Tag Archives: wild horses
#MustangMonday July 8th call in to Congress requesting #Shade4Mustangs
This #MustangMonday, July 8th, we are calling on the good people of America to call and fax their Senators and Representatives asking they intervene to get #Shade4Mustangs at the Palomino Valley Center near Reno, NV.
This is a federal issue and that means voices all around America count. Contact information for your elected officials is here: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/
Lead contact for this action is Tami Hottes, Protect Mustangs’ Outreach Coordinator for the Midwest and South.
Check back here and “Like” us on Facebook for more updates
Follow Anne Novak on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAnneNovak
Dr. Friedlander DVM, writes Congressman Raul Grijalva requesting shelter for wild horses and burros
#Shade4Mustangs
Before and after the “Potemkin sprinkler village” at Palomino Valley
Captive young wild horses in distress BLM refuses shade`in heat wave
Photo taken by Taylor James on July 1, 2013 at Palomino Valley where the BLM employees refuse to give the 1,800 wild horses shade in the triple-digit heat wave.
Sign and share the petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/bring-emergency-shade-for-captive-wild-horses-and-burros
#Shade4Mustangs
#BREAKING Shocking TRUTHFUL video footage of captive #WildHorses with no shade in #heatwave
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Lactating mares and tiny foals as well as obese horses are at risk of dehydration and heatstroke in multiple days of triple-digit degree heat. Do you think this tiny sprinkler is helping cool them down? Why are so many lying down? Are they suffering from heat exhaustion?
They need SHADE to ensure their safety! Contact the BLM, the Governor, The Sheriff, your senators and rep during 4th of July recess if you know them personally and ask them to intervene to get shade for the native wild horses who are at risk of dying from heat stroke!
No the sprinklers are NOT helping! They need SHADE ASAP! Taylor James partnered up with us and went out to shoot this for us–so you all can SEE the truth in the video below:
Then take action!
Remember Sharing is caring ♥
Shade structure at the BLM’s Ridgecrest Corral in California
Shade at the Wild Horse & Burro Facility, Ridgecrest California
Emergency shade is needed at Palomino Valley Center (Sparks, NV), Litchfield Corrals (Susanville, Ca.), Rock Springs (WY.) and others.
Palomino Valley Center is the largest holding facility in the nation with 1,800 wild horses and burros currently captive in pens. They have no shade during the triple-digit heat wave.
How many wild horses will die before BLM gives them shade?
for immediate release
Sprinkler mitigation a farce–will not prevent heatstroke, illness or death, just bad press
RENO, NV (June 30, 2013)–With the western heat wave in the triple-digits, captive wild horses are at risk of heatstroke and death because they have no shade. Close to 1,800 native wild horses are ‘processed’ and eventually transferred by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the Palomino Valley Center (PVC). Rarely are they adopted due to poor marketing and customer service.
“Putting sprinklers in a few pens appears to be a publicity stunt when what they really need to do is create shade for this emergency situation,” states Anne Novak, executive director for Protect Mustangs. “The BLM is full of excuses of why they can’t create shade when they need to cowboy up and make it happen.”
The few sprinklers BLM installed this weekend are not only a waste of water during the drought, but appear to be a BLM publicity stunt to water down public outrage spreading across social media. Wild horses are not going to be cooled off by a random sprinkler in select pens. They might roll in the mud but most skidish wild horses will be scared of sprinklers.
Emergency shade is needed urgently. The June 9th press release requesting shade for captive wild horses had been ignored so Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs and Nevada Senator Mark Manendo contacted BLM officials in Washington last week requesting emergency action to create shade.
“The pens are huge with so many wild horses trapped in the triple-digit heat,” explains eye witness Taylor James who photographs wild horses in the Reno area. “The only way to ensure their health in the pens is with shade.”
An equine facility about 8 miles up the road provides shade for the equines in their care. The BLM requires adopters to provide access to shade for adopted wild horses and burros. Why is the mega facility exempt from basic horse care?
The Department of Interior and the BLM have access to engineers who can easily solve the shade problem. The BLM employees are paid to care for the wild horses and burros–yet without shade their job is doomed to failure.
How many unbranded wild horse foals die during heat waves? Facilities such as Palomino Valley don’t keep track of the unbranded young dead foals according to their public affairs officer, Heather Emmons.
The BLM needs to solve the problem they created by rounding up and stockpiling American icons of freedom in the pens. Fertility control is premature as there is no evidence of overpopulation according to the National Academy of Sciences.
“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,” states Novak. “In the wild they can migrate to shady areas. In captivity it’s cruel to deny them shade.”
Triple-digit heat waves can cause heatstroke and death for equines left out in the sun with no shade.
According to the article on heatstroke in Overheating and Heat Stress in Horses by Gary P. Carlson, D.V.M., PhD.
“. . . The clinical signs of heat stroke are depression, weakness, lack of appetite and a refusal to continue exercising . . . Despite elevated body temperature, the sweating response is inadequate, therefore, hot, dry skin is indicative of impending heat stroke. Depression and weakness may progress to ataxia (inability to coordinate voluntary muscular movement), collapse, convulsions, coma or death.”
Life saving care involves taking rectal temperatures, lowering body temperatures rapidly in the shade using fans, hosing down with water, applying ice packs and water enemas–hardly possible for treating untamed wild horses.
The BLM’s minor sprinkler mitigation appears to be a publicity stunt to avoid bad press. The sprinklers won’t cool down heat wave temperatures. Most pens are huge and don’t have sprinklers. The majority of wild horses won’t get sprinkled because they will run away.
What the wild horses need is access to shade. The BLM is responsible to care for wild horses and burros humanely after rounding them up.
“It’s like keeping a dog in a hot car when it’s hot outside,” says Melissa Maser, Protect Mustangs’ outreach coordinator for Wyoming and Texas. “All the vets warn that can cause heat stroke and kill them. Why doesn’t the BLM give the captive mustangs shade?”
If the BLM can get funding for their “emergency” roundups then they can allowcate funding to create shade as needed for the 50,000 captive wild horses. The BLM needs to be responsible for all the wild horses and burros they have captured.
“The BLM’s disregard for America’s wild horses is a global embarrassment,” states Novak. “We hope Secretary Jewell will intervene and provide emergency shade for the wild horses and burros in captivity.”
Leading grassroots equine advocates Anne Novak at Protect Mustangs, Jaime Jackson at AANHCP and notable filmmaker Carl Mrozek urge Secretary Jewell call for a moratorium on roundups and scientific population studies before controlling fertility of wild horses and burros. Recently, the National Academy of Sciences stated there was no evidence to support the BLM’s claims of alleged overpopulation. Independent estimates conclude less than 18,000 wild horses remain in all 10 western states combined–on an area spanning more than 30 million acres designated by Congress for wild horses and burros.
“Population myths are used to justify expensive roundups and removals of wild horses and look what a mess that creates,” explains Novak. “Now we have thousands of captive wild horses trapped in pens with no shade. How humane is that?”
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.
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Media Contacts:
Anne Novak, Anne@ProtectMustangs.org
Kerry Becklund, Kerry@ProtectMustangs.org
Photos, video and interviews available upon request
Links of interest:
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
ProPublica: All the missing horses: What happened to the wild horses Tom Davis bought from the gov’t?http://www.propublica.org/article/missing-what-happened-to-wild-horses-tom-davis-bought-from-the-govt
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
Anne Novak quotes at Newsle: http://newsle.com/AnneNovak
Protect Mustangs in the news: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=218
No shade for captive wild horses as temperatures soar in Nevada, despite requests from the public and elected officials
RENO, NV (June 28, 2013)–With temperatures rising in the triple digits, Nevada photographer, Taylor James visited the national wild horse “processing” facility twice today for Protect Mustangs. She took photos and pointed her video camera over the fence. No sprinklers were seen at Palomino Valley Center (PVC). Surely there were sprinklers somewhere because the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced they were putting sprinklers up to appease public outcry. Why are they putting sprinklers up when the wild horses need shade?
“I witnessed wild horses at Palomino Valley who were in distress today because of the heat,” states Taylor James. “I could not see any sprinklers from my vantage point. They looked miserable without shade.”
Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs, has appealed directly to Secretary Jewell to intervene–to stop the suffering and create shade for the wild horses and burros at Palomino Valley Center. “What these captured wild horses need in sweltering triple digit heat is shade from the blistering sun,” says Novak.
“We have a state law that says dogs need proper shade, food and water, so why not those horses?” asks Mark Manendo, Nevada State Senator. “Why would the BLM not want to provide proper care for the horses–especially if they require adopters must prove the wild horses will have access to shade?”
Protect Mustangs is working with elected officials, advocates and concerned members of the public, to request the BLM give captive wild horses and burros shade and provide them with 24/7 onsite personnel.
Currently no one lives at the facility. No one is there daily after business hours. If there is an emergency, no one can ensure the safety of the more than 1,800 treasured wild horses and burros after normal business hours and on most weekends.
“We joined with Senator Mark Manendo on June 9th to officially request the BLM in Washington provide shade for the captured wild horses at Palomino Valley and elsewhere,” states Novak. “They have done nothing.”
“The BLM must think this sort of animal cruelty is acceptable–but it’s heinous,” adds Novak. “How many wild horses will perish before they finally do something? Their disregard for America’s icons shows that they just don’t care.”
In the wild, native horses can migrate to more comfortable places during heat waves. In the pens they are trapped and at the mercy of those who chased them with helicopters, tore them from their families and took them from their homes on the range.
Video © Taylor James for Protect Mustangs.org
Basic animal husbandly requires access to shelter as seen at a Nevada equine facility about 8 miles up the road. The BLM ignores horse management protocol while allegedly caring for thousands of wild horses.
For information on the crisis created by the BLM to remove the majority of wild horses and burros off their native land, cruelty towards America’s icons of freedom and no evidence of overpopulation according to the National Academy of Sciences visit www.ProtectMustangs.org
“Like” us on Facebook for updates and ways to help the wild horses: https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs
Read our June 9th press release requesting shade: http://
We want to thank photographer Taylor James for driving out to Palomino Valley Center during the heat wave to document and witness the ‘no shade’ fiasco.
We send a special shout out to fellow wild horse and burro advocates who are also working to get shade for our beloved wild horses and burros: Monika Courtney, Jetara Séhart, Dr. Lester Friedlander, Patty Bumgarner, Colleen Denson, Joanne Cronan-Hamoy, Debbie Catalina, Rt. Fitch, Debbie Coffey, Carl Mrozek, Jill Willis, Craig Downer and others.
We are deeply grateful to Senator Mark Manendo for his compassionate commitment to the humane treatment of America’s wild horses and burros.
Videos from June 28, 2013 Observation at Palomino Valley Center: Coming Soon
We will be updating this page with videos and photos so check back here to see them.
BLM’s failed attempt to sprinkle away heat wave despite requests for shade
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BLM Nevada News
Nevada State Office No. 13-23
For Release: June 28, 2013
Contact: Heather Jasinski, (775) 861-6594, hlemmons@blm.gov
 Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro Center Installs Sprinklers to Mitigate Effects of Heat Wave
Reno, Nev. – In expectation of continued three-digit temperatures this weekend and to address public concerns, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Palomino Valley Center outside Reno is installing sprinklers to three of the large, outside wild horse pens and five mare/foal pens as a stop-gap measure to attempt to reduce heat levels inside the corrals. BLM staff will observe how the animals respond to the sprinklers, which could include avoidance, or chewing on and rubbing against the sprinklers, which are foreign structures to the animals.
The use of shade shelters in corrals has been considered and evaluated by BLM numerous times. Current policy is based on the following principles:
– Wild horses and burros are accustomed to open environments and when their nutritional demands are met, they do well against the natural elements, including sun, rain, snow, and hot and cold temperatures. At Palomino Valley, the animals are fed hay each day; mineral blocks are available in each pen; and a continuous supply of water is available via automatic waterers.
– Open corrals with plenty of sunlight have proven to be the best way to minimize disease-causing organisms. The BLM’s open corrals enable the drying effects of the sun and wind to take effect. The corrals are sloped to minimize the pooling of precipitation in the pens and to allow it to channel to the exterior of the facility.
– Due to the temperament of the animals, the social hierarchy between the animals, and their unfamiliarity with shelters, the BLM feels that corrals without shelters are the safest approach. Shelters could create a potential obstacle for animals running and playing in the corrals, and cause significant injuries. The BLM has wind breaks and/or shelters for sick animals. The “sick pens” do not have the same safety issues because the animals are in a smaller area with limited pressure from other animals.
Weather conditions, as well as determining the most appropriate way to address the needs of the animals, vary across the country. What works well and is needed for a small facility in the Midwest may not be necessary or work well for a large facility in Southern California or Nevada. Each facility uses methods compatible with local animal husbandry practices to provide the best solution for maintaining the large numbers of animals for which the BLM provides care. Nonetheless, plans are underway for the BLM to consult the scientific research community to inform future options on this issue.
The Palomino Valley Center, located about 20 miles north of Reno, is the largest BLM preparation and adoption facility in the country with a capacity of 1,850 animals. It serves as the primary preparation center for wild horses and burros gathered from the public lands in Nevada and nearby states. Visitors wishing to adopt are encouraged to call the Center prior to arrival at (775) 475-2222. Public hours for visiting are held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and on the first Saturday of each month from 8 a.m.-noon.
Photo caption: At the BLM’s Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro Center outside Reno, a sprinkler attached to the panel of a large wild horse pen sprays water while horses eat in the distance.
-BLM-
— Heather Emmons Jasinski 1340 Financial Blvd. Reno, NV 89502 |