In Arizona: BLM Responds to Allegations of Inhumane Wild Horse Treatment

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

BLM Responds to Allegations of Inhumane Wild Horse Treatment

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Press Release from Wild Horse Freedom Federation

New “Game Plan” may be on the table

Orphaned Baby at Triple-B Holding ~ photo by Laura Leigh

HOUSTON, (WHFF) – In declarations supplied to the Court in the current TRO motion, that alleges inhumane practices at Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Roundups, information has been disclosed.
“Because BLM has not achieved it’s management objectives during the time allotted to this gather,” States Alan Shepherd of BLM, “ it will be necessary to complete the gather in more than one stage.”
In press releases BLM stated that this operation was to complete the end of August. Telephone inquires made today, Monday, also confirmed this as the “understood” plan for operations.
Shepherd’s declaration outlines a plan for the use of water trapping and getting helicopters back into the air as soon as feasible before February 28, 2012. He sites the inability to capture the projected number of horses on “scattering due to human and helicopter pressure” and hiding in “dense tree cover.”
Shepherd makes an assertion that if BLM does not complete the push to low AML that after foaling season next year they will be over AML.
“I have read Mr. Shepherds declaration,” says Plaintiff Laura Leigh, founder of Wild Horse Education (WHE) and VP of Wild Horse Freedom Federation (WHFF) “basically he is asserting that paying for a team to water trap, or to rush and squeeze in another roundup pre March 2012, makes more sense than another operation to be (possibly) conducted in 12/13. It is indicative of the type of logic that has gotten this agency into such a fiscal hole, “full-steam ahead without discussion that perhaps we should change strategy.’ ”
Shepherd’s declaration does not address any of the specific instances in Leigh’s declaration to the Court. He does not address an incident where evidence presented to the Court asserts that Shepherd himself approved operations to continue as a foal remained missing. His declaration simply asserts he observed “no inhumane treatment.”
The last four large roundups conducted by BLM have not reached projected removal numbers. At the Calico Roundup of Winter 2009/2010 BLM stated they needed to remove about 2,500 animals, yet only removed 1,922. At the Antelope Roundup in February BLM ended operations early, under a storm of public pressure, due to the number of pregnant mares and poor weather.

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Wild Horse Freedom Federation (WHFF) is a registered, Texas non-profit corporation with 501c3 status pending. WHFF puts people between America’s wild equids and extinction through targeted litigation against governmental agencies whose documented agendas include the eradication of wild horse and burros from public, federal and state lands. WHFF is funded exclusively through the generosity of the American public.