Help needed for captive wild horses and burros with no shelter

Screenshot for educational purposes

Screenshot for educational purposes

 

Dear Friends,

It’s 5ºF right now at the largest wild horse processing and adoption facility in Palomino Valley, Nevada.

Close to 2,000 captive wild horses nave no shelter from the harsh winter elements at the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Palomino Valley Center alone.

The BLM’s Rock Springs, Wyoming facility is also housing more than 600 wild horses with no shelter in below zero temperatures. Traumatized wild horses become at risk of upper respiratory infections post-roundup–especially without access to shelter.

In the wild they can migrate to natural sheltered zones. Trapped in pens under the “care” of the BLM they are being cruelly held without shelter–a basic necessity in animal husbandry.

It’s time to take action. If you live in the United States please contact your congressional representative and your senators with a link to this petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/bring-emergency-shelter-and-shade-to-captive-wild-horses-and-burros  Ask them to intervene and take immediate action to end the cruelty in captivity.

Please share the petition with your friends, family and network via email, Facebook and other social media asking them to sign and share so we can all help the wild horses and burros.

If you live outside the United States please email your friends and family. Ask them to sign and share this petition via email and on social media. It’s a huge help and we thank you!

Together we can end the suffering in captivity while we work to return them to the wild where native wild horses belong.

Thank you for taking action.

In gratitude,

Anne Novak

Executive Director of Protect Mustangs™

www.ProtectMustangs.org

 

Wild & Free not Slaughtered

Protect Mustangs.org

Protect Mustangs.org

Contact your elected officials. Go meet with them to respectfully request they stop horse slaughter, stop transport to horse slaughter and ensure America’s wild horses never go to slaughter again!

We need your help to sponsor wild horses, help with pasture rental, help purchase hay, help buy panels for 2 round pens and shelters, help with the cost to repair fencing, help cover veterinary and transport costs so we can save more wild horses and care for the ones in our outreach program. We are 100% volunteer and donate our time gentling and caring for the wild horses. All money donated goes directly to help the wild horses. Every dollar counts. Please help!

Donate via www.PayPal.com to Contact@ProtectMustangs.org Our mailing address is Protect Mustangs. PO Box 5661, Berkeley, Ca. 94705. We are filing for our 501c3 so your donations will be applicable to 2013. Thank you!

Follow us on Facebook for news and updates! https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs

 

Opponents of wild horse cull in the Kimberley say some have been left to die slowly

As seen on Australia’s Yahoo News and ABC (Australian Broadcast Company)

Opponents of a cull of thousands of wild horses in Western Australia say they have evidence the animals are not being killed humanely.

CAITLYN GRIBBIN –

Aerial slaughter kills thousands of Brumbies (wild horses) in Australia. Copyrighted photo.

Aerial slaughter kills thousands of Brumbies (wild horses) in Australia. Copyrighted photo.

 

Over the past week, more than 7,000 brumbies have been shot dead in the remote East Kimberley, using rifles fired from mustering helicopters.

Traditional owners, the RSPCA, and local graziers admit brumby numbers are out of control and have endorsed the cull because the horses are destroying native habitat near the WA/Northern Territory.

The Aboriginal Lands Trust undertook the cull on two stations with Aboriginal pastoral leases.

It is being overseen by veterinarian Jordan Hampton.

“You have two people in a small mustering helicopter and the shooter has a high-calibre semi-automatic weapon,” he said.

“They’re called SLRs, they’re similar to military rifles that were used in the Vietnam war.”

Dr Hampton is monitoring animal welfare during the operation.

“The helicopter pilot gets the shooter side on as close as he can to the animal, and then there’s our policy of repeat shooting,” he said.

“It’s known as mandatory overkill; each animal is shot more than once to ensure that it is indeed dead.”

RSPCA supports cull as little food or water for horses

The RSPCA is supporting the cull, saying it is inhumane to let the horses live because there is not enough food and water.

It says it demanded the brumbies be killed instantly through an accurately-fired shot, through the head or thorax.

But Libby Lovegrove, from activist group Wild Horses Kimberley, says she has evidence that has not happened.

“The photos, there’s one there of a horse that’s been shot in the shoulder and he’s been left to die, you can see the blood running down his leg,” she said.

Ms Lovegrove says the photos were taken by one of the stations’ employees on the October 30.

Shot but left to bleed to death like many brumbies from the aerial massacre

Shot but left to bleed to death like many brumbies from the aerial massacre. Copyright protected.

In one photo, a brumby is standing in a paddock and Ms Lovegrove says the horse is bleeding from a bullet wound on its left fore quarter.

“That bullet would’ve gone into its shoulder,” she said.

“Eventually it probably would either bleed to death slowly in the 40 degree heat or it would just carry that wound around with it, and it would be in tremendous pain.

“The other photographs are of a mare and a young colt, they all looked to be in terrific condition but they’ve both been shot, one of them in the wrong place.

“My major concern is when they shoot the mares, the foals that are left there have no way of surviving, they die slowly, it’s pretty terrible.”

Vet admits some horses still alive after being shot

In a statement, the Aboriginal Lands Trust and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs say they are confident the operation was conducted as professionally and humanely as possible.

Dr Hampton, who examined 452 of the 7,000 dead horses, admitted some were still alive after being shot.

“That’s part of the assessment and also the potential for the animal to show signs of having had a protracted death,” he said.

“We found animals alive associated with approximately one per cent of all the animals that were targeted.”

Wild Horses Kimberley says the brumbies should not be shot, but instead mustered and gelded.

But Dr Chris Pollitt, a veterinarian and feral horse researcher, says that is not viable and brumbies wreck the environment.

“Like looking at the surface of Mars, there was absolutely no natural pasture and it really did look red and barren,” he said.

And, he rejected the prospect of gelding.

“When you have extensive populations, difficult terrains, it’s not just as simple as you think,” he said.

RSPCA says it is pushing for a long-term strategy to control horse numbers and has requested that the photos in question be sent to them.

Ms Lovegrove wants the killing of the horses to get international attention.

“I’m in touch with the Mustang people in America because in the States now they’re passing laws to save their Mustangs,” she said.

 

 

Go to the Yahoo 7 article to Tweet, FB & Share: http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/19697501/opponents-of-wild-horse-cull-in-the-kimberley-say-some-have-been-left-to-die-slowly/

#BREAKING Photos of dead Brumbies (wild horses) killed by aerial slaughter in #Australia

Brumbies are Australian heritage wild horses. Witnesses found them shot and killed (Copyright protected)

Brumbies are Australian heritage wild horses. Witnesses found them shot and killed (Copyright protected)

 

Aerial slaughter kills thousands of Brumbies (wild horses) in Australia. Copyrighted photo.

Aerial slaughter kills thousands of Brumbies, heritage wild horses of Australia. (Copyrighted photo.)

 

Young Brumby shot from a helicopter in the massacre. Photo p-rotected under copyright.

Young Brumby shot from a helicopter in the massacre. Photo p-rotected under copyright.

 

Please check back as we are updating the page when the photos come in from Australia.

We welcome your comments. Please keep them clean so we can post them. Thanks for understanding.

Politely contact The Prime Minister of Australia, Honorable Tony Abbott and request he stop the killings http://www.pm.gov.au/contact-your-pm

Please help! Join the Thunderclap to Stop the Brumbie Killing: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/6098-stop-killing-brumbies?locale=en

Sign and share the petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/258/184/025/stop-killing-the-brumbies/?z00m=20659573

Follow us on Facebook for updates and action to Save the Brumbies! https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs

Follow Anne on Twitter for updates: https://twitter.com/TheAnneNovak and Protect Mustangs https://twitter.com/ProtectMustangs

Read about what’s happening: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=5440 and check our site often: http://protectmustangs.org/

“The whole world is watching and outraged,” states Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs based in California. “Killing Australia’s heritage wild horses is shameful and needs to stop now!”

 

Special thanks to Libby Lovegrove and Lynette Sutton with boots on the ground across Australia working hard to save the brumbies.

Save America’s wild horses from slaughter!

What will happen when the money runs out to feed and care for America’s wild horses that BLM rounded up for the extractive industry? Clearing them off their legally designated land wipes away a layer of environmental delays so they can go ahead with FRACKING and use tons of water for mining in alleged drought zones, etc.

WRITE your Congressional Rep a hand written letter in your own words and request they intervene to:

1.) Cease using PESTICIDES (“birth control”) on America’s wild horses pushed by lobbyists with conflict of interest!!!

2.) Reverse EPA’s PEST designation when they recently approved a version of PZP to be used as a Restricted-Use PESTICIDE for RETURNED-NATIVE wild horses & burros NOT found safe for domestic horses!!!

3.) The National Academy of Sciences established this summer there is NO EVIDENCE of overpopulation and stated the BLM Roundups increased the birthrate. Fear of EXTINCTION innately makes wild horses reproduce at a faster rate.

4.) Enact an immediate MORATORIUM on all Roundups & Removals for population studies!!! SCIENCE must come first.

5.) Bad BLM policy has put the lives of 50,000 American wild horses AT-RISK of being KILLED or being SOLD to SLAUGHTER as permitted by the 2004 Burns Amendment.

6.) Establish wild horses as a returned-native wildlife species to end all abuses. (Info on Native Wild Horses:http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562 )

7.) Return all 50,000 wild horses and burros to the Herd Management Areas legally given to them for their primary use in 1971. Native wild horses heal the land and create biodiversity.

When our Congressional Reps come back to work for their constituents your hand-written letter will be waiting for them. One kitchen table letter represents 1,000 opinions. Then if you are able, call and make an appointment to meet with your Representative to request their intervention again in person. Small steps make change! YOU can really help the wild horses & burros!!!

SIGN the Petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/defund-and-stop-the-wild-horse-burro-roundups

Thank you for helping the wild horses & burros! 

Get the word out!

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs

(You may use this photo taken by Anne Novak at Palomino Valley Center, near Reno, Nevada while respecting the Copyright and change nothing to it.)

#MustangMonday July 8th call in to Congress requesting #Shade4Mustangs

#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

No shade for captive wild horses as temperatures soar in Nevada, despite requests from the public and elected officials

PVC Thermometer 5:30 pm June 28

 

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://protectmustangs.org/?p=4501

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.

PVC 5:30 p.m. Car Therm June 28 2013 Heat Wave with No Shade

PVC No Shade Heat Wave

PVC June 28 2013 Water trough

Breaking News: Protesters want to end native wild horse abuse and use mustangs to fight wildfires

PM Wildland Fire Risk 2013

Wildfire risk potential version 2013, data origin & source: USDA Forest Service

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For immediate release:

More than 40 international protests today to stop the roundups and stop horse slaughter

OAKLAND, Ca. (April 27, 2013)–Protect Mustangs™, the Bay Area-based native wild horse conservation group, is holding protests today in Oakland and Rock Springs, Wyoming to save indigenous wild horses from roundups, abuse, slaughter and pass the SAFE Act. The Oakland rally is held outside the Rockridge BART station from 3:30 to 6 p.m. The Rock Springs rally is held at 70 Gateway Blvd at 2 p.m. The group wants all the wild horses in government funded holding to be returned to the range to help reduce wildfires. More than 40 international protests, spearheaded by Nevada’s Patty Bumgarner on Facebook, are being held to save the horses. Protect Mustangs™ requests Congress stop the cruelty, the slaughter and save taxpayer dollars–especially during the Sequester.

“We are united across the country to say no to slaughter, roundups and cruel overectomies in the field,” states Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs™. “We want our wild horses to be protected. Did you know America’s wild horses are indigenous? Are you aware that CalTrans found ancient horse fossils while digging the fourth bore of the Caldecott Tunnel?”

The horse, E. caballus, originated in America over a million years ago and returned with the Conquistadors if it ever went extinct in the first place. With history written by the Inquisition, one must read between the lines. It was heresy for Old World animals, such as the horse, to have originated in the heathen Americas.

Novak points out,”Recent DNA testing proves our iconic wild horses are the same species as E. caballus–the original horse.”

Esteemed scientists Kirkpatrick, J.F., and P.M. Fazio explained the following in Wild Horses as Native North American Wildlife (Revised January 2010). The Science and Conservation Center, ZooMontana, Billings:

‘The key element in describing an animal as a native species is (1) where it originated; and (2) whether or not it co‐evolved with its habitat. Clearly, E. 6 caballus did both, here in North American. There might be arguments about ‘breeds,’ but there are no scientific grounds for arguments about ‘species.’

The non‐native, feral, and exotic designations given by agencies are not merely reflections of their failure to understand modern science but also a reflection of their desire to preserve old ways of thinking to keep alive the conflict between a species (wild horses), with no economic value anymore (by law), and the economic value of commercial livestock.’

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received $78 million last year to run the Wild Horse and Burro Program. Two-thirds of the expenses went towards caring for the equids in captivity. Despite the federal budget crisis, the program received a $2 million increase in funding for their 2014 fiscal budget–including $6 million for the helicopter contractor.

California’s Senator Feinstein chairs Energy and Water subcommittee as well as rules on Interior issues within the Committee on Appropriations. The Committee gives taxpayer dollars to fiscally irresponsible and cruel wild horse and burro roundups despite public outcry.

Roundups and removals are linked to mining and toxic fracking in the West. It appears native horses are being removed to fast track the extractive industry’s use of public land for private profit yet the public and the environment are hit with the costs.

Native wild horses will soon be zeroed out from Wyoming’s “checkerboard” public-private land–allegedly in preparation for the largest natural gas field in the country. The conservation group has requested a $50 million fund be created to mitigate environmental distress from fracking on the range.

“Tourists love to come to Wyoming to see our wild horses,” states Melissa Maser, outreach coordinator for Protect Mustangs™ in Wyoming and Texas. “We’d like to see native wild horses protected for future generations.”

Advocates are documenting wild horses being removed throughout the West as healthy and with fewer foals. The starving and overpopulation myths from BLM spin doctors are fabricated to sway Congress to fund roundups and removals.

“We’d like to find a win-win for wild horses in the West,” explains Novak. “Native horses will help reduce wildfires that cost insurance companies billions of dollars annually and contribute to global warming. We have requested the BLM put a freeze on roundups and return the 50,000 wild horses stockpiled in holding to public land. This will take the burden off the taxpayer and help to reduce wildfires.”

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.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Anne Novak, 415.531.8454 Anne@Protect Mustangs.org

Kerry Becklund, 510.502.1913 Kerry@ProtectMustangs.org

Photos, video and interviews available upon request

Links of interest:

Gone viral~ The Associated Press, February 10, 2013: Wild-horse advocates split over interior nominee http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020332496_apnvwildhorses1stldwritethru.html

US property exposed to wildfire valued at $136 billion says report: http://www.artemis.bm/blog/2012/09/17/u-s-property-exposed-to-wildfire-valued-at-136-billion-says-report/

KQED Horse fossil found in Caldecott Tunnel: http://science.kqed.org/quest/2011/05/26/new-fossils-from-the-caldecott-tunnel/

Gone viral~ The Associated Press, March 24, 2013: Budget axe nicks BLM wild-horse adoption center http://www.denverpost.com/colorado/ci_22862206

Horseback Magazine: Sequester prompts call for wild horses and burros to be returned to the wild http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/21568

Horseback Magazine, March 8, 2013: Protect Mustangs calls for fund for Wyoming wild horses http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/20979

Horseback Magazine: Group takes umbridge at use of the word “feral” http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/19392

Ruby pipeline and wild horse roundups? http://www.8newsnow.com/story/12769788/i-team-bp-connected-to-wild-horse-roundups

BLM’s 2014 Budget: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/april/04_10_2013.html

Why are the wild horses being removed? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCWWgOugF2U

Wyoming Tourism’s video of wild horses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tRZkBXkbyY

Protect Mustangs™: www.ProtectMustangs.org

Protect Mustangs™ on Facebook

Protect Mustangs™ on Twitter

Protect Mustangs™ on YouTube

Protect Mustangs™ in the News

Information on native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562 

Adopt a BLM wild horse to save it from an unknown fate

Meet Ellie (#6457). She’s a gorgeous 4 yr old Palomino mare from the Calico Mts. She is at the Palomino Valley Center near Reno. (Photo courtesy BLM)

Taking action to find homes for at-risk wild horses

Protect Mustangs is working with members of the public to find homes for all the wild horses who were not adopted during the recent Bureau of Land Management (BLM) internet adoption. The unadopted are at risk of being sold to pro-slaughter people like Tom Davis.

“We are reaching out to the public through Facebook and Twitter to find adopters,” explains Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “People across the country are expressing interest in adopting these great horses. I don’t know why the BLM isn’t marketing the adoption program better.”

BLM’s three strike program

America’s living legends receive a strike against them every time they are offered for adoption. If they are offered on the internet and not adopted they get a strike and another internet adoption gives them another strike. If they are offered for adoption at an event and don’t find their person then they get their third strike . . . It’s a cruel system. After three strikes the federally protected wild horses can be sold to anyone who signs on the dotted line that they won’t sell them to slaughter or for use as rodeo stock. The BLM doesn’t check that the buyers are complying so it’s a free for all.

“If indigenous wild horses are not adopted then they will be shipped out to the Midwest where they are at-risk of being sold by the truckloads–even the one year olds,” states Novak. “With the recent E.U. crackdown on American horse meat, riddled with toxic substances, we are concerned wild horses face an increased risk of going to slaughter because they have never been given substances such as bute.”

Positive communication

Members of the public may email Contact@ProtectMustangs.org to enlist their help in communicating with BLM for a smooth adoption process as well as getting information on trainers and transportation.

Below are some wild horses available for adoption:

Meet Baby Red (#2484) a sorrel yearling gelding. His mother was captured during the Twin Peaks roundup and he was born at the BLM facility in California near Susanville. (Photo courtesy BLM)

 

Lily (#3361) is from the Fox Hog herd. They have some draft in their line and make wonderful pets/riding horses when you give them a lot of love. (Photo courtesy BLM)

Good News! This horse has an adopter waiting for him at the Ridgecrest facility. Sam (#3275) is from California’s High Rock area and appears to be from cavalry stock. He is handsome and might make a nice little jumper or sport horse.

 

Meet Stuart (#2600), a yearling gelding from High Rock in California (eastern Sierra). This internet auction could be his 3rd strike and put him “at risk”. He is located near Susanville, California. (Photo courtesy BLM)

 

Here is Merlot (#9380) a yearling red roan gelding from Green Mountain, Wyoming. He is located in Rock Springs, WY and can be shipped to various locations.

To learn about these horses and others in need of adoption, visit Protect Mustangs on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs

From the BLM website:

Adoption Requirements

Applicant must be 18 years of age or older.

Applicant must have access to a stall/corral that meets the following criteria:
  • Stall, corral, etc. must contain a minimum of 400 square feet per animal
  • Stall, corral, etc. that is 6′ tall on all sides with access to feed, water and adequate shelter for anything 2 years or older. The stall/corral height is 5′ for a yearling and 4.5′ for a burro. (This area is only required until animal is gentled, not for the life of the animal.)
  • Stall, corral, etc. must be made of protrusion-free materials, (EX) Wood, Pipe, Cattle Panels. Barb wire is not allowed in the area that is being used for gentling the animal.
  • Covered stock trailer. Covered stock trailer refers to: solid top, pipe rails, tarp, etc. BLM will not load into two-horse or drop-ramp trailers.
Applicant must describe their stall/corral, etc. in the application packet and submit to BLM for approval.
  • Application – Describe the area where you will keep the animal(s) during the gentling phase. (Application is located in back of brochure.)