We are very grateful to have helped save Sandy from going to probable slaughter. What a wonderful gift she has been carrying all this time. This has been a wonderful team effort to support Hidden Valley’s rescue.
We send out a special thank you to all our supporters who networked, donated, contacted Governor Sandoval and spread awareness about the wild horse crisis. Keep up the great work everyone!
Jackson Mountain yearlings. They have lost their home, their families and their freedom. (Photo © Taylor James)
To everyone who loves horses,
Native wild horses need our help after the 4 year Salazar Attack designed to pummel them toward extinction.
Let us not forget these federally protected wild horses have been wronged every time they have been cruelly removed from their land, ripped from their families and killed because of roundups or slaughter.
Now is the time to stand up and demand Congress stop the roundups!
Let’s join together to insist that all of the 50,000 wild horses–stockpiled in taxpayer funded holding–be returned to the Herd Management Areas (HMAs) on public land. Remember, the HMAs were set aside in 1971 as safe places for wild horses and burros to live with their families as an integral part of the environment.
Write your senators and representatives today! Make appointments to meet with their aides.
Please sign and share the petition to Defund and Stop the Wild Horse & Burro Roundups
If you live out of the country send us an email (Contact@ProtectMustangs.org) stating why the wild horses of the West must be saved!
In gratitude,
Anne Novak
Executive Director of Protect Mustangs
Photo ©Rachel Anne Reeves all rights reserved
THE WILD HORSE IS NATIVE TO NORTH AMERICA
By Ross MacPhee, PhD, Curator – Division of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
It needs to be more widely understood that the horse’s status as a native North American species is beyond serious question.
A “native” species, in evolutionary terms, is defined as one that differentiated or diverged from its immediate ancestor species within a specific geographical locale. The contemporary wild horse in the United States is recently derived from lines domesticated in Europe and Asia. But those lines themselves go much further back in time, and converge on populations that lived in North America during the latter part of the Pleistocene (2.5M to 10k years ago).
The morphological (fossil) evidence and the more recent DNA evidence (although preliminary), points to the same conclusion: the species Equus caballus—the species encompassing all domestic horses and their wild progenitors—arose on this continent.
The evidence thus favors the view that this species is “native” to North America, given any rational understanding of the term “native”. By contrast, there are no paleontological or genetic grounds for concluding that it is native to any other continent.
From a scientific standpoint, it is completely irrelevant that native horses died out in North America 10,000 years ago, or that later populations were domesticated in central Asia 6000 years ago. Such considerations have no bearing on their status as having originated on this continent.
Reintroduction of horses to North America 500 years ago is, biologically, a non-event: horses were merely returned to part of their former native range, where they have since prospered because ecologically they never left.
CLICK HERE for Scientific Assessment of the Wild Mustangs of America – MANAGED TO EXTINCTION, written by Ross MacPhee, Curator, Division of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History.
CLICK HERE to Review Information about Craig Downer’s Book entitled THE WILD HORSE CONSPIRACY.
“Traditional Dakota/Lakota people firmly believe that the aboriginal North American horse did not become extinct after the last Ice Age, and that it was part of their precontact culture.
Scientists know from fossil remains that the horse originated and evolved in North America, and that these small 12 to 13 hand horses or ponys (sic) migrated to Asia across the Bering Strait, then spread throughout Asia and finally reached Europe. The drawings in the French Laseaux caves, dating about 10,000 B.C., are a testimony to their long westward migration. Scientists contend, however, that the aboriginal horse became extinct in North America during what is (known) as the “Pleistocene kill,” in other words, that they disappeared at the same time as the mammoth, the ground sloth, and other Ice Age mammals. This has led anthropologists to assume that Plains Indians only acquired horses after Spaniards accidentally lost some horses in Mexico, in the beginning of the XVIth (16th) century, that these few head multiplied and eventually reached the prairies.
Dakota/Lakota Elders as well as many other Indian nations contest this theory, and contend that according to their oral history, the North American horse survived the Ice Age, and that they had developed a horse culture long before the arrival of Europeans, and, furthermore, that these same distinct ponys (sic) continued to thrive on the prairies until the latter part of the XIXth (19th) century, when the U.S. government ordered them rounded up and destroyed to prevent Indians from leaving the newly-created reservations. Although there is extensive evidence of this massive slaughter, no definitive evidence has yet been found to substantiate the Elders’ other claim, but there are a number of arguments in favour of the Indian position.”
CLICK HERE for Scientific Paper Entitled: The Aboriginal North American Horse.
Cross-posted from: http://thisnthatn.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/the-aboriginal-north-american-horse-managed-to-extinction/
Travesty
What happens to wild horses who are snatched off the range and torn from their families in the American West?
Often they are “sold” to kill buying middle men either at auctions or through the federal sale program allowed by The Burns Amendment. Then they are trucked to Canada or Mexico and cruelly slaughtered or flown live to Asia to be butchered there.
Sometimes icons of the West end up on someone’s dinner plate in countries like Japan.
If you don’t like this, then sign up for our email list to Stop the Roundups. Send an email to Contact@ProtectMustangs.org
Cruel way to drag foal by pulling bailing twine around their neck (Photo © Bo Rodriguez)
Good News! Baby Diamond (pictured above) and her Mama were rescued from the auction by our friends at Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund. The pair has found an adopter.
“Thank you to everyone who protested, networked and donated to help save the 41 Virginia Range wild horses from probable slaughter,” said Anne Novak, executive director of California-based Protect Mustangs.
“It goes to show the love and respect that not only Nevadans have for the Virginia Range horses, but also the people across the country and around the world who contributed money needed to purchase these horses back from the state of Nevada,” said Shannon Windle, director of the Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund.
Members of the public around the world are encouraged to contact Governor Sandoval and tell him you don’t want native wild horses sold at auctions where kill buyers shop. Ask him to give the horses to local advocacy groups rather than sell them into the slaughter pipeline.
Call, email and/or fax Nevada’s Governor Brian Sandoval,
http://gov.nv.gov/contact/governor/
Office Phone: (775) 684-5670
Office Fax: (775) 684-5683
Tweet ©GOVSandoval Use #NEVADA to let the Governor know you want them protected!
Let the Nevada Bureau of Tourism know you don’t like this! @TravelNevada on Twitter and
Nevada Commission on Tourism
401 North Carson Street
Carson City, NV 89701
Rambo’s band in freedom in Reno (Photo © Ellen Holcomb)
Beloved wild horses at auction against the public’s wishes
Right now 41 wild horses from the Reno area including Rambo’s band are at the Fallon Auction where kill buyers come to buy horses for slaughter.
Governor Sandoval refused to step in and stop the auction despite protests. Read his response here: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/jan/08/despite-activist-pleas-sandoval-permit-wild-horse-/
Advocates and concerned citizens are hoping to save these iconic mustangs from being sold into the slaughter pipeline.
We have been in touch with Shannon Windle, President of the Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund who has arrived at the scene and is working on saving horses. She said there are a lot of horses.
Contact Governor Sandoval to tell him you don’t want native wild horses sold at auctions where kill buyers shop. Ask him to give the horses to local advocacy groups rather than sell them into the slaughter pipeline.
Call, email and/or fax Nevada’s Governor Brian Sandoval,
http://gov.nv.gov/contact/governor/
Office Phone: (775) 684-5670
Office Fax: (775) 684-5683
Tweet ©GOVSandoval Use #NEVADA to let the Governor.
Let the Nevada Bureau of Tourism know you don’t like this! @TravelNevada on Twitter and
Nevada Commission on Tourism
401 North Carson Street
Carson City, NV 89701
Protect native wild horses! © Protect Mustangs.org
Nevada trapper drags 4 month old foal by string around neck to send to auction (Photo © Bo Rodriguez)
For immediate release:
BREAKING NEWS: Bay Area Residents Protest Killing Wild Horses near Reno
Barbie Hardrock stands up for American mustangs from Europe
OAKLAND, Ca. (January 4, 2013)–Protect Mustangs, the Bay Area-based wild horse preservation group is organizing a peaceful protest during rush hour tonight outside the Rockridge BART Station (College Ave. in Oakland) from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Members of the public of all ages are gathering to show they want the cruelty & slaughter of indigenous wild horses to stop now. The preservation group recently learned of Nevada’s interest in opening a horse slaughterhouse to kill wild horses on tribal land near Reno. Many protests are being held in conjunction with the Carson City Protest, organized by the Wild Horse Preservation League, where the protestors are marching at midday to deliver Governor Sandoval letters from around the world asking him to stop the cruelty and let the advocates help the horses find homes or sanctuary.
“We stand together to demand a STOP to the crimes against America’s indigenous wild horses,” explains Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “We enjoy photographing the very horses they want to slaughter when we go to Reno/Tahoe. These horses are on the edge of Reno. Did you know horses evolved in America and wild horses are a reintroduced native species?”
“We have been working with The Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund and other groups to bring awareness to the crisis,” continues Novak. “The public around the world is outraged. Some people even refuse to travel to Nevada because of this. Citizens have requested Governor Sandoval stop trapping native wild horses and selling them off at auctions–where kill-buyers go to pick up horses. He has done nothing–only turned a deaf ear.”
Other protests are being held such as the primary one in Carson City, one in Mill Valley tonight at The Depot Plaza sponsored by Wild horse Protection Act as well as protests held in Phoenix, on the East Coast, Europe and elsewhere.
“We are sharing out posts of people protesting today from around the world. Our first photo came in from Barbie Hardrock’s band, Roquette, in Europe,” says Kerry Becklund, director of outreach for Protect Mustangs. “Join the movement to protect wild horses on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs.”
“American mustangs are so beautiful to watch living in freedom but now they are hard to find because there aren’t many left,” explains Hardrock who enjoys visiting the American West to take photos of wild horses.
“Native wild horses create biodiversity and reverse desertification when managed using reserve design,” states Novak. “Roundups and removals are cruel–slaughtering them is a heinous idea. We want to make sure they are protected.”
# # #
Media Contacts:
Anne Novak, 415-531-8454, Anne@ProtectMustangs.org
Kerry Becklund, 510-502-1913, Kerry@ProtectMustangs.org
Contact us for photos, video and interviews
Links of Interest:
BREAKING: Shocking meeting minutes reveal Nevada wants to slaughter wild horses! Read them here: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3405
News reporting: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/b4490271c8d34f06a683a62a375d2f2e/NV–Wild-Horse-Slaughter
Protect Mustangs in the news: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=218
America’s wild horses are native: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562
Requests to Governor Sandoval: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3189
Barbie Hardrock protest photo: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151389882539756&set=o.233633560029004&type=1&theater
Rocquette’s website: http://rocquette.com/
The law and the BLM roundups: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3248
Mill Valley protest sponsored by Wild Horse Protection Act. Jan 4th 5:00-7:00 pm at the Depot Plaza. Info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/296738457113266/?suggestsessionid=5884581321357255870
Here are ways you can take action: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=454780331247658&set=a.240625045996522.58710.233633560029004&type=1&theater¬if_t=photo_commentMore information here: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3343
Sponsored by Protect Mustangs www.ProtectMustangs.org where you can find a lot of information on the wild horse crisis.
Protect Mustangs is the California-based preservation group whose mission is to educate the public about the American wild horse, protect and research wild horses on the range and help those who have lost their freedom.
Barbie Hardrock joins Protect Mustangs’ Oakland protest through the web (Photo © Rocquette)
Join us for a peaceful protest Friday, Jan 4th outside the Rockridge BART Station during the evening rush hour from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (on College Avenue @ Oakland/Berkeley border) to show we all want the cruelty & slaughter of indigenous wild horses to stop now!
We stand with our fellow advocates in Nevada to demand a STOP to the crimes against America’s iconic wild horses! We stand with the American public who wants ALL wild horses protected (BLM & NDoA). Stop the roundups!
This is a family friendly protest. Bring signs and candles!
Let people know that they can have their peaceful protest wherever they are. One person and one sign is enough, more people and signs are great too! Take a pic and post it to our FB page we will share out! https://www.facebook.com/
Here is the event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/530479583642398/
Associated Press Reports: Nevada Horse Advocates Fear Slaughter http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Nevada-horse-advocates-fear-slaughter-4165757.php
| Issue: The Nevada Board of Agriculture minutes reveal a discussion on how to open up a horse slaughter plant for the Virginia Range horses.Date: January 3,2013For some months horse advocates have predicted two things. That the Nevada Department of Agriculture’s claims that they aren’t trying to sell horses for slaughter is the pure nonsense that it is, and that the end game is to test public opinion to see if the public would stomach having our free-roaming horses go to the slaughterhouses.In reality advocates apparently underestimated theactual situation. After struggling to get documents from the Department of Agriculture, Carrol Abelhas been going through the minutes of meetings of the Board of Agriculture and is discovering that some startling conversations have taken place.The minutes also reveal that the Department of Agriculture is flat lying to the public when they put out statements that horses that they dump off the livestock auction aren’t at risk of going to the slaughter buyers.
The following text is from the December 6th, 2011 meeting of the Nevada Board of Agriculture. A complete copy of the minutes can be downloaded here. We chose to print the entire discussion about the Virginia Range horses in order to provide more complete context. The slaughterhouse issue, and references to discussions with Governor Sandoval, start in the 5th paragraph. (Typos that appear below are the same as they appear in the minutes.) |
Name of Organization: Nevada Board of Agriculture
Date and Time of Meeting: December 6, 2011
Place of Meeting: Nevada Department of Agriculture
405 S. 21st Street
Sparks, Nevada 89431
775-353-3601
Minutes December 6, 2011
Board Members Present: Board Members Absent:
Alan Perazzo, Chairman Ramona Morrison
Paul Anderson
Dean Baker
Charlie Frey
Grady Jones
Paul Noe
Jim Snyder
Boyd Spratling
Dave Stix, Jr.
Hank Vogler
Staff Members Present: Guests:
Jim Barbee Don Alt,NLSA
Bryan Stockton Jerry Lentz
Mark Jensen John M. Wildlife
Jay Ludlow Trish Swain, Trail Safe
Joann Mothershead, Elko Joey Hastings, Governor's Office
Jodi Protopappas Audry Spratling
Doug Busselman, NV Farm Bureau
Don Molde
Billy Howard, Trail Safe
(Jump to item in Director's Report, bottom of Page 3.)
October 4, 2011- conference call meeting with Board to go to
workshop. Met with Dept. of corrections and worked thru Gov
office dealing with VR Horse issues. Horses up for sale at the
Stewart Correctional facility we are giving the horse advocacy
groups an opportunity at the horse we have collected first come
first serve, identified cost to Agriculture to collect horses in
traps take horses to prison, feed, processing, branding on left
hip if they do not buy horses today then horses will be
transported to fallon on Wednesday can't afford to hold and feed
horses with the budget restraints we are in. We will continue
to keep horses off the roadway for public safety. We continue
to have horses hit on the highway. Don Alt shared that along 95
route looking at completing fence line by dept. of
transporation. Word from DOT putting in a horse underpass past
moundhouse around stagecoach area that will hopefully help with
the horses coming across the roadway.
October 13,2011- met with Amy Lueder, USDA re: V. Range issues
felt there is a connection between the pinenut herd and the
Lahontan herd areas. They are adamate there is no genetic
connection between those horses and Carson river keeps horses
from moving back and forth. I have walked across the Carson
river when things are pretty dry, Director questions that stand.
They are willing to support us with equipment, traps but they
believe they have no responsibility or liablility with the horses
that are on the Virginia Range.
Dave Sticks Jr. comment: -for the record can you tell everyone
where the funding is coming for for state personnel to do this?
Barbee answers: Animal identification which is fee based thru
Brands, and registrations, certificates, trip permits is the fee
source. Advertised price for this mornings sale is 90.00 per
head.
Charlie Frey comment, question: for the record: - Have you had
meetings with Governor re: the slaughter of horses, how is public
conception being changed?
Jim Barbee: Briefly talked about it. Have not seen it as huge
impact relative to VR horses immediately.
Charlie Frey: Thought if we could create demand it would take
some of the responsibility off this dept. and open up a market
place. I think it is something for the general public to
consider in view that overseas some of that meat is real good
delicacy.
Jim Barbee: response: We are continuing based on motion you
guys passed 2 meetings ago to look at other opportunities to the
dept of Ag managing the VR horses, working with AG's office
regarding statutes and what option we have there and continuing
to work with Gov office on ideas and ways we could more
appropriately transfer that authority to a better place.
Dean Baker for the record: Put on agenda to say ability to
slaughter horses because we are agriculture and it is an
important thing to do. It would cause up controversy and
problems there are many putting that out. I am not pushing this
just putting idea out.
Jim Barbee: As I understand it with the uplifting of the band it
is anywhere that you have a slaughter house it is legal now.
Dean Baker: But if we supported it, legislators couldn't do
anything in legislation about wild horses like the water thing,
they got hammered in the ground. We would not get hammered the
same way it would be a subject we could put out.
Boyd Spratling: Financial strategy on getting slaughter house
going because that is when the river is going to meet the road
is when they slaughter the first horse. Think looking at
putting facilities on Indian reservations which takes
legislature and everybody out of the equation.
Dean Baker: I would hope it might some help to some of the
legislators if the Board of Agriculture would take a clear
position. Just throwing it out.
Dave Styx Jr: I think we should trust that the private sector
will handle this eventually if slaughters increase, need to talk
with Gov office have to be careful where this Board goes with
that because it may take care of itself, however brings up issue
you need to be prepared as well as the Governor that prior to
today there has only been 1 buyer at the sale yards purchasing
horses and that is why market is so bad. This could increase
more buyers at the sale like 10 years ago. If we take VR horses
to the sale we need to be prepared for that. Right now with 1
buyer everyone knows where those horses are going.
Jim Barbee: I think you are right about how it will play out in
private industry but one would assume that it would affect that
issue and we have to make justifications one way or another.
|
| Paragraph Eleven in This discussion serves as a good exampleas to why members serving on any policy making bodies need to be elected and be directly accountable to the voters! Those whoare appointed to secure positionsappear to get the sense that they can do anything they want.Carrol will likely file a more complete report once she goes throughadditional documents.
demonstrate how to bring in an approx. 3 week old foal. (NOT!) |
Get twine aruond its neck.
|
Choke it and drag it.
|
Then shove it when it resists.
|
Where they go…
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