McCain in Agreement with Obama on Wild Horse Management

The Desert Independent

By ROBERT WINKLER
The Desert Independent

November 30, 2010

PHOENIX, Arizona – Senator John McCain fully backs President Obama’s Interior Secretary pick Ken Salazar’s Wild Horse Management plan as stated in a LETTER* received from his office today. In 2009, McCain States: “Interior Secretary Ken Salazar described the Wild Horse program as unsustainable for both horses and American taxpayers -- and I agree.”

Senator McCain seems to be echoing the mantra of Obama’s program, all the while costing the taxpayer over 67 million dollars a year in a time when the country is desperately looking for ways to save money. McCain goes on to talk about the need for the Bureau of Land management (BLM) to provide for livestock grazing, etc.

I’m sure the President appreciates the Senator’s backing.

Numbers Won’t Work in Proposed Slaughter Plant

Animal Law Coalition

Posted Nov 30, 2010 by lauraallen

• Horse Slaughter

by John Holland, co-founder and president, Equine Welfare Alliance 
"Even if Wallis could convince Wyoming's tiny population to gorge themselves on the [horse] meat, there is yet another problem. The meat is not safe." 
CHICAGO (EWA) - Newsweek recently carried the condensed version of an article by Sue Wallis, a Wyoming State representative, titled Wyoming proceeds with plans to build state-of-the-art processing plant. The article gives the impression that Wyoming is about to open a horse slaughter plant. It is not and here is why.
The "plans" are not those of the state of Wyoming, but of horse slaughter proponent Sue Wallis. The Wallis business strategy appears to be "If you hype it, they will come."
In the article Wallis claims that this plant will go into operation in just six months and will slaughter all the excess wild and domestic horses in the comfort and serenity of a Temple Grandin designed facility of the highest standard. One can almost hear the Muzak playing as the grateful horses line up to be "euthanized" by gentle and caring workers.
Yet buried in the artfully understated text is the admission that Wallis does not have investors, a business plan or even a cost estimate. Over the past year, Wallis sold just over $30,000 worth of raffle tickets for a Dodge 4×4 truck, only to announce on August 27th that she had not sold enough tickets to actually buy the truck and asking if she might just keep the money as a donation. Apparently that potentially lucrative business gambit was not well received.
Most recently Wallis has indicated ticket sales have, not unpredictably, stagnated since her announcement that there might not be a prize, but that she intends to announce the winner anyhow at her "Summit of the Horse", a planned seminar in January composed entirely of pro-horse slaughter speakers and lobbyists. She did not indicate whether the announcement would be accompanied by an actual truck. Other than these ventures and a stint as a cowgirl poet, Wallis has little business experience. So here is some advice.
To get started on the cost estimates for her dream horse slaughter plant, Wallis might wish to consider the case of the Natural Valley Farms (NVF) horse slaughter plant that went bankrupt two years ago in Saskatchewan, Canada. According to Henry Skjerven, a plant director, they had gone through $42 Million dollars.
It had not been enough money, said Skjerven, for them to build a waste treatment facility, which explains why they were caught dumping tens of thousands of gallons of blood into a local river and into a lagoon behind the facility. The Cavel plant in Illinois and the Dallas Crown plant in Texas were continually fined for similar pollution problems. So Sue might want to add $10 million or so for that and other nice-to-have amenities.
"Even if Wallis could convince Wyoming's tiny population to gorge themselves on the meat, there is yet another problem. The meat is not safe"
There is another pesky little item Wallis lacks (and NVF had), and that is a market. As admitted in the article, Congress removed the funding for required USDA inspectors in 2007, making it illegal for such a plant to export the meat across state lines for human consumption. So Wallis proposes to sell the meat intrastate (inside Wyoming) for human consumption and to pet food manufacturers.
The population of Wyoming is approximately 544,270. That is about 3% the size of New York City. And since Americans don't eat horse meat, Wallis proposed a law to force it on prisoners and school children. With that idea rejected, the only remaining customers would probably be the Wallis family which, though large, is likely insufficient to consume the estimated 10 million pounds of horse meat the plant would need to produce every year to make a profit.
Even if Wallis could convince Wyoming's tiny population to gorge themselves on the meat, there is yet another problem. The meat is not safe. American horses are given dangerous drugs that are forbidden in animals intended for human consumption. The EU is currently in the process of cracking down on the lack of documentation for American horses.
Perhaps the most common of all horse medications is phenylbutazone (bute). In humans this drug is a known carcinogen, and causes liver failure, aplastic anemia (bone marrow suppression) and other lethal blood disorders. Bute is banned for use in all food animals.
Wallis may have anticipated federal meddling when she introduced House Bill 54, the "Wyoming Food Freedom Act". The bill, known by opponents as the "Road Kill Utilization Act", would have eliminated all government regulation of food sold directly to the consumer. Despite its promise to return a sense of adventure to mealtime, the bill failed.
And the prospects for selling the meat to pet food producers are equally bleak. Duane Ekedahl, president of the Pet Food Institute, stated in 2007 that horse meat is not used in pet food products. This is not just because squeamish Americans are reluctant to feed one pet to another, but also because the most common wormer used in horses (ivermectin) accumulates in the brains of some dog breeds and has the unpleasant side effect of fatal encephalitis.
So Sue's business venture makes no business sense, except to her. To Sue it makes perfect sense.
The big problem for horse slaughter proponents has always been that nobody wanted to be the "front man". When Wallis realized that she could get a stream of donations by fronting for those who wanted to see horse slaughter return but did not want to be seen supporting it, she probably sensed that she had struck gold.
Several agriculture web sites have begged their readers to send Wallis checks, and she has reportedly received donations from 249 entities ranging from agribusiness corporations to cattlemen's organizations.
But it is highly unlikely that anyone would invest tens of millions of dollars into a business scheme that is just slightly less viable than selling ice water to Eskimos. If enough stupid money could be found to start the plant, the losses would soon shut it down leaving the owners with decorative stock certificates worth even less than her raffle tickets.
So Wallis has no business credentials, no cost estimate, no business plan, no license, no investors, and no market. Other than that she is ready to start killing horses almost immediately.
Potential investors might, however, want to look around for alternatives. There must be some of those great sub-prime mortgage backed securities left out there.

Numbers Won’t Work in Proposed Processing Plant, EWA President Says

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Reprint from Horseback Magazine

”Even if Wallis could convince Wyoming’s tiny population to gorge themselves on the meat, there is yet another problem. The meat is not safe.” by John Holland ~ President of the Equine Welfare Alliance

President of the Equine Welfare Alliance ~ John Holland

CHICAGO, (EWA) – Newsweek recently carried the condensed version of an article by Sue Wallis, a Wyoming State representative, titled Wyoming proceeds with plans to build state-of-the-art processing plant. The article gives the impression that Wyoming is about to open a horse slaughter plant. It is not and here is why.

The “plans” are not those of the state of Wyoming, but of horse slaughter proponent Sue Wallis. The Wallis business strategy appears to be “If you hype it, they will come.”

In the article Wallis claims that this plant will go into operation in just six months and will slaughter all the excess wild and domestic horses in the comfort and serenity of a Temple Grandin designed facility of the highest standard. One can almost hear the Muzak playing as the grateful horses line up to be “euthanized” by gentle and caring workers.

Yet buried in the artfully understated text is the admission that Wallis does not have investors, a business plan or even a cost estimate. Over the past year, Wallis sold just over $30,000 worth of raffle tickets for a Dodge 4×4 truck, only to announce on August 27th that she had not sold enough tickets to actually buy the truck and asking if she might just keep the money as a donation. Apparently that potentially lucrative business gambit was not well received.

Most recently Wallis has indicated ticket sales have, not unpredictably, stagnated since her announcement that there might not be a prize, but that she intends to announce the winner anyhow at her “Summit of the Horse”, a planned seminar in January composed entirely of pro-horse slaughter speakers and lobbyists. She did not indicate whether the announcement would be accompanied by an actual truck. Other than these ventures and a stint as a cowgirl poet, Wallis has little business experience. So here is some advice.

To get started on the cost estimates for her dream horse slaughter plant, Wallis might wish to consider the case of the Natural Valley Farms (NVF) horse slaughter plant that went bankrupt two years ago in Saskatchewan, Canada. According to Henry Skjerven, a plant director, they had gone through $42 Million dollars.

It had not been enough money, said Skjerven, for them to build a waste treatment facility, which explains why they were caught dumping tens of thousands of gallons of blood into a local river and into a lagoon behind the facility. The Cavel plant in Illinois and the Dallas Crown plant in Texas were continually fined for similar pollution problems. So Sue might want to add $10 million or so for that and other nice-to-have amenities.

”Even if Wallis could convince Wyoming’s tiny population to gorge themselves on the meat, there is yet another problem. The meat is not safe”

There is another pesky little item Wallis lacks (and NVF had), and that is a market. As admitted in the article, Congress removed the funding for required USDA inspectors in 2007, making it illegal for such a plant to export the meat across state lines for human consumption. So Wallis proposes to sell the meat intrastate (inside Wyoming) for human consumption and to pet food manufacturers.

The population of Wyoming is approximately 544,270. That is about 3% the size of New York City. And since Americans don’t eat horse meat, Wallis proposed a law to force it on prisoners and school children. With that idea rejected, the only remaining customers would probably be the Wallis family which, though large, is likely insufficient to consume the estimated 10 million pounds of horse meat the plant would need to produce every year to make a profit.

Even if Wallis could convince Wyoming’s tiny population to gorge themselves on the meat, there is yet another problem. The meat is not safe. American horses are given dangerous drugs that are forbidden in animals intended for human consumption. The EU is currently in the process of cracking down on the lack of documentation for American horses.

Perhaps the most common of all horse medications is phenylbutazone (bute). In humans this drug is a known carcinogen, and causes liver failure, aplastic anemia (bone marrow suppression) and other lethal blood disorders. Bute is banned for use in all food animals.

Click (HERE) to visit Horseback Magazine and read the article in it’s entirety

Pony who helped thousands of children to ride dies | Horsetalk.co.nz - International horse news

Pony who helped thousands of children to ride dies | Horsetalk.co.nz - International horse news

 The Horse Trust's Breeze. 

November 30, 2010

The Horse Trust in Britain has farewelled Breeze, a pony who retired to the sanctuary last year after 19 years of service teaching thousands of children to ride.

"Breeze was a little poppet and everybody loved her," said Shirley Abbott, the yard manager with the trust. "It's so sad that she's gone and all the staff, volunteers and visitors will miss her. It never gets any easier losing our horses even though I've been in the job for over 10 years."
Breeze was 29 and came to the trust from the Horse Rangers Association.
The 13.2-hand New Forest Pony retired to the trust's Home of Rest for Horses in Speen, Buckinghamshire, when she started having seizures, which meant that it was no longer safe for the Horse Rangers to ride her.
During her long service for the Horse Rangers Association, Breeze taught thousands of children to ride and was one of their most popular horses, according to its stable manager, Theresa Barrett.
"She was a great all-round pony and was perfect for teaching children to ride," said Theresa. "The children were really sad to hear about her passing away - she was a massive favourite because she was such a good little pony."
Breeze was involved in various activities at the Horse Rangers Association, including Riding for the Disabled and teaching work, as well as hacking, jumping and musical rides.
She even had the honour of taking part in the All The Queen's Horses extravaganza at Windsor Castle to celebrate the Queen's golden jubilee celebrations in May 2002.
In November, Breeze developed a condition called orbital cellulitis, which is a serious infection of the tissue behind the eye.
Intensive treatment was undertaken to try and stop the infection. However, it could not be controlled and started to spread.
When it became clear that the condition was not being controlled and that Breeze was suffering, staff made the sad decision to euthanise her.
"She was really brave in her last week," said Abbott. "She never grumbled and put up with all the treatment, even though she was obviously in discomfort. Sadly even though we did our best, it wasn't enough."

More information: http://www.horsetrust.org.uk/

Ireland Sends Mixed Signals on Alleged Abandoned Horse Issue

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Story by digital journalist Kim I. Hartman ~ Live Link

At First Look Horses Can’t Catch a Break Anywhere

Dublin – Ireland faces some tough decisions over the plight of the horses that people can no longer afford to keep. They’re the four-legged victims of the Irish recession whose plight animal welfare organisations say can only be solved by a mass national cull.

Thousands of homeless horses now run wild across Ireland – another consequence of the economic recession as the animals are abandoned by owners who can no longer afford their upkeep.

Animal welfare organizations such as the Dublin Society for the Protection of Animals say the problem can only be solved by a mass national cull, reports Irish Central.

Ted O’Connor, inspector with the Cork Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA) said they were picking up as many horses as dogs. “People just can’t afford to keep them [horses] anymore, even hunters now and nice horses. They are leaving them in fields or waste ground,” said the Irish Times.

The chief officer for the Kerry Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Harry McDaid, told IT, it was receiving daily reports of abandoned and underfed horses and ponies.

A small number of prosecutions were likely, but talks were also taking place with horse owners on how to improve their treatment of the animals. Some owners cannot afford to buy expensive animal feed. The current cold spell is also a factor.

Spiegel Online reports that more than 20,000 abandoned horses are roaming the country. They even include thoroughbreds that until recently were still being trained for racing. Many horses have been passed onto people who lack the ability, space and financial resources to take proper care of them. Scores of them are now grazing on pastures and are likely to die of hunger this winter, said Ireland’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA).

The ISPCA has hundreds of horses in need of re-homing, with new calls coming in daily of horses at risk. A check of most of the nearly thirty ISPCA Member Society website page links found hundreds of abandoned horse waiting for adoption or facing dire consequences some are referring to as ‘solutions’.

One of the solutions to end the plight of the starving and abandoned horses is a mass cull, involving a once-off amnesty whereby the State would absorb the cost of humanely destroying unwanted animals. As draconian as it sounds, to put a horse down in such a way is better than making it endure a slow death by starvation, according to French Horse and Country Magazine (FHC).

Fine Gael’s agriculture spokesman Andrew Doyle is adamant that a cull is needed to take horses out of the system. “There should be some sort of incentive for people to bring unwanted horses forward rather than being prosecuted later for cruelty,” he says.

Another option being considered as a solution would be to look for a derogation from the regulations on horses going into the food chain to permit animals without passports to go the meat-factory route.

“If you do a cull for a year or so, the problem is dealt with and you won’t have to do it again, Doyle told FHC. “It’s in our face now – we’ve a whole load of unwanted animals that no one wants to know about and if we don’t so something quickly the outcome won’t be good.”

Ireland’s Department of Agriculture acknowledges the current welfare problem but its view on a cull is that it’s “not an appropriate approach as such an initiative would not necessarily result in the slaughter of the target population – ie, those horses that are most vulnerable”.

The department has approved five meat plants around the country for horse slaughter, but these facilities can only take animals with clean passports so they can join the food chain. The average horse starving on a bog or a housing estate is not the type of animal that has a passport, said FHC.

If something isn’t done soon, the plight of the homeless horses, suffering through the current economic struggle, is going to get worse once the winter weather hits full-on in the country of Ireland.

Roku.com-The Little Black Box That Streams Thousands of Films! Mares & Foals Reunited After Separation By BLM

The Desert Independent

By ROBERT WINKLER & Grass Roots Horse
The Desert Independent

November 28, 2010 Update

PINE NUT RANGE, Nevada – Yesterday in the Pine Nut Range the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) separated wet mares from their foals. Most if not all were still nursing. Today they were reunited. It seems they are pairing up, except one foal. The BLM is expected to release mares and foals together tomorrow.

---

Pine Nut Range Wild Horse Families Destroyed

Foals, many still nursing were ripped from their mares…

---

November 27, 2010

PINE NUT RANGE, Nevada – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is breaking up natural horse family groups again, this time in the Dayton area of the Pine Nut Range of northwestern Nevada. More shamelessly they have removed foals from there dams and shipped of the young to a holding area called the Palomino Valley facility where they have been thrown in with the general population. This all done while they hoped we were watching football and eating turkey so no one might notice, except GrassRootsHorse’s Laura Leigh.

This herd has incredible community support and people willing to do whatever possible to keep these families intact. Even so it appears that the intention of the BLM was to remove all foals to keep the at the “appropriate management level” according to BLM.

Foals, many still nursing were ripped from their mothers, separated for over 24 hours and a deliberate attempt to keep this quiet, apparently using the holiday to distract citizens, while the foals slipped into the void.

This morning the BLM's plan was to release all the mares and leave all 22 foals behind. Foals were transported from the Lohanton temporary holding area to Palomino Valley Center and added to the foal population there. After public outrage plans were changed and the wet mares have been transported to Palomino Valley to match up with their foals for release early next week. Alan Bitner of the Carson BLM expressed his concern along with many community members about this mornings plan. He seemed relieved as he informed the public that the foals would not be permanently removed from their mothers. The initial call to take the nursing foals from their mothers and release only the mares, came from Alan Shepard. This was confirmed at the site today.

Last night word came that there would be no roundup of wild horses today. BLM claimed it was a day for treating the horses with fertility drugs and the public was not allowed, since the horses were very skittish. The Pine Nut horses by all accounts are quite accustomed to people as they are very popular among the people who live nearby. BLM stated that Friday would be a release day for the 122 horses they captured yesterday. however, it is another BLM lie. Word came while I was on the phone with Laura that the BLM was releasing horses today! She rushed out to be there. She arrived along with other reporters with no sign yet of the BLM. She called back within a short time with very disturbing news. There are 22 foals that were captured that will not be released with their mares. The BLM states they "cannot match the foals to their mares" and are not even going to attempt it. The foals have already been shipped to Palomino Valley facility and have been added to the general population of foals already there.

This is an outrageous situation and please make calls to Mark Struble 775-885-6107 he is the person who has made this call and is responsible.

Pine Nut Range Wild Horse Families Destroyed

The Desert Independent

By ROBERT WINKLER & Grass Roots Horse
The Desert Independent

November 27, 2010

PINE NUT RANGE, Nevada – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is breaking up natural horse family groups again, this time in the Dayton area of the Pine Nut Range of northwestern Nevada. More shamelessly they have removed foals from there dams and shipped of the young to a holding area called the Palomino Valley facility where they have been thrown in with the general population. This all done while they hoped we were watching football and eating turkey so no one might notice, except GrassRootsHorse’s Laura Leigh.

This herd has incredible community support and people willing to do whatever possible to keep these families intact. Even so it appears that the intention of the BLM was to remove all foals to keep the at the “appropriate management level” according to BLM.

Foals, many still nursing were ripped from their mothers, separated for over 24 hours and a deliberate attempt to keep this quiet, apparently using the holiday to distract citizens, while the foals slipped into the void.

This morning the BLM's plan was to release all the mares and leave all 22 foals behind. Foals were transported from the Lohanton temporary holding area to Palomino Valley Center and added to the foal population there. After public outrage plans were changed and the wet mares have been transported to Palomino Valley to match up with their foals for release early next week. Alan Bitner of the Carson BLM expressed his concern along with many community members about this mornings plan. He seemed relieved as he informed the public that the foals would not be permanently removed from their mothers. The initial call to take the nursing foals from their mothers and release only the mares, came from Alan Shepard. This was confirmed at the site today.

Last night word came that there would be no roundup of wild horses today. BLM claimed it was a day for treating the horses with fertility drugs and the public was not allowed, since the horses were very skittish. The Pine Nut horses by all accounts are quite accustomed to people as they are very popular among the people who live nearby. BLM stated that Friday would be a release day for the 122 horses they captured yesterday. however, it is another BLM lie. Word came while I was on the phone with Laura that the BLM was releasing horses today! She rushed out to be there. She arrived along with other reporters with no sign yet of the BLM. She called back within a short time with very disturbing news. There are 22 foals that were captured that will not be released with their mares. The BLM states they "cannot match the foals to their mares" and are not even going to attempt it. The foals have already been shipped to Palomino Valley facility and have been added to the general population of foals already there.

This is an outrageous situation and please make calls to Mark Struble 775-885-6107 he is the person who has made this call and is responsible.

Wild Horses released Pine Nut Area

National horse | Examiner.com

An email from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public relations specialist Mark Struble sent Thanksgiving read:
Dear Pine Nut HMA Gather Observers: of the 112 horses gathered yesterday
(46 studs, 44 mares,& 22 weanlings/foals), all 46 studs and 22 dry mares
were released earlier today back into the north end of the Pine Nut HMA.
22 wet mares and the 22 weanling/foals (21 of which were at least 6-8
months old) were transported to Palomino Valley Center where they will be
allowed time to match up. Pairs that match up will be released back into
the HMA as early as next week.
Yet that is not how the day began.  MORE...

22 Foals wrenched from their wild horse mothers on Thanksgiving Day

National Equine Advocacy | Examiner.com

• November 25th, 2010 10:11 pm ET

It wasn't a holiday for America's wild horses. Far from it. Demonstrating crassness and cruelty in the extreme, BLM contractors at the so-called "Pine Nut Gather" near Carson City, Nevada, forcibly separated 22 wild-born foals from their mothers today and piled them into a separate corral while the mares were treated with a fertility drug, prior to being re-released back into their 90,000-acre range.  MORE...

Grass Roots Horse is spearheading the efforts to ensure BLM accountability and public access and oversight when it comes to the capture and management of America's wild horses. Join them.

Suggested by the author:

• Wild horses' deaths and BLM cruelty taint Oregon roundups
• Carol Walker chronicles Wyoming wild horses' loss of freedom
• Video shows colt pushed by helicopter skids during Twin Peaks wild horse roundup
• Aerial survey reveals that Twin Peaks wild horse population has been decimated
• Tragic death of the wild horse stallion Braveheart epitomizes the gruesome cruelty of BLM roundups

Dramatic Horse Rescue Captured on Video

11 Alive.com

 EZ Breeze struggles at the bottom of a 12-foot creek bed as rescuers prepare to save him.


CANTON, GA -- Dozens of rescuers gathered in Cherokee County to save a horse that has cheated death more times than Houdini.
"I witnessed a miracle," said Jody Hanna, who was there when the retired race horse was lifted from a 12-foot creek bed. "It was insane. It was horrific."
At a time when he's supposed to be enjoying the halcyon days of retirement, 20-year-old EZ Breeze has lived a life has been far from a breeze. Since leaving the competition of the racetrack to relax at the equine retirement home called Save the Horses in Cherokee County, his life of repose has been interrupted by medical issues like the operation to repair intestinal problems. EZ Breeze barely survived that one. SEE VIDEO HERE.

Fact Checker: Mustangs - return of the native or invasive species?

Reno Gazette Journal Confirms: Wild Horses Native Species Not Feral Livestock

"Modern horses evolved here and that's an adequate reason to consider them native American species, and not 'invasive' or 'introduced feral' animals."
Investigative  journalist Frank X. Mullen examines the evidence and concludes, "by definition, horses are North American natives because most of their evolutionary development took place on this continent." In Mullen's article, Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick, director of the Science and Conservation Center in Billings, Montana, states: "They are 'native' rather than 'livestock-gone-loose,' because they originated here and co-evolved with the American habitat."
The piece exposes the unscientific and biased use of the word "feral" when referring to wild horses. It's great to see some fact-based reporting on the wild horse issue!


RGJ.com

Frank Mullen • factchecker@rgj.com • November 23, 2010

THE CLAIMS

1) Wild horses didn't become extinct in North America and remnants of the ancient herds were still present in this hemisphere when Columbus landed in the New World in 1492.

2) Mustangs on public lands are a feral, invasive species, introduced into an environment where they are not native and should not be allowed to roam.  MORE...

Thanksgiving Fun Video

I'm thankful for people who can actually look ahead into the future. Don't be one who lives in the present. We need to PLAN.

Braveheart’s Mare and Foal: Reunited

American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign

November 24, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment

The mare and young colt belonging to the valiant stallion Braveheart have been adopted, reunited, and are destined for Return to Freedom’s Wild Horse Preserve under creation at Soldier Meadows Ranch in northwestern Nevada.
AWHPC supporters will recall that this beautiful pair watched their steadfast protector die defending them during the Silver King roundup. You may recall our report on this tragedy, in which the mare, was loaded onto a trailer and forced to stand over the dead body of her stallion for at least 40 minutes, until the truck pulled away, leaving her young foal all alone at the trap site. The mother and young colt were never to see each other again until AWHPC arranged for their adoption.
We have named the mare Caliente, after the area in Nevada that was her home, and her foal is Hero. We are grateful to Return to Freedom for stepping up, not only to provide sanctuary for Cali and Hero, but also to rescue two other Silver King mustang families. Stay tuned for their amazing stories in the coming weeks.
Read More:
Braveheart’s Last Stand – Tragedy at Silver King
Braveheart and his mare, Caliente, gaze out at their homeland, their freedom lost forever.

Caliente, loaded onto the trailer and forced to stand over Braveheart’s dead body.

Braveheart’s foal, Hero, left all alone at the trap site.

Cali and Hero, Reunited.

BLM to use fertility control on wild horse herds - My News 4 - KRNV, Reno, NV

BLM to use fertility control on wild horse herds - My News 4 - KRNV, Reno, NV

 

The Bureau of Land Management announced today that it will be conducting 11 gathers of wild horses in Fiscal Year 2011 for the primary purpose of applying a fertility-control vaccine to mares.

During these gathers, known as "catch, treat, and release," the BLM will apply the fertility-control vaccine known as PZP to approximately 890 mares, which will be treated and then released back to the specific Herd Management Areas from which they were gathered.

Porcine Zona Pellucida, or PZP, which makes mares temporarily infertile, is not available for commercial use. The BLM uses the PZP vaccine in cooperation with the Humane Society of the United States under Food and Drug Administration rules that apply to research on new animal drugs. This vaccine was first tested on the wild horses of Assateague Island (off the coasts of Maryland and Virginia), where a reduction in mare pregnancy rates was observed.

"These ‘catch, treat, and release' gathers are an innovative way of working to control the population growth of wild horse herds," said BLM Director Bob Abbey. "If these fertility-control treatments prove successful, we can lengthen the time between some gathers, saving taxpayer dollars by holding down gather and holding costs."

Under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, the BLM protects, manages, and controls these animals to ensure healthy herd populations at levels consistent with the land's capacity to support them. The BLM manages more than 38,000 wild horses and burros that roam public rangelands in 10 Western states.

Wild horses and burros have virtually no natural predators and their herd sizes can double about every four years. As a result, the BLM must remove thousands of animals from the range each year to control herd sizes. The estimated current free-roaming population exceeds by nearly 12,000 the number that the Bureau has determined can exist in balance with other public rangeland resources and uses. The appropriate management level is approximately 26,600.

Off the range, there are 37,800 other wild horses and burros that are fed and cared for at short-term corrals and long-term pastures. (As of October 2010, there were approximately 11,400 in corrals and 26,400 in Midwestern pastures.) All wild horses and burros in holding, like those roaming the public rangelands, are protected by the BLM under the 1971 law.

BLM Spokeswoman Heather Emmons provided the information for this report.

Voice your Opinion to Protect Cloud & Herd

The Cloud Foundation

Speak up to Protect Cloud's Herd
Billings BLM Wants to Drug & Further Destroy Historic Herd
Send Letters by Wednesday, Dec. 1st

Part of Bolder's band including Cloud's grandson Echo- a target for removal in 2011

Dear Friends of Cloud, his family and herd;

Please take a few minutes out of what is a very busy time to year on behalf of Cloud, his family and herd in the beautiful Pryor Mountains of Montana.

We are asking you to comment on the BLM’s Preliminary Assessment, which would allow for five years of infertility drug use (2011-2015) on potentially every mare on the mountain over the age of one! Right now, 54 Pryor mares are currently on infertility drugs, 40 of them on a multi-year drug, PZP-22. Comments are due in writing by December 1st via mail to the Billings Field Office, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, MT 59101 or by fax at (406) 896-5281, or by e-mail to info@thecloudfoundation.org where we will fax your comments for you. You can also use the free computer fax service online here. If you email your comments to us, please try to do so by 2 pm MST on December 1st so we will have time to fax them in before BLM closes at 4:30 pm.

You can read the BLM’s proposal online here. Then click on “Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range Fertility Control Preliminary Environmental Assessment”.

What is not made clear in this Preliminary Assessment (except by reference) is that, despite virtually all the mares being on infertility drugs, BLM is also planning the permanent removal of horses to reach the dangerously low adult population number of only 120 animals.

Above: Flint's band -right after he lost them in the PZP-induced social havoc (Flint has since won back part of his family)

This cruel removal action and the indiscriminate use of PZP, along with the construction of a barrier fence preventing the herd from accessing essential summer and fall grazing in the Custer National Forest, underscore the enormous threats to the very survival of Cloud and his herd.

Please make your comments today, a sample letter is online here.

If the Pryors is a so-called BLM “treasured herd,” and the last left in Montana, then why is the Billings BLM office acting contrary to the both their own Field Manual, the Wild Horse and Burro Act, peer-reviewed science, and, most importantly, the public’s wishes to see this herd live unmolested and free? The 30 foals born this past year will likely be the only real foal crop for the foreseeable future, and will be 2011 targets for permanent removal, including the spirited Cloud grandson, Echo. We need all of you to let the BLM know just what you think of their experimentation on the world’s most famous and beloved herd.
 

Please Comment Today

Thank you for help in protecting a future for the Pryor Wild horses- young & old

We encourage you to read the Cloud Foundation’s full comments online here and see graphs showing the impacts of PZP on this small herd since 2001, the last attachement is downloadable here. Please comment by December 1, 2010 on this absurd environmental assessment issued by the Billings BLM. Thank you!


Happy trails,
Ginger

P.S. The Cloud Foundation is currently in litigation with BLM and the Custer National Forest Service challenging the setting of a genetically non viable population number as well as the building of a fence which is currently blocking the horses from passing from BLM land into Forest Service land to access critical summer and late fall grazing.  The fence was finished in October, but our judge has indicated he can order it be torn down.  We hope and pray this will be his decision. Thank you for your support of Cloud’s Legal Fund and your comments on this latest BLM proposed action. Remember to comment by Wednesday, December 1^st.

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Join the Cloud Foundation on Facebook & Twitter. Thank you for your continued Support.

Riding the range with Wild Horse Annie

Tuesday's Horse

Posted on Nov 22, 2010 by Vivian

U.S. Mustangs are being rounded up to extinction by rogue federal agency, the Bureau of Land Management, away from public scrutiny, at taxpayer expense in the millions of dollars, destroying hundreds of lives along the way. Photograph by (c) Mark Terrell.

Cross-posted from the Las Vegas Review Journal
Written by JOHN L SMITH
(Selected excerpts)
The battle over the fate of Nevada’s wild horses is one of the longest fights in state history. But until recently I wasn’t aware that a woman they called “Wild Horse Annie” was one of the driving forces behind the movement to have the majestic beasts federally protected.
Her real name was Velma Johnston. Back in 1950, she was a 38-year-old secretary living in Reno. On the way to work one day, she encountered a truck loaded with care-worn wild horses that were on their way to be slaughtered for pet food. That experience changed her life, and she began a long fight that eventually resulted in the passage of the first real federal protection for wild horses.
The horse enthusiast realized early the power of the press in promoting her crusade. Her good intentions traveled much further through the stories she received from newspapers from throughout the region. A breakthrough came in 1957, when Reader’s Digest published a laudatory article on Johnston’s battle with the Bureau of Land Management and the ranching lobby. She would be inundated with mail, some of it addressed to “Wild Horse Annie.”
Johnston wasn’t just after publicity. She pulled raids to free captured wild horses, but she knew the only way to ensure the animals would be protected was through federal intervention.
All that publicity helped lead to the passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. The law was far from ideal, but its passage was an enormous victory that had come against very long odds. Read full story >>

URGENT: Please Take Action!

A pal of Sue Wallis is asking all the Summit of the Horse people to send in this survey asking for removal of ALL horses and burros within 5 years. Please fill out question #1 and pick answer #1 no interference or #3 minimal management. DO NOT pick#2 that Sue Wallis is asking all her creepy pals to do. Also you can ema...il the man who is asking everyone to tell them to remove all horses and say thanks Tony, but we didn't listen to you. We want the horses to stay. Here's his email: FiveMileRanch@gbis.comSee More

Sheldon CCP Comment Form

www.fws.gov Before including your address, telephone number, electronic mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comments, you should be aware that your entire comment (including your personal identifying information) may be made publicly available at any time.

Rescued Horse Sworn in as Sheriff Deputy

Straight from the Horse's Heart

By Noelle Phillips – McClatchy Newspapers

A GOOD NEWS Horse Story

Reserve Sheriff's Deputy Clifford Fisher talks about how Scout came back from near starvation to become a good horse who passed vigorous training. Scout, a horse who was once malnourished and sick, was sworn in as a member of the Richland County Sheriff's Department Friday.

Myrtle Beach, SC -Two years ago, Scout, an American paint horse, was so weak from starvation he barely could walk into a trailer.After months of care, he’s now strong and healthy. And he’s the latest deputy in the Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s mounted patrol.

The 5-year-old Scout was sworn in Friday by Chief Deputy Wash James, and his first official duty will be patrolling today around USC’s Williams-Brice Stadium and the State Fairgrounds.

“It pretty much proves you can come from tough times and make something of yourself,” said Reserve Deputy Clifford Fisher, one of Scout’s owners.

When Scout was 2 years old he went to live on a farm in Lexington County with two other horses. The family had intended to ride the horse, but a year later, the Humane Society found the three suffering from starvation, Fisher said. One of the horses was in such bad shape it had to be euthanized. The other two were taken to Broad River Correctional Institute, which has a program that allows inmates to raise horses. The inmates fed, groomed and rode Scout to get him back to full health.

A year ago, Fisher and his wife, Margaret Fisher, bought Scout after identifying him as a horse that would fit into a mounted patrol unit.

When the couple was searching for a horse to train, they would shoot fireworks and launch balloons in the pasture. Horses that ran were not suited for the job, Clifford Fisher said.

Nothing bothered Scout.

The Fishers bought him and started training. The couple lives on a farm in Lexington County with a menagerie of animals, including a camel. Clifford Fisher owns a construction company, and Margaret Fisher is a full-time deputy at the sheriff’s department.

The mounted patrol unit has six horses, and all of their riders are deputies who volunteer their time. They donate their horses’ services to the county.

The test that must be taken to join the mounted patrol is grueling for both horse and handler, and few horses pass on the first try, said veterinarian Michael Privett, who leads the unit.

“Every horse that goes through the test has his nerves rattled,” Privett said. “It’s easy when life is all lovely. When it hits the fan is when you’re going to find out how well trained your horse is.”

The test includes 13 obstacles and challenges, such as pushing back a crowd that is throwing bags and cans at the horse and rider and walking through a narrow path while fireworks and other noises are ringing in the area.

Scout passed on the first try, Privett said.

So Scout should not flinch today when fireworks blast off at the stadium for Gamecock touchdowns. And the thousands of happy tailgaters should not bother him, either. In fact, he won’t mind a soft pat on the neck or nose.

“He has to be tolerant of being petted, too,” Privett said.

Saturday: Time for a Fun Video!

BLM Illegal Activities Exposed in Federal Court

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Press Release from Grass Roots Horse

Obama’s BLM Tries to Trample First Amendment Rights

On November 16, 2010, in a Reno, Nevada courtroom packed with observers from as far away as New York, Federal District Judge Larry Hicks held a significant hearing in the lawsuit brought by journalist and wild horse advocate Laura Leigh against the Department of Interior and the BLM.

Leigh’s suit champions the public’s and her own right to reasonable access to observe all aspects of the government’s handling of the wild horses taken from the Silver King herd management area near Ely, Nevada. This lawsuit is based 100% on violations to First Amendment rights. It directly challenges, the Defendants’ unconstitutional prior restraints on the Plaintiff’s First Amendment rights by denying her reasonable access to wild horse roundups and related activities, to observe and report on all activities from capture, removal, processing, shipping, transportation, housing, and ultimate disposition of wild horses taken during the Silver King wild horse roundup operations (which the BLM euphemistically refers to as “gathers”). Laura Leigh, is a journalist and videographer whose work on wild horse issues has garnered her international attention. It is widely speculated that the video character in an animated video titled “Wild Horse Advocate Meets BLM Security in the Desert” is based on Laura Leigh and the video is gaining in notoriety.

Judge Hicks opened the hearing with his initial impression that the matter became “mooted” when the Silver King roundup ended. Leigh’s counsel, Nevada attorney, Gordon Cowan disagreed. He conveyed there remains ongoing offensive conduct, subject to injunctive relief. The offensive conduct includes the repeated denial of public access to those facilities where captured Silver King horses remain “warehoused” and that the lawsuit seeks scrutiny of the BLM’s handling of Silver King horses from the moment of their capture to the horses’ ultimate disposition or demise. Also, because the public and Leigh had been precluded time and time again from observing wild horses at roundups, Leigh’s counsel argued that history demonstrates the same conduct would likely be repeated, which negates “mootness,” at least according to the precedential cases provided in the briefs.

Judge Hicks conveyed he would preclude evidence on any issue but the public’s and Ms. Leigh’s “access” at Silver King. He would allow evidence on disparate treatment of Leigh at Silver King. Judge Hicks would refuse evidence comparing what transpired at past roundups, to what occurred at Silver King, even where such evidence would counter the “mootness” issue.

In a little more than five hours, several witnesses testified on behalf of Plaintiff, Laura Leigh including Deniz Bolbol, Elizabeth Slagsvol, Debbie Coffey. Ms. Leigh also testified. The testimony outlined instances of Ms. Leigh being “dogged” and restricted at every turn, more so than other members of the public and press. Visual access to the capturing of wild horses, according to all witnesses, was nonexistent. The only witness who testified otherwise was BLM’s employee, Chris Hanefeld.

One witness equated the BLM’s tight restrictions to something akin to North Korean rule rather than an event occurring in America. Another witness testified that she had flown from the East coast and had driven hours by car, with expectations that on a scheduled public observation day, she would be allowed to observe Silver King wild horses captured. She cut short her trip after having been denied observing even one horse captured and finding the BLM’s restrictions on the public, to be arbitrary and burdensome. One witness recalled leaving the boundaries of where the public was to remain, only to stumble on the BLM cleaning up a tragedy where a captured stallion had broken its neck due to the BLM’s dangerous method of loading horses into chutes. Ms. Leigh described, in detail, several incidents where she was held back from viewing the wild horse roundups, more so than others.

The government was unprepared to offer witnesses. According to reports of observers in the gallery, the judge warned the defendants that they would not get another opportunity to cross examine the witnesses because they are out of jurisdiction and this would be the defense’s only opportunity to do so. They chose to not cross-examine the majority of the plaintiff’s witnesses with the exception of Deniz Bolbol and Mr. Chris Hanefeld, who is an employee of the BLM. “I thought it was ironic or nonsensical that the public observer witnesses were able to recount clear details of the Round-Up days they were allowed to attend but the BLM employee whose job it is to facilitate the Public observation had difficulty recalling most of the events he was questioned on even when he was relegated to reviewing his pages of notes taken during the round ups” said Dallas Gulley, who attended the hearing. “It was almost farcical when he was asked about one specific event that would seem to be atypical at such Public days which was when a Law Enforcement vehicle suddenly arrived on the scene with Lights flashing. You would think that something of that nature, that occurred just over a month ago and should be out of the norm would not require a BLM Public Relations employee to refer to their notes and still not be able to definitively recall the event.”

At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Hicks expressed his impression that the matter remained mooted, although he agreed to allow the Plaintiff to file a brief outlining what other evidence would have shown had the adverse ruling not been in place. The “adverse ruling” refers to the judge’s prior preclusion of the plaintiff submitting evidence of comparisons on “access” at other roundups, evidence of holding facilities elsewhere, evidence of discriminatory access to Laura elsewhere, although submission of evidence of discriminatory access at Silver King was allowed. The brief Judge Hicks has agreed to allow the plaintiff to file would address what the “precluded” evidence would have shown.

Both parties simultaneously exchange briefs 15 days following the hearing. The defense brief is to address their contention that plaintiff submitted “new evidence” after they opposed plaintiff’s initial motions.

“Laura Leigh and those who testified on her behalf are the real stars here. They kept their chins up while enduring arbitrary rules and intimidating tactics employed to hide the BLM’s handling of these horses. I thought their stories were compelling,” Leigh’s counsel, Gordon Cowan, conveyed.

Horses helping protect the border | KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona

Horses helping protect the border | KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona

TUCSON - Riding the border on the backs of horse's federal agents on the look out for smugglers and illegal border crossers.

The horses trained by inmates now being used to hunt down illegal activity. MORE...

Midwest Ranchers Find Gold In Nevada's Wild Horses

Equine Welfare Alliance  PDF File

November 19, 2010

Midwest Ranchers Find Gold In Nevada's Wild Horses

A two sentence article appearing in the Nevada Ely Times, November 3, 2010, only stated that "Chairman of the Governor's Wildlife Commission, Scott Raine of Eureka, has designated a new Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners' Feral Horse Committee "consisting of" what Raine calls "five of the foremost experts on the issue of feral horses in the State of Nevada." The Chairman is Mike Stremler and members Commissioner Hank Vogler, Wayne Hage, George Parman and Floyd Rathbun."

The title of the article was "Wildlife Commission subcommittee to oversee wild horse issues", which begs the question: which horses and what issues?  More importantly, what is the purpose of this committee and what is the goal regarding feral horses?

With no information available on this committee on the internet, a quick search on the committee "experts" revealed rather startling information, although nothing that appeared to qualify these men at experts on wild or feral horses.

Besides being ranchers and one being a former mustanger, a couple of these new committee members had recently published their thoughts on wild horses.

George Parman, a former mustanger and cattle rancher, who was appointed to the committee by Scott Raine, advised in a January 1, 2010 letter posted on Raine's blog:

"what we need to do, is to let the ranchers and the mustangers take care of the problem, just as they did in the old days, back when, along in the Fall a handful of cowboys would take their saddle horses - throw a bunch of grub and their bedrolls in the back of a pickup - and off they'd go to do a little mustanging. It was a perfect system. The most qualified and experienced people were engaged. The horses were automatically kept at reasonable numbers. It cost the taxpayer nothing. The best of the horses were put on the market for people to use and enjoy. The remainders of the older and less undesirable animals were euthanized via a facility that made good use of the end product."

An article by the chairman of the new Feral Horse Committee dated August 16, 2010 reads: "there is no beneficial use of water for the Federal government's mustangs, wild horses, or feral horses depending on how you define them. Furthermore, neither the Nevada Department of Wildlife nor the US Fish and Wildlife claim that these animals are wildlife and under their jurisdiction. Given that there is no beneficial use for wild horses to use the waters of the State of Nevada, that the waters within most of the Nevada rangelands grazed by domestic animals are owned by the rancher, and that the Federal government has no law that supersedes the State of Nevada's water law (in accordance with the Tenth Amendment); then why not stand on our rights? Water rights!

Now all that we need to do is to stand on our rights. We are not welfare ranchers. We own the most valuable asset in the world, water. We as ranchers have the right to decide how and when our water is to be used, not the Federal government, and not the general public. I personally believe that the ranchers, farmers, and the wildlife have the laws on our side not the wild horse advocates."

Fearing that Mr. Stremler's intent was to allow wild or feral horses to die of thirst, Mr. Stremler was contacted and answered questions by telephone.

He stated the new committee's name was an error and should be named the Wild Horse Committee since their issue was regarding wild horses under the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) jurisdiction. He admitted that they are not actually experts on wild horses, but rather, they are experts on protecting the rancher's land and water rights on both public and private lands. Their complaint is the BLM does not keep the wild horses at the Appropriate Management Levels or AML. Stremler says when there are too many horses, the BLM forces the ranchers to remove the cattle without properly compensating them for the rancher's water rights and they feel they are unfairly providing the wild horses and burros with water that belongs to them.

The ranchers understand wildlife must have access to the water regardless of their water rights. But Mr. Stremler explains that ranchers do not believe wild horses meet the definition of wildlife under Nevada state law and are therefore not entitled to the ranchers' water free of charge.

But wild horses and burros are protected under a federal law, the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, (WFRHBA) 16 U.S. C. Sections 1331 et seq.  This law was passed in 1971 specifically to protect wild horses and burros. When states tried to challenge the WFRHBA in Kleppe vs. New Mexico, the Supreme Court upheld Congress's authority to pass legislation to protect wildlife species across state lines. Therefore, regardless of whether state law recognizes wild horses and burros as wildlife, the issue has been preempted by federal law. According to the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act of 1971, [16 USCS §§ 1331 et seq.]--wild horses are defined as: (b) "wild free-roaming horses and burros" means all unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros on public lands of the United States; and, (a)  All wild free-roaming horses and burros are hereby declared to be under the jurisdiction of the Secretary for the purpose of management and protection in accordance with the provisions of this Act. The Secretary shall-- "(1) protect and manage wild free-roaming horses and burros as components of the public lands".

In the case of Kleppe vs. New Mexico, 1976,  the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government has the authority to regulate wildlife under the Property Clause, and "where state laws conflict with the Wild Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act, or with other legislation passed pursuant to the Property Clause, the law is clear: the state laws must recede..."

Despite the ranchers state owned water rights, the horses and burros remain federally protected as "components of the public lands" and are entitled to roam free in areas where they were as of the date of the WFRHBA, 1971.

Perhaps there is a compromise here that would work for the wild horses and burros and the ranchers. Why not identify herd management areas or herd areas where a compromise could be reached with ranchers for water and other resources or property for the wild horses and burros? The boundaries of herd management areas could be adjusted, fences removed, and water and resources otherwise made accessible so wild horses and burros could be preserved in their natural habitat which was the intent of the WFRHBA. Thus, ranchers would be compensated for their water and other property rights.

Fertility control would need to be addressed. The BLM's current aggressive fertility control methods are aimed toward the extinction of the wild horses. New drugs the BLM has been using such as SpayVac and Gonacon is believed to have the ability to cause permanent sterilization in mares. The BLM's effort to create non-reproducing herds by administering long lasting or permanent sterilization drugs to mares, capturing stallions and returning gelded males to the herds, adjusting herd ratios to favor males, and reducing herd numbers to below genetic viability and unsustainable numbers, is a violation of the WFRHBA, 43 CFR 4700.0-6 (a), which states: "Wild horses and burros shall be managed as self-sustaining populations of healthy animals in balance with other uses and the productive capacity of their habitat."

Millions of taxpayer dollars would be saved if the BLM paid the ranchers for water rights rather than continued removals and holding wild horses and burros in holding facilities which, despite the mandate of the WFRHBA, is the BLM's current method for managing wild horses and burros.

While Nevada's ranchers are fighting to get rid of wild horses in Nevada, the BLM pays ranchers in the Midwest millions of dollars annually to keep wild horses from the west on their land. The horses have become a pot of gold to many ranchers in Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Kansas. John Hughes of Oklahoma has been receiving millions of dollars annually from the BLM since 1993 for keeping the wild horses on his ranch. This year alone, Hughes received well over $3 million for his contract to keep the horses, while other ranchers such as the Reed Brothers Ranch profited this year with over $2 million, as did the Drummond Ranch, Trentman Ranch, Cross Bell, and many others. This is a prime example of "one man's trash is another man's treasure", and the BLM is paying Midwest ranchers a fortune for the "gold" Nevada's ranchers are throwing away.

Although ranchers have historically been at odds with wild horses, times have changed. As development and urbanization continues to expand, putting increasing pressure on the ranching lifestyle, many ranchers may fail to realize that having wild horses around actually increases protection.

In areas where wild horses or burros were eliminated in the guise of protecting habitat, livestock operations can find themselves targeted next. The cultural and historic values of the ranching community are only strengthened by the inclusion of wild horses and/or burros, not diminished. Ranchers may want to reconsider how prejudices of the past might be weakening their position in modern times and recognize the age old strategy of "divide and conquer" might actually apply to them as well.

If Nevada's newly formed Feral Horse Committee took their blinders off and approached the wild horse issue with a new vision, they might realize that by demanding the BLM to comply with the 1971 Act by keeping the horses on their land instead of paying a fortune to the ranchers in the Midwest to keep them, Nevada's ranchers could receive some of that compensation for themselves. But are they capable of viewing the wild horses not as pests, but with a new concept as a pot of gold on the land?

Would it be too farfetched to wonder if Nevada's ranchers and wild horse advocates might actually come together to protect the rancher's rights as well as the wild horses and burros, against their common adversary: the BLM?