In Arizona: Eyewitness Report: Wild Horses – December is the Cruelest Month for Salt Wells Creek Part 1

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Eyewitness Report: Wild Horses – December is the Cruelest Month for Salt Wells Creek Part 1

Report from Carol Walker, Director of Field Documentation for Wild Horse Freedom Federation as published on her blog Wild Hoofbeats
Forward by R.T. Fitch ~ co-founder/president of Wild Horse Freedom Federation (WHFF)

“Two weeks ago, noted photographer Carol Walker traveled to Wyoming on behalf of WHFF to witness for the wild horses as they were stampeded to capture by the BLM’s helicopter contractor. Unfortunately the stampede concluded over the Thanksgiving weekend when the public was banned from observing but Carol did have the opportunity to view the conditions at short term holding and the release of PZPed mares. Carol’s photos, shown in slideshow format exclusively, here, at SFTHH and later on her Facebook page, created quite a stir within the advocacy and around the world. So much so that Carol will be interviewed sometime next week on CNN so stay tuned for details.

Here at WHFF and SFTHH we shared Carol’s daily field reports and photos but now that she has made it home to a warm abode she has published her thoughts and descriptions of the photos that she snapped on her personal website, Wild Hoofbeats.com. We share only the opening paragraphs, here, in hopes that you will jump over to her site to view the photos, read her detailed report and comment with your thoughts.

Again, we want to thank Carol for making the trip, suffering the sub-temps and sharing her observation with this readership as the days ticked by…thanks Carol and to the Cloud Foundation advocates who were present earlier in the week at the roundup! Keep the faith my friends.” ~ R.T.

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photography by Carol Walker, soundtrack from Opus Moon’s Wild Horse Anthology “Let Them Be Wild And Free” available on iTunes, produced by R.T. Fitch

Carol: A week before Thanksgiving I received a press release from the BLM Rock Springs office that stated that the Adobe Town /Salt Wells Creek Roundup was going to begin tomorrow. I had been calling and emailing the Rock Springs office of the BLM every two weeks since the Decision Record was issued for this roundup in August, asking when they were planning to start. I was given no warning. I was certain that this was occurring at all this year was due to pressure from the Rock Springs Grazing Association who has been demanding that all wild horses be removed from private lands on the checkerboard area of the Salt Wells Creek Herd Area and the Adobe Town Herd Area.

I was told that public observation opportunities could be limited due to private land on the checkerboard, and to get there soon if I was to observe. I could not get there at the beginning, but I was there for the end.

They removed 668 wild horses from Salt Wells Creek, a huge herd area with over 1 million acres. Only 39 stallions and 40 mares were returned to the area, and 3 horses died.

http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Wild_Horses/13atsw-gather.html

The horses were not rounded up on Thanksgiving, but they were the Saturday after, with no public observation allowed. The contractor, the Cattoors, were trying to finish this up before an arctic cold front entered Wyoming…(CONTINUED)