Advocacy groups have released wild horses with Nevada Department of Agriculture in the past
Photo courtesy of Let “Em Run Foundation
In the recent KRNV story about the south Reno horses going to the livestock auction, Nevada Department of Agriculture’s staff appeared on camera claiming that the cooperators weren’t being used because they released horses onto the range. Where is the proof?
A Virginia Range pinto gelding named Dickie disappeared from the Tahoe Reno Industrial Complex (TRIC) property around March 2012 and magically appeared overweight later on in another county at Clearwater in Reno. How does this happen?
Photo of Dickie on July 14, 2012 used ot compare with his file photo for ID
The Department of Agriculture’s statement implied that the wild horse groups were involved in something improper. Yet in the past groups did release horses – belonging to the department – at the direction of the department – under the direct supervision of the department.
The largest release involved 55 horses freed at TRIC. It was covered by the media and a short film was made of the release. The short still can be found on the Internet. Here’s a link to one copy.
Call Governor Sandoval and ask him to stop Nevada from selling historic wild horses at auctions frequented by kill-buyers 775-684-5670 or 702-486-2500
Sources:
Let ‘Em Run Foundation: http://www.letemrun.com/index.html
Least Resistance Training Concepts group: http://www.whmentors.org/
Alliance of Wild Horse Advocates Sept 7th update: on Dickie and livestock sale: http://www.aowha.org/war/ndoa_horse_sale_1203b.html#dickie
KRNV Story: http://www.ktvn.com/story/19548710/wild-horse-controvesey-heating-up
The controversy over wild horses in Nevada is heating up again. A group of about two dozen organized a demonstration in front of the Capital in Carson City on Friday. And earlier this week an emotionally charged confrontation between a private landowner and a wild horse advocate took place in south Reno. (It was later posted on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6uZPdD_PWM )
An unidentified woman charged at the camera protesting that horses were being trapped and moved rather than simply fenced out. The landowner caught it on his cell phone and launched it on YouTube.
“This is a fence out state!,” insists Tonia Tavcar. “If landowners don’t want horses on their land they don’t have to trap them and send them to slaughter, they can just fence them out!”
“It seems logical, I admit,” says Ed Foster, Public Information Officer with the State Department of Agriculture. “But we are charged with responding to complaints when stray animals, including horses, are a nuisance and doing something about it. But we don’t have the authority to make a landowner put up a fence!”
Foster adds the drought is fueling problems as more horses search for food and water. And he says for a while they did sell horses back to the advocates at a very low price. That he say, seemed to work until those same horses resurfaced on the range and were picked up again.
It’s all resulted in a lawsuit filed Friday, by the State of Nevada against the advocates for releasing the animals.
Foster says since his department no longer gets funding to house or administer birth control to the animals and has no option but to remove any problem animals and sell them as livestock.
Horse advocates say they’ll continue to fight for the future of animals so many other states would love to have roam their land.
The lawsuit names advocate Willis Lamm. It charges the ‘Let ‘em Run Foundation’ with failure to brand or mark their animals, abandoning an animal and allowing an animal to be injured or deprived of food and water – all misdemeanor charges.
We also contacted the office of the landowner, Mike Diloretto about this story, but he is out town.
KRNV story Written by Erin Breen