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Press Release: Protests to stop roundups and sales to kill buyers

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(Photo © Cat Kindsfather, all rights reserved)

For immediate release

Call for peaceful protests to stop the roundups and stop the BLM from selling federally protected wild horses to kill-buyers

American public outraged at cruel ‘management’

WASHINGTON (October 6, 2012)–Protect Mustangs announced on Facebook Friday their call for nationwide protests to stop the roundups and stop the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from selling federally protected indigenous wild horses to kill buyers.

“We are calling for peaceful protests as well as candlelight vigils so no more wild horses will die from roundups, be tortured by the helicopters or sold to kill buyers for delicacy meat abroad,” states Anne Novak, executive director for California based Protect Mustangs “The public is outraged.”

Last week ProPublica exposed the BLM selling at least 1,700 federally protected wild horses to known pro-slaughter buyer, Tom Davis, and the public is furious. The BLM is charged with managing and protecting wild horses–not selling them for $10 a head to a pro-slaughter middle man to reduce the numbers in holding due to years of fiscally irresponsible roundups.

“Members of the public who are active in their communities must let their friends, family and neighbors know they can contact Congress if they don’t like their tax dollars used to fund cruel roundups,” says Tami Hottes, Protect Mustangs’ outreach coordinator for the Midwest and South. “People are upset to learn about the BLM selling all those historic wild horses to a guy like Tom Davis. It’s disgusting.”

This week the Antelope roundup, in northeastern Nevada, started under the pretense of saving the wild horses from a drought stricken area.

“We are concerned the BLM is jumping on the drought opportunity to zero out herds for industrialization of public land–especially massive energy projects that could pollute the water,” explains Novak. “Our indigenous wild horses are environmental barometers. If they die from drinking the water then that’s a red flag something is poisoning the water out there.”

Novak continues,”If there is a real problem on the range then bring them aid in the field–don’t round them up and warehouse them at taxpayer expense. It won’t cost much to bring them hay and water for a few months to get them through a difficult time.”

In watching videos from the roundup it should be pointed out that these wild horses were actually in excellent shape and there is no sign they have been suffering from lack of water or forage this summer. They are efficient browsers.

Even though the BLM announced last spring they would bait trap, they are not keeping their word to the American public. The BLM continues with cruel helicopter roundups.

The contractor has been criticized in the past for deadly incidents that could have been prevented. Despite objections from advocates and members of the public, the BLM continues to hire the contractor.

At the Antelope roundup advocates from The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) recorded videos showing healthy horses stampeded into traps, foals terrorized by choppers and a terrified stallion jumping out of the capture corral breaking his leg and running away. He was then euthanized by the BLM.

During the roundup wild horses were traumatized with whips and a wild mare broke her neck and died in transport.

If these historic wild horses had not been rounded up surely they would be alive with their families roaming in the West.

Outraged members of the public are calling BLM officials requesting the roundups stop. Officials downplay the cruelty and trauma, claiming these were rare incidents and touting that roundups, also known as “gathers”, only have a 1% death rate.

“We disagree with their whittled down death rate,” states Novak. “For years we have caught the BLM avoiding the correct death count and misleading Congress about the true number of horses painfully dying in roundups. During winter 2010 more than 180 wild horses died or were euthanized as a result of the roundup but the BLM tried to rewrite the numbers.”

The federal agency, funded by Congress to manage wild horses and burros, attributes the gross majority of roundup deaths to pre-existing conditions when they are obviously roundup related. If the horses weren’t rounded up they surely would not have died at that time.

The BLM often kills indigenous wild horses for being “old” and claims it was a pre-existing condition. They also kill baby horses claiming they have leg deformities. The foals can’t tolerate being stampeded for many miles on their undeveloped baby feet and legs and suffer severe injuries and are euthanized. BLM resists taking responsibility for their heinous actions.

At roundups since 2009, advocates as well as members of the press and public have been pushed back from the trap site and the holding corrals. It appears the BLM wants to hide the cruel roundups and injured animals from public view.

“The Wild Horse and Burro Program avoids transparency because of their disgusting secrets,” states Novak. “The public has a right to know what’s happening at roundups and afterwards. The public wants to know how many federally protected wild horses have been sold to the slaughter middle men since 2005.”

In 2004, a stealth rider known as the Burns amendment was attached to the Congressional Appropriations Bill to allow unlimited sales of captive wild horses over the age of ten or those who have been presented at adoption venues (live or Internet) three times–even pregnant mares and one-year-olds called yearlings.

The recent ProPublica article, written by Dave Phillips, highlights a corrupt program and interviews a pro-slaughter middle man. According to ProPublica, ‘Tom Davis buys 100s of mustangs at a time, sight unseen, for $10 a head. BLM has sold him more than 1,700 wild horses and burros since 2009.

“Hell, some of the finest meat you will ever eat is a fat yearling colt,” he says.

“. . . but BLM’s Sally Spencer said it would be unfair for BLM to look more closely at him based on the volume of his purchases. “It’s no good to just stir up rumors,” she said.’

In 1997 Associated Press investigative journalist, Martha Mendoza, uncovered BLM’s internal corruption wherein adopted wild horses were quickly being sold to slaughter even by BLM employees who adopted them.

‘A multimillion-dollar federal program created to save the lives of wild horses instead is channeling them by the thousands to slaughterhouses where they are chopped into cuts of meat.

Among those profiting from the slaughter are employees of the Bureau of Land Management, the federal agency that administers the program.’

Mendoza’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) research and the story she exposed, forced the adoption program to change their protocol and only give title to the mustangs after one year to prevent the wild horses from being sold into the slaughter pipeline.

Today the BLM sends America’s living treasures to slaughter by selling them to the middle men who sell them to slaughter. Protect Mustangs asks Congress for a freeze on roundups, a freeze on sales and a full investigation into the ‘sale authority program’ since 2005.

The roundups ramped up in 2009 with the stimulus package push for the New Energy Frontier on public land and a new mandate to wipe out the wild herds of the West known as The Salazar Plan.

Despite nationwide protests in 2009-10 against the Secretary of the Interior’s plan, the majority of wild horses and burros were ripped from their family bands, taken off their land and the stallions were sterilized. President Obama ignored public outcry and Congress eventually fell for the BLM pleas for funding to ‘help the wild horses’.

In 2010, 54 members of Congress joined Congressman Raul Grijalva requesting a moratorium on roundups and a National Academy of Science (NAS) investigation into the broken program. Somehow the BLM has taken charge of the NAS investigation now called a “study” and is feeding the NAS the information instead of the Academy conducting independent research.

Today more than 52,000 wild horses and burros are living in captivity–mostly in the Midwest as specified in the Salazar Plan. Last year the controversial Wild Horse and Burro Program cost the American taxpayer 78 million dollars. Next year the cost will increase.

Protect Mustangs requests that Congress work with advocates to find a way to return wild horses to their wild lands in the West–to create biodiversity on the range–a win-win for wild horses, livestock, landowners, tourism and energy development on the New Energy Frontier. Their presence also helps greatly to reduce wildfires.

“Shrinking the numbers of wild horses left on public land today could be dangerous,” explains Kerry Becklund, director of outreach for Protect Mustangs. “Giving already small herds fertility control will ruin genetic viability and could create inbreeding.”

The BLM’s reproduction rates don’t account much for mortality within the herd. Often foals don’t live to be two years old but the BLM spin on population has them multiplying like rabbits.

Studies show predators such as mountain lions and coyotes reduce the wild horse foal population. Last summer several young foals were killed by coyotes at a BLM holding facility near Sparks, Nevada. Even so, the BLM hides the truth about predators reducing the population and continues to repeat they have no natural predators despite the fact they do.

“Show me a real independent headcount before we talk about fertility control,”says Novak. “There aren’t enough wild horses left on the range any more. The truth is that the BLM will continue to roundup wild horses to treat them with fertility control. Roundups have been deadly so far. Roundups are NOT the answer. Biodiversity is the answer.”

Novak continues, “More than 52,000 indigenous wild horses have been captured and are warehoused in government holding. Selling ‘excess’ wild horses to kill-buyers is a heinous act and must stop now as well as the gluttony of roundups”

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Media Contacts:

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

Kerry Becklund, 510-502-1913, Kerry@ProtectMustangs.org

Links of interest:

AP reports & Protect Mustangs speaks out against the roundups: 3,500 Wild horses going to loose their freedom starting October 1st Federal roundup of wild horses burros starts today http://www.lvrj.com/news/federal-roundup-for-wild-horses-burros-starts-today-172056591.html

ProPublica reports: All the missing horses: What happened to the wild horses Tom Davis bought from the government  http://www.propublica.org/article/missing-what-happened-to-wild-horses-tom-davis-bought-from-the-govt

Brutal report for day 1 of Nevada’s Antelope roundup. Two horses die. AWHPC video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne3ppBnbr7g&feature=youtu.be

Day 3 of Antelope roundup. Foals are terrorized by the helicopter and chased too long on their tender hooves. AWHPC video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N9LDAwZqyU&feature=youtu.be

Buffalo News (January 5, 1997) US effort to save wild horses leads thousands to slaughter as workers profit by Martha Mendoza http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF99E45C1DF5CF&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM

The Burns amendment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Burns#The_Burns_Amendment

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

News 4 KRNV Reno BLM selling to kill buyer? http://www.mynews4.com/news/local/story/BLM-selling-to-a-kill-buyer/s7svkl_zd0i1NVKHbd0ceA.cspx

Oct 5th Facebook announcement~Call to Stop the Roundups: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=418628774862814&set=a.240625045996522.58710.233633560029004&type=1&theater

Protect Mustangs on the web http://www.ProtectMustangs.org

 

Protect Mustangs calls for nationwide peaceful protests to stop the roundups

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Protect Mustangs Calls for Peaceful Protests to STOP the Roundups and STOP the BLM from selling wild indigenous horses to kill-buyers

It’s time to organize peaceful protests (large & small) and candlelight vigils so NO MORE wild horses will die from roundups, be tortured by the helicopters or sold to kill-buyers for delicacy meat abroad. Spread awareness in your communities and let your friends, family and neighbors know they can contact Congress if they don’t like their tax dollars used to fund cruel roundups.

Ask Congress to find a way to work WITH the wild indigenous horses to create biodiversity on the land–a win-win for wild horses, livestock, landowners, tourism and energy development on the New Energy Frontier.

“Show me a real independent headcount before we talk about fertility control,” says Anne Novak, executive director for Protect Mustangs. “There aren’t enough wild horses left on the range any more. The BLM will continue to roundup wild horses to treat mustangs with fertility control. Roundups have been deadly so far. Roundups are NOT the answer. Biodiversity is the answer.”

Join us to call for a moratorium on roundups.

“More than 52,000 indigenous wild horses have been captured and are in government holding,” explains Novak. “Selling ‘excess’ wild horses to kill-buyers is a heinous act and must stop now as well as the gluttony of roundups.”

If you don’t like the cruelty and deaths at roundups contact your senators and congresspeople and request they stop it now. Congress approves funding for roundups. YOUR tax dollars are paying to wipe out America’s wild indigenous horses.

 

Links of interest:

AP reports & Protect Mustangs speaks out against the gluttony of roundups: 3,500 Wild horses going to loose their freedom starting October 1st Federal roundup of wild horses burros starts today http://www.lvrj.com/news/federal-roundup-for-wild-horses-burros-starts-today-172056591.html

ProPublica reports: All the missing horses: What happened to the wild horses Tom Davis bought from the government  http://www.propublica.org/article/missing-what-happened-to-wild-horses-tom-davis-bought-from-the-govt

Brutal report for day 1 of Nevada’s Antelope roundup. Two horses die. AWHPC video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne3ppBnbr7g&feature=youtu.be

Day 3 of Antelope roundup. Foals are terrorized by the helicopter and chased too long on their tender hooves. AWHPC video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N9LDAwZqyU&feature=youtu.be

Why are empty stock trailers pulling into BLM holding facilities when they are closed on Sunday at sunset?

Letter to the President

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Mustang flag with stars by Robin Warren (Wild Mustang Robin) for © Protect Mustangs

Dear Mr. President,

Wild horses are indigenous to North America. They will heal the land while creating biodiversity to balance out the surge of grazing, energy, mining and water projects on public land.

We understand your priority to foster the New Energy Frontier and therefore we ask you to find the win-win so America’s wild horses and burros–our living treasures–will not become extinct from the industrialization of western public lands.

It’s essential to leave viable herds (families) on public land so the wind horses and burros can reverse desertification because of their nature to forage and roam.

Predators will control the population as part of nature’s cycle and only the fittest will survive. This cuts out the cost of buying costly pharmaceuticals to control reproduction.

We know all the 51,000 wild horses in holding are at risk of going to slaughter and ask that they be returned to public land where they will cost the government almost nothing to live out their lives. Most male horses in holding have already been sterilized so they will not be able to reproduce.

We oppose creating additional herds of sterile wild horses as they don’t exhibit wild horse behaviors and could threaten the indigenous horse with extinction.

We stand with thousands of Americans to respectfully ask you to stop the cruel wild horse and burro roundups, so that an accurate accounting of horses on the range can take place and alternative sustainable management techniques could be applied to save the indigenous horse.

We thank you in advance for becoming a hero for America’s indigenous horses.

In gratitude,

Anne Novak

 

 

Anne Novak

Executive Director

Protect Mustangs

P.O. Box 5661

Berkeley, California 94705

It’s only getting worse

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Here is a video message about the American wild horse crisis in February 2010. The numbers are bigger now with 53K wild horses in holding and perhaps 15K left on the range.

Thank you Arlene Gawne and team for bringing this YouTube message to the public.

In 2009, 2010 and 2011 we all tried to help The President understand the need to save the mustangs. Sadly he appears to want The New Energy Frontier above and beyond anything else.

If you don’t like what’s going on then contact your representatives and senators because they are your voice in government. Congress funds the rotten Wild Horse and Burro Program under the Bureau of Land Management.

Request a Congressional investigation, forensic accounting and a moratorium on roundups as well as fertility control until the truth comes out that there are hardly any wild horses left out on America’s public land.

This year the EPA passed a fertility control pesticide for use on America’s wild horses and burros. Our indigenous horse has been formally labelled a “pest” by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. We want the erroneous classification reversed. Pests and invasive species are weeded out and disposed of . . .  Why did the EPA sell out?

(Photo © Cat Kindsfather, all rights reserved)

Stop the roundups and the extermination!

Write a letter to stop the roundups

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Director of Protect Mustangs’ Youth Campaign, Robin Warren (age 11) meets a young adopted wild horse. (Photo © Cynthia Smalley, all rights reserved.)

Take Action to change history

Write a hand written letter to your senators and representative asking them to stop funding cruel helicopter roundups. Let them know you want viable herds on the range and for the BLM to stop skewing the male-female ratios, allow predators to manage the herds as nature intended so risky fertility control drugs aren’t needed.

You can find your elected officials’ contact information here: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Your letters will make a big impact. Politicians realize one hand written letter voices the opinion of one thousand people.

Send us a copy of your hand written letters so we can take them with us to Washington. Please mail them to: Protect Mustangs, P.O. Box 5661, Berkeley, Ca. 94705

Thank you for doing what you can do to help the wild horses and burros!

Outrageous! BLM Gives themselves permission to remove Desatoya wild horses for 10 years

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Federal agency pushes ahead with Salazar Plan to wipe out mustangs despite several years of public and celebrity opposition

How many foals will die in another helicopter roundup?

After the helicopter stampedes and captures of Desatoya free roaming wild horses–the Bureau of Land Management will be allowed to bait trap for another 10 years.

Who will they hire for the bait trapping? The local land owners with blatant conflicts of interest? Will they trap America’s wild horses on private land to prevent advocates from watchdogging?

If you don’t like this then contact your elected officials and ask them for a moratorium on roundups, a Congressional investigation of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burros program because the BLM has a conflict of interest and should not be managing America’s indigenous horses.

You can spread awareness. Have a peaceful protest in your community to inform the public about what is happening on public land in the West.

 

Report from Robin: BLM helicopter use public hearing in California

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Mustang flag with stars by Robin Warren, Youth Campaign Director for Protect Mustangs. (© Protect Mustangs, media permission granted.)

BLM Helicopter Hearing, July 10th, 2012 at 6:30 at the Woodlake Hotel in Sacramento, CA

I got there just on time after we drove in a couple circles and got lost. Luckily another horse advocate gave us directions to which room it was in because it was hard to find. My mom signed us both in and then we got our seats in the front row. Everyone was talking and laughing except the BLM employees.

The BLM employee who was running the meeting was kind of mean – she would distract you while you were speaking so it was harder to say what you wanted to say. She said everyone had only 3 minutes to speak because there were so many people and she wanted to give everyone a turn.  They way that it was distracting was because she had the warning times on paper and she would wave as each speakers time ran out. There 4 signs: 1 minutes, 30 seconds, 15 seconds, and STOP. When the speakers saw it sometimes they lost their train of thought but then others would volunteer to give up their time so each speaker could say everything they wanted to say.

Cat Kindsfather gave me her time because she didn’t want me interrupted. I zoned out the timekeeper so I could say everything I wanted to. I knew it would be around 3 minutes so I wasn’t really worried but I guess I did get into extra time because I heard someone say “Stop doing that to her! She can have my time!”

Cat took lots of pictures.

When I got up to speak everyone clapped and was very encouraging. Then I read my comments. Near the end everyone clapped but I had one more thing to say. I wanted to tell the BLM how many signatures I had gotten since the last time I presented signatures. I said “In January I presented 1,200 signatures and now I have 1,000 more. And I want to get – no I did get –  10 more today! I won’t stop until they listen and stop hurting the mustangs. Please stop the helicopter roundups!”

The other speakers were really great. I learned some things. The author, Terri Farley, told me that her Phantom Stallion series have sold 2 million copies so I am speaking for maybe more children than I realize.

I was sad most of the time about what the speakers were saying. Simone Netherlands described a roundup that I heard about my first year of the petition but hearing about it again was upsetting. Two foals had to be put down after their hooves fell off from being chased by the helicopter. They suffered for days before they were put down.

The mood was elevated. Everyone in the room except for the 4 BLM employees (2 administrators and 2 armed guards) was on our side. They want the roundups stopped. But one speaker, toward the end was discouraging because she reminded us that we probably won’t get heard. That we shouldn’t be happy. That we’ve all already said NO to the roundups and that the BLM will not listen!

But I think we will be heard. I think it was a great meeting of supporters and that it will spark a bigger movement.

I was surprised to find out that many people don’t know what is happening to the horses. I want to tell the world. I didn’t know either until I read the book “Mustang – Wild Spirit of the West” by Marguerite Henry. It is written for a younger audience so it is a quick read for any adult who want to be educated about wild horses. We need to spread the word so we can save the horses!

Sincerely,

Robin Warren (Wild Mustang Robin)

Youth Campaign Director for Protect Mustangs

Mustang Robin hands Amy Dumas (BLM) the growing petition against helicopter roundups at the California BLM public hearing on helicopters in Sacramento July 10, 2012

Terri Farley, award-winning author and Robin Warren, Protect Mustangs’ Youth Campaign Director, at the BLM public hearing on helicopter use for roundups and management in Sacramento July 10, 2012. (Photo © Cat Kindsfather, permission for media use)

© Protect Mustangs


Stop the Roundups Rally in Sacramento July 10th at 2 pm outside the Federal Courthouse

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Come to the rally to show that you care about the wild horses and burros in America.

Terri Farley speaks at the Rally to Stop the Roundups (Photo © Anne Novak.)

The Sacramento Stop the Roundups Rally and Press Conference is at 2 p.m. July 10th on the sidewalk outside the Federal Courthouse across from the Amtrak station. ( 501 ” I ” Street at the 5th Street intersection in Sacramento, CA 95814)

Here is a list of speakers:

Carla Bowers, National Wild Horse Advocate

Tina Brodrick, Owner of Sonny Boys Tours

Craig Downer, Wildlife Biologist and acclaimed Wild Horse and Burro Expert

Terri Farley, Award winning writer and beloved author of The Phantom Stallion series

Cat Kindsfather, Award winning wild horse photographer

Marilyn Kroplick, MD, Board President for In Defense of Animals

Simone Netherlands, President of Respect for Horses

Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs

Jetara Séhart, Executive Director of Native Wild Horse Protection & Marin Mustangs

Robin Warren  (Wild Mustang Robin), Director of The Youth Campaign for Protect Mustangs

Bring homemade signs and your friends. It will be hot so bring a rain umbrella for shade and plenty of water. Protect Mustangs encourages members of the public to carpool or take Amtrak to save on fuel and reduce pollution. Oil and gas extraction–on public land–is one of the main reasons wild horses are being wiped off their home on the range.  Be part of the solution and take the train if you can.

The voiceless wild horses and burros need your help after the rally too. Give oral or written comment against helicopter roundups and attend the 6:30 pm BLM Wild Horse & Burro Helicopter/Vehicle Use Public Hearing for roundups and management. The meeting runs from 6:30-8:30 PM at the Woodlake Hotel (formerly the Radisson near Arden Fair Mall) 500 Leisure Lane in Sacramento.

“Like” and check for updates on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs

Join the dynamic conversation on Facebook about helicopter roundups: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=387209591338066&set=a.240625045996522.58710.233633560029004&type=1&theater

Driving directions from the rally to the meeting:

Driving directions to 500 Leisure Ln, Sacramento, CA 95815
501 I St
Sacramento, CA 95814
1. Head north on 5th St toward H St
194 ft
2. 5th St turns right and becomes H St
0.8 mi
3. Turn left onto CA-160 N/16th St

Continue to follow CA-160 N
2.3 mi
4. Take exit 47A for Leisure Ln towardCanterbury Rd
0.1 mi
5. Keep left at the fork, follow signs forLeisure
79 ft
6. Turn left onto Leisure Ln

Destination will be on the right
354 ft
500 Leisure Ln
Sacramento, CA 95815

Special thanks to Jetara Séhart, Executive Director of Native Wild Horse Protection & Marin Mustangs for her help to put together this event.

If you have any questions or would like to speak at the rally feel free to send us an email at Contact@ProtectMustangs.org