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Press Release: How many tiny foals are dying after the roundups and in holding?
For immediate release:
No accountability for dead foals at Nevada wild horse facility
RENO, Nv. (May 1, 2013)–Protect Mustangs™ calls for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Nevada to provide accurate wild horse and burro death counts for all government funded facilities as well as at roundups. Currently the BLM is not recording the dead foals or other unbranded newborn dead wild horses at the Palomino Valley National Center, a facility near Reno used for processing and adoption. Faulty roundup protocol also allows the BLM to attribute deaths to pre-existing conditions to avoid attributing them to the roundups. The native wild horse conservation group discovered that 37 wild horses died at the Nevada facility from January 1 to April 1, 2013 but the additional deaths of the unbranded have gone unrecorded.
“It’s shocking that the BLM is not counting the unbranded dead foals and dead newborns,” states Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs™. “This lack of transparency and lack of accountability needs to stop. Taxpayers don’t like knowing baby mustangs are dying after roundups–especially when Americans want native wild horses to live in freedom.”
Protect Mustangs™ is very concerned the BLM facilities are not keeping an accurate death count related to roundups and holding facilities. The BLM admits they are not including the unbranded foals, aborted fetuses, animals born dead nor dead newborns in their count. One must ask, “How many are really dying in holding facilities after roundups?
Animals Angels recently uncovered a discrepancy in the mortality numbers at Palomino Valley Center.
“If they are not counting the dead correctly then are some young foals being sold into the slaughter pipeline as well?,” asks Novak. “Why is there no accountability regarding the unbranded young wild horse population?”
Tom Davis, who purchased many wild horses from the BLM said in a Propublica interview, “Hell, some of the finest meat you will ever eat is a fat yearling colt. What is wrong with taking all those BLM horses they got all fat and shiny and setting up a kill plant?”
# # #
Media Contacts:
Anne Novak, 415.531.8454 Anne@ProtectMustangs.org
Kerry Becklund, 510.502.1913 Kerry@ProtectMustangs.org
Photos, video and interviews available upon request
Links of interest:
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
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
Washington Post 4/30/13 USDA secretary says New Mexico horse slaughter plant expected to open soon http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/usda-secretary-says-new-mexico-horse-slaughter-plant-expected-to-open-soon/2013/04/30/95f16c7e-b1b1-11e2-9fb1-62de9581c946_story.html
BLM states 37 wild horses have died at Nevada facility not including dead foals and others
Freedom Lost & Hell Begins (Photo © Cat Kindsfather, all rights reserved)
Concern mounts over hidden death count
We learned today that the BLM’s public affairs officer (think public relations expert) eventually responded, on April 18th, to our inquiries from April 12, 2013, wherein we requested to know the number of dead wild horses at the Nevada short-term facility since January 1st.
The Acting Facility Manager refused to give us a simple death count. He told us we must file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to know the number of dead wild horses at the facility from January 1, 2013 to April 12, 2013 . This appeared to be a blatant lack of government transparency.
We saw the public affairs’ officer’s email for the first time this afternoon. It was unopened and was lost amongst emails. We don’t understand why the BLM did not respond back to our last email to let us know they had eventually answered our question. Emails can go unseen unlike certified letters.
We are very concerned the BLM facilities are not keeping an accurate death count related to roundups and holding facilities. The BLM admits they are not including the unbranded foals, aborted fetuses, animals born dead nor dead newborns in their count. One must ask, “How many are really dying in holding facilities after roundups?
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Information you requested regarding deaths at PVC
From: “Emmons, Heather” <hlemmons@blm.gov>
Date: Thu, April 18, 2013 3:58 pm
To: <anne@protectmustangs.org>
Cc: James Beck <j1beck@blm.gov>
Anne,
Sorry for the delay in responding to your question. As Acting Facility Manager at the Palomino Valley Center (PVC), Jeb sought advice on your question as to what constituted a FOIA request and was originally told that it met those qualifications. Upon further evaluation, we realized it does not and apologize for the miscommunication. Jeb is off for the next couple of days, and we wanted to get back to you as soon as possible, so I am writing to you on his behalf.
To answer your question: How many horses have died at the facility since Jan 1, 2013? According to the Wild Horse and Burro Program System, the number of horses that have died at PVC from Jan. 1, 2013 through April 1, 2013, is 37. This number does not include stillbirths (aborted fetuses, animals born dead and newborn animals found dead) and young foals that died before they were freeze marked. Foals are freeze marked when they are weaned. This varies with the size and condition of the foals and the mares, but usually occurs sometime between three and six months of age.
Additionally, the National Wild Horse and Burro Program is currently reviewing its reporting procedures for modification.
If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact me, or my colleague Debbie Collins at the National Call Center:
Heather Emmons: 775-861-6594 or hlemmons@blm.gov
Debbie Collins: 1-866-468-7826 or dacollin@blm.gov
Thanks,
Heather
–
Heather Emmons Jasinski
Public Affairs Officer
Bureau of Land Management
1340 Financial Blvd.
Reno, NV 89502
775.861.6594 | hlemmons@blm.gov
Links of interest:
April 12th request for mortality rate, refusal and told to file a FOIA: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4114
Breaking News: Protesters want to end native wild horse abuse and use mustangs to fight wildfires
Wildfire risk potential version 2013, data origin & source: USDA Forest Service
`
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
Sequester prompts call for wild horses and burros to be returned to the wild
Wild horse mares in holding (Photo © Anne Novak, all rights reserved.)
Conservation group requests a freeze on roundups
WASHINGTON (April 8, 2013)–Last week Protect Mustangs, the California based conservation group, officially called for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to put a freeze on roundups and return all wild horses and burros, in government funded holding, to herd management areas in the West. They cited the current climate of federal economic instability as putting captive wild horses and burros at risk. As of April 7th, Protect Mustangs has not received a response from from BLM officials.
“It’s fiscal folly to roundup more wild horses and burros than they can adopt out,” explains Anne Novak, executive director for Protect Mustangs. “The roundups need to stop now. We are calling for the more than 50,000 stockpiled native wild horses and historic burros to be returned immediately to public land. We are concerned the government won’t be able to pay for their feed and care during the federal fiscal crisis. We need to be proactive to ensure their safety. If a government shutdown occurs, their only chance of survival is in the wild.”
The Weekly Standard broke the story on BLM’s $6 Mil helicopter contract for the wild horse and burro program after the sequester went into effect.
Roundups increased dramatically in 2009–the same year BLM started fast tracking energy projects with the Stimulus Act in full force. The deadly Calico Roundup and others popped up all along the Ruby Pipeline natural gas route. Protect Mustangs believes wild horses and burros are being removed from 26 million acres to avoid environmental mitigation and costly delays for the extractive industry.
Last month, in response to the BLM’s request for comments on the controversial Continental Divide-Cresta natural gas development project, Protect Mustangs called for a $50 Mil fund to mitigate environmental distress and removal of Wyoming’s wild horses.
In 2012, Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board member, Callie Hendrickson, suggested slaughtering native wild horses as a solution for the government’s holding crisis. Protect Mustangs is concerned the pro-kill faction of the BLM will jump on current federal economic instability to spin a death or slaughter sentence for captured wild horses and burros.
“Native wild horses should not be made to suffer further because of the BLM’s fiscal irresponsibility,” states Kerry Becklund, outreach director for Protect Mustangs. “Killing them is wrong. Now it’s time to return them to their wild lands. All the captive males have already been castrated so they won’t be reproducing. Overpopulation is a myth anyways.”
The BLM justifies using fertility control drugs because of the overpopulation myth. Yet cattle outnumbers wild horses at least 50 to 1 and is the source of most range damage. EPA approved “limited use pesticides” such as SpayVac®, GonaCon™ and ZonaStat-H appear to be risky forms of fertility control. Currently the BLM is using these drugs on wild horses and burros on the range. Protect Mustangs is against using pesticides on native wild horses–especially the nonviable herds.
“Why aren’t these drugs FDA approved for domestic horses if they aren’t harmful?” asks Novak. “We are against using these drugs on mares being released back into the wild. It’s dangerous to use these drugs on nonviable herds. If the herd numbers drop then inbreeding occurs and that’s bad.”
Wild horses are a native species. The horse evolved in America millions of years ago. There were 2 million roaming in freedom in 1900. Today they are underpopulated on the range. Advocates estimate there are less than 20,000 left in the wild. They can fill their niche in the ecosystem and be managed using holistic methods to reduce wildfire fuel, reseed the land, create biodiversity and reverse desertification.
“We are asking for a proactive solution to avoid disaster,” adds Novak. “It’s simple. Return wild horses and burros to the range and save more than $50 Mil taxpayer dollars annually.”
# # #
Below is a copy of the official email sent to Ms. Guilfoyle, Division Chief of Wild Horses & Burros. It was copied to the BLM Acting Director and other staff:
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Calling for a Freeze on Roundups & Return to HMAs
From: <anne@protectmustangs.org>
Date: Mon, April 01, 2013 1:02 pm
To: jguilfoy@blm.gov
Cc: dbolstad@blm.gov, nkornze@blm.gov, jconnell@blm.gov
Joan Guilfoyle, Division Chief
Division of Wild Horses and Burros
20 M Street, S.E.
Washington, DC 20003
Main Contact Number: 202-912-7260
Dear Ms. Guilfoyle,
In this climate of federal economic instability, including the possibility of government shutdown, we request that all wild horses and burros in government funded holding be returned to the herd management areas immediately. We call for a freeze on all wild horse and burro roundups to prevent the equids from being caught up in an uncertain fate.
Sincerely,
Anne Novak
Anne Novak
Executive Director
Protect Mustangs
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:
$6 Mil helicopter contract during sequester: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/feds-sign-6m-helicopter-contract-wild-horse-and-burro_714436.html
Sequester affects wild horse adoption center near Reno: http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020634912_apnvbudgetbattlewildhorses1stldwritethru.html
Ruby pipeline and wild horse roundups? http://www.8newsnow.com/story/12769788/i-team-bp-connected-to-wild-horse-roundups
Protect Mustangs calls for $50 Mil Wyoming mitigation fund for wild horses http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/20979 and http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3954
Callie Hendrickson, pro-slaughter appointee: http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2012/03/callie_hendrickson_wild_horse_board_slaughter.php
GonaCon press release spins wild horse overpopulation myths: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/2013/02/horse_vaccine_approval.shtml
ZonaStat-H EPA Pesticide Fact Sheet: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/pending/fs_PC-176603_01-Jan-12.pdf
Cloud Foundation report: Observations of PZP contraceptive us in the Pryors http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3901
Cloud Foundation paper: PZP-22 . . . Do unintended side effects outweigh benefits? http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3270
Native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562
Protect Mustangs in the news: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=218
Protect Mustangs is devoted to protecting native wild horses. Our mission is to educate the public about the native wild horse, protect and research American wild horses on the range and help those who have lost their freedom.
Public outraged over the EPA approving pesticides for NATIVE wild horses
Colin Grey : Foter.com : CC BY-SA
for immediate release
Historic burros will die off if drug causes sterility
WASHINGTON (February 15, 2013)–Americans are outraged to learn the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a second pesticide. for native wild horses when extreme roundups since 2009 have removed the majority of wild horses from public land. Today more thank 50,000 are stockpiled in government holding facilities. In 2012 the EPA approved ZonaSta-H for wild horses and burros under their pesticide program. This week the EPA approved GonaCon™ a long term infertility drug that has sometimes allegedly sterilized wild horses after one application. So few heritage burros remain that giving them harsh fertility control could wipe them out completely.
“Pesticides must not be used on native species and current science proves wild horses are natives,” states Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “The mustangers are working at the BLM these days–hiding behind inflated population guesstimates and feral beliefs. Meanwhile they are selling truckloads of native wild horses to alleged kill buyers like Tom Davis who bought at least 1,700.”
In Wild Horses as Native North American Wildlife (Revised January 2010) J.F.Kirkpatrick Ph.D., and Patricia M. Fazio Ph.D. wrote:
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.
As a native species, wild horses create biodiversity and help heal the land. Predators exist and more can be introduced as needed while herds self-regulate. Today it’s difficult to find the herds. The BLM has rounded up the majority of the wild horses and burros in all ten western states–far more than they can adopt out.
Protect Mustangs, the native wild horse preservation group, calls for the EPA to immediately retract their approval of “pesticides” for native wild horses. They have requested that all the wild horses in government holding be returned to the Herd Management Areas designated for them under the 1971 Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act. The horse originated in America. Wild horses are indigenous and must also be protected according to The Act.
Despite the government’s overpopulation spin, witnesses on the range have observed a shocking decline in wild horse and burro population since 2008.
Carl Mrozeck, journalist and independent filmmaker making Saving Ass in America, chuckled at the BLM’s inflated estimates of burros. “Personally, I’d be shocked if there were even close to the more recent optimistic number of 2,000.”
For years, the BLM has refused advocates’ requests to perform accurate independent census. “Population myths should not drive policy, merit Congressional funding nor justify passing risky infertility vaccines approved as pesticides,” adds Novak.
PEER reported that livestock has ruined the range yet the BLM refuses to address the issue. The BLM always tries to scapegoat the wild horses for typical cattle damage. Cows outnumber wild horses at least 50 to 1 on the range.
Despite public outcry, the BLM has already removed the majority of indigenous mustangs and historic burros from millions of acres of public land. The BLM is removing the wild horses and burros to minimize environmental studies and mitigation in order to fast track toxic drilling projects on public land. The BLM confesses to making tons of money off the extractive industry as stated in the bottom of their press release: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/february/NR_02_01_2013.html
Protect Mustangs asks the BLM to acknowledge wild horses are a native species in order to manage them correctly.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Anne Novak, 415-531-8454 Anne@ProtectMustangs.org
Kerry Becklund, 510-502-1913 Kerry@ProtectMustangs.org
Photos, video and interviews are available upon request.
Links of interest:
Daryl Hannah and Michael Blake speak out about wild horses, burros and toxic drilling: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3866
PEER reports: BLM ducks complaint about suppressing livestock damage: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3367
Native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562
Saving Ass in America https://www.facebook.com/SavingAssInAmerica
EPA approves GonaCon™: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3851
EPA calls iconic wild horses “pests” http://protectmustangs.org/?p=1204
USFA APHIS Press release: USDA-Developed Vaccine for Wild Horses and Burros Gains EPA Registration: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/2013/02/horse_vaccine_approval.shtml
See it: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/registration/content/56228-40%20GonaCon%2007-11SPECIMEN.pdf
Photo courtesy BLM
BREAKING NEWS: Oakland to protest Reno’s wild horses facing slaughter
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)
Seasons Greetings from BLM
© Michelle Guillot, all rights reserved. Released through Protect Mustangs.
Public outrage gets creative
SAN FRANCISCO (December 20, 2012)–Citizens around the word are outraged at the BLM’s cruelty towards America’s native wild horses. The alleged federally protected mustangs are being rounded up and removed by the thousands only to be stockpiled in the Midwest at taxpayer expense. Some end up in the slaughter pipeline. During the current Owyhee roundup wild horse advocates documented mustangs being chased by a helicopter through barbed wire fencing. Protect Mustangs wants the roundups to stop and for the government to use the wild herds in Holistic Rangeland Management instead to reverse desertification on public land.
Artist Michelle Guillot says she was inspired by the horrific scenes of wild horses being driven through barbed wire at the Owyhee Roundup in Nevada.
“I was so appalled that I had to do something!” states Guillot. “How can the government hire helicopter contractors to push mustangs into barbed wire?”
She made the Seasons Greeting poster to let the world know what’s going on. Protect Mustangs is grateful to be able to release Guillot’s powerful message.
Public outrage is mounting and as a result, Protect Mustangs is organizing a Rally in San Francisco for January 2013. Date, time and place to be announced.
“The cruel roundups must stop,” states Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “Congress needs to listen to the public. They must stop enabling the wild horse wipe out–even if lobbyists are throwing cash around Washington.”
Protect Mustangs encourages Americans to meet with their senators and representatives to ask them to stop the roundups and use wild equids with livestock for Holistic Rangeland Management. This is a powerful solution for climate change–one that will reverse desertification.
The Petition to Defund and Stop the Roundups is circulating. Animal lovers around the world are encouraged to share it with their friends and request the United States Congress stop the cruelty and stop the roundups.
Michelle Guillot retains the copyright to the poster but encourages animal lovers to share the poster to spread awareness. She does not want the poster used for fundraising or commercial use.
The poster may be downloaded from www.ProtectMustangs.org
Protect Mustangs is a 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.
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Media Contacts:
Anne Novak 415-531-8454, Anne@ProtectMustangs.org
Kerry Becklund 510-502-1913, Kerry@ProtectMustangs.org
Press Release: Protests to stop roundups and sales to kill buyers
(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
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?