Northeastern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council to Meet in Battle Mountain Aug. 14

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Protect Mustangs

ELKO, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Northeastern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council (RAC) will meet at 9:00 a.m., Friday, Aug. 14 in Battle Mountain, Nev. at the BLM Battle Mountain District, 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain. Members of the public and media are cordially invited to attend.

The RAC advises and makes recommendations to the BLM on public land management. Discussion items will include, but are not limited to, drought, rangeland health; livestock grazing and term permit renewals.

This meeting will include a field tour and members of the media and public wishing to accompany the RAC on the field tour will need to travel in high-clearance four-wheel drive vehicles and provide their own food and water.

The public may present general written and/or oral comments to the RAC beginning at 9:15 a.m. The public comment period will last approximately 30 minutes dependent upon the number of comments. Written comments can also be submitted to Greg Deimel, Public Affairs Officer (gdeimel@blm.gov), Elko District Office, 3900 E. Idaho St., Elko, NV 89801, telephone (775) 753-0386. An agenda is posted at: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/res/resource_advisory/northeastern_great.html.

Individuals who plan to attend and need special assistance such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations, or those wishing a printed copy of the agenda, should contact Greg Deimel no later than Aug. 13, 2015.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management formed 24 RACs in the western States to provide advice on the management of public lands and resources. These citizen-based groups provide an opportunity for individuals from all backgrounds and interests to have a voice in the management of the public lands, and to help improve their health and productivity. RAC recommendations address all public land issues, including: land use planning, recreation, noxious weeds, and wild horse and burro herd management areas.

From a BLM press release

#‎Breaking‬ URGENT: SHARE & Tweet NOW ‪#‎DontKILLSarge‬

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Protect Mustangs

‪URGENT: BLM is picking up SARGE right now!!! (11 am August 4, 2015)

He needs veterinarian care. Don’t let BLM kill SARGE the Fish Creek wild horse!!! Call Neil Kornze, Director of BLM 202-208-3801 DEMAND they save his life!!! Email Neil Kornze Director@BLM.gov SHARE this and take action to save his life!!!!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs/photos/a.578181705574186.1073741853.233633560029004/931079986951021/?type=1&theater

URGENT: Prevent Salt River Wild Horses from Being Eliminated

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Protect Mustangs

Salt River Wild Horses group appeals to the global community for help

The Forest Service has issued a Public Notice (publicnotices.azcapitoltimes.com/search/detail.aspx?detail=10583672) stating the Salt River Wild Horses will be permanently removed beginning August 7, 2015.

These horses were virtually unknown until 2012 when photographer, Becky Standridge, documented a wild stallion named Champ (www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SXbVw4qojg) rescuing a filly from drowning. Since then, this act of compassionate heroism has been viewed over 1.5 million times on YouTube and the Salt River Wild Horses have become one the most famous group of wild horses on the planet – with fans residing at least 45 different countries.

The Forest Service classifies the horses as feral and unauthorized (which legally permits them to be removed) because they were not included in the Census that followed the passing of the 1971 Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The Mesa Ranger District had three years to complete the Census. This period began with management that had decided to create a wild horse territory and ended with new management that redacted the decision and stripped the horses of their legal rights. Never the less, photographic evidence places the horses on the Tonto National Forest in the 1950s and printed documentation archives their presence back to the 1800s.

It has been said, “the horses have been there forever.” Forever may mean they are the descendants of the noble steeds that once belonged to the Spanish Jesuit Priest Father Eusebio Kino or of the U.S. Cavalry mounts that General George Crook and Fort McDowell soldiers used during their campaign to capture Geronimo. Either way, generation after generation after generation has been born, lived and died wild – they have a right to remain this way.

Recently, a rumor has been circulating that some of the Salt River Wild Horses have not been able to access water. This rumor is being used as one of the justifications for removing the horses, however, the premise is not true so the conclusion is invalid. These horses know where to find water; at the furthest extent of their home range they are only a few miles away from water, they have many routes to reach any location and they can travel distances in a short period of time. These horses have existed for a very long time without the intervention of man.

Rumor has it that concern over the horses becoming injured or dying is justification for their removal. This is absurd. Domestic horses are also at risk or being injured or dying. So are we. It is a fact, that in living we are all at risk but we don’t lock ourselves away or give up. It is wrong to eliminate the wild horses under the false pretense of helping them.

The Forest Service’s Public Notice states the horses may be “condemned and destroyed, or otherwise disposed of.” The removal effort alone will place the horses under undue risk of injury that may result in death. All the horses will suffer tremendous fear and all will loose their freedom. Despite the fact that horses do not have the facial muscles to express themselves as we do, they still experience emotions, suffer pain and cling to life just dearly as we do.

– – – EVERYONE AROUND THE WORLD – PLEASE HELP – – –
We need all interested individuals, regardless where you live in the world, to call, email and/or mail the three individuals listed below. Also please contact as many Congressmen (www.contactingthecongress.org), Senators (www.contactingthecongress.org), Forest Service personnel (www.fs.fed.us/about-agency/contact-us), Arizona Department of Agriculture personnel (azdirect.azdoa.gov/AgencyView.aspx?Agency_ID=239), Arizona Game and Fish personnel (www.gf.state.az.us/inside_azgfd/agency_directory.shtml), BLM personnel (www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/directory.html) and the Media regarding your desire to preserve the Salt River Wild Horses. If you can think of anyone else that should be contacted then please do.

Neil Bosworth – Supervisor for the Tonto National Forest
602-225-5200
nbosworth@fs.fed.us
2324 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix, AZ 85006

Clay Templin – Forest Fire Chief/Fire Staff Officer
602-225-5220
ctemplin@fs.fed.us
2324 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix, AZ 85006

Gary Hanna- District Ranger
480-610-3301
ghanna@fs.fed.us
5140 E. Ingram Street, Mesa, AZ 85205

We need to contact everyone possible as quickly as possible. We need to contact so many people that even the people we contact in other agencies and states will begin calling the three individuals above to encourage them to resolve the issue.

We do not have all the contact information readily available for everyone so if anyone obtains helpful references then please add them to this post for others to reference.

Please refrain from sharing emotional comments on this post so that the contact comments will not become lost in the comments.

Now is the time to act on behalf of the Salt River Wild Horses. Time is of the essence. Champ’s life is at stake and so are the lives of all the Salt River Wild Horses. We can do this if you help.

Please be polite when expressing your comments and contacting people. Please express yourself using your own thoughts and words. Feel free to reference information in this post but please be sure to use your own words.

Please share this post with as many people as you can and know how very much we, and the Salt River Wild Horses, appreciate your support.

Seeking a place to gentle 14 wild horses rescued from slaughter

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Protect Mustangs

In the next phase of the WY14 Rescue Mission, Protect Mustangs needs to gentle, feed and care for 14 Wyoming wild horses who were rescued back from the slaughterhouse last year and who will live at the Eco-Sanctuary in about 12 months once it is completed. Please contact Anne Novak, Executive Director via email at Contact@ProtectMustangs.org or by phone at 415-531-8454 if you have any leads for places in the Bay Area. Thank you!

Reprint: National Treasures Saved From Slaughterhouse

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Protect Mustangs

Milestone: Protect Mustangs rescues 14 young wild horses from slaughterhouse after BLM roundup

Roundup results in death of 23 American wild horses

SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. (Protect Mustangs)—Against all odds, Mark Boone Junior (Batman Begins & Sons of Anarchy) with Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs, saved 14 young free-roaming wild horses from slaughter thanks to donations from Alicia Goetz, the Schnurmacher family and others. This unprecedented rescue seems to be the first time American wild horses have been purchased back from a slaughterhouse following a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) roundup. In March, the herd of 41 wild horses was rounded up by the BLM, using taxpayer funds, handed over to the the Wyoming Livestock Board and sold at auction to a Canadian slaughterhouse for human consumption abroad. The BLM claims everything they did was legal.

“If it’s legal then the law needs to change,” states Novak. “Americans love wild horses. They want to make sure they’re protected. Congress knows that and it’s time they represent the public who elected them into office—not interests who want to dispose of them.”

In 2004, former Montana Senator, Conrad Burns, added the Burns amendment to the Appropriations Act of 2005 without any public or Congressional discussion. The Burns amendment overruled many protections in the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. From that time forward, “unlimited sales” to slaughter has been legal.

Due to public outcry against selling wild horses for slaughter, the BLM uses middle men who sell the mustangs to the slaughterhouse. This time the scapegoat was the Wyoming Livestock Board, other times it’s men like Tom Davis. The 1,700 wild horses he purchased from the feds have never been accounted for. Advocates believe they went to slaughter in Mexico.

Public outcry over Tom Davis prompted BLM to revise their policy to avoid another fiasco in the future. A change in policy is not a change in law. It’s still legal for the BLM to allow slaughter and exportation of horse meat.

Out of the 41 wild horses rounded up on March 18th and 19th near Greybull, Wyoming, 37 were quickly sold to the slaughterhouse. 4 foals were saved by the co-owner of the auction house and later transferred to advocates. Protect Mustangs jumped in later on April 2nd to save the other 37 wild horses from being slaughtered. Chances were slim they would find any alive.

Boone and Novak quickly learned that a group of 23 mares and stallions had already perished. The duo managed to prevent the last 14 orphaned wild youngsters from going to slaughter. The survivors are called the WY14. These wild horses range from 8 months to 2 years old.

“It’s a miracle we were able to get them out,” says Boone. “I can’t believe the EPA, in 2012, designated our wild horses as pests—especially when the horse originated in America.”

“American free-roaming wild horses are a returned-native species who contribute to the thriving natural ecological balance,” explains Novak. “They have value on the range because they reduce the risk of wildfires, reverse desertification and with climate change that’s really important.”

For generations, free-roaming wild horses lived in family bands north of Greybull and close to a former herd area called Dry Creek/Foster Gulch that was zeroed out in 1987 to make room for extractive uses such as bentonite mining.

In 1971 there were 339 wild herds in the West, but now there are only 179 left in all 10 western states combined.

Today the Bighorn Basin is preparing for another extractive boom but this time it’s about fracking for oil and gas with right-of-way corridors to service those fields. Is this why the small herd of 41 wild horses was suddenly ripped off public land?

The feds maintain the 41 wild horses were not wild even though they lived wild and free for generations.

Curiously reports have surfaced that a bucking string made up of wild mustangs was turned out by their original owner more than 40 years ago. If it could be proven these wild horses were on public land in 1971, they would be protected under the Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act. The BLM claims the horses have been there for only 40 years not 43.

“It’s horrible for tourism that the State of Wyoming would allow this sort of thing,” states Boone. “The beauty of the Bighorn Basin is like no other place on earth but it won’t be the same now that these wild horses are gone.”

“We are grateful we saved the WY14.” says Novak. “Now we need financial help to bring them to California and start their new lives.”

Go to www.ProtectMustangs.org to help the WY14 with your donation.

Reprinted from Horseback Magazine

Protect Mustangs officially requests BLM Nevada bring captive wild horses shade to end their suffering

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Protect Mustangs

John Ruhs
Nevada BLM Director
BLM Nevada State Office
1340 Financial Blvd.,
Reno, NV 89502

Front Desk: 775-861-6400
Fax: 775-861-6601
Email: nvsoweb@blm.gov

July 2, 2015

Dear Mr Ruhs,

We officially request BLM Nevada bring emergency shade to the captive wild horses & burros at Palomino Valley Center facility (PVC), the Nevada State Prison in Carson City and other short term holding corrals. Here is our petition which explains the issue and what we would like: https://www.change.org/p/bring-emergency-shelter-and-shade-to-captive-wild-horses-and-burros

In 2013, Protect Mustangs conducted an investigation that uncovered captive wild horses at PVC–with no access to shade–who were dying in the heat wave. You can watch the rough video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdM2NrJcX8o Now it’s 2015, they still do not have access to shade and heat waves are here again.

Aside from concerns to protect them from heat stroke, other underlying health issues can be aggravated by heat waves–resulting in suffering and sometimes death.

We respectfully request you intervene to stop this extreme cruelty towards America’s icons in honor of the celebration of American independence on the 4th of July.

Wild horses embody the American spirit of life, liberty and freedom. It’s time to take responsibility for the captives in BLM’s care and bring them shade.

Shelter is one of the 3 basics in animal husbandry. Adopters are required to provide shelter when adopting wild horses yet the bureau ignores its own basic care guidelines.

In the wild, mustangs seek out shade and cooler zones. In the captive pens, paid for with tax dollars, wild horses are at the BLM’s mercy. Please help them and end this senseless suffering.

I extend my hand to work with you and your office in an effort to bring an end to cruelty towards America’s wild horses who previously roamed free. Please contact me at 415-531-8454 to discuss this urgent matter. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Anne Novak

Anne Novak
Executive Director
Protect Mustangs
Tel./Text: 415.531.8454
Anne@ProtectMustangs.org

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAnneNovak
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs
In the news: https://newsle.com/AnneNovak

www.ProtectMustangs.org
Protect Mustangs is a nonprofit organization who protects and preserves native and wild horses.

Some shade issue press clippings:

Ann Novak of the advocacy group Protect Mustangs urged Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to step in and ensure protection for the horses.

She said at least three horses could have died as a result of excessive heat at the facility since June 28, but the BLM failed to perform necropsies on two of them to pinpoint the cause of death. A necropsy of the third horse found the cause of death was a respiratory illness, but Novak said hot temperatures could have aggravated the animal’s condition.

“It’s as if they (BLM) don’t want the public to know the truth,” Novak said Saturday as the mercury reached 103 degrees in Reno. “These captive wild horses need emergency shade. Exposing them to another heat wave without shade is cruel.”

Associated Press (viral coast to coast & abroad) BLM seeks ideas on how to protect wild horses from heat deaths http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/wild-horses-nevada/blm-seeks-ideas-how-protect-wild-horses-heat-deaths

BLM Seeks Ways To Protect Wild Horses From Heat After Pressure From Bay Area Advocate http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/07/20/blm-seeks-to-protect-wild-horses-from-heat-after-pressure-from-bay-area-advocate/

Novak comments: “If the government can send people into space then they can figure out how to shade the captive wild horses or just return them to the range. In the wild they can migrate to shady areas. In captivity it’s cruel to deny them shade.”

Captive wild horses need shade, advocates say http://horsetalk.co.nz/2013/07/02/captive-wild-horses-need-shade-advocates-say/#axzz3emSmcimj
Captive wild horses need relief from heat, says HSUS
http://horsetalk.co.nz/2013/07/18/captive-wild-horses-need-relief-heat-says-hsus/#axzz3emSmcimj

BLM seeks ideas on how to protect wild horses (NBC reports) http://www.mynews4.com/news/local/story/BLM-seeks-ideas-on-how-to-protect-wild-horses/HpPHeFaft0-vH0JbKVfLIA.cspx?rss=3298

and more…

Please visit this area of our website for information on the ongoing crisis: http://protectmustangs.org/?tag=shade

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

BLM avoids necropsy to avoid proof of heat distress http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4808

SHARE it’s URGENT: Help Move & Feed the WY14, Rescued from the Slaughterhouse

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Protect Mustangs

Ghost Dancer arrives in California

Their parents were all slaughtered after the roundup…

Now the WY14’s new destination has fallen through!

We rescued these 14 wild youngsters back from the slaughterhouse after the brutal BLM roundup in 2014. Horseback Magazine reported on National treasures saved from the slaughterhouse http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/28702

Today they are 2-3 years old plus 2 miracle foals who were born despite the papas being slaughtered. The small herd has finished wintering at the layover and they need to be moved from Susanville by the end of the June–but their new location just fell through! The WY14 urgently need your tax-deductible donations for hauling, paddock rental, vet and hay. Please donate here: http://www.gofundme.com/xt3bf72j

Please make a donation today and share this information to help get the word out!

We need some pasture/paddock space in Calfornia to house these young wild horses. This is a temporary situation until Protect Mustangs can secure land for the sanctuary to keep them together after all they have suffered.

All their parents and everyone over the age of 2 was slaughtered in Canada for human consumption abroad. Anne Novak and Mark Boone Junior saved the WY14 before they were live shipped to a place like Asia to end up as sashimi.

Protect Mustangs also needs a donated truck and stock trailer, fence panels, halters & lead ropes to care for them as needed at the new location. Please contact us via Contact@ProtectMustangs.org if you have a truck, trailer or equipment to donate.

Protect Mustangs is an all volunteer 501c3 sponsored organization. Our sponsor is the Andean Tapir Fund noted on this Go Fund Me. All donations are tax deductible.

The WY14 thank you so much for helping them stay together after all they have suffered at the hands of people rounding them up and slaughtering their herd.

In gratitude,
Anne

Anne Novak
Volunteer Executive Director
www.ProtectMustangs.org

Contact@ProtectMustangs.org
415-531-8454

Bring emergency shelter and shade to captive wild horses and burros!

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Protect Mustangs

Urgent! Captive wild horses and burros need shelter now as extreme summer weather hits! STOP baking them in the sun! It’s killing them. Sign and share the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/bring-emergency-shelter-and-shade-to-captive-wild-horses-and-burros

The freezing winter weather has come and gone. Captive icons of American freedom, wild horses & burros, were denied shelter from the freezing winds, snow, icy rain, with only the muck (manure & urine) to lie down in-despite public outrage..

Now the mustangs and burros will face another summer of blistering high desert sun in triple-digit heat waves—no shelter! Our living treasures will continue to suffer. . . The feds are at the epicenter of this scandalous roundup and removal attack against America’s wild horses & burros. This cruelty in captivity must stop now!

Why does France TV 2 report mostly from the side of BLM and pro-slaughter advocates?

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Protect Mustangs

The overpopulation myth is dangerous

Recently France TV 2 came to the American West to report on the “problems” caused by the “overpopulation” of wild horses. Someone either fed them the story or they did a little research on Google about American mustangs and found the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) authoritative spin, vast website and their new America’s Mustang campaign to get their overpopulation message out, couched with pretty pictures and enticing video footage of huge herds running, helicopter roundups, etc. making news reporting easy. What foreign journalists would think the BLM is lying about wild horses chasing cows away from water sources when they have so much “factual” material out there to back up their position that there are too many wild horses?

France TV 2 reports:

From: http://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/usa/video-les-chevaux-sauvages-se-reproduisent-trop-vite-un-probleme-pour-l-ouest-americain_949025.html

Synopsis Translation:

Wild horses reproduce too fast, a problem for the American West

The United States prohibits mustang slaughter but the same authorities want to limit their number to 25,000 although there are already 50,000 on the land

Mustangs are no longer welcome in the American West. Federal authorities ring the alarm for the overpopulation of wild horses on the land. There will be 150,000 in five years if nothing is done to stop their expansion. A bigger problem than the horses reproducing quickly and devouring everything on their path, according to the administration, is what is creating conflicts with certain ranchers.

2,000 horses were removed in 2015, an insufficient number

The Unites States prohibits slaughtering mustangs, but the same authorities want to limit their number to 25,000 but 50,000 mustangs are on the land. The ranchers who share the land with the wild horses won’t tolerate limited access to water sources in areas invaded by wild horses. The mustangs chase off their livestock.

In total, 2,000 chevaux were gathered in 2015, an insufficient number to reach the fixed objective, but the animal defenders call the process barbaric. Different methods have been launched without results, and that’s pushing the federal authorities to propose an award of one and a half million dollars to find a long lasting solution for the wild horse problem.

BLM’s spin dominates news report

Sadly the myths reported as truth in the France TV 2 news report were not countered effectively and the good counter points ended up in the trash. The journalists interviewed BLM staff on the range. They met with ranchers who push the overpopulation myth and are pro-slaughter–including Callie Hendricksen. They interviewed Carol Walker, photographer, legal plaintiff and board member of Wild Horse Freedom Federation at a watering hole with a lot of mustangs. The journalists reported on training at a prison program with failed adoptions being the undertone. France TV 2 seems to have heard from all sides of the issue to be fair but who were their handlers? Was it Callie Hendrickson or BLM’s staff over at their America’s Mustang campaign? The news editor crafted the story from the materials shot in the field resulting in the BLM and pro-slaughter viewpoint out in front. The whole story focused on the alleged overpopulation of wild horses in a country that prohibits slaughter with the feds offering $1.5 million to whoever find the lasting solution for population control. Sounds like the BLM pitched this story to push their heinous agenda.

The French report shows the advocacy where we are losing the battle. . . We are split. . . A portion of the advocacy is supporting the overpopulation myth and offering solutions to the false problem. Are there really too many native wild horses left in the wild?

Overpopulation must exist to justify radical zero growth fertility control measures such as PZP, castration, field spaying and slaughter

When wild horse groups support BLM’s overpopulation myth–with advocates pushing PZP as the “solution” to the “problem”–the overpopulation myth gets stronger and is eventually seen as truth. Reporting on myths as truth is a tactic used to sway public opinion–the second largest super power according to the President of the United States.

If we don’t all stand up to disprove the overpopulation myth then slaughter, sterilization and cruel roundups will be the end result.

PZP, made from slaughterhouse pig ovaries, is used for slow extermination because science proves it sterilizes after multiple use while the general public doesn’t notice. It’s a way to manage them to extinction, period. Proponents of the one foal only policy are jeopardizing survival of the species. What happens when the mare is sterilized through PZP applications and her “one foal” dies in the wild?

BLM has no accurate head counts of wild horses. The National Academy of Sciences stated in their 2013 report that there is “no evidence” of overpopulation, period.

Time to stand together

It’s time for all advocates to come together to protect wild horses. Together we are a mighty force for the wild ones.

I challenge all group leaders and advocates to put aside personal differences, break their contracts with BLM and agree to fight together to protect America’s wild horses for once and for all. Together we can do this.

Many blessings,

Anne

Anne Novak

Executive Director

www.ProtectMustangs.org

Contact@ProtectMustangs.org

Links of interest™:

France TV reports on the overpopulation problem: http://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/usa/video-les-chevaux-sauvages-se-reproduisent-trop-vite-un-probleme-pour-l-ouest-americain_949025.html

U.S. looking for ideas to help manage wild-horse overpopulation (Washington Post): http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-looking-for-ideas-to-help-manage-wild-horse-overpopulation/2014/01/26/8cae7c96-84f2-11e3-9dd4-e7278db80d86_story.html?wprss=rss_national

Outrage over secret documents planning to kill or slaughter 50,000 native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=777

Petition to Defund and Stop Wild Horse Roundups: https://www.change.org/p/defund-and-stop-the-wild-horse-burro-roundups

The Atlantic reports on Callie Hendrickson’s contentious appointment to represent the public on the Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board in 2012: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/02/the-lasso-tightens-around-americas-wild-horses/252948/

Callie Hendrickson: http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Callie-Hendrickson/277533708

EPA pesticide fact sheet on PZP: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/pending/fs_PC-176603_01-Jan-12.pdf

Comments referenced in the June 14, 2015 Salt Lake Tribune article

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Protect Mustangs



	Comments made to the BLM against giving PZP to the wild Onaqui mares in Utah Protect Mustangs, Anne Novak The public was not informed as they should have been according to NEPA of your proposal https://www.blm.gov/ut/enbb/files/Onaqui_Fertility_Control_EA_2_18_15.pdf The scoping period’s notice was hidden, and the EA’s comment-period was cut in half. These actions show a lack of transparency on the part of the BLM and mocks the public process to participate with comments. We request you start over with a full 30 day public comment period. We are against the outrageous proposal to forcibly drug any wild Onaqui mares with PZP- – the EPA restricted-use pesticide also known as ZonaStat-H. ( http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/pending/fs_PC-176603_01-Jan-12.pdf ) The drug sterilizes wild mares after multiple use and disrupts natural herd dynamics amongst other horrors. How many times has each Onaqui mare or filly been drugged previously? Drugging any wild filly under the age of 2 is barbaric. Her reproductive system has not developed completely. Forced drugging of fillies and mares until they are 6 will ruin their chances of ever producing healthy offspring who can survive the environmental changes ahead. We request you do not use PZP or any other sterilant or sterilizing procedures on the Onaqui mares for fertility control or for any other reason. Experimentation and roundups must stop now. Roundups increase global warming and must stop immediately. The vehicles and aircrafts used to implement the proposed PZP programs also increase global warming as well as harm the fragile ecosystem on the Onaqui herd management area. We endorse the no action alternative and ask that you do not remove any Onaqui wild horses as their population numbers are too low now. Land-use plans should be modified to have a higher AML ensuring herd survival and genetic variability with predators such as mountain lions protected. Holistic management should be used from this day forward for recovery and to adhere to the minimum-feasible-management requirement of the 1971 Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act. Our members enjoy observing, filming and photographing the Onaqui herd and would be devastated if the mares or fillies would receive PZP or any other sterilizing agent that will ruin natural herd behavior and the survival of the herd.

From: http://www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/ut/natural_resources/wild_horses_and_burros/onaqui.Par.61788.File.dat/onaqui%20fertility%20control%20EA_4-30-15.pdfReferenced in the Salt Lake Tribune June 14, 2015: http://www.sltrib.com/home/2562089-155/blm-will-dart-horses-in-attempt

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