DEATH TOLL Calico Round-up continues to Rise: 43 and COUNTING!

Calico Roundup: 43 Dead (includes 20 aborted foals) and Counting

February 2, 2010

 

The losses associated with BLM's Calico Mountains Complex have become

staggering.  With a little over half the intended numbers of horses

being rounded up, BLM's statistics show a total of 43 deaths (includes 20 aborted foals).

 

http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/wfo/blm_programs/wild_horses_and_burros/calico_mountains_complex/gather_activity_updates.html

 

 

I would acknowledge that perhaps three of these horses would not have

survived long on the range due to age and condition, or in one case a

cardiac defect, however that still leaves what could be argued as being

40 deaths associated with the roundup and related activities.

 

BLM in Washington D.C. is trying to dismiss 20 spontaneously aborted

foals as being technically "miscarriages" rather than horse deaths, but

that's a cheap semantic trick.  Meanwhile employees on the ground are

trying to make the best of a bad situation that was not of their making.

 

Another cheap shot diversion by the likes of Secretary "Cattleman Ken"

Salazar is that the horse advocates are simply emotional.  Perhaps "mad

as Hell" is an emotion.  The irony here is that over the years the

advocate groups have dealt with literally thousands of horses, many that

were found in worse shape than the horses coming in from the Calico.

The performance record of the experienced advocate groups puts BLM's

performance to shame.

 

Clearly it is time for some reality based horse policy to take hold in

Washington, D.C.  While bureaucrats and politicians weave spin, horses

are dying.  Enough is enough.

 

A more detailed discussion on this matter with specific examples can be

found in the Wild Horse War Room.

 

http://www.aowha.org/war/calico1002.html

 

 

Advocates must hold the line until this debate finally comes down to

real facts, real probabilities and practical solutions.  Each of you who

is concerned about this matter needs to keep contacting your elected

representatives and demand that the present plunge into disaster stop

until a full reckoning can be made and a more practical and balanced

approach to public lands management can be achieved.  We cannot let

"horse care" be handled like Congress' recent approach to health care.