Sunday, September 30, 2012

Call for BLM to step up over humane mustang handling

Horsetalk




A wild horse advocacy group is calling for the Bureau of Land Management to adopt what it calls a significant humane handling policy with ramifications for violations.
Wild Horse Education founder Laura Leigh, who travels the west to watch many of the bureau’s roundups, made the call as the agency was finalizing its roundup schedule for the 2013 financial year, which begins on October 1.
Leigh argues that the bureau has never properly adopted a policy of humane handling practices.
World Horse Eduction volunteer Lisa LeBlanc says: “It’s difficult to understand why, during the majority of removal operations, wild equines are denied even the most basic humane handling.
“Nevada statutes consider over-driving and excessive striking of an animal – any animal – illegal and punishable by law.
“The BLM had stated, months ago, it is setting forth policy for humane standards during removals and after care, but the policy remains elusive, and loosely interpreted.”

Saturday, September 29, 2012

"I'm praying a lot, miracles happen": Horse rescue reeling after devastating diagnosis - KGUN9.com

KGUN9.com




TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - She's known for never giving up on a horse. Now Judy Glore is facing a fight of her own, the fight to save her life.
That's my biggest fear, that they led this fade out," said Glore. "I don't want this ever to fade out."
Even as she prepares to face the biggest challenge of her life, Glore only worries about her horses.
"They are the reason I get up and come out here and I keep going," Glore said. "I see the fighting they've been through. They've been through way more than me, than a lot of us, and if they they can do it, then I can do it."
The founder of the Heart of Tucson Horse Rescue was diagnosed with lung cancer. A tumor the size of her hand is wrapped around her heart valve.
"It's a little scary I know I might not have a lot of time, I don't know that," Glore said.
She wants to spend every second she has left caring for the horses. 9OYS reporter Marcelino Benito asked Glore if the disease is impacting her ability to work. She replied, "Oh yeah, I can't do as much. I get out of breather real easier and my chest hurts."
She tells KGUN9 caring for the horses is getting harder and harder to do. But her love of horses is contagious, and she's hoping volunteers can lend an extra hand.
"I think if everyone comes together for these guys this dream will be kept alive," she said. "These horses will always be secure."
If the horses have taught Glore anything, it's never to give up. She says that's exactly what she plans to do no matter how bumpy the road ahead. Her insurance covers little to nothing of treatment she will need. Instead of asking the public's help for fund she needs to live on, she wants the public to help the animals.
"I could never ask for that, I'd rather ask for the animals, so that they're taken care of and this dream is kept alive because that's made my life worth everything," said Glore.
She's counting on the horses to lift her spirits, and the horses are counting on her.
"I'm not going to give up, and I'm not going to quit," Glore said. "I'm praying a lot. Miracles happen."
Glore will meet with her doctors next week to determine what, if any course of treatment she'll follow. She also plans to share her experience fighting the disease by writing a blog. If you want to support Glore and/or the horses, go the Heart of Tucson's website. There, you'll find a link to her blog "Judy's Journey" as soon as it's posted.

Straight from the Horse's Heart

 Posted: September 29, 2012 by R.T. Fitch 
OpEd by R.T. Fitch ~ volunteer president/co-founder of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
“There is a foul odor blowing in from the west 
and it is not the smell ” of fresh ink!

Wild Horses in Holding ~ photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
In the past 36 hours there has been a whirlwind of hysteria swirling around an incomplete article on captured American wild horses and burros being sent to slaughter under the watchful eye of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the very agency charged with protecting these national treasures.  David Philipps published said article on what is touted to be an investigative piece on the possibility of a kill buyer purchasing captured wild horses from the BLM and then shipping them off to slaughter but Philipps grievously failed to wait for the story to conclude with final proof and verification of exactly when, how and where the horses actually went.  His itchy trigger finger, and that of an alleged wild horse advocate, has resulted in outing an investigation that could have had significant legal merit and long term benefit for the wild equines and all for what?  Easy answer; money, ego and the chance to be in the spotlight with the wild horses and burros, once again, being the victims and paying the price.
In the course of preparing his article Philipps had contacted several longtime, legitimate equine advocates for information, background stats and FOIA data but in exchange for those resources Philipps was:

  • made aware that a premature publication of an article, without documented proof of where the horses actually ended up (not just assumptions) would compromise other investigations.
  • told about Pulitzer prize-winning reporter Martha Mendoza, who did gather all the facts in her investigations.
  • advised to have verifiable documentation and to have all his ducks in a row before he “broke” this story.

Didn’t happen!
This is not a game.  It is about the wild horses, burros and the brave people who voluntarily put their lives on the line to investigate the operations of kill buyers like Dennis Chavez.
Dave Philips made phone calls.  He called Tom Davis directly.  He called people in Kinney County, Texas, where the horses “appeared” to be shipped, to ask if anyone had seen a lot of horses on any of the local ranches.  He seemed to lack the foresight (or guidance) to see that this would “tip off” the locals, and make it harder for those in the field to track the movement of the shipments of the wild horses and to observe hauling and the drop off points.
Carelessness like this puts the lives of investigators in the field at risk and does not encompass the big picture of shutting this blood trade down once and for all.
The end result of what occurred above produced nothing more than a “he said, she said” tale that touches on some verifiable facts but, in the end, misses the entire point.
What will this limited information accomplish?  Will the BLM, which acts with impunity, just continue its shell game by replacing Tom Davis with another hauler?  The BLM’s investigation of Tom Davis seems to be another internal investigation, and we know what happens with those.  Will Sally Spencer be fired?  Will the BLM stop?  What next?
And what of the alleged advocate(s) who immediately jumped upon the coattails of Philipps in an effort to twist a spotlight in their direction.  One such individual went so far as to post the article on their website with an inserted preamble declaring that their “organization” was instrumental in in this “investigation” while closing with another panhandling plea for, once again, money to support a personal lifestyle and NOT going to help the horses.
But the smell of collusion does not stop there; enter Madeline Pickens from stage left within a few hours of the article’s publication she issued an email blast to her fans of the Mustang “Tombstone” project, it appeared as if she almost knew the publication was coming, hmmm.
Mrs. Pickens stated:
“Please see the article below by Dave Phillips that was just released this afternoon in ProPublica. This establishes that our wild horses are in a state of emergency. This proves beyond a reasonable doubt that we need to move these horses to safer places, as opposed to slaughter. Saving America’s Mustangs has for years now offered and presented an alternative to this slaughter horror show, and yet we continue to wait for the government to sign off on a plan that will provide a whole new direction for the wild horses. There is little doubt there is an another alternative that can save these horses better than what we have presented. The BLM knows it, the American people know it, and we have known this for a longtime. It’s now up to the BLM and the American public to approve this plan and do the right thing and give these horses a safe and secure home like they deserve.   Sincerely,  Madeleine Pickens
It certainly appears as if Mrs. Pickens is eager to have the Saving America’s Mustangs eco-resort plan seen as the only answer to Tom Davis hauling wild horses to who knows where.   Mrs. Picken’s eco-resort plan, based on information given to the public, is to have 900 geldings (a non-reproducing herd) put on her eco-resort, likely resulting in the eradication of 3 Herd Management Areas and the rest of the wild horses on those HMAs that will then be removed and sent to short and long term holding and at risk of going to slaughter.  “Doink”
We have another idea:
What about keeping family bands of wild horses on their OWN legally designated HMAs?
And what about the “alleged” advocate(s) (above) that immediately jumped upon this incomplete “slaughter expose’” bandwagon along with Madeleine?  Aren’t they the same ones who have received gifts of money and goods from Mrs. Pickens?  Are they not tied to her, even now, and under her influence due to their indebtedness?  Would they have a clear, concise, unfettered view of the “big picture”?  Do their operations/organizations and backgrounds stand up to minimal and legal public scrutiny?  The plot thickens and with each layer of the onion you peel it gets uglier and uglier.  Beware; there are those who walk amongst us who are not what you perceive them to be.
That’s enough said about that but let me make it perfectly clear that we have been screaming from the rooftops that this has been going on for years and just when it appears the facts might finally be obtained and the operation legitimately exposed a couple of fringe individuals crawl out of the woodwork, scream “look at me”, beg for money and gut an investigation that could have actually helped and saved the lives of tens of thousands of wild horses.  The more you think about it, the more disgusting it gets.
On both sides, folks, it’s all about the money…and NOT about the wild horses and burros.

NOWHERE TO HIDE: CALLING FOR A CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION OF BLM AS THEIR "S.S." SENDS 1,700 WILD HORSES STRAIGHT TO SLAUGHTER -- ALLEGEDLY, OF COURSE

Humane Observer: Elyse Gardner


For two decades many have known that somethings smells funnyabout the Bureau of Land Management ‘s “long-term holding” aspect of the wild horse program, and the foul odor isn’t coming from the horses.

The spiriting away of up to 11,000 captured wild horses yearly, who are rounded up and sent east into leased long-term holding pastures on private ranches behind locked gates, has long aroused deep concern about the true nature of the longterm holding program. Questions became suspicions about whether all the wild horses who arrived there were safely grazing away, living happily-ever-after, idyllic lives on rolling hills of green among their same-sex wild horse friends as BLM officials staunchly claim.

BLM’s Lili Thomas admitted that BLM did indeed sell wild horses straight out of longterm holding at a national public meeting in June 2010, stating they would not sort out and sell or adopt out an individual horse; rather, horses were sold by the truckload/trailer load to appropriate buyers.  Who would buy mature wild horses by the truckload, we asked?  BLM assured us buyers were appropriately screened. No answer was satisfactory or really made sense – until now.  


Read MORE...

BLM annonces 2013 Wild Horse Roundups, but no humane policy

Examiner




Yesterday the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced their 2013 fiscal year (begins October 1, 2012) wild horse and burro roundup schedule today.
On the schedule are Herd Management Areas (HMA) that have become very familiar to the public in the last few years. Challis in Idaho where Elissa Kline wrote a report that included documentation of a helicopter chasing a single horse and coming so close that the horse could actually kick at the chopper. The Owyhee Complex where BLM closed public land, lost the public land closure in Federal Court and then denied public access to witness a single horse removed from Owyhee. The Antelope Complex roundup of winter 2011 that demonstrated conduct the public found outrageous, but an internal BLM review found acceptable. Triple B where conduct gained the agency a Temporary Restraining Order, and later an Injunction, to pilot conduct after a helicopter apparently hit a horse with the skids (this case is a part of ongoing litigation that addresses inhumane treatment).


Read MORE...

Friday, September 28, 2012

All the Missing Horses: What Happened to the Wild Horses Tom Davis Bought From the Gov’t?

Pro Publica

by Dave Philipps, Special to ProPublica Sept. 28, 2012, 5:13 p.m.



A lone mustang who escaped the helicopters watches a Bureau of Land Management roundup in the Stone Cabin Valley in Nevada during the winter of 2012. (Dave Philipps)


The Bureau of Land Management faced a crisis this spring. 
The agency protects and manages herds of wild horses that still roam the American West, rounding up thousands of them each year to keep populations stable.




Read MORE...

BLM to Host Public Tour of its Fallon Wild Horse and Burro Prison Camp

Straight from the Horse's Heart


Posted: September 28, 2012 by R.T. Fitch
Unedited Press Release (Less Headline and Header) from the BLM
Ripped from their home range, families destroyed, freedom gone, now on display!
NEVADA STATE OFFICE NO. 2012-41
FOR RELEASE: September 27, 2012
CONTACT: Heather Emmons, (775) 861-6594, heather_emmons@blm.gov
Prisoners of the BLM, victims of special interests ~ photo by Terry Fitch ofWild Horse Freedom Federation
Reno, Nev. —The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is offering a public tour of its Indian Lakes Road Short-Term Holding Facility in Fallon, Nev., Friday, October 19.  There will be two consecutive tours each day that last two hours each and can accommodate up to 15 people each.  The first tour will begin at 11 a.m. and the second tour will begin at 1:30 p.m.  Spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.  The public can sign up to attend and get driving directions to the facility by calling the BLM at (775) 475-2222.
The facility is located at 5676 Indian Lakes Road, Fallon, and is privately owned and operated.  Tour attendees will be taken around the facility as a group on a wagon so they can hear information about the facility and program, ask questions, and to provide safety for visitors, since the facility is quite large to walk around by foot.
About a one and one-half hour drive from Reno, the Indian Lakes Road Facility is the BLM’s newest contracted short-term holding facility, and provides care for up to 2,850 excess wild horses that are removed during gathers.  The facility encompasses 320 acres and contains 36 large holding pens that are 70,000 square feet per pen and can hold approximately 100 horses safely per pen.  The horses are fed an abundance of feed tailored to their needs each day, and a veterinarian routinely inspects the horses and provides necessary medical care.
Once preparation for adoption is completed, and the animals have fully transitioned to a diet of domestic feed, they are ready for shipment to adoption venues and may be available to the public for adoption through the BLM’s Adopt-A-Horse or Burro Program.
Information about the Indian Lakes Road Facility and the public tours can be found at the BLM Nevada website atwww.blm.gov/nv/.

BLM Releases Tentative 2013 Wild Horse and Burro Stampede and Herd Destruction Schedule

Straight from the Horse's Heart


Posted: September 28, 2012 by R.T. Fitch
Update by SFTHH
Covert/Secret Bait Trapping Operations Not Disclosed

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act


H.R. 2966: American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011


Summary: To amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other purposes. (More Info)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Horse slaughterhouse: Killing ground or overbreeding solution?

KIMA TV.com

Published: Sep 25, 2012 at 6:43 PM PDT




UMATILLA COUNTY, Ore. -- If only some horses knew how lucky they really are. Beyond the sounds of the Hermiston Livestock Auction, many horses in our area face an uncertain path; pitting neighbor against neighbor in Smalltown, USA.

It's hard to picture now, but an unassuming field in Umatilla County, near Hermiston, is a hub for controversy.

A group called United Horsemen hope to build a horse care facility in the middle of this field.
The group says it would focus on rehabilitating and adopting out sick animals. Hermiston's mayor thinks it would focus on killing tens of thousands of animals instead.

"I think it's a detriment," says Mayor Robert Severson. "Why do we want to be known as the horse slaughter capital?"

There are no horse slaughterhouses this side of the Mississippi. Up until last fall, you couldn't even sell horse meat. Congress lifted that ban, opening the door for the United Horsemen's plan.

Whether you agree with the slaughtering or not, experts say there is a huge overbreeding problem of horses. In fact, on the Yakama Indian Reservation, there are 20,000 horses that were overbred.

The United Horsemen believe those animals need to be controlled and believe they have a humane way to do it that also creates jobs. Director Dave Duquette told Action News a team of 100 people would try to nurse stray horses back to health. He insists only the most ill horses will be killed.

"The technology nowadays, nobody will know what this facility is... Nobody will tell what it is," he says.

The entire project is far from a done deal. Hermiston has no say in preventing it since the facility would go on Umatilla County land. And leaders there will decide the future of the horses.

Hermiston Ready to Fight Horse Slaughter Facility in Umatilla County

Straight from the Horse's Heart


Posted: September 26, 2012 by R.T. Fitch
Press Release from Hermiston City Manager’s Office
Horse Eating Dave Duquette less than Popular in his Hometown
Hermiston, OR ~ Anti-Horse/Pro-Slaughter Dave Duquette (PETA: People Eating Tasty Animals) practicing his horse eating technique on a turkey leg.
Contact:    Mark Morgan, Asst. to the City Manager
(541) 667-5003  mmorgan@hermiston.or.us
Sept. 24, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hermiston, Ore. – A potential horse slaughtering facility near Hermiston will face opposition by the city when the operation submits an application to the Umatilla County Planning Department.
The City of Hermiston’s land-use attorney recently provided an opinion that a horse slaughter facility is not a permitted use on the proposed site near the I-84/I-82 interchange west of Hermiston.
Hermiston City Councilors agreed Monday night to allow City Manager Ed Brookshier to move forward on legal recommendations to block development of the slaughter facility.
The operators of the horse slaughter facility, who propose to butcher between 150 and 200 horses daily, will have to apply for an amendment to the Umatilla County Development Code and receive an exception to Oregon Statewide Planning Goals 3 and 14.  The Umatilla County Planning Commission would be the first entity to hear the request before making a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.
“If one (horse slaughter facility) needs to be built, I don’t think this is the place,” said City Councilman Rod Hardin.
Although the potential facility is located outside of Hermiston’s Urban Growth Boundary, city officials worry about the long-term negative economic impacts to the area.
“Most everyone who I’ve talked to about this agrees that this would be a bad thing,” said Mayor Bob Severson.
The facility, which would be visible from the freeway interchange, would be located just south the Hermiston Generating plant.
The City of Hermiston is a vibrant, and growing community of nearly 17,000 residents located at the cross-roads of the Pacific Northwest. 
Located near the intersection of Interstate 84 and Interstate 82, just minutes from a Columbia River port and the Washington state line, Hermiston is capitalizing on its strategic location as a transportation center and gateway to Oregon.  To learn more about the exciting future of Eastern Oregon’s largest city, go to www.hermiston.or.us.
Thanks,
Mark Morgan, MPA
Administrative Assistant to the City Manager mmorgan@hermiston.or.us
(541) 667-5003



______________________________

Also note: 

City’s land-use research shows proposed horse slaughter plant is not allowed

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

EMERGENCY: WILD NEVADA MUSTANGS TO BE SOLD AT AUCTION TOMORROW!!

American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign


Please Help Save Them from Slaughter!
Photo by Carrol Abel.

This is Sandy. Wild horse advocates in northern Nevada have watched Sandy since before she was born, living peacefully with her family in the foothills outside of Reno. Now Sandy and her herd mates face the cruelest of fates after being captured by the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDOA) and dumped at the Fallon Livestock Exchange.

Tomorrow, Sandy and 24 other wild Nevada mustangs will be put up for auction. Iflocal wild horse advocates do not raise the funds necessary to purchase the horses and locate temporary housing for them, they will be sold to kill buyers.Unless rescued, Sandy and her family will be crammed into trailers and trucked on an arduous journey across the border of Canada or Mexico, where they will face an unspeakably horrible and cruel death on the slaughterhouse floor.
Will You Help Save Sandy and Her Mustang Friends? 

► If you or know anyone you know can offer a temporary home to some of these horses, please contact us immediately by clicking here
►If you can contribute to the fund to purchase and feed the horses, please donate as generously as possible by clicking hereEvery dollar you donate will be sent to the local rescue groups in Nevada who are mobilizing as we speak to save Sandy and her friends.
Just last week, Nevada wild horse advocatesrescued 23 wild Nevada mustangs from the same slaughter auction. Their resources are stretched; please help today!
Call Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval (775-684-5670 or 702-486-2500) to protest -- politiely but in the strongest of terms - his Nevada Department of Agriculture's (NDOA) continued dumping of wild Nevada mustangs at livestock auctions to be sold for slaughter. Tell him to direct the NDOA to work with local wild horse groups to place captured horses and to implement management programs aimed at keeping the Virginia Range horses in the wild, where they belong.

Because Sandy and her family made their home on state, not federal, public lands, they are not protected by federal law. YOU ARE THE ONLY PROTECTION THEY HAVE.
WON'T YOU HELP TODAY? 

Please click here to see more photos of the wild horses who will be put up for bid tomorrow.
We apologize for sending two emails to you in one day, but we felt that the urgent and developing nature of this situation required us to bring this update to your attention without delay.

Photo finish

Boston.com Sports


When Suffolk Downs trainer John Botty found out that Our Revival could wind up as dinner on somebody’s plate, he felt as if he had been punched in the stomach.
“Oh my God,” he says of the possibility of his former racehorse being sent to a Mexican slaughterhouse. “It would be like losing a family member.”
Although Americans never would consider horse meat as a delicacy, it is widely consumed in some European nations and parts of Asia. Since US domestic horse slaughter ceased in 2007, US exports for slaughter in Mexico have skyrocketed, increasing 660 percent, according to a June 2011 Government Accountability Office report. In 2010, 138,000 horses were transported to either Canada or Mexico for domestic and international consumption.   Read MORE...

Bait trapping planned for wild horses in Eastern Nevada

Examiner 


The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is accepting public comments until October 9th, 2012 on the bait trapping operation planned in eastern Nevada.
Calling the area the "Three HMA" aPreliminary Environmental Assessment (EA) is available online for public review.This area is comprised of the Triple B, Maverick Medicine and Antelope Valley Herd Management Areas (HMA's). The plan was presented to the Northeastern RAC on September 20th.
View slideshow: "Three HMA" proposed plan.       Read MORE...

Monday, September 24, 2012

NJ Governor Christie: Eat No Horse Meat

Straight from the Horse's Heart


Posted: September 25, 2012 by R.T. Fitch
story by  of Global Animal
State wants NOTHING to do with Horse Slaughter
NOT in New Jersey!!!
NEW JERSEY — Governor Christie of New Jersey thanked Assemblyman Ronald Dancer and animal advocates for proposing the bill that makes horse slaughter illegal. After the proposal was favored 72-3 in the state assembly, Christie signed the bill on Friday, September 21 whichdisallows the slaughter of horses within the state of New Jersey and prohibits the use of New Jersey highways for the transport of horses intended for slaughter or human consumption. 
The horse is New Jersey’s state animal and according to Dancer, the state “appreciate(s) these magnificent animals for their grace and beauty.” Dancer expresses on behalf of the state that their horses “will not be taken from stable to a table.”
Under the new law, anyone convicted of horse slaughter will receive a fine of $100 and be imprisoned for 30 days. A civil fine of $500-$1000 per slaughtered horse will also be imposed.
Animal activists countrywide are hoping the next step is to pass the American Horse Slaughter Act of 2011. Although no horses are currently slaughtered in the states, over 100,000 are exported to neighboring countries for that purpose. The state of New Mexico recently applied for government approval to slaughter horses.
A poll conducted by Lake Research Partners revealed that 80% of Americans are against horse slaughter and the consumption of horse meat. Before horse slaughter becomes a United States’ pass time, animal welfare advocates need to band together to influence preventative measures for the safety of our country’s horses. Sign the petition below to help outlaw the slaughter of these regal creatures.
Click (HERE) to visit Global Animal and to Comment

Oppose BLM Plan to Eradicate Burros in Southern California Desert

American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign





Public Comment Deadline: September 28, 2012.Once again, we need to urge the BLM to protect and preserve the burros in the Piute Mountain Herd Area (HA) in the southern California desert.
.
Earlier this year we asked you to oppose the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) proposal to remove all burros from this historic Herd Area where burros have lived for more than a century. You responded in force, and the agency received thousands of comments opposing the proposed burro wipe out. After that, the BLM did not move forward with the Piute Mountain burro removal.
.
Now the BLM has revived its plan to eradicate burros from their federally-protected home in Piute Mountain via a helicopter stampede.
.
Already, the BLM has started to remove approximately 60 burros, via bait trapping, from the nearby Chemehuevi Indian Reservation, which is adjacent to the Chemehuevi Herd Management Area (HMA) and HA. As of September 20, 2012, the BLM reports capturing 8 burros. While the BLM may be legally mandated to remove these burros from the Reservation (due to the Tribe's request for the removal), the agency should relocate these burros to the HMA/HA where they are legally permitted and protected to live..


Please take easy action below to urge the BLM to cancel its burro roundup and removal plans and restore zeroed-out acreage as burro habitat in the Piute Mountain. 
TAKE ACTION HERE!

BLM to Attack Antelope Valley Wild Horse Herd, AGAIN!

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Posted: September 24, 2012 by R.T. Fitch

BLM Press Release (less headline and intro)


Called off Stampede early in Jan 11 due to lack of horses found, whats this!?!?


Infamous Antelope Valley Stampede of Jan/Feb 2011 ~ photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
Ely, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Elko District, Wells Field Office and Ely District, Schell Field Office are scheduled to begin on or about Monday, Oct. 1, the gather and removal of 200 excess wild horses from the Antelope and Antelope Valley Herd Management Areas (HMAs), located about 60 miles south of Wells and 50 miles north of Ely, Nevada. The helicopter gather is necessary to prevent a further decline in animal condition caused by minimal forage growth and reduced water availability due to severe drought conditions.
Appropriate Management Level (AML) for the Antelope HMA is 150-324 wild horses. The current population is 468 wild horses. AML for the Antelope Valley HMA is 115-259 wild horses. The current population is 641 wild horses.
BLM has been monitoring the condition of the wild horses due to the on-going drought conditions. Wild horses in the Antelope and Antelope Valley HMAs are in moderately thin to very thin body condition with further declines beyond the point of recovery anticipated if actions are not taken.
The affected parts of the HMAs are within the Boone Springs, Valley Mtn., Antelope Valley, West White Horse, White Horse, Sugarloaf, Ferber Flat, Utah Nevada South, Badlands, Goshute Mtn., Deep Creek and Chin Creek Allotments.
Wild horses removed from the range will be shipped either to Palomino Valley near Reno, Nevada, or the Gunnison Correctional Facility in Gunnison, Utah, to be prepared for the BLM wild horse adoption program or for long-term pastures.
The potential impacts of the actions that will be taken during the gather operations have been analyzed in the Antelope Complex Capture Plan and Environmental Assessment signed in December 2010.
The public is welcome to attend the gather and is encouraged to check the gather hotline nightly (775-289-1880) for departure times and other pertinent information. For additional gather information, including what you need to know before attending the gather and visitation protocols and ground rules, go to http://on.doi.gov/TeQ5Gj.
For more information, contact Chris Hanefeld, BLM Ely District public affairs specialist, at (775) 289-1842 orchanefel@blm.gov