Mountain | Protect Mustangs™

“Dead horses are a result of this roundup fiasco,” states Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs. “The BLM should have brought wild horses aid (water and feed) for several months to avoid an emergency ‘gather’ during foaling season. Who’s giving the orders to stampede frail wild horses and tiny foals?”

Here is the BLM’s report about the Jackson Mt. roundup: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/wfo/blm_programs/wild_horses_and_burros/Jackson_Mountains_Gather/facreports.html

“Counting the dead from a roundup is basic math,” says Novak. “All the wild horses who died or were killed from lethal injection as a result of the BLM’s Jackson Mountain roundup should be counted as roundup-related deaths. Not counting the dead properly shows the BLM’s lack of transparency.”

“The federal agency wants to make Congress feel the roundups don’t cause many deaths so they skew the numbers to ensure their funding won’t be cut off,” explains Novak. “We request that Congress investigate their erroneous death count.”

We brought up this issue at last winter’s Calico roundup beginning with Old Gold‘s death. Read our position here: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=348

Below is what we said on November 26, 2011.

“So many wild horses die because of roundups yet the BLM does not count the deaths accurately,” explains Anne Novak, Executive Director of the California-based Protect Mustangs. “Congress hears that there is only a 1% death rate at ‘gathers’. We want transparency and accountability for all the deaths at roundups.”

“If a horse is chased by a helicopter for miles and miles, then while in a trap pen terrified with plastic tied on to whips, slammed into a metal panel, next shoved into a trailer and transported to another holding facility and is put down a day or two afterwards—it is related to the roundup,” says Novak. “If Old Gold had not been rounded up, I bet she would be alive today.”

BLM has done nothing to improve transparency since then. The subterfuge continues . . .

Contact your elected officials and ask them to intervene to make this cruel roundup become transparent with correct death counts.

Thank you for doing what you can do to stop the roundups.

Links of interest:

June 9, 2012 Associated Press Congressman criticizes Nevada wild horse roundup http://mynorthwest.com/174/690641/Congressman-criticizes-NV-wild-horse-roundup

11/30/11 Horse yard reports on Celebrities speak out against roundups and Old Gold’s death http://bit.ly/uqkVH6

11/29/12 Tuesdays Horse Michael Blake and The Barbi Twins speak out against wild horse roundups http://bit.ly/sWpySD

11/28/11 Wild mustang killed by BLM . . . because she was old by The Desert Independent http://bit.ly/rCE39o

11/28/11 Questions over fate of “Old Gold” by International Horse News. http://bit.ly/vr1MX9

11/26/11 KPFA Evening News, KFCF Fresno, KPFK Los Angeles, WBAI New York, KPFT Houston, WPFW Washington, DC interview to Stop Calico Roundup. Hear it at 26:25 on http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/75490

Privately owned livestock allowed to remain on the range while wild horses risk death in helicopter roundup

For immediate release:

WASHINGTON (June 7, 2012)—Protect Mustangs opposes the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Jackson Mountain roundup, in northwestern Nevada famous for Burning Man, set to begin tomorrow. The preservation group and members of the public are reaching out to elected officals nationwide to come to the aid of America’s wild horses and burros. The BLM has chosen to endanger heavily pregnant mares and tiny foals by stampeding them in a terrifying helicopter roundup. Protect Mustangs asked BLM to continue trucking out water and other aid as needed for the wild horses. Their request was refused. Trucking aid to them is cheaper than a cruel million dollar roundup paid for by the American taxpayer. Originally the wild horse removal was planned for after foaling season in July but BLM claims the indigenous horses are at risk because of drought conditions even though rain is forecasted and private livestock is allowed to remain grazing on the range.

“We need our elected officials to intervene at this point,” says Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “We asked the BLM to continue bringing them water but they refused to wait until foaling season is over. Now the BLM will round them up and jeopardize their ability to peacefully birth their babies.”

The helicopter roundup will endanger more than 96 foals counted in April 2012 as well as the newborns and pregnant mares carrying the unborn.

In March 2012, Joan Guilfoyle, BLM wild horse and burro division chief, announced to the world they would use a new method to capture mustangs—bait trapping. Now the government agency is demonstrating their double speak and lack of human care for America’s wild horses. The roundups, funded by Congress, continue.

“The BLM obviously doesn’t care about the welfare of pregnant mares and tiny foals,” states Novak. “Stampeding them will cause spontaneous abortions and newborn foals won’t be able to keep up. Will they be separated from their mamas and left out there to die?”

Protect Mustangs is calling on Americans to contact their senators and representatives because theses wild horses belong to all Americans. Members of the public are encouraged to ask their elected officials intervene–to stop the Jackson Mountain foaling season roundup and bring America’s indigenous horses aid if needed.

The preservation group also suggests voicing concerns to Nevada’s Congressman Joe Heck 202-225-3252 (fax 202-225-3252) and Senator Dean Heller 202-224-6244 (fax 202-224-6244).

Protect mustangs feels the BLM’s estimate of 930 wild horses is inflated to justify a massive roundup. The entire capture area is more than 775,000 acres including the 286,000 acres within the Jackson Mountain Herd Management Area.

“The BLM is using the drought as an excuse to clear out wild horses while risking their death,” explains Novak. “They are leaving livestock on the same allegedly drought afflicted land to graze, so BLM’s actions don’t make any sense. It just shows how the government agency wants to dispose of America’s icons.”

Protect Mustangs is a Bay Area-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.

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Media Contacts:

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

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

Contact Protect Mustangs for interviews, photos or video

Links of interest:

Reno NBC affiliate News 4 reports: Wild horse advocates say the BLM jeopardized public process http://www.mynews4.com/news/local/story/Wild-horse-advocates-say-the-BLM-jeopardized/a8kN1TVKZ0WLiaEBaISvDA.cspx

KPFA Evening News, KFCF Fresno, KPFK Los Angeles, WBAI New York, KPFT Houston, WPFW Washington, DC Protect Mustangs says the Nevada BLM jeopardizes public process, privacy and free speech http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/81120 report at 22:35 on the link.

BLM’s plans for bait trapping ~ Gone Viral ~ Las Vegas Review Journal Land managers try new method to capture mustangs http://bit.ly/HKKIrL

America’s wild horses are indigenous: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562

Helicopter roundup video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_dhnqCijOk&feature=plcp

Tweet Congress: http://tweetcongress.org/

Contact elected officials: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Burning Man: http://www.burningman.com/

Protect Mustangs website: http://protectmustangs.org/

BLM Press Release on the alleged emergency Jackson Mt. roundup: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/info/newsroom/2012/june/winnemucca__blm_to.html

Link to this press release: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=1614