Tag Archives: wild horses

2009 Memorandum on PZP fertility control trials

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Secretary Ken Salazar Public Domainhttp://www.doi.gov/images/SecySalazarOfficialPortrait.jpg

Secretary Ken Salazar Public Domainhttp://www.doi.gov/images/SecySalazarOfficialPortrait.jpg

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
March 12, 2009
In Reply Refer To:
4710 (260) P
EMS TRANSMISSION 03/17/2009
Instruction Memorandum No. 2009-090
Expires: 09/30/2010
To:                   All Field Officials (except Alaska)
From:               Assistant Director, Renewable Resources and Planning
Subject:           Population-Level Fertility Control Field Trials: Herd Management Area (HMA) Selection, Vaccine Application, Monitoring and Reporting Requirements
Program Area:  Wild Horse and Burro Program
Purpose: The purpose of this Instruction Memorandum is to establish guidance for population-level fertility control field research trials. The primary objective of these trials is to evaluate the effects of a single year or 22-month Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP) immunocontraceptive vaccine treatment on wild horse population growth rates while expanding the use of these tools in the field.
Policy/Action: This policy establishes guidelines for selecting HMAs for population-level fertility control treatment, vaccine application, and post-treatment monitoring and reporting. It is the policy of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to apply fertility control as a component of all gathers unless there is a compelling management reason not to do so.
HMA Selection
Managers are directed to explore options for fertility control trials in all HMAs or complexes when they are scheduled for gathers. Further, an alternative outlining implementation of a fertility control treatment under a population-level research trial shall be analyzed in all gather plan environmental assessments (EA’s). Attachment 1 contains the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the implementation of the single-year and 22-month PZP agents, which should be referenced in the EA.

Fertility control should not be used in a manner that would threaten the health of individual animals or the long-term viability of any herd.  In order to address the latter requirement, managers must evaluate the potential effects of fertility control on herd growth rates through use of the Jenkins Population Model (WinEquus).  Fertility control application should achieve a substantial treatment effect while maintaining some long-term population growth to mitigate the effects of potential environmental catastrophes.

Fertility control will have the greatest beneficial impact where:

  1. Annual herd growth rates are typically greater than 5%.
  2. Post-gather herd size is estimated to be greater than 50 animals.
  3. Treatment of at least 50% of all breeding-age mares within the herd is possible using either application in conjunction with gathers or remote delivery (darting). A maximum of 90% of all mares should be treated and our goal should be to achieve as close as to this percentage as possible in order to maximize treatment effects.
Fertility control should not be dismissed as a potential management action even if the above conditions are not met. Regardless of primary capture method (helicopter drive-trapping or bait/water trapping), managers should strive to gather horses in sufficient numbers to achieve the goals of the management action, such as selective removal and fertility control treatment. After decisions are made to apply fertility control, historical herd information, remote darting success (if employed) and post-gather herd demographic data must be reported to the National Program Office (NPO). See the Reporting Requirements section on page four.
Vaccine Application and Animal Identification at Gather Sites Using the 22-Month Vaccine
Once an HMA has been selected as a population-level field trial site, the NPO will designate a trained applicator to administer the vaccine during the scheduled gather. The applicator will be responsible for securing the necessary vaccine from the NPO, transporting all application materials and freeze-marking equipment to the gather site, administering the treatment, and filing a treatment report with the NPO. See Attachment 1 for SOP for Population-level Fertility Control Treatments.
All treated mares will be freeze-marked with two 3.5-inch letters on the left hip for treatment tracking purposes. The only exception to this requirement is when each treated mare can be clearly and specifically identified through photographs. The treatment letters will be assigned and provided by the NPO after the gather and fertility control application is approved by the authorized officer. A different first letter is assigned for each fiscal year starting with fiscal year 2004 and the letter “A.” The second letter of the freeze-mark is specific to the application.
Each BLM State Office (SO) is responsible for coordinating with the State Brand Inspector on the use of the identified two-letter freeze-mark. Based on this coordination, possible alternatives or additions to this marking policy are listed below:
  1. Use of the adult or foal size angle-numeric BLM freezemark on the neck while recording each treatment product and date with the individual horse’s freezemark number.
  2. Registration of the BLM fertility control hip mark.
  3. Use of a registered brand furnished by the State.
  4. Use of the same hip freeze-mark for all fertility control treatments within that State’s jurisdiction plus an additional freeze-mark on the neck to differentiate between treatments within the State.
  5. Use of the NPO assigned freeze-mark plus additional freeze-mark on the neck to differentiate between treatments within the State.
As an example, the Nevada State Brand Inspector requires that an “F” freeze-mark be applied to the left neck along with the two-letter hip mark assigned by NPO.
Regardless of how the mares are marked, the marks must be identified in the fertility control treatment report in order to track when the mares were treated and the treatment protocol used.
Mares may be considered for re-treatment during subsequent gathers. All re-treatments will consist of the multi-year vaccine unless specifically approved by the NPO. Any re-treated mares must be re-marked or clearly identifiable for future information.
Vaccine Application and Animal Identification Using Remote Delivery (Darting)
Remote delivery of the one year vaccine by a trained darter/applicator will be considered and approved only when (1) application of the current 22-month PZP agent is not feasible because a gather will not be conducted, and (2) the targeted animals can be clearly and specifically identified on an on-going basis through photographs and/or markings. No animals should be darted that cannot be clearly and positively identified later as a treated animal. To increase the success rate of the darting and to insure proper placement of the vaccine, darting should occur along travel corridors or at water sources. If necessary, bait stations using hay or salt may be utilized to draw the horses into specific areas for treatment. The applicator will maintain records containing the basic information on the color and markings of the mare darted and her photographs, darting location, and whether the used darts were recovered from the field.  See Appendix 1 for SOP for Population-Level Fertility Control Treatments.
Post-treatment Monitoring
At a minimum, the standard data collected on each treated herd will include one aerial population survey prior to any subsequent gather. This flight will generally occur 3 to 4 years after the fertility control treatment and will be conducted as a routine pre-gather inventory funded by the Field Office (FO). The flight should be timed to assure that the majority of foaling is completed, which for most herds will require that flights be scheduled after August 1st. In addition to pre-gather population data (herd size), information on past removals, sex ratio, and age structure (capture data) will be submitted to the NPO after the first post-treatment gather.
The following standard data will be collected during all post-treatment population surveys:
  1. Total number of adult (yearling and older) horses observed.
  2. Total number of foals observed.
These data are to be recorded on the Aerial Survey Report form (Attachment 4). In planning post-treatment population surveys, the new population estimation techniques being developed by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are strongly recommended. In general, however, it is not necessary that anyone try to identify treated and untreated mares and specifically which mares have foaled during aerial surveys.
To obtain more specific information on vaccine efficacy, some HMAs may be selected for intensive monitoring beginning the first year after treatment and ending with the first gather that follows treatment. These surveys should be completed annually within the same month for consistency of the data. Selection will be based on the proportion of treated mares in the herd, degree of success with vaccine application, degree to which HMA selection criteria are met, and opportunities for good quality data collection. This determination will be made by the WH&B Research Advisory Team and the NPO in consultation with the appropriate Field Office (FO) and State Office (SO). HMAs selected for intensive monitoring will be identified in that specific State’s Annual Work Plan. Washington Office 260 (WO260) will provide funding for the annual surveys in those HMAs selected for intensive monitoring.
Field Office personnel may conduct more intensive on-the-ground field monitoring of these herds as time and budget allow. These data should be limited to: 1) the annual number of marked and unmarked mares with and without foals and 2) foaling seasonality. These data, generated for FO use, should be submitted to the NPO to supplement research by the USGS.
Reporting Requirements
1) When an HMA is selected for fertility control treatment, the HMA manager will initiate and complete the appropriate sections of the Gather, Removal, and Treatment Summary Report (Attachment 2) and submit the report to the NPO. At the conclusion of the gather and treatment, the HMA manager will complete the remainder of the Gather, Removal, and Treatment Summary Report and submit it to the NPO within 30 days.  The NPO will file and maintain these reports, with a copy sent to the National WH&B Research Coordinator.
2) Following treatment, the fertility control applicator will complete a PZP Application Report and PZP Application Data Sheet (Attachments 3 & 4) and submit it to the NPO that summarizes the treatment. The NPO will maintain this information and provide copies of the reports to appropriate FOs and USGS.
3) Managers are required to send post-treatment monitoring data (Aerial Survey Report, Attachment 5) to the NPO within 30 days of completing each aerial survey. Any additional on-the-ground monitoring data should be sent to the NPO on an annual basis by December 31st.
4) During the next post-treatment gather (generally 4 to 6 years after treatment), the manager will complete a new Gather, Removal, and Treatment Summary Report with pertinent information and submit the report to the NPO. Completion of this report will fulfill the requirements for monitoring and reporting for each population-level study. A possible exception would be if mares are treated (or re-treated) and the HMA is retained as a population-level study herd.
The USGS will analyze all standard data collected. The results of these analyses along with other research efforts will help determine the future use of PZP fertility control for management of wild horse herds by the BLM.
Timeframe: This Instruction Memorandum is effective upon issuance.
Budget Impact: Implementation of this policy will achieve cost savings by reducing the numbers of excess animals removed from the range and minimizing the numbers of less adoptable animals removed. The costs to administer the one-year PZP agent include the labor and equipment costs for the applicator and assistant of roughly $4,000/month and the treatment cost of approximately $25 per animal. The costs to administer the 22-month PZP agent include the capture cost of about $1,000 per animal treated (under normal sex ratios it requires two horses, one stud and one mare, to be captured for each mare treated) and the PZP vaccine is approximately $250 per animal. The budgetary savings for each foal not born due to fertility control is about $500 for capture, $1,100 for adoption prep and short-term holding, $500-1,000 for adoption costs, and approximately $475 per year for long-term holding of animals removed but not adopted. For each animal that would have been maintained at long term holding for the remainder of its life after capture, the total cost savings is about $13,000. Any additional FO-level monitoring will be accomplished while conducting other routine field activities at no additional cost.
Population-level studies will help to further evaluate the effectiveness of fertility control in wild horse herds. Recent research results showed that application of the current 22-month PZP contraceptive appears capable of reducing operating costs for managing wild horse populations.   Application of a 3-4 year contraceptive, when developed, tested, and available, may be capable of reducing operating costs by even more (Bartholow, 2004).
Background: The one-year PZP vaccine has been used with success on the Pryor Mountain and the Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Ranges. The 22-month PZP vaccine has been administered to 1,808 wild horse mares in 47 HMAs since fiscal year 2004. This formulation has been shown to provide infertility potentially through the third year post-treatment as determined by a trial conducted at the Clan Alpine HMA in 1999. The intent of the ongoing population-level fertility control trials is to determine if the rate of population growth in wild horse herds can be reduced through the use of the currently available 22-month time-release PZP vaccine, applied within a 3-4 year gather and treatment cycle. Monitoring data collected over the next few years are essential to determine the effectiveness of the vaccine when applied on a broad scale as well as its potential for management use.
PZP is classified as an Investigational New Animal Drug and some level of monitoring will continue to be required until such time as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) either reclassify the vaccine or provide some other form of relief.
Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: The monitoring requirements do not change or affect any manual or handbook.
 
Coordination: The requirements outlined in this policy have been evaluated by the National Wild Horse and Burro Research Advisory Team, coordinated with the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board, and reviewed by Field Specialists.

Contact: Questions concerning this policy should be directed to Alan Shepherd, WH&B Research Coordinator at the Wyoming State Office in Cheyenne, Wyoming at (307) 775-6097.

Reference: Bartholow, J.M. 2004. An economic analysis of alternative fertility control and associated management techniques for three BLM wild horse herds. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Geological Survey. Open-File Report 2004-1199. 33 p.

Signed by:                                                                  Authenticated by:
Edwin L. Roberson                                                     Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director                                                       Division of IRM Governance,WO-560
Renewable Resources and Planning
5 Attachments

BLM Rock Springs and Rawlings schedule public meetings and extend scoping on wild horse management

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August 27, 2013
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will host public scoping meetings from 4-7 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Rock Springs Field Office, 280 Highway 191 N., Rock Springs, Wyo.; and Sept. 12 at the Rawlins Field Office, 1300 N. Third St., Rawlins, Wyo., to address wild horse and burro management for the Rock Springs and Rawlins Resource Management Plans (RMPs).

The scoping period for the RMP revisions will also be extended to Sept. 27 to allow adequate time for public comment. The scoping meetings will provide an opportunity for the public and interested parties to ask questions one-on-one with BLM specialists, view maps and posters detailing the RMP revision process, and provide written comments.

The BLM is seeking public input in analyzing the environmental impacts of implementing the April 3 consent decree governing wild horse management in the checkerboard pattern of mixed public, private, and state land ownership in southern Wyoming. Under the consent decree, the BLM agrees to remove all wild horses from the Rock Springs Grazing Association’s (RSGA) private lands. RSGA owns or leases more than 48 percent of the private land in four herd management areas (HMAs) in the checkerboard within the boundaries of the Rawlins and Rock Springs field offices. Wild horse management, including HMA boundaries which encompass RSGA lands and appropriate management levels (AMLs), will be reviewed and reanalyzed.

Written comments will be accepted until Sept. 27.

Comments may be emailed to BLM_WY_RockSpringsRMP@blm.gov (please include “Wild Horse Scoping” in the subject line), faxed to (307) 352-0329, or mailed to the Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field Office, Wild Horse Scoping, 280 Highway 191 N., Rock Springs, WY 82901.

Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the individuals listed below during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with the below individuals. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

For further information, please contact Jay D’Ewart at (307) 352-0331, or William West at (307) 352-0259.

Note to editor: A link to the planning documents can be found at www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Planning/rmps/RockSprings.html.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. In Fiscal Year 2012, activities on public lands generated $4.6 billion in revenue, much of which was shared with the States where the activities occurred. In addition, public lands contributed more than $112 billion to the U.S. economy and helped support more than 500,000 jobs.
–BLM–Rock Springs Field Office   280 Highway 191 N.      Rock Springs, WY 82901

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:

Snowstorm Mountains roundup is cancelled

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BLM Nevada News

WINNEMUCCA DISTRICT OFFICE NO. 2013-024

FOR RELEASE:  August 19, 2013

CONTACT:  Mark Turney, (775) 623-1541; mturney@blm.gov

  Snowstorm Mountains Emergency Wild Horse Gather Cancelled

WINNEMUCCA, Nev. – On August 16, 2013, Winnemucca District BLM issued a Stop Work Order to Cattoor Livestock Round-up, Inc. for the Snowstorm Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA) Water Trap Gather.   The Snowstorm Mountains HMA gather was scheduled to begin on August 3.

“BLM is evaluating gathers across the U.S.,” said Amy Lueders, Nevada BLM State Director.  “We are identifying priority gathers in a climate of limited resources, while remaining flexible to ensure that we are able to conduct emergency gathers that may result from the ongoing fire season.”

The Emergency Snowstorm Mountains HMA gather was scheduled for an area 17 miles east of Paradise Valley in northern Nevada with the intent to gather 340 excess wild horses. This gather was being conducted as an emergency gather due to the severe lack of water within and around the gather area and the overpopulation of wild horses. BLM is currently hauling water five days a week to prevent wild horse deaths due to inadequate water availability.

For more information about wild horse and burro gathers in Nevada, visit http://www.blm.gov/nv

For further information, please contact Mark Turney, BLM Winnemucca Public Affairs Specialist at: (775) 623-1541 or by e-mail at: mturney@blm.gov.

 

Mark

Mark Turney
Public Affairs Specialist
Bureau of Land Management
Winnemucca District

5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd
Winnemucca, NV 89445

Office: 775-623-1541
Mobile: 775-455-7570

Email: mturney@blm.gov

Horses saved and horses lost at Native American horse auction

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Fallon auction

Many horses were saved, brand inspections found unbranded horses in the branded lots for sale, too many horses were not saved and sadly will go to probable slaughter.

Check back for updates.

News reports: http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/Branded-Horses-Going-to-Auction-in-Fallon-Order-Prevents-Sale-of-Unbranded-Horses-220058631.html

Info about Native American horses selling at NV livestock auction Sat

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PM Fallon Sale

Just called the livestock exchange, guy said they just finished counting all the horses and his numbers are approximate:

Viewing between 8-10 Saturday morning on site

selling by the head or lot, not by the pound

Approx 35 mares + babies together, will be sold singly not as a lot

Approx 40 mares in several lots (14, 17, 19)

25-30 mares no babies singly

25-30 geldings singly

Approx 75 big “old” studs to be sold in several lots

Approx 20-30 yearlings and weaned foals sold singly

 

All horses have brands except a few and except some babies

Auction starts at 11:00

Payment via cash, Visa or MasterCard only

Nevada tax = 7.6%

The lots will be sold at the pens – those horses will not be brought through the arena, everyone will walk to the pens and bid there

If we’re bidding, we need to register

27 owners represented in these 500 horses

I just added those numbers and it only comes to 275, so not sure about the other 225 horses that would make a total of 500 but at least we get the idea

Temporary Restraining Order Granted

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TRO granted only for unbranded horses. All others go through sale. Please help buy them.

ORDER Plaintiffs Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (dkt no. 7) is hereby GRANTED pending a hearing on the Motion. Plaintiffs Motion to Expedite (dkt. no. 8) is also GRANTED. Defendants shall file their response by August 20, 2013. The Motion is scheduled for hearing on August 21, 2013, at 1:30 p.m. In the meantime, Defendants are temporarily enjoined, pending the August 21, 2013, hearing, from permitting the sale of all unbranded horses removed as a result of the August 11-13 gather conducted pursuant to the Agreement at the August 17, 2013, scheduled auction. Signed by Judge Miranda M. Du on August 16, 2013. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF – KER)

AWHPC has filed for a TRO and it was granted thankfully.