drug for equines. If the drugs/pesticides/birth control are not dangerous, then why haven’t they been approved for domestic horses?

Science has proven wild horses are returned-natives. Any designation of them as “pests” surely will be challenged in the courts in the near future.

We are requesting a moratorium on roundups and a scientific study to determine the actual population as well as birthrate–without the herds feeling an urgent need to reproduce because of excessive roundups since 2009. We kindly request this occur before any action to sterilize or give birth control labelled a “restricted use pesticide” to America’s wild horses and burros.

There are several health risks involved with giving free-roaming mares PZP, GonaCon® and other immunocontraceptives as well as sterilizing them or the stallions. I will provide more information in another letter.

We also request you consider the fact that managing wild horses and burros with fertility control would domesticate them because man would be choosing who breeds when, for more than a million years, Equus caballus has evolved through the survival of the fittest model.

The environment is changing and with it wildlife must evolve to survive. We are deeply concerned that using fertility control would manage them to extinction due to human interference with natural selection.

We don’t have any conflicts of interests as we are not funded by organizations and or companies connected to fertility control products and services. We are asking you for your help during this crisis because we represent many Americans who care about wild horses and burros.

Advocates estimate there are only 18,000 wild horses left in the wild. The BLM has been claiming their numbers are in the high 30,000 to justify large-scale, costly roundups and removals since 2009. The BLM has a huge budget for the program and no scientific proof of population–no headcount. Their overpopulation claim lacks scientific evidence as we claimed and was determined by the National Academy of Sciences

It’s time for wild horses and burros to be managed using real science not junk science. We encourage you to put a moratorium on roundups and complete a comprehensive scientific population study before you agree to using any fertility controls on our wild herds.

Thank you for helping save America’s wild horses and burros from being managed to extinction.

Sincerely,

Anne Novak

Anne Novak

Executive Director

Protect Mustangs

San Francisco Bay Area

As seen in the Washington Post

Read about native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562 

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Protect Mustangs is devoted to protecting native wild horses. Our mission is to educate the public about the indigenous wild horse, protect and research American wild horses on the range and help those who have lost their freedom.

#WildHorses #Environment #animals #horses #fracking #food #water #green #science #Foodie #America #Nature #News #Breaking @SecretaryJewell 

More photos coming soon.

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Mustang flag with stars by Robin Warren for © Protect Mustangs

Inaugural Flag Day Rally 

The SF Rally is outside Senator Feinstein’s Office Building in SF from 11-12, June 14th (Flag Day is not an official federal holiday) 1 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94104. Meet at 10:30 with your signs. Come early to park or take BART. The station is Montgomery. Handmade signs are the best. Bring the kids!

The Carson City rally, from 4pm to 7 pm on Friday June 14th, is in front of the Legislative building, across the street from Comma Coffee house on 395/ Carson Street ~ Address: 401 S. Carson St, Carson City, NV 89701. 

Many cities are participating. See rally info, organize, start a rally and post it on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/433778203386782/433944553370147/?notif_t=event_mall_comment

The press release calling for a moratorium on roundups and national rallies to Save the Mustangs is here: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4479

Sign and share the Petition to Defund the Wild Horse and Burro Roundups: http://www.change.org/petitions/defund-and-stop-the-wild-horse-burro-roundups

Tweet:  Get ready! #Rally4Mustangs on Flag Day July 14th International http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4539 #WildHorses #Animals #Fracking

Barbie Hardrock joins Protect Mustangs’ Oakland protest through the web (Photo © Rocquette)

Adopt these two and save them! (Photo © Taylor James)

Robin Warren, Youth Campaign Director for Protect Mustangs with her mother Denise Delucia at the Sacramento Rally to Stop the Roundups. (Photo © Cat Kindsfather, all rights reserved.)

OBAMA ~ Mustang poster © Lise Stampfli 2009

Protect native wild horses! © Protect Mustangs.org

Stop the Roundups rally organized by Protect Mustangs & Native Wild Horse Protection. (Photo © Respect 4 Horses.)

Terri Farley speaks at the Rally to Stop the Roundups (Photo © Anne Novak.)

Native wild horse mare and foal. (Photo © Molly Malone)

By Stephen Dinan The Washington Times \ June 10, 2013

New Mexico’s attorney general has ruled that horse meat is an adulterated product, which animal-rights advocates said should halt a slaughterhouse that had applied to become the first in the U.S. to resume horse slaughter for human consumption.

Attorney General Gary King’s decision puts an end to a bid by Valley Meat Company in Roswell, N.M., to become the first horse meat slaughterhouse to operate since 2007, when Congress shut the practice down by banning inspections. Without inspections, the meat couldn’t be processed.

“Our legal analysis concludes that state law does not allow for production of meat that is chemically tainted under federal regulations,” Mr. King said. “New Mexico law is very clear that it would be prohibited and illegal.”

State Sen. Richard Martinez had requested the review, which concluded that horse meat fits the legal definition of an “adulterated food product” if the meat came from horses that had been treated with drugs — which animal-rights activists said is true for horses raised in the U.S. CONTINUED – Read the rest of the Article

Photo ©Rachel Anne Reeves all rights reserved

Kathleen Hayden’s list

1. The 1971 Wild horse Act is superseded by the Wildlife Trust laws whose basis was the Magna Carta which can be seen in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.

2. Changes in English common law enacted in 1641, ruled that the Magna Carta had settled the question of who owns fish and wildlife.

3. Wild horses and burros are no less “wild” animals than are the grizzly bears that roam our national parks and forests (Mountain States v. Hodel)neither the states of the federal government have the right to harm Our Heritage  Wildlife as found by Supreme court 1995 Ruling Babbit v.Sweet Home.

4. The Babbit v Sweet Home case found that The term “take” means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct. 16 U.S.C. § 1532(19).

5.  By a 6-3 vote, the Court upheld the statutory authority of the Secretary of the Interior to include “habitat modification and degradation” as conduct which constitutes “harm” under the ESA.

In addition to the statutory provisions described above,

6. Section 5 of the ESA authorizes the Secretary to purchase the lands on which the survival of the species depends. Accordingly, Sweet Home maintained that this Section 5 authority was “the Secretary’s only means of forestalling that grave result [i.e. possible extinction).

7.  As a result, based upon “the text, structure, and legislative history of the ESA the Supreme Court concluded that “the Secretary reasonably construed the intent of Congress when he defined ‘harm’ to include ‘significant habitat modification or degradation that actually kills or injures wildlife species.

8.  Pursuant to BLM’s 2001 Special Status Species Policy requirement that “sensitive” species be afforded, at a minimum, the same protections as candidate species for listing under the ESA. It called on BLM managers to “obtain and use the best available information deemed necessary to evaluate the status of special status species in areas affected by land use plans . . . This statement by BLM was from the May 2003 Proposed Nevada Test and Training Range Resource Management Plan and Final EIS    Comment 87, BLM Response, pg. E-25″The issue of a wild horse as an invasive species is moot since the 1971 WHBA gave wild free-roaming horses “special” status based on their heritage of assisting man settle the “West”.

for immediate release

Captive wild horses trapped with no shade during heat wave

RENO, Nv. (June 9, 2013)–Senator Mark Manendo, Protect Mustangs and horse lovers across the internet are very concerned for the welfare of the captured native wild horses at the Palomino Valley National Adoption Center during the Reno heat wave. Mustangs of all ages are trapped in pens without shade–even mares and newborn foals. An avalanche of concern is traveling across social media.

Patty Bumgarner with the Wild Horse Protection League from Dayton wrote on Facebook, “Palomino Valley BLM, 91 degrees at 11 a.m. and no shade for the horses with foals or any of the horses & burros. Supposed to be 106 today in Dayton. They’re 2 degrees hotter then us right now.”

Bumgarner’s post caught the attention of many wild horse advocates including Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs.

“It’s horrific to know this is happening but not be able to help them,” says Novak. “We bring this up with BLM yearly but they ignore public input and continue treating wild horses inhumanely. They don’t seem to care. Now with social media more people are finding out so maybe it will help change things.”

After last summer’s nearby wildfire, the BLM told Novak that no one lives on site. There are up to 2,000 wild horses in pens at the facility outside Reno. She decided to get help elsewhere.

Novak contacted Nevada State Senator Mark Manendo for help. He has an internet track record of being kind to animals and helping horses.

“We have a state law that says dogs need proper shade, food and water, so why not those horses?” asks Mark Manendo, Nevada State Senator. “Why would the BLM not want to provide proper care for the horses–especially if they require adopters must prove the wild horses will have access to shade?”

Previously the Palomino Valley National Adoption Center known as “PVC” has come under fire for several hot button issues. They have decided to cut costs by closing during 3 out of 4 Saturdays per month, making it harder for adopters to adopt wild horses and they don’t appear to be counting or reporting mustang mortalities correctly according to rendering plant records exposed by Animals Angels. During her research for 2013 mortalities, Novak discovered that young foals who die and have not been branded go unreported. With so many mares giving birth to foals at this time of year and no shade during heat waves–unreported deaths are of concern.

“We want American wild horses, especially mares and tiny foals, to be treated humanely while cared for by the federal government,” says Anne Novak. “They should be living in freedom where native horses belong so they can migrate to find shade. Now they are trapped in a pen during a heat wave with no shade–it’s cruel.”

Protect Mustangs encourages concerned Americans to contact their Congressional representative and 2 senators, asking them to intervene to stop this cruelty in all government holding facilities. This concerns all Americans because it is a federal issue.

According to the BLM’s website, “The National Wild Horse and Burro Center at Palomino Valley (PVC) is the largest BLM preparation and adoption facility in the country and serves as the primary preparation center for wild horses and burros gathered from the public lands in Nevada and other near-by states. Nevada is home to more than 50 percent of the Nation’s wild horses and burros with approximately 102 herd management areas throughout the State.”

Protect Mustangs is devoted to protecting native wild horses. Their mission is to educate the public about the indigenous wild horse, protect and research American wild horses on the range and help those who have lost their freedom.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Anne Novak, 415.531.8454 Anne@ProtectMustangs.org

Kerry Becklund, 510.502.1913 Kerry@ProtectMustangs.org

Photos, video and interviews available upon request

Links of interest:

Senator Manendo calls for wild horse sanctuaries: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/jan/10/lv-senator-calls-sanctuaries-wild-horses-nevada/#axzz2VlV8EAv2

How many foals are dying after roundups: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4246

BLM’s email revealing they are not counting the unbranded dead amongst the 37 dead mustangs at the Nevada facility http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4220

Washington Post: Independent panel: Wild horse roundups don’t work; use fertility drugs, let nature cull herdshttp://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/independent-panel-to-recommend-changes-in-blm-wild-horse-program/2013/06/05/b65ba772-cdb3-11e2-8573-3baeea6a2647_story.html

Information on native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562

Wild-horse advocates: Rallies held in 50 states to drum up opposition to roundups, slaughter http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/80561cc4e8a64b43ae909f7d09a0473e/NV–Wild-Horses-Rallies

Animals Angels investigative report: http://www.animalsangels.org/the-issues/horse-slaughter/foia-requests/497-blm-nevada-mortality-records-a-nevada-rendering-animals-angels-foia-request-reveals-discrepancies.html

ProPublica: All the missing horses: What happened to the wild horses Tom Davis bought from the gov’t?http://www.propublica.org/article/missing-what-happened-to-wild-horses-tom-davis-bought-from-the-govt

Palomino Valley Center: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/prog/wh_b/palomino_valley_national.html

Protect Mustangs in the news: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=218

Protect Mustangs’ press releases: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=12

Permission given to use to raise awareness crediting © Protect Mustangs

Your comments are urgently needed to help Wyoming’s wild horses today!

You do not need to live in the U.S.A. to comment as we know Wyoming tourism draws people to the state from around the world to see native wild horses.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the roundup and removal of wild horses from the “Checkerboard” region HMAs–Adobe Town and Salt Wells Creek (ATSW) in the Red Desert of Wyoming. The EA reads:

“All wild horses on private lands and on the checkerboard lands within the ATSW Complex would be removed in accordance with the 2013 Consent Decree.”

Since wild horses move freely from public land to private land in the “Checkerboard” region, will they chase the native wild horses with helicopters on to private land to remove as many as possible from the entire public-private land region? They have chased them on to public land in the past to trap them.

Does this roundup have a back-room connection to BP America’s Continental Divide – Creston (CD-C) natural gas project that will frack 8,950 new gas wells? The massive CD-C project already has 4,400 existing oil and gas wells.

Watch GASLAND Part II on HBO July 8th to see the answer to that question.

Comments are due to BLM Wyoming by 4:30 p.m. Central Time, June 10, 2013.

We encourage you to select Alternative C, No Action Alternative, No removal  

Focus on the environmental damage because of the proposed Adobe Town Salt Wells Roundup. Oppose the roundup and request Alternative C, No Action Alternative, No removal. You can make it short. The point is to make a comment because they count how many come in. Below are some talking points:

• Damaged and trampled plants, terrain and destruction of the fragile ecosystem from chasing wild horses with helicopters and the potential for a stampede.
• Damaged and trampled plants, terrain and destruction of the fragile ecosystem from trucks and trailers as well as equipment trucks driving in and out.
• Damage to riparian areas from chasing wild horses with helicopters and the potential for a stampede.
• Damage to riparian areas and the surrounding fragile ecosystem from trucks and trailers as well as equipment trucks driving in and out.
• Noise pollution from noisy helicopters assaults all wildlife and disturbs sage grouse.
• Helicopters pollute the environment. They release CO2 that increases global warming and should not be allowed.
• Fuel emissions from trucks carrying equipment and trailers for the roundup pollute. Trucks release CO2 that increases global warming and should not be allowed.
• Dust from chasing wild horses, coupled with the stress, causes upper respiratory infections, possible permanent damage or possible death of native wild horses as well A hurting other animals in the ecosystem.
• Dust from equipment trucks and trucks hauling captured wild horses in trailers causes possible damage to other species in the ecosystem.
• Wild horses are a return-native species (E. caballus) and should not be removed. They are an essential piece in the native ecosystem, creating diversity and helping to reverse desertification. If native wild horses are removed the ecosystem will become more out of balance as we see happening because many predators species are being removed or killed.
• Without proving overpopulation, this proposed roundup is in violation of NEPA.
• Without proving overpopulation, this proposed roundup does not merit the use of risky chemical fertility control (PZP, SpayVac®) or fertility control made from pig ovaries (PZP-22, ZonaStat-H) as most pigs have become GMO animals and the risks are unknown. The “birth-control” was approved by the EPA as a “restricted use pesticide” only.
• Without proving overpopulation, this roundup should be cancelled. Even the NAS study said the BLM fails to provide accurate data to support their overpopulation claims.
• Native wild horses are not “pests” and should not be labelled or treated as if they are. They are an essential part of the native ecosystem.

More items will be listed later. Your suggestions below are welcome.

Read Debbie Coffey’s statement on using the fertility control agent known as PZP:

“PZP and other fertility control should not be used on non-viable herds either. Most of the remaining herds of wild horses are non-viable. The NAS and any advocacy groups that are pushing PZP and other fertility control have not carefully studied all of the caveats in Dr. Gus Cothran’s genetic analysis reports along with the remaining population of each herd of wild horses.” ~ Debbie Coffey, Director of Wild Horse Affairs at Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Read Jesica Johnston’s statement about overpopulation:

“The NAS findings clearly state that the BLM has failed to provide accurate estimates of the nation’s population of wild horses and burros. Therefore, the NAS cannot conclude that a state of over-population exists and or provide a recommendation for artificial management considerations such as ‘rigorous fertility controls’ to control populations for which the complex population dynamics are currently unknown.” ~Jesica Johnston, environmental scientist and biologist.

Here is the link to the BLM’s Environmental Assessment online:

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wy/information/NEPA/rfodocs/adobetown-saltwells.Par.74403.File.dat/ATSWEA.pdf

Here is the BLM press release explaining their side:

For immediate release:

Protect Mustangs calls for a moratorium on roundups 

Protests planned nationwide on Flag Day including outside Feinstein’s San Francisco office June 14th

SAN FRANCISCO (June 8, 2013)–Protect Mustangs calls for a moratorium on wild horse and burro roundups as well as nationwide protests on Flag Day June 14th. The California-based native wild horse conservation group says there are no “excess” wild horses or burros and want all the native wild horses and historic burros to be returned to the wild. They just announced the Flag Day rally outside Senator Feinstein’s office building at One Post Street, San Francisco from 11:00 – 12:00. Feinstein is on the Appropriations Committee who doles out millions of dollars to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for cruel roundups and removals.

“Stopping the roundups is one thing all the advocates can agree on,” says Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “During a moratorium, scientists can undertake accurate independent population studies to learn how many are left on each area of the range. We need to revamp outdated appropriate management levels to give native wild horses and historic burros the correct share of the rangeland designated for therm by the law. Livestock could go elsewhere but stockpiling more than 50,000 wild horses and burros is nuts.”

In light of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report on wild horses and burros lacking data for an overpopulation claim, Protect Mustangs calls upon Congress, President Obama, Secretary Jewell, The Appropriations Committee and especially Senator Feinstein for an immediate halt to roundups and to return the 50,000 wild horses in government holding to the more than 30 million acres of herd management areas in the West with a hold on fertility control. The native wild horse conservation group calls on the Department of Interior, Congress and President Obama to acknowledge wild horses are native, implement holistic land management and reserve design thus creating a win-win for wild horses to help the ecosystem and reverse desertification.

“With the gluttony of roundups and removals, wild horses reproduce at a higher rate than normal–to prevent extinction,” explains Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “We need more studies to establish what the normal reproduction rate is and discover truths under the BLM’s alleged overpopulation claim on the more than 30 million acres of public wildlands designated for their use. Today there is no scientific proof of overpopulation to merit fertility control or roundups.”

“They have no data-driven basis for gauging how many horses or burros a particular HMA can support, states Carl Mrozek, filmmaker of Saving Ass in America. “In practice BLM treats all habitats as being pretty much the same, and as resource poor, by requiring 1000+ acres/ horse or burro. This is a joke.”

In 1900 there were 2 million wild horses roaming in freedom in America. Today native wild horses are underpopulated on the range. Advocates estimate there are less than 18,000 left in the ten western states combined.

Protect Mustangs is a California based conservation group devoted to protecting native wild horses. Their mission is to educate the public about the indigenous wild horse, protect and research American wild horses on the range and help those who have lost their freedom.

“The roundups must stop now and the BLM’s fiscal irresponsibility must stop as well,” states Novak. “The public is outraged. We want native wild horses and historic burros to live in the wild–unharassed by the agency charged with their care.”

# # #

Media Contacts:

Anne Novak 415.531.8454 Anne@ProtectMustangs.org

Kerry Becklund, 510-502-1913  Kerry@ProtectMustangs.org

Links of interest: 

Washington Post: Independent panel: Wild horse roundups don’t work; use fertility drugs, let nature cull herdshttp://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/independent-panel-to-recommend-changes-in-blm-wild-horse-program/2013/06/05/b65ba772-cdb3-11e2-8573-3baeea6a2647_story.html

Information on native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562

NAS Press release June 5, 2013: http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=13511

NAS Report: Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program: A Way Forward http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13511

No proof of overpopulation, no need for fertility control http://protectmustangs.org/

Appropriations Committee members: http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/about-members.cfm

Wild burros of Airizona Black Mountains on CBS: http://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/tag/carl-mrozek/

Princeton University: Wildlife and cows can be partners, not enemies, in the search for foodhttp://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S32/93/41K10/index.xml?section=featured

Gone viral~ The Associated Press, March 24, 2013: Budget axe nicks BLM wild-horse adoption center http://www.denverpost.com/colorado/ci_22862206

US property exposed to wildfire valued at $136 billion says report: http://www.artemis.bm/blog/2012/09/17/u-s-property-exposed-to-wildfire-valued-at-136-billion-says-report/

Horseback Magazine: Group takes umbridge at use of the word “feral” http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/19392

Protect Mustangs in the news: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=218

Protect Mustangs’ press releases: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=125

Sally Jewell, Fortune Live Media / Foter.com / CC BY-ND

For immediate release:

Is it safe to use pesticides on an indigenous species? 

WASHINGTON (June 7, 2013)–In light of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report on wild horses and burros lacking data for an overpopulation claim, Protect Mustangs calls upon Secretary Jewell for an immediate halt to roundups and to return the 50,000 wild horses in government holding to the more than 30 million acres of herd management areas in the West to reduce costs quickly. The native wild horse conservation group calls on the Department of Interior to acknowledge wild horses are native, implement holistic land management and reserve design thus creating a win-win for wild horses to help the ecosystem and reverse desertification. Protect Mustangs requests that ‘survival of the fittest’ should be the only form of fertility control considered because indigenous wild horses must not become domesticated on the range. Artificial management such as pesticides and sterilizations should never be used on a native species such as Equus caballus.

“With the gluttony of roundups and removals, wild horses reproduce at a higher rate to prevent extinction,” explains Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “We need more studies to establish what the normal reproduction rate is and discover truths about alleged overpopulation on the more than 30 million acres of public wildlands designated for their use. Today there is no scientific proof of overpopulation to merit fertility control.”

In July 2010, Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) spearheaded a letter signed by members of Congress, requesting an investigation of the Wild Horse and Burro Program by the National Academy of Sciences. This was a direct result of public outcry and media exposure of roundup carnage. Three years later, the NAS report was released last Wednesday.

According to a press release from NAS released Wednesday, “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.”

“Making decisions to apply a fertility drug to wild horse herd mares would put wild horse herds in danger of a die-off if any natural or manmade disaster struck the herd management area–be it wildfire, an extreme winter, mass predation or something else,” explains Kathleen Gregg, environmental researcher. “If a majority of the mares are non-reproducing and thus zero or even just a few births, then it is easy to see that the entire herd would be in jeopardy, both genetically and physically, and would diminish their ability to survive into the future. Then we have a herd that is not safe on its own range. Wild horses must to be protected as the law states they shall be.”

“Unfortunately, the Academy quickly recommends fertility control as a better solution without considering the ‘do nothing’ or ‘placebo’ option which is an integral component of every credible field trial for pharmaceutical and other ‘treatment’ plans,” states Carl Mrozek, filmmaker of Saving Ass in America. “Had they searched for examples of herds with minimal or no culling in the past decade or so, they would have found multiple examples of herds which appear to have achieved homeostasis (equilibrium) or something approaching it, naturally, without BLM roundups or fertility treatments.”

“The NAS findings clearly state that the BLM has failed to provide accurate estimates of the nation’s population of wild horses and burros,” states Jesica Johnston, environmental scientist and biologist. “Therefore, the NAS cannot conclude that a state of over-population exists and or provide a recommendation for artificial management considerations such as ‘rigorous fertility controls’ to control populations for which the complex population dynamics are currently unknown.”

Recently fertility control, in the form of immunocontraceptives for wild horses, was erroneously passed by the EPA as “restricted use pesticides”. The EPA inaccurately named indigenous wild horses “pests” in order to pass the drug. Pesticides (PZP, GonaCon®, etc.) should never be used on native species such as E. caballus.

“PZP and other fertility control should not be used on non-viable herds either,” states Debbie Coffey, director of wild horse affairs at Wild Horse Freedom Federation.  ”Most of the remaining herds of wild horses are non-viable. The NAS and any advocacy groups that are pushing PZP and other fertility control have not carefully studied all of the caveats in Dr. Gus Cothran’s genetic analysis reports along with the remaining population of each herd of wild horses.”

Equus caballus originated in North America more than 2 million years ago. Equus survived extinction through migration and E.caballus could have returned to America with the Spanish unless some had remained on the continent the entire time. Today researchers question historical records–written with Inquisition censorship–that claim the Spanish brought the first horses to America. Even so, if no horses remained when the Conquistadors arrived they would not be introducing the species but “returning” E.caballus to its native land.

“It’s time for land managers to come out of the dark ages–use native wild horses to heal the land and reverse desertification,” states Novak. “We’d like to see the BLM manage the land using wild horses as a resource in partnership with the New Energy Frontier–at virtually no cost to the taxpayer.”

In 1900 there were 2 million wild horses roaming in freedom in America. Today native wild horses are underpopulated on the range. Advocates estimate there are less than 18,000 left in the ten western states combined.

Protect Mustangs is a conservation group devoted to protecting native wild horses. Their mission is to educate the public about the indigenous wild horse, protect and research American wild horses on the range and help those who have lost their freedom.

# # #

NAS Study Review

Media Contacts:

Anne Novak 415.531.8454 Anne@ProtectMustangs.org

Kerry Becklund, 510-502-1913  Kerry@ProtectMustangs.org

Links of interest: 

Washington Post: Independent panel: Wild horse roundups don’t work; use fertility drugs, let nature cull herds http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/independent-panel-to-recommend-changes-in-blm-wild-horse-program/2013/06/05/b65ba772-cdb3-11e2-8573-3baeea6a2647_story.html

Congressional letter requesting an NAS investigation: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxhbWVyaWNhbmhlcmRzNHxneDo1ZTFlMDQ1MzY4MzZiMzI3&pli=1

Information on native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562

NAS Press release June 5, 2013: http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=13511

NAS Report: Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program: A Way Forward http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13511

Sacramento Bee, Panel: Sterilize wild horses to cut population  Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/06/5475171/study-sterilize-horses-to-drop.html#storylink=cpy

GonaCon press release spins wild horse overpopulation myths: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/2013/02/horse_vaccine_approval.shtml

ZonaStat-H EPA Pesticide Fact Sheet: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/pending/fs_PC-176603_01-Jan-12.pdf

Princeton University: Wildlife and cows can be partners, not enemies, in the search for food http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S32/93/41K10/index.xml?section=featured

Gone viral~ The Associated Press, March 24, 2013: Budget axe nicks BLM wild-horse adoption center http://www.denverpost.com/colorado/ci_22862206

US property exposed to wildfire valued at $136 billion says report: http://www.artemis.bm/blog/2012/09/17/u-s-property-exposed-to-wildfire-valued-at-136-billion-says-report/

KQED Horse fossil found in Caldecott Tunnel: http://science.kqed.org/quest/2011/05/26/new-fossils-from-the-caldecott-tunnel/

Horseback Magazine: Group takes umbridge at use of the word “feral” http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/19392

Protect Mustangs in the news: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=218

Protect Mustangs’ press releases: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=125