Posted: July 4, 2012 by R.T. Fitch
OpEd by R.T. Fitch ~ volunteer President and Co/Founder of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
On Tuesday, of this week, the honorable Judge Collyer heard our collective plea to stop the alleged “Emergency” roundup of a portion of the fragile and very special West Douglas herd of Northwest Colorado. The judge has been a champion of these horses over the years and she was no less when she based her decision to allow the roundup to proceed upon the incessant and inaccurate claims of no water, no forage and eminent death put forward by the BLM. She was concerned about the horses yet we private citizens knew the BLM and their intervenors were less than truthful and that there is a much more sinister and deadly agenda swimming not very deep under the surface of those mucky BLM waters.
Over the years Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Coalition, Cloud Foundation, Front Range Equine Rescue, Habitat for Horses, Dr. Don and Toni Moore along with the Wild Horse Freedom Federation and hundreds of wild horse advocates have been successful at keeping the BLM from fulfilling their very public desire of “Zeroing Out” the 125 horse wild horse herd that resides in the West Douglas area. We collectively suffered a grievous wound on Tuesday with the horses feeling the pain and experiencing all of the heart wrenching trauma, as usual.
I am coping with processing this blow, admittedly it has thrown me a tad off balance. Not so much over the human feeling of disappointment but instead from the deep rooted fear and feeling of eminent panic that the horses are about to feel as they are terrorized into capture where their families will be ripped asunder and they will never be allowed to live their natural lives, in bands of families, again. I feel the horror of war with the horses being the innocent victims as the BLM roars through the west ripping apart protected and natural tribes of sentient, gentle beings who wish nothing more than to be left alone where they can simply live out their lives with their families while disturbing no one or nothing in the process. It appears that as humans we learn very little from history.
By rounding up 50 out of an estimated 125 horses from this herd the BLM will successfully render this equine community genetically unviable, as they have so many other herds, which will further their unsubstantiated excuse to come back and wipe out the horses leaving only a silent and forever dark hole on a landscape that was once rich with the life and energy of the great, American wild horse.
I have to tell you that my heart hurts, my stomach churns and my fists are clenched; not the physical characteristics of a coward but instead one of a warrior who’s passion to save the innocent and protect the word of the law with all of the faculties that the good Lord gave him are aroused. We may not have won this skirmish but we are by no means out of this war and I will tell you why.
Firstly, we are lead on this legal fight by one of the best animal law attorneys in the free world, Bruce Wagman. He is of such a high caliber that it was actually quite difficult to acquire his services as he is in high demand speaking on behalf of not only the horses but elephants, chimpanzees and many other non-human beings that are set upon by the cruel and inhumane practices of humankind. Google Bruce and you will also find that he is a published author and contributes articles to a multitude of honorable publications. Bruce is not only a true champion to the cause of protecting those who cannot speak for themselves but is also an ambassador of the human race to the other species on this earth that share this planet with mankind.
Secondly, the public stepped up to the plate on this one, big time. A plea was issued for help in financing this defense for the horses and the call was heard, with spades. A legal attempt to block the actions of the rogue BLM and their special interest groups can get into 5 digits pretty quickly and many folks dug deep and became active members in this case and gave a great fight for the sake of the horses.
Thirdly, those who brought this case to court and the leadership of WHFF are not giving up, instead this fight has only managed to further their convictions and harden our resolve to pick up the pace in this fight and to not only attempt to strategically block the premeditated efforts of the BLM to eradicate wild horses from our public lands but instead to further fine tune our efforts to tactically attack the BLM where we know they are violating the intent of the law and ensure that they are put into a legal tailspin where the roundups are stopped and we can approach this issue with cool resolve and science on our side. We are NOT going away.
The leadership of WHFF is SO very motivated to make a difference and to shine a public spotlight on the plight of our wild horses and burros that that the Board of Directors will, in September, make an in person trip to D.C. to deliver, to date, over 5,000 letters from the public crying out to the President of the United States to put a STOP to these senseless and expensive roundups once and for all. This excursion will be financed, exclusively, by the separate volunteer members of the BoD in an effort to display the transparency and dedication that the leadership holds close to their heart on the issue of the managed extinction of our wild equines.
We have been deliberately closed lip about the collection of these letters as there once was a past attempt to do the same but this effort will not fail nor will it be put on the back burner, the Wild Horse Freedom Federation is going to the White House. With the Presidential election only weeks away, perhaps we can garner a nod from the individual who currently holds the reins of this great country.
This weekend we will launch a online form where you too can add your personal note and appeal for the cessation of this cruel nonsense and I assure you that Terry and myself, at the very least, will personally carry your message to the President of the United States. We will hand personally deliver your message, full stop!
The BLM did not win on Tuesday, they only fueled the fire to push us forward. Keep the faith, my friends, we are taking this fight to the source.
The light will never succumb to darkness.
The Ground Swell of Public Support to Save our Wild Horses and Burros is Growing
On Tuesday, of this week, the honorable Judge Collyer heard our collective plea to stop the alleged “Emergency” roundup of a portion of the fragile and very special West Douglas herd of Northwest Colorado. The judge has been a champion of these horses over the years and she was no less when she based her decision to allow the roundup to proceed upon the incessant and inaccurate claims of no water, no forage and eminent death put forward by the BLM. She was concerned about the horses yet we private citizens knew the BLM and their intervenors were less than truthful and that there is a much more sinister and deadly agenda swimming not very deep under the surface of those mucky BLM waters.Over the years Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Coalition, Cloud Foundation, Front Range Equine Rescue, Habitat for Horses, Dr. Don and Toni Moore along with the Wild Horse Freedom Federation and hundreds of wild horse advocates have been successful at keeping the BLM from fulfilling their very public desire of “Zeroing Out” the 125 horse wild horse herd that resides in the West Douglas area. We collectively suffered a grievous wound on Tuesday with the horses feeling the pain and experiencing all of the heart wrenching trauma, as usual.
I am coping with processing this blow, admittedly it has thrown me a tad off balance. Not so much over the human feeling of disappointment but instead from the deep rooted fear and feeling of eminent panic that the horses are about to feel as they are terrorized into capture where their families will be ripped asunder and they will never be allowed to live their natural lives, in bands of families, again. I feel the horror of war with the horses being the innocent victims as the BLM roars through the west ripping apart protected and natural tribes of sentient, gentle beings who wish nothing more than to be left alone where they can simply live out their lives with their families while disturbing no one or nothing in the process. It appears that as humans we learn very little from history.
By rounding up 50 out of an estimated 125 horses from this herd the BLM will successfully render this equine community genetically unviable, as they have so many other herds, which will further their unsubstantiated excuse to come back and wipe out the horses leaving only a silent and forever dark hole on a landscape that was once rich with the life and energy of the great, American wild horse.
I have to tell you that my heart hurts, my stomach churns and my fists are clenched; not the physical characteristics of a coward but instead one of a warrior who’s passion to save the innocent and protect the word of the law with all of the faculties that the good Lord gave him are aroused. We may not have won this skirmish but we are by no means out of this war and I will tell you why.
Firstly, we are lead on this legal fight by one of the best animal law attorneys in the free world, Bruce Wagman. He is of such a high caliber that it was actually quite difficult to acquire his services as he is in high demand speaking on behalf of not only the horses but elephants, chimpanzees and many other non-human beings that are set upon by the cruel and inhumane practices of humankind. Google Bruce and you will also find that he is a published author and contributes articles to a multitude of honorable publications. Bruce is not only a true champion to the cause of protecting those who cannot speak for themselves but is also an ambassador of the human race to the other species on this earth that share this planet with mankind.
Secondly, the public stepped up to the plate on this one, big time. A plea was issued for help in financing this defense for the horses and the call was heard, with spades. A legal attempt to block the actions of the rogue BLM and their special interest groups can get into 5 digits pretty quickly and many folks dug deep and became active members in this case and gave a great fight for the sake of the horses.
Thirdly, those who brought this case to court and the leadership of WHFF are not giving up, instead this fight has only managed to further their convictions and harden our resolve to pick up the pace in this fight and to not only attempt to strategically block the premeditated efforts of the BLM to eradicate wild horses from our public lands but instead to further fine tune our efforts to tactically attack the BLM where we know they are violating the intent of the law and ensure that they are put into a legal tailspin where the roundups are stopped and we can approach this issue with cool resolve and science on our side. We are NOT going away.
The leadership of WHFF is SO very motivated to make a difference and to shine a public spotlight on the plight of our wild horses and burros that that the Board of Directors will, in September, make an in person trip to D.C. to deliver, to date, over 5,000 letters from the public crying out to the President of the United States to put a STOP to these senseless and expensive roundups once and for all. This excursion will be financed, exclusively, by the separate volunteer members of the BoD in an effort to display the transparency and dedication that the leadership holds close to their heart on the issue of the managed extinction of our wild equines.
We have been deliberately closed lip about the collection of these letters as there once was a past attempt to do the same but this effort will not fail nor will it be put on the back burner, the Wild Horse Freedom Federation is going to the White House. With the Presidential election only weeks away, perhaps we can garner a nod from the individual who currently holds the reins of this great country.
This weekend we will launch a online form where you too can add your personal note and appeal for the cessation of this cruel nonsense and I assure you that Terry and myself, at the very least, will personally carry your message to the President of the United States. We will hand personally deliver your message, full stop!
The BLM did not win on Tuesday, they only fueled the fire to push us forward. Keep the faith, my friends, we are taking this fight to the source.
The light will never succumb to darkness.
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