Tag Archives: Burros

Congress considering terrible bills to speed up oil and gas destruction of public wildlands

Posted on by
Reply

Water for wildlife in Nevada (Photo © Anne Novak, all rights reserved.)

Cross-posted from National Resources Defense Council

By Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.

May 15, 2012

A suite of bad bills is scheduled to be considered in the House Natural Resources Committee tomorrow, and NRDC opposes all of them. Here are the details from my colleague Bobby McEnaney on the four worst:

    • H.R. 4383 – This draconian bill is designed to eliminate the public’s right to have a say in the management of public lands–lands that belong to all Americans. The bill would abolish most avenues to protest oil and gas leasing decisions, mandates unrealistic timelines for challenging oil and gas leases, aims to limit the scope of federal courts, and imposes a $5,000 fee if anyone can still find a way to protest an agency’s oil and gas leasing decision. Further, this legislation would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to bypass proper environmental review, even though the oil and gas industry currently is sitting on thousands of unused leases.
    • H.R. 4382 – This sweeping legislation would mandate oil and gas leasing on public lands, even when it is not warranted. It would also eliminate the public’s right to participate in management processes associated with leasing decisions by severely curtailing the opportunity to protest inappropriate leasing decisions. Lastly, it would force the BLM to lease lands when oil and gas companies want, even when such a decision would destroy or damage sensitive lands and wildlife habitat, including wilderness quality lands. In essence, this bill would cede control of federal lands to oil and gas producers and remove safeguards that balance energy production with necessary conservation mandates.
    • H.R. 4381 – This bill would require the Department of Interior (DOI) to establish arbitrary targets for energy production on federal lands–even those under the jurisdiction of other agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service. The bill would require the agency to take all necessary actions to meet the targets, leading to extraction of coal, oil and gas, and other dirty fossil fuels at the expense of cleaner sources such as wind and solar.
    • H.R. 4402 – This legislation would nearly abolish the public’s right to participate in the management of mining claims on federal lands. H.R. 4402 would eliminate the few safeguards that are in place and turn the clock back to the 19th century by eliminating the public’s right to challenge inappropriate mineral leasing decisions.

An elder’s wisdom

Posted on by
Reply

Wild Stallion in Nevada (Photo © Cynthia Smalley, all rights reserved.)

There is an ancient Indian saying that something lives only as long as the last person who remembers it. My people have come to trust memory over history. Memory, like fire, is radiant and immutable while history serves only those who seek to control it, those who douse the flame of memory in order to put out the dangerous fire of truth. Beware these men for they are dangerous themselves and unwise. Their false history is written in the blood of those who might remember and of those who seek the truth. ~Floyd ‘Red Crow’ Westerman

(Special Thanks to Marjorie Farabee for sharing this.)

 

Outrage over secret documents planning to kill or slaughter 50,000 native wild horses  

Posted on by
52
Nevada mustang © Carl Mrozek

Nevada mustang © Carl Mrozek

Preservation group asks for pro-slaughter activist to be replaced on national Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Panel

WASHINGTON (February 10, 2012)—Protect Mustangs asks Secretary Salazar, overseeing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to replace the pro-slaughter appointment of Callie Hendrickson, for the ‘General Public’ position on the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board with a neutral person. Hendrickson has a history of lobbying in support of slaughter and zeroing-out wild horses. Protect Mustangs is concerned that the BLM has given the green light to plans to kill and slaughter the more than 50,000 American wild horses taken off the range as revealed in secret documents including one found on Wikileaks.

“We are opposed to BLM’s outrageous decision to choose a pro-slaughter and anti-wild horse activist for the advisory board,” states Anne Novak, executive director for Protect Mustangs. “It is fiscally irresponsible to roundup and warehouse more than 50,000 wild horses but to slaughter and kill them is a heinous act.”

The preservation group and members of the public are gravely concerned the BLM is preparing to kill the 50,000 wild horses in holding according to secret reports from 2008 discovered by Dr. Pat Haight, President of the Conquistador Equine Rescue and Advocacy Program’s FOIA research. The report reveals planning for massive wild horse sales to slaughter and euthanasia on an epic scale that will wipe out the American wild horse.

Protect Mustangs recently learned about a Wikileak document titled Federal Lands Managed by the BLM and Forest Service issued to the 110th Congress in February 2009 discussing how to “dispose” of wild horses.

“In destroying the last wild horses, the U.S. government’s BLM is continuing to destroy the planet,” states Michael Blake author and Academy Award-winner for Dances with Wolves.

Protect Mustangs wants the BLM to honor their promise of ‘a new direction’—not continue to break the public’s trust.

“More than 80% of Americans are against horse slaughter,” explains Kerry Becklund, director of outreach for Protect Mustangs. “Wild horses are a national icon—they are beloved by the public from coast to coast.”

By taking the majority of wild horses off the land at great taxpayer expense, BLM created a fiscal problem. Some ask if it was to ‘help’ big business’ land grab. Now the mustangs are in the care of the BLM and killing them or selling them to slaughter is not supported by the American people.

“BLM is going against the public’s wishes by cruelly rounding up wild horses in secrecy and denying media access,” states Novak. “Are they now moving forward to slaughter and kill all the mustangs they took off the range? If so, this mustang massacre must be stopped.”

# # #

Media Contacts:

Anne Novak, Anne@ProtectMustangs.org, 415-531-8454

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

Links of interest:

Secret documents reveal plans to destroy America’s native wild horses in 2008:

http://bit.ly/wxph6e

http://bit.ly/zw4wLZ

Feb 2009 Wikileaks doc Federal Lands Managed by the BLM and Forest Service issued to the 110th Congress discuss how to “dispose” of wild horses: http://bit.ly/Asouv2

Petition to stop horse slaughter: http://chn.ge/ykkbJe

Science finds American wild horses are native: http://bit.ly/wPExYA

Hendrickson, the activist against wild horses: http://bit.ly/x4PpVG

AWHPC reports on advisory board stacked against mustangs: http://bit.ly/ypkkSL

ASPCA & independent poll shows Americans against horse slaughter: http://bit.ly/Acbi6n

Twitter @ProtectMustangs

Protect Mustangs on YouTube

Protect Mustangs in the News

www.ProtectMustangs.org

 

Protect Mustangs is an nonprofit organization who protects and preserves native and wild horses.




Transparency and accountability questioned at upcoming mustang roundup

Posted on by
3


Preservation group wants increased visibility for public and media to document native wild horses at roundup and temporary holding

WASHINGTON (February 3, 2012)—On the eve of another expensive Tonopah roundup in Nevada, Protect Mustangs voices their concern for the welfare of the American wild horse during roundups as well as government transparency, fiscal responsibility, public access and accountability. The preservation group awaits the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) response to the following questions:

1.) We are very concerned about the lack of transparency at roundups. Keeping visitors miles away from the trap site is unacceptable. In 2009 and 2010 members of the public and media were allowed closer access to document the roundups. Why has this policy changed?

2.) We want to go on the record to ask that the canvas on the metal corral panels—blocking the ability to see inside the trap site even from a distance—be taken down. It appears the BLM shrouds the mustang removals in secrecy and does not want the media or public to see what is going on when wild horses are captured. This protocol is very upsetting to members of the public. Will BLM take down the canvas tarps blocking media and public visibility to document the roundup?

3.) We would like to see a burro expert on site to prevent animal cruelty at taxpayer expense. Will a burro behavior expert be on site every time burros are being rounded up and transported so the cruel hot-shotting incident at Calico will not be repeated?

4.) The American public wants all roundup-related deaths to be counted correctly. If a wild horse—enjoying life out on the range—is removed from the range alive and BLM kills it because it is “old” or for whatever other reason this needs to go on the record as “roundup related”. The horse would have continued to live for some time if the BLM had not rounded it up. Will the BLM attribute the death of wild horses as “roundup-related” for a minimum of 30 days from their capture?

5.) We also want to go on the record asking for BLM to hold all aspects of capture, temporary holding, processing and adoption on public land—giving reasonable access to the media and the public—as an act of good faith to show the global community that the Wild Horse and Burros program has taken the new direction the courts are expecting the BLM has taken. Will you hold all aspects of the roundup, holding, processing and adoption on public land to build trust with the public?

Upon receiving the response from BLM, Protect Mustangs will post it to their website: www.ProtectMustangs.org

Rounding up healthy wild horses illustrates fiscal irresponsibility during America’s economic crisis. The overpopulation myth was created by BLM to justify spending millions of tax dollars.

In 1900, 2 million wild horses roamed the West. Today, Protect Mustangs believes less than 20,000 exist in the ten western states combined.

“After hearing the State of the Union address we are concerned that the Obama Administration will forfeit wildlife for the New Energy Frontier,” explains Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “We want to see genetically viable wild horses and other wildlife remain on public land for the public to enjoy. There can be a win-win for wild horses and energy. Industrialization must not wipe out wildlife.”

The preservation group urges interested people to contact the Tonopah BLM to adopt a wild horse or burro at the roundup site. Their office telephone is 775-482-7801.

Protect Mustangs is a Berkeley-based preservation group whose mission is to educate the public about the American wild horse, protect and research 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:

Protect Mustangs’ videos: http://www.youtube.com/ProtectMustangs

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

Protect Mustangs website: http://protectmustangs.org/

Josh Fox (GASLAND HBO) denied 1st Amendment rights & arrested: http://bit.ly/zqVCZF

Obama Continues Destructive Federal Grazing Subsidy on 258 Million Acres of Public Land: http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2012/02/01-3

Cloud Foundation Captures Burro Hot-shot Abuse on Video:  http://bit.ly/tDXkkl

Deb Coffey’s Open Letter to Tonopah BLM: http://ppjg.me/2012/01/03/open-letter-to-the-blm-hee-haw/ 

Video of Press Denied Access at Roundup and First Amendment denial: http://bit.ly/yAL13z

 

 

Wild Horse Annie honored today

Posted on by
1

Wise wild stallion (Photo © Cynthia Smalley, all rights reserved.)

Wild horse heroine, Velma Johnston aka Wild Horse Annie, fought for decades to protect mustangs and prevent them from being shipped off to slaughter. Johnston campaigned to prevent them from being killed on public land, harassed by airplanes rounding them up, branded, terrorized and sold to make dog food. Congress unanimously passed the Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act in response to the public outcry led by Wild Horse Annie.

On December 15, 1971 the President of the United States of America signed The Act to forever protect our majestic wild horses and burros–symbols of American freedom and the pioneer spirit.

Sadly forty years later, protections for American wild horse and burros are being violated through stealth acts, such as the Burns Amendment which makes it legal for our living treasures to be be sold in “unlimited numbers” and therefore bought by kill buyers and sold to slaughter because the meat fetches a high price in Asian countries especially.

In 2011 wild horses and burros are again chased by aircrafts and terrorized in roundups to remove them from their rightful place on public land. Next they are torn from their families, processed and branded only to await an unknown fate . . .

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) excuse for back-room removal deals is a random allotment system called the appropriate management level (AML) that has nothing to do with The Act and nothing to do with thriving natural ecological balance (TNEB) yet everything to do with the livestock grazing lobby as well as the extractive and energy industry’s public land grab.

Most herd management areas (HMAs) are overpopulated with livestock–trashing the land–while the wild horses are scapegoats for all range and riparian damage. Some HMAs have as many as 200 heads of livestock to one wild horse. Curiously, adult cows and calves are counted as one unit yet adult wild horses and their foals are counted as 2 units. The numbers are skewed and the spin is intense against wild horses and burros because there is no money behind them. They can’t be used for profit or for tax write-offs.

More than 75 million tax dollars are wasted annually on BLM’s broken program–dependent on expensive roundups and removals. It creates a surplus of formerly wild horses warehoused in long-term holding who are vulnerable to slipping out the back door to slaughter or being killed by the government because of being a financial drain.

Leaving indigenous wild horses on their legal range costs next to nothing in comparison. Protect Mustangs would like to see American wild horses freed from long-term holding and returned to their herd management areas of origin.

Tonight, vigils to re-protect American wild horses and burros are being held across the United States of America, the UK and Sweden. The public wants the roundups and inhumane treatment to stop now.

 

 

 

A film to stop horse slaughter

Posted on by
Reply

 

(©ThePetitionMovie.com)

We are very honored to be sponsoring THE PETITION, directed by Anne Novak, co-produced by Ken Wahl, starring Michael Blake, The Barbi Twins. Donate here to help fund the documentary. Visit the official website www.ThePetitionMovie.com  Sign the petition and protect America’s horses.

Breaking News: Celebrities speak out against roundups & Old Gold’s death

Posted on by
4

 

"Old Gold was traumatized and killed," say the Barbi Twins. "Stop the Calico roundup now!"

Michael Blake and The Barbi Twins speak out against wild horse roundups 

Do the death counts dupe Congress?

LOS ANGELES (November 28, 2011)—Academy Award winner-Michael Blake and the Barbi Twins join the American public and Protect Mustangs in their outrage over the death of Old Gold, a palomino wild mare who was euthanized by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) after being rounded up. Cat Kindsfather’s photos were released on the Protect Mustangs website showing the traumatized wild horse slammed into a metal panel at the trap, yet the (BLM) reports the mustang was euthanized because she was more than 20 years old—with a lack of body condition and worn teeth.  The BLM counts Old Gold’s death as ‘not gather-related’. California-based Protect Mustangs believes the horse’s death is roundup-related and must be counted as such. They want Congress to be informed and taxpayers to know how their money is spent. Protect Mustangs asks the Obama Administration to freeze all roundups now, end inhumane treatment of wild horses and burros, save taxpayer money and conduct an exact head count on the ranges to know exactly how many treasured wild horses and burros exist in the wild.

“Old Gold was traumatized at the trap and slammed into a metal fence where she surely was injured,” explains Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs from Berkeley. “Congress hears about a 1% death rate at roundups but how can that be? BLM’s accountability is in question now that the agency lists Old Gold’s death as ‘non gather-related’”.

As of November 27th, six deaths have occurred at the Calico roundup. Five were listed as ‘non gather-related’ deaths—including killing Old Gold. Only one death has been classified as a “gather-related” death, according to the BLM death report.

“Killing the wild mare, Old Gold, is nothing new. The United States government has allowed its BLM and other agencies to kill animals forever . . . just for money,” states Michael Blake, Academy Award winning screenwriter of DANCES WITH WOLVES.

BLM must correct its policy to insure that the welfare of wild horses and burros is considered above the contractor’s payment per head for each animal rounded up and delivered to BLM.

Protect Mustangs is requesting transparency from the BLM about the amount paid per wild horse (adult and youngster) and at what point is the horse considered “delivered” for payment. Also they want to know if the contractor gets paid if a horse is euthanized after “delivery”.

“American taxpayers don’t want to pay for animal cruelty,” states Novak. “We don’t want wild horses and burros to be traumatized, injured and killed at the hands of our government. We want the roundups to stop now.”

Two winters ago BLM rounded up Calico wild horses in what was the deadliest wild horse roundup documented. Of the 1922 mustangs rounded up, more than 158 deaths are attributed to the roundup.

Protect Mustangs is concerned the 2011 Calico roundup will virtually wipe the wild horses off the half a million acre landscape near Gerlach, Nevada where Burning Man is held. They are circulating a petition to stop the Calico roundup.

“If it weren’t for horses, we wouldn’t have a country or a flag,” say The Barbi Twins (Shane & Sia). “Why can’t there be laws to protect them, like there are for the flag? Horses are living beings. Their blood’s been used to make the red in the red, white and blue, as you can see in the forthcoming movie, WAR HORSE.”

The wild horse advocacy group asks Congress for a full investigation into deaths at helicopter roundups and resulting from roundups 4 months after capture.

Protect Mustangs is a California-based non-profit whose mission is to inform the public about the mustang crisis, protect America’s 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:

KPFA Evening News Interview at 26:25 http://bit.ly/rssRl5

Questions over fate of “Old Gold” http://bit.ly/vr1MX9

Protect Mustangs asks Obama to stop dangerous Calico Roundup http://bit.ly/vgqIOv

BLM Death Report: http://on.doi.gov/vttLwA

Protect Mustangs’ Petition to Stop Calico Roundup: http://chn.ge/rBoej7

CBS reports on deadly 2010 Calico roundup stampede http://bit.ly/sZaHZ