H. Sterling Burnett as published on The Heartlander
“…he became the largest buyer of wild horses in the United States…”
BLM Captives; Freedom Lost ~ by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
Just two weeks after Ken Salazar was selected byPresident Barack Obama to become the 50th Secretary of the Interior in 2009, the Bureau of Land Managment (BLM), an agency within the Department of Interior (DOI) sold and began shipping horses to rancher, and reported Salazar associate, Tom Davis, who in turn, in violation of the law resold them to slaughter houses in Mexico for horse meat.
A report released by the DOI’s Office of the Inspector General in late October, concluded the BLM did not follow the law in selling 1,794 horses to rancher Tom Davis. The sales were conducted through the agency’s Wild Horse and Burro Program – the program established to protect, manage and control the wild horse population.
The BLM sold horses to Davis between 2008 and 2012 for roughly $10 a horse. The agency lost money on the transactions since they spent tens of thousands of dollars on transport. By contrast, according to Davis he resold “loads” of 35 horses for as much as $4,000, making $2,500-$3,000 profit on each sale, despite signing a contract with the BLM agreeing not to send the horses to slaughter. With the volume of horses Davis purchases he became the largest buyer of wild horses in the United States.
The Inspector General’s report states, “During our investigation, Davis admitted that most of the horses that he purchased through WH&B ultimately went to slaughter. We determined that BLM did not follow current law while managing WH&B. According to the report, the BLM did not follow its own policy of limiting horse sales and ensuring horses sold were not slaughtered.
The slaughter of horses for meat violated a congressional ban on the practice as well as BLM policy.
Despite the Davis’s reported ties to Secretary Salazar, the IG’s office “determined that this matter did not warrant further investigation.” The IG did refer Davis’ conduct to both the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado as well as the State of Colorado Conejos County District Attorney’s Office. Neither office chose to bring either civil or criminal charges.
According to the report, WH&B marketing specialist who approved the sales to Davis received “exceptional or superior” reviews, complete with bonuses between 2008 and 2012…(continued)
Prologue by R.T. Fitch ~ president/co-founder of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
“Sorry, not to sound jaded, but the above information is nothing new and we volunteers at Wild Horse Freedom Federation are making a sincere effort in not slipping into “We Told You So” mode.
Back in 2013 our own Vice President and Director of Wild Horse Affairs, Debbie Coffey, uncovered rock solid evidence, in the way of paperwork, receipts, etc.. of the BLM selling wild horses to known kill buyers (Click HERE to read report) and the entire story was just swept under the carpet by the Feds.
Terry and I, along with many other equine advocates, made a point to be present at the very next BLM Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board meeting to speak on and to present said evidence to the board and the BLM, see video below, and again…nada.
What does it take to get the members of Congress to wake up and smell the BLM’s BS, collusion and criminal activity? The time for a Congressional Investigation is long past due.
If you are not emailing and writing your Congressional representative on this topic, please begin to do so.
If you are writing and politely prodding, continue with your efforts.
We are not just cheerleaders, here at SFTHH or at WHFF, but instead we are the gatherers of information and the voice of those who cannot speak for themselves.
If ever there was a time to ‘KEEP THE FAITH” and continue to plow forward, this is it…don’t give up; you are not alone and every little effort matters .
Feel free to utilize the reports and documentation supplied on this site, we are a storehouse of information on this topic.
Keep after it, my friends, we need to make this happen.” ~ R.T.
For More Stories and Information on the BLM selling wild horses and burros to slaughter click (HERE)
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