Tag Archives: Protect mustangs

Judge hears arguments on controversial proposal to roundup wild horses

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Wild mustang weanling in holding. (Photos © Anne Novak, all rights reserved.)

Wild mustang weanling in holding. (Photos © Anne Novak, all rights reserved.)

By Sarah Favot,

PASADENA — Wildlife activists packed a federal appeals court hearing Thursday afternoon to oppose the roundup of wild horses, which were recognized by the 1971 Congress as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.”

“It’s cruelty,” said Patty Shenker of Tarzana, who has rescued five horses. “I want to see wild animals stay in the wild and enjoy it.”

In a 2010 lawsuit, In Defense of Animals alleges the Bureau of Land Management violated the Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and the National Environmental Policy Act when it planned to round up about 2,300 wild horses and burrows in 2010 on the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area, which consists of about 800,000 acres in Northeastern California and Northwest Nevada. About 180 wild horses and burros were to be released back into the wild. The remaining horses were transported to BLM facilities for adoption, sale or long-term holding in private facilities, under what In Defense of Animals describes as “zoo-like” conditions.

While In Defense of Animals filed an injunction to stop the roundup, the motion was denied and the roundup went forward.

A total of 1,799 horses and burros were gathered and 59 were returned to the range. Fifteen animals died, according to BLM’s website.

In November, a U.S. district court judge ruled in favor of BLM and the U.S. Department of Interior saying the roundup did not violate the NEPA or WFRHBA.

In Defense of Animals appealed and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments for about one hour Thursday afternoon.

The Act, approved by Congress in 1971, allows the Department of Interior to manage the population of wild horses if the natural ecological balance of the land is threatened.

The wildlife advocacy organization’s attorney Rachel Fazio said BLM did not adequately prove wild horses solely threatened the ecological balance at Twin Peaks.

“In this situation, that benchmark was not established by BLM before they proceeded to round up 80 percent of the animals on this range,” said Fazio.

Mark R. Haag, BLM’s attorney, argued BLM had established the number of horses on the range exceeded the appropriate management level. He said areas of the range were trampled, vegetation was lost and cultural artifacts were damaged due to erosion.

“My problem here is I thought the purpose was to achieve a thriving natural ecological balance and that the appropriate management level determination was just a tool to get to that thriving natural ecological balance, but it seems to me the agency disregarded that,” said Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson.

Jack Carone, communications and campaigns director for In Defense of Animals, said if the court rules in their favor, he hopes other parties would question other BLM roundups.

Apache Running-Hawk Daklugie, who grew up on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in New Mexico, described the sacred relationship between wild horses and Native Americans.

“They’re brothers and sisters to us,” he said. “We painted and fought with them. We went to war with them and we tamed them.”

Tonya Littlewolf, founder of Wolf Mountain Sanctuary in Lucerne Valley, said during the roundups some horses’ hooves fall off and their legs are broken.

“They can’t speak for themselves so we have to speak for them,” she said.

She was hopeful the case would rule in the activists’ favor.

“I feel it will be a good thing today because God walks with us and these are his creatures,” she said. “He made animals before He made us.”

Comment at the Pasadena Star News

BREAKING NEWS: Michael Blake joins lawsuit to stop ongoing wild horse roundups

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Michael Blake with Twelve

Michael Blake with Twelve

For immediate release

Protect Mustangs and Citizens Against Equine Slaughter file preliminary injunction Friday.

RENO, NV.  (August 24, 2013) — Academy Award Winner Michael Blake, author of Dances With Wolves, and member of Protect Mustangs, joins Citizens Against Equine Slaughter and Protect Mustangs versus The United States Forest Service, a department of the United States Department of Agriculture; Jeff Ulrich, Santa Rosa District Ranger; The United States Bureau of Land Management, a department of the United States Department of the Interior, to stop alleged illegal and continuous roundups of federally protected wild horses and burros through the duration of the agreement ending on May 31, 2015. Attorneys, Jordan Beckett, of Ashland, Oregon and Charles A. Jones, of Reno, filed a preliminary injunction friday to safeguard federally protected wild horses in the vast Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

Blake states in his declaration he has received great inspiration, for decades, watching wild horses roaming free in Nevada. He believes that if they are rounded up, removed, killed or slaughtered, he would suffer harm by the loss of his inspiration.

Michael Blake writes in his book Twelve, The King:

“But he and hundreds of thousand like him are gone now from this beautiful land, and for that reason alone I could not stop as I traveled over four hundred miles of Nevada roads. Something evil is still afoot in this land, and it has left its imprint everywhere. In all those miles of open, free country, the mark of evil is present in what is absent. The wild horses are missing from the land.”

Blake is a long time admirer of the american wild horse. His book and acclaimed screenplay Dances with Wolves prominently features horses in the American West.

In the early ’90s he commissioned the first independent aerial survey of wild horses. They found the population on the range was much lower than the BLM’s overpopulation claim.

This summer the National Academy of Sciences announced there is no evidence to support the BLM’s rampant chant alleging overpopulation. Protect Mustangs has called for a moratorium on all roundups in order to conduct scientific population studies before using widespread fertility control. The conservation group is concerned wild horses are being managed to extinction by the BLM–the agency put in change of allegedly protecting America’s iconic wild horses.

“We filed in court to end this nightmare,” explains Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “We believe federally protected wild horses are at risk of going to slaughter as a result of the flawed roundups. We want this to stop now.”

“We are very thankful people have come together to save wild horses from auction but we never want to see this happen again,” says Dr.Lester Castro Friedlander, DVM, president of Citizens Against Equine Slaughter.

Esteemed wildlife biologist and author, Craig Downer, a member of Protect Mustangs, filed a compelling declaration filled with details from decades of studying the area.

“Most of the legal wild equid herds throughout the West have dangerously low populations and the ratios of wild equids to livestock/big game animals are ridiculously low,” explains Downer.  “For example, in the Spring Mountain Complex of wild horse and burro herd areas, the Las Vegas BLM District and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest plans to allow only one wild equid per seven thousand-plus legal acres. Here big game and to a lesser extent livestock outnumber and out-consume the wild equids many times over . . . . And here most of the Spring Mountain public waters have been fenced off so that wild horses cannot access them, but game animals, such as trophy bighorn sheep, can.”

Protect Mustangs and Citizens Against Equine Slaughter are challenging the entirety of the USFS decision authorizing an undisclosed number of roundups and an undisclosed number of horses to be removed from the range over the next two years. They filed their original complaint on Friday, August 16, 2013.

“While the first roundup has already been conducted, without further legal action these unbranded, wild horses will be continuously rounded up and removed from the range, impounded, and auctioned off to the highest bidder until May 2015,” explains Jordan Beckett, attorney for Plaintiffs. “The public’s unbranded wild horses are under the jurisdiction of the USFS and the BLM. They need to be managed in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Wild and Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act.”

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

Citizens Against Equine Slaughter is an Oregon-based non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of America’s wild and domestic horses.

# # #

Media Contacts:

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

Photos, interviews and  video (Preview)  available upon request

Links of interest™:

Preliminary Injunction filed Friday: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=5056

Read the complaint here: PM Complaint CAES Protect mustangs v USFS BLM

Sign the petition to Defund the Roundups: http://www.change.org/petitions/defund-and-stop-the-wild-horse-burro-roundups

 

Last week’s press release with links of interest:

 

For immediate release

Alleged violations put iconic wild horses at risk of disappearing

Coalition against slaughter and for the protection of mustangs files lawsuit

RENO, NV. (August 16, 2013)–Protect Mustangs, the California-based conservation group, dedicated to protecting native wild horses and Citizens Against Equine Slaughter(CAES), the Oregon nonprofit, have filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management and the USDA Forest Service asking for an injunction on their intent to impound unauthorized livestock in conjunction with the Fort McDermitt Tribal Council on and in the vicinity of the Humboltd-Toiyabe National Forest. The coalition hopes to prevent wild horses from loosing their protections and going to probable slaughter.

“This may be the first time that protected mustangs are being auctioned off for alleged slaughter en masse and publicly with the tacit approval & cooperation of federal officials,” explains Anne Novak, executive director for Protect Mustangs.

Right now hundreds of wild horses are being fattened up at a Fallon, Nevada auction yard for the sale because the Forest Service allegedly rounded up wild free roaming horses in violation of the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act and in violation ofNational Environmental Protection Act (NEPA).

“Horse slaughter is cruel and inhumane and we need to stop it,” says Dr. Lester Friedlander, DVM and president of Citizens Against Equine Slaughter. “This stealth roundup is a heinous act toward our icons of liberty.”

“The U.S. Forest Service needs to comply with the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act as well as NEPA before rounding up hundreds of potentially wild horses–especially when the BLM’s nearby Owyhee gather plan doesn’t authorize this action,” states Jordan Beckett, attorney for Plaintiffs Citizens Against Equine Slaughter and Protect Mustangs.

The Judge has not ruled on the complaint filed by Protect Mustangs and Citizens against Equine Slaughter as of this moment.

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.

Citizens Against Equine Slaughter is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of America’s wild and domestic horses.

# # #

Media Contacts:

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

Patience O’Dowd, 505-610-7644, patience_odowd@yahoo.com

Photos, interviews and  video (Preview)  available upon request

Links of interest:

Read the complaint here: PM Complaint CAES Protect mustangs v USFS BLM

U.S. Judge refuses to block NV tribe’s mustang sale, The Associated Press,http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/15/3565447/us-judge-in-nv-asked-to-block.html

Protect Mustangs www.ProtectMustangs.org

Citizens Against Equine Slaughterhttp://www.noequineslaughter.org/

Beckett Law Office, P.C. http://www.roguevalleylawyer.com/

Jones Law Firm http://cjoneslawfirm.com/

Wild Free Roaming Horse & Burro Act http://www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/92-195.htm

NEPA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Environmental_Policy_Act

Roundup footage & abuse:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF49csCB9qM (Preview)

 

PLAINTIFFS’ PRAYER FOR RELIEF

Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Court:

1. Declare that the USFS and the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the Wild and Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and their implementing regulation in implementing the Fort McDermitt Horse Gather;

2. Order the USFS and the BLM to withdraw the Notice and 2013 Horse Gather Agreement until such time as the agency demonstrates to this Court that it has adequately complied with the law, including but not limited to putting the 2013 Agreement through notice and comment procedures, ordering DNA testing to determine the origin of captured wild horses, ordering the BLM and USFS to comply with the law to determine ownership of the wild horses, and ordering the BLM and USFS return to public lands or the HMAs all seized or removed wild, free-roaming, and unbranded horses being held at Fallon Livestock Auction;

3. Enjoin the USFS, the BLM, and their agents from proceeding with the Fort McDermitt Horse Gather, or any portion thereof, unless and until the violations of federal law set forth herein have been corrected to the satisfaction of this court;

Michael Blake: This is extermination not a rescue

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Wild horses: the government is rounding up ‘excess’ animals, condemning many to slaughter despite a law protecting them 

Copyright LA Times- February 08, 1993

by Michael Blake, the author of “Dances With Wolves” (Fawcett).
It is raining today in Las Vegas and I am thinking again of the horses. Now they are trying something new to get rid of them. They have 50 of them in a pen between two, large casino-hotels near the fabled Strip. As a new Administration begins its work, these horses stand as a testament to 20 years of failed governmental policy.
I know what the people who drift past that pen are seeing. They are viewing animals that have been humiliated and defeated. Most have lost weight since they were captured. Dehydration is a common condition at this stage. Some of them are still in shock. All of them are terrified.What the people looking through the pipe corral don’t know is that the horses inside are not just a few excess animals rounded up for humane adoption. They and thousands like them are victims of a vicious, long-running campaign of annihilation that has recently accelerated into what is the final phase.There has been great controversy over the number of wild horses in Nevada. Estimates for 1992 ran as high as 75,000, but the government agency directly responsible, the Bureau of Land Management, has most often estimated 30,000 to 35,000. The government has said it will forcibly remove 14,000 “excess” wild horses from public lands this year.

Last August, I helped commission the first comprehensive aerial census of wild horses in Nevada. In almost every herd area, the horses were far less numerous than BLM estimates. Thefinal count in our survey was 8,324.The horses will be gone this year or next if something isn’t done to protect them.In 1971, Congress passed a law giving the horses federal protection. This came about as a result of the second-largest write-in campaign in American history. The law states that the horses are notto be hunted withaircraft, harassed or rounded up for slaughter.But since 1971, the horses have been given no protection. They have been shot, poisoned and rustled for slaughter in huge numbers by people who have gone unpunished.

And they have been captured and removed in the thousands by the same government charged with protecting them.

Each cycle of the adopt-a-horse program is the same. Once certain herds are targeted for elimination, the cycle begins with the horror of horses being herded many miles by helicopter. Foals or fetuses are often lost during the forced march and any ailing animals are dead in days. The horses are stuffed into holding pens, where many become sick from the constant dust of close confinement. All the horses must be inoculated against common domestic diseases, which they have never known.

While waiting their turn in the squeeze chute, families are broken up. The wild horses are then jammed into trucks and hauled to large centers. All stallions are castrated upon arrival. The prettiest horses are adopted quickly, but most languish in the concentration centers before finally ending up in a place they are expressly forbidden by law–the slaughterhouse.

The adopt-a-horse program is effectively eliminating wild horses from the American scene and every dime of its support comes from tax dollars. After paying for this destruction, the taxpayer is asked to come down and buy a horse and take it home. But not very many taxpayers are equipped to take the government up on its offer; most of America’s wild horses end up as meat, sliding over the palates of Europeans and Asians who have acquired a fondness for the flesh of our horses.

I have seen wild horses in their natural state and I have spoken to many other people who have seen them. All agree that it is a sight that cannot be adequately described.

What I remember is being awed by the power of their unity. The family units, both large and small, are run with a precision and intelligence that is somehow beyond what we know. It may be a cliche, but it is certainly true that wild horses possess a certain pride in freedom. They are models for the world, living symbols of freedom.

Along with millions of other Americans, I want wild horses to stay, to remain a permanent part of the national landscape, protected and managed, not only in accordance with our laws but in the spirit of our laws as well.

The new Administration must stop these captures and start doing something positive for wild horses and for the public lands upon which they run. Nothing can be done for the 50 horses standing in the rain this day in Las Vegas. I hope that a few of them will find loving homes. For the others, the ones still out and running free, there can be great opportunities. But the hour is late.

Reprinted for educational purposes:

We need #Help4Horses going to alleged slaughter auction Saturday August 17th in Nevada

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Protect native wild horses! © Protect Mustangs.org

Protect native wild horses! © Protect Mustangs.org

Dear Friends,

This may be the first time that protected mustangs are being auctioned off for slaughter en masse and publicly with the tacit approval & cooperation of federal officials.

Today Protect Mustangs filed a lawsuit with Citizens Against Equine Slaughter and are seeking an order immediately halting the actions of the USFS that authorized the roundup of potentially hundreds of wild horses. We named the USDA Forest Service and the BLM in the complaint. Our case focuses on violations of WFRH&B Act and NEPA. It’s not over.

Disposing of native wild horses by sending them to an alleged slaughter auction is wrong, Wild horses are an integral part of the ecosystem and belong to the American people. They don’t belong on a dinner plate in a foreign country.

471 horses are going up for sale tomorrow. 150 mare and foal pairs will be sold at the alleged slaughter auction. This is horrible. We need a miracle at this point.

We have only tonight and early Saturday morning to find a way to save these horses. All the horses need to be saved from the slaughter buyers.

If any rescues, ranches or horse people can come to Fallon, Nevada (about one hour east from Reno) Saturday with their trailers to rescue wild horses and reservation horses from probable slaughter and if they need information please have them contact Protect Mustangs by calling 415-531-8454 or Citizens Against Equine Slaughter at 570-637-3000. Coggins and health certificates are needed to enter some states from Nevada.

Many blessings,

Anne

Press Release: Lawsuit filed to save wild horses from alleged slaughter

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For immediate release

Alleged violations put iconic wild horses at risk of disappearing

Coalition against slaughter and for the protection of mustangs files lawsuit

RENO, NV. (August 16, 2013)–Protect Mustangs, the California-based conservation group, dedicated to protecting native wild horses and Citizens Against Equine Slaughter (CAES), the Oregon nonprofit, have filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management and the USDA Forest Service asking for an injunction on their intent to impound unauthorized livestock in conjunction with the Fort McDermitt Tribal Council on and in the vicinity of the Humboltd-Toiyabe National Forest. The coalition hopes to prevent wild horses from loosing their protections and going to probable slaughter.

“This may be the first time that protected mustangs are being auctioned off for alleged slaughter en masse and publicly with the tacit approval & cooperation of federal officials,” explains Anne Novak, executive director for Protect Mustangs.

Right now hundreds of wild horses are being fattened up at a Fallon, Nevada auction yard for the sale because the Forest Service allegedly rounded up wild free roaming horses in violation of the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act and in violation of National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA).

“Horse slaughter is cruel and inhumane and we need to stop it,” says Dr. Lester Friedlander, DVM and president of Citizens Against Equine Slaughter. “This stealth roundup is a heinous act toward our icons of liberty.”

“The U.S. Forest Service needs to comply with the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act as well as NEPA before rounding up hundreds of potentially wild horses–especially when the BLM’s nearby Owyhee gather plan doesn’t authorize this action,” states Jordan Beckett, attorney for Plaintiffs Citizens Against Equine Slaughter and Protect Mustangs.

The Judge has not ruled on the complaint filed by Protect Mustangs and Citizens against Equine Slaughter as of this moment.

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.

Citizens Against Equine Slaughter is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of America’s wild and domestic horses.

# # #

Media Contacts:

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

Patience O’Dowd, 505-610-7644, patience_odowd@yahoo.com

Photos, interviews and video available upon request

Links of interest:

Read the complaint here: PM Complaint CAES Protect mustangs v USFS BLM

U.S. Judge refuses to block NV tribe’s mustang sale, The Associated Press, http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/15/3565447/us-judge-in-nv-asked-to-block.html

Protect Mustangs www.ProtectMustangs.org

Citizens Against Equine Slaughter http://www.noequineslaughter.org/

Beckett Law Office, P.C. http://www.roguevalleylawyer.com/

Jones Law Firm http://cjoneslawfirm.com/

Wild Free Roaming Horse & Burro Act http://www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/92-195.htm

NEPA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Environmental_Policy_Act

Roundup footage & abuse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF49csCB9qM

PLAINTIFFS’ PRAYER FOR RELIEF

Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Court:

1. Declare that the USFS and the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the Wild and Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and their implementing regulation in implementing the Fort McDermitt Horse Gather;

2. Order the USFS and the BLM to withdraw the Notice and 2013 Horse Gather Agreement until such time as the agency demonstrates to this Court that it has adequately complied with the law, including but not limited to putting the 2013 Agreement through notice and comment procedures, ordering DNA testing to determine the origin of captured wild horses, ordering the BLM and USFS to comply with the law to determine ownership of the wild horses, and ordering the BLM and USFS return to public lands or the HMAs all seized or removed wild, free-roaming, and unbranded horses being held at Fallon Livestock Auction;

3. Enjoin the USFS, the BLM, and their agents from proceeding with the Fort McDermitt Horse Gather, or any portion thereof, unless and until the violations of federal law set forth herein have been corrected to the satisfaction of this court;

4. Award Plaintiffs their costs of suit and attorneys fees; and

5. Grant Plaintiffs such other and further relief as the Court deems just and equitable.

 

Official Request to stop federally protected wild horses from being sold to probable slaughter

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Photo James Marvin Phelps / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

Photo James Marvin Phelps / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

August 15, 2013

By Electronic Mail

 

Sally Jewell, Secretary of Interior

Department of the Interior

1849 C Street, N.W.

Washington DC 20240

Tel: 202-208-3100

feedback@ios.doi.gov

 

Neil Kornze, Principal Deputy Director

BLM Washington Office

1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5665

Washington DC 20240

Phone: 202-208-3801

Fax: 202-208-5242

director@blm.gov

 

Joan Guilfoyle, Division Chief

Division of Wild Horses and Burros

20 M Street, S.E.

Washington, DC 20003

Tel: 202-912-7260

jguilfoy@blm.gov

 

Amy Leuders, Nevada State Director

Bureau of Land Management

Nevada State Office

1340 Financial Blvd

Reno, NV 89502

Tel: 775-861-6400

nvsoweb@blm.gov

 

Jill Silvey, District Manager

Bureau of Land Management

Elko District Office

3900 E. Idaho Street

Elko, NV 89801

Tel: 775-753-0200

elfoweb@blm.gov

jsilvey@blm.gov

 

Gene Seidlitz, District Manager

Bureau of Land Management

Winnemucca District Office

5100 East Winnemucca Blvd.

Winnemucca, NV 89445

Tel: 775-623-1500

wfoweb@blm.gov

gseidlit@blm.gov

 

Jeff Ulrich, District Ranger

U.S. Forest Service

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

1200 East Winnemucca Blvd.

Winnemucca, NV 89445

jlulrich@fs.fed.us

 

Tom Tidwell, Chief

U.S. Forest Service

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20250-0003

ttidwell@fs.fed

 

Official Request to prevent federally protected wild horses from being sold to probable slaughter

We request for the Bureau of Land Management and the USDA Forest Service ensure that no federally protected wild horses are removed from the range and transported to auction anywhere, nor sold to anyone, nor used nor held by anyone, nor claimed by anyone, in connection with the Service’s June 14, 2013 Notice of Intent to Impound Unauthorized Livestock in cooperation with the Fort McDermitt Paiute Tribal Council.(http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5427742.pdf)

In addition we request opportunities for daily public observation be provided at all trap sites, holding facilities, sites of use, auction houses and shipping centers, etc.

We require you inform us of the casualties (moralities & injuries) in this roundup.

Now with hundreds of wild horses at the Fallon Livestock Auction yard awaiting sale this Saturday August 17th we request DNA testing be performed immediately on all unbranded wild horses as well as you provide immediate public observation at the livestock auction facility for members of our group and other members of the public to document with photos and video the situation.

We request you pull from the auction–where alleged kill-buyers purchase horses for slaughter for human consumption abroad–all unbranded or branded federally protected wild horses who could have been living on BLM or Forest Service land yet were pushed by helicopter or other motorized vehicle or by cowboy to be trapped on federal land or elsewhere.

You are required by law to protect the American wild horses–please do so immediately.

We await your response, via email, to our urgent and official request.

 

Sincerely,

Anne Novak

 

Anne Novak

Executive Director

Protect Mustangs

San Francisco Bay Area

 

 

As seen on the news and in print

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

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Protect Mustangs in the News

Donate to help Protect Mustangs

www.ProtectMustangs.org

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.

Why end natural selection in the Pryors?

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1

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/mt/main_story.Par.31432.File.dat/TopStoryHorse.pdf

Should humans run a wild horse breeding program or does nature know best?

From: (http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/mt/main_story.Par.31432.File.dat/TopStoryHorse.pdf) The BLM welcomed a new partner this spring. The adept volunteer efforts of the Cloud Foundation’s Effie Orser, Lauryn Wachs, and Ginger Kathrens contributed to the successful completion of this year’s fertility treatments in record time. The trio worked in concert with two BLM employees, Ryan Brad- shaw and Jerad Werning, who were darting wild horses elsewhere on the Range.

Statement from Protect Mustangs

We are against the Cloud Foundation and BLM partnership for extreme PZP in the Pryors for the following reasons:

1.) It ruins natural selection.

2.) According to the National Academy of Sciences there is no evidence of overpopulation.

3.) Reserve design is the healthy choice for management.

4.) Risks of sterility could ruin the herd’s genetic viability.

5.) Unnatural and increased stress on wild mares from wild stallions continuously trying to breed them month after month, year after year, until they are allowed by mankind to have one foal.

6.) Man made fertility control drugs endanger the wild herds’ ability to adapt through reproduction to environmental stresses.

7.) The “Restricted Use Pesticide” known as PZP is not allowed on domestic horses–surely for safety concerns and therefore should not be allowed on native wild horses who have been misclassified as “pests” by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Natural selection has allowed native wild horses to evolve and survive for more than a million years. We believe it is unethical for a government agency and a nonprofit organization to go against natural evolution and manipulate breeding through excessive roundups and drugs approved for use as “restricted use pesticides”.

Now the public is witnessing the final phase of the Salazar Plan announced in 2009 (managing wild horses to extinction) using an EPA fast-tracked “Restricted Use Pesticide” called Porcine zona pellucida–a form of zona pellucida extracted from the ovaries of pigs.

And speaking of pigs, where are the pigs’ ovaries coming from? How were the pig’s ovaries extracted?

The Pryor Mountain Herd is already one of the two herds designated with “Treasured” status–that means they are protected and will never disappear. No need to sell out to  “restricted use pesticides” for “pest” control!

“We are proud to be working with the BLM, and we hope our partnership with them will continue and may set an example for the management of other wild herds throughout the West,” said Ginger Kathens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation in the BLM’s top story released on August 12, 2013.

What happened to The Cloud Foundation fighting for America’s wild horses’ right to live their natural lives in freedom?

“Why is Ginger Kathrens now supporting the extreme use of PZP when a couple of years ago she appeared to be against using the drug, against ruining natural selection and against creating zoo-like settings on mountaintops?” asks Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs. “We want a moratorium on roundups and call for immediate population studies before blasting wild horses with fertility control and sterilization.”

 

Links of interest:

Ginger Kathrens’ paper PZP-22… Do Unintended Side-Effects Outweigh Benefits? http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3270

Cloud Foundation Partnership with BLM to dart the Pryor herd with the “Restricted Use Pesticide” known as PZP to “control” fertility http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/mt/main_story.Par.31432.File.dat/TopStoryHorse.pdf

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

Salazar presents ambitious plan to manage wild horses, Washington Post: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2009-10-08/news/36823356_1_wild-horses-burros-wild-herd

Ken Salazar’s wild horse plan fuels accusations that he’s in the pocket of ranchers, Huff Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/17/ken-salazars-wild-horse-p_n_324799.html

BLM announces The Salazar Plan (press release) http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2009/october/salazar_seeks_congressional.html

BLM must provide basic care #Shade4Mustangs

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“Meet Tarzan, a 6-7 week old colt orphaned during an ’emergency’ roundup of the Seaman NV herd. He was fortunate to be adopted by photographer Jeanne Nations who used an old tarp to make him this simple shaded shelter in the corner of his paddock. It’s Tarzan’s shade, shelter & sanctuary. Do the foals at Palomino Valley need and deserve any less?” ~ Carl Mrozek, filmmaker and Advisory Board Member of Protect Mustangs.

Read Jeanne’s description of Tarzan’s attachment to his shady retreat:

“Tarzan wanders in and out of the shelter all day. He will go eat some hay, drink water then go back to the shade, especially during the hot afternoons where he’ll take siestas. If he ‘s frightened by dogs, thunder, loud noises…anything, he’ll run there. It’s his safe haven and he spends the night there too.

Summer temps here hit 90-95 degrees & sometimes the 100s, so there is definitely a need for horses to have shade and burros too.”

Jeanne is planning a more permanent shelter, but didn’t want Tarzan to suffer through the heat of summer without some kind of shade. Why can’t BLM do the same ? They demand no less from all adopters!”

Please sign and share the Petition for Emergency Shade: http://www.change.org/petitions/bring-emergency-shade-for-captive-wild-horses-and-burros

Shade in Wild Photo © Molly Malone FB

Protect Mustangs’ investigation creates furor, advocacy group requests #Shade4Mustangs

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Video Investigation reveals wild horses are dying in the heat wave!

As a result of public outcry, the Bureau of Land Management is holding a public workshop at the Reno City Council Chamber in Reno, Nev., on Aug. 6 from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m.

Tune in to participate via Webinar if you cannot attend in person. Registration information is here:  http://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/412191850

Links of Interest:

July 20, 2013 CBS San Francisco 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/

July 20, 2013 Kansas City Star by Martin Griffith, The Associated Press BLM seeks ideas to protect wild horses from heat http://www.kansascity.com/2013/07/20/4357157/blm-seeks-ideas-on-how-to-protect.html

BLM’s wild horse and burro program looks to community for ideas at workshop: http://thisisreno.com/2013/07/blms-wild-horse-and-burro-program-looks-to-community-for-ideas-at-workshop/

Captive wild horses need relief from heat says HSUS http://horsetalk.co.nz/2013/07/18/captive-wild-horses-need-relief-heat-says-hsus/#axzz2ZcyetMGy

Captive wild horses need shade, advocates say http://horsetalk.co.nz/2013/07/02/captive-wild-horses-need-shade-advocates-say/#axzz2ZcyetMGy

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

NPR: Fertility drug, nature, better than horse roundups  http://newsle.com/article/0/78084688/

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

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

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

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

NOTES:

4 horses died during the last heat wave but only 3 deaths (A,C,D) could be related to the heat wave. (see email from BLM below). Strangles is a respiratory illness (Equine Distemper). Horses with repiratory illness have a higher chance of death when enduring a heat wave, because they are already having difficulty breathing and the heat aggrivates that.

BLM’s Debbie Collins responds to Anne Novak’s email:

 

So, I am listing a response to the specific questions you submitted to Jeb below:1.  How many unbranded foals, etc. have died from June 27 to July? Jeb has already provided you a response to this, but at this time no records are kept on unbranded animals that die.3.  For the listed time period, what were the dates of any deaths, how old were the horses and what were their id #s?A. #12620475 – 1yr old Female – Died 6/28/13 from stranglesB. #06619316 – 7yr old Gelding – Died 6/28/13 from Neck/Head injuryC. #10617585 – 3yr old Female – Died 6/30/13 from Unknown*D. #12619358 – 1yr old Female – Died 7/2/13 from Unknown*

 

* PVC’s Vet and staff reported no signs of heat-related symptoms prior to the deaths of #10617585 & #12619358. In addition,  these animals had a continuous supply of water, quality hay, and sprinklers present; therefore, there was no life or death issue present. It is not always possible to make a determination of the cause of death. But, if the BLM has any future deaths at PVC that are not associated with a particular illness or injury, a necropsy will be performed.  

#Shade4Mustangs Call for public accessibility and government transparency at the Palomino Valley Workshop

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BLM Sprinkler July 1 2013 Med Meme

——– Original Message ——–

Subject: Request for transparent and interactive public process at

Palomino Valley Public Workshop

From: <@protectmustangs.org>

Date: Tue, July 23, 2013 4:00 pm

To: jguilfoy@blm.gov

Cc: dbolstad@blm.gov

 

Dear Ms Guilfoyle,

We will reinstate our position, and that of thousands of supporters, that captive wild horses and burros at Palomino Valley need to have access to shade and shelter as well as other humane care. The Bureau of Land Management requires the same when someone adopts a wild horse or burro. The public wants the same from you.

We are concerned your upcoming yet unscheduled “workshop” will delay bringing emergency shade to the treasured equids facing more heat waves and possible deaths.

We discovered many wild horses were suffering without access to shade in the triple-digits while your sprinkler mitigation was ineffective. Sadly we also discovered a dead youngster http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdM2NrJcX8o upon whom you neglected to perform a necropsy to determine the cause of death.

We are kindly requesting you make the Palomino Valley Public Workshop accessible to all interested people by using contemporary communication technology.

Members of the public would like the Palomino Valley Public Workshop be an interactive event so people outside the Reno area can attend virtually and participate in the public process.

Taxpayers and foreign nationals who love America’s wild horses should not be expected to travel at their expense, leave their jobs and families to participate in public dialogue across the country.

This is America 2013. It’s time to use available technology for an interactive workshop to foster transparency.

We look forward to your response.

 

Sincerely,

Anne Novak

 

Encl: Articles pertaining to the workshop:

This one went viral: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/20/3511692/blm-seeks-ideas-on-how-to-protect.html

http://thisisreno.com/2013/07/opinion-elements-relief-and-a-hot-debate-on-horses-in-holding/

http://horsetalk.co.nz/2013/07/21/bureau-brainstorm-shade-adoption-center/#axzz2ZubTh5dS

more tba

CC: DF, BB, JB, KG, KB, SC, DH, JJ, PO, JB, GG

 

Anne Novak

Executive Director

Protect Mustangs

San Francisco Bay Area

 

As seen on the news and in print

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

 

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www.ProtectMustangs.org

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.