Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Stop the Summer Roundups of America's Mustangs & Burros
America: We now have more wild horses in captivity, 38,000, than in the wild- please take a moment to add your comments below and then follow up with a call.
These are public lands, public horses, public tax-dollars. Over 100 horses just died in the last major roundup. We owe it our wild horses and burros to stop these summer roundups
Call on Congress to conduct hearings & investigations into the BLM's blatant mismanagement of our American Wild Horses and Burros - Demand a moratorium for our wild herds.
The Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act, passed by a unanimous Congress in 1971, was supposed to ensure these charismatic symbols of freedom, a keystone of our heritage, were protected. Shockingly, there are now far more wild horses in government holding pens than in the wild. Wild populations have been slashed, their ranges reduced to only a mere fraction of our public lands and shrinking fast across the West. Charged by Congress with the protection and management of our wild herds, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) instead views “more horses as more problems.” And it would appear that BLM is on an unrelenting mission to eliminate them from their designated ranges- our public lands.
Wild horses must stay in the wild in the West, not on expensive eastern "preserves" in unnatural, sterile and separated groups at immense cost to taxpayers -- as proposed by Secretary Ken Salazar.
Call for an immediate moratorium on roundups.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Pro Slaughter Politico Blames Horse Lovers for Calico Deaths - Urges Letter Campaign
Horseback Magazine
Self-proclaimed wild horse “advocates” are fully to blame for the unnecessary and preventable deaths of horses during the Tuscarora wild horse gather.
By Sue Wallis, United Orginazations of the Horse
Wild horse litigation mills that continually bring obstructive and spurious court action to block the legally required management efforts of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to control the over-population of free roaming horses on public lands caused the death and unnecessary suffering of the very horses they are purporting to protect.
First, court action delayed the planned start of the Tuscarora gather to the heat of the summer when water was already scarce on the range where there were more than 1,200 more horses in the Horse Management Areas (HMA) than the available forage and water could support. The horses were already suffering and severely stressed from the lack of water. Then the advocate groups filed yet another temporary injunction, after the gather was already in progress. At that point, horses were dying on the range from lack of water, and so weakened they could not survive the transfer to feed and water.
Even though these excess horses had been severely impacting adjourning ranch lands, compassionate ranchers worked with the BLM and voluntarily opened their fences to allow the horses to come to what water was still available. But the ranchers and the BLM were legally prevented from moving the horses because of the injunction, so they could not get them from where they were dying, to where they could drink. When finally the judge ruled on the side of common sense and compassion, sadly for far too many of the horses, it was already too late.
It is time to stop the unmitigated damage caused by groups who make their living off of litigation. It is time for those who truly care about the well-being and sustainability of free-roaming horses, and every other living creature that depends on our public lands, to work together with the BLM to manage all animals and the land responsibly. We cannot allow well funded radical animal rights and environmental fringe groups to cause a multi-generational ecological disaster that will take hundreds of years and billions of dollars to repair, not to mention destroying the communities and the social fabric of the people who live and depend on the health of the land.
It is time to stop the abuse being inflicted on the land, the animals, and the people through the courts. We have learned that many environmental groups are being fully funded by Equal Access to Justice Act Funds (EAJA) that use our tax dollars to litigate over everything, creating horrific financial and emotional costs on private individuals and communities who are defenseless. One has to wonder if this same travesty is not being used as by so-called horse advocates and animal rights organizations. With no accountability of EAJA funds there is no way to tell.
The United Organizations of the Horse and our tens of thousands of like-minded supporters across the West and the Nation join with a plethora of conservation organizations, wildlife organizations, true animal welfare (as opposed to animal rights) groups, groups advocating for the responsible management of public lands, local and state governments, tribes, communities and federal agencies charged with management of lands, concerned citizens and horse lovers to stand with and assist the BLM in their charge to provide for a thriving ecological balance on Western public lands.
-END-
—————————————————————-
Below is a sample letter to editors which we modified for Wyoming from a template prepared by the Colorado Conservation District Association. Concerned citizens are strongly encouraged to write letters to your local papers. Use this as a template if you like, or better yet, put the problems you see in your own words. If your Congressional delegation is not already on board, make sure you call on them to do the right thing. Look for opportunities to educate them and the public based on sound science and fact.
Dear Editor:
As a rancher, Wyoming state legislator, and a leader of a nationwide organization dedicated to the well-being of all horses and the equine industry, I would like to call attention to a serious natural resource problem in Wyoming and the West. In many areas the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is not in compliance with their own management plan for wild horses. As a result, wildlife habitat, rangeland conditions, and the overall health of the horses are being jeopardized.
Communities including agriculture, conservation, sportsmen, environmentalists, wildlife enthusiasts, and others are working together to educate people on the disastrous effects of not managing wild horse herds properly. Bad management based on politics instead of sound science results in devastating consequences to our western economies when it comes to endangered species and the multiple uses our public lands were intended for. Wild horses play an important role in our heritage and we want to insure they are properly cared for and managed, but the current situation and the overabundance of horses will only lead to severe natural resource depletion and ultimately, unhealthy and unsustainable wild horse herds, which is a lose- lose situation.
We appreciate our Wyoming congressional delegation and Rep. Lummis’, Sen. Barrasso’s, and Sen. Enzi’s support on this issue. We hope that they are able to convince their colleagues in Congress to allow the BLM to gather the herds, to adequately count the horses, to deal with the excess in a way that does not exacerbate the problems in our domestic horse industry, or pile on unsustainable taxpayer burdens for the support of excess horses-in short, to develop a plan that makes sense.
The conservation of our natural resources is crucial to our way of life in the West and we look forward to working with BLM and other stakeholders to find a solution that works for everyone.
Sincerely,
Sue Wallis, Executive Director
United Organizations of the Horse
PO Box 71
Recluse, WY 82725
307 685 8248 ranch
307 680 8515 cell
Self-proclaimed wild horse “advocates” are fully to blame for the unnecessary and preventable deaths of horses during the Tuscarora wild horse gather.
By Sue Wallis, United Orginazations of the Horse
Wild horse litigation mills that continually bring obstructive and spurious court action to block the legally required management efforts of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to control the over-population of free roaming horses on public lands caused the death and unnecessary suffering of the very horses they are purporting to protect.First, court action delayed the planned start of the Tuscarora gather to the heat of the summer when water was already scarce on the range where there were more than 1,200 more horses in the Horse Management Areas (HMA) than the available forage and water could support. The horses were already suffering and severely stressed from the lack of water. Then the advocate groups filed yet another temporary injunction, after the gather was already in progress. At that point, horses were dying on the range from lack of water, and so weakened they could not survive the transfer to feed and water.
Even though these excess horses had been severely impacting adjourning ranch lands, compassionate ranchers worked with the BLM and voluntarily opened their fences to allow the horses to come to what water was still available. But the ranchers and the BLM were legally prevented from moving the horses because of the injunction, so they could not get them from where they were dying, to where they could drink. When finally the judge ruled on the side of common sense and compassion, sadly for far too many of the horses, it was already too late.
It is time to stop the unmitigated damage caused by groups who make their living off of litigation. It is time for those who truly care about the well-being and sustainability of free-roaming horses, and every other living creature that depends on our public lands, to work together with the BLM to manage all animals and the land responsibly. We cannot allow well funded radical animal rights and environmental fringe groups to cause a multi-generational ecological disaster that will take hundreds of years and billions of dollars to repair, not to mention destroying the communities and the social fabric of the people who live and depend on the health of the land.
It is time to stop the abuse being inflicted on the land, the animals, and the people through the courts. We have learned that many environmental groups are being fully funded by Equal Access to Justice Act Funds (EAJA) that use our tax dollars to litigate over everything, creating horrific financial and emotional costs on private individuals and communities who are defenseless. One has to wonder if this same travesty is not being used as by so-called horse advocates and animal rights organizations. With no accountability of EAJA funds there is no way to tell.
The United Organizations of the Horse and our tens of thousands of like-minded supporters across the West and the Nation join with a plethora of conservation organizations, wildlife organizations, true animal welfare (as opposed to animal rights) groups, groups advocating for the responsible management of public lands, local and state governments, tribes, communities and federal agencies charged with management of lands, concerned citizens and horse lovers to stand with and assist the BLM in their charge to provide for a thriving ecological balance on Western public lands.
-END-
—————————————————————-
Below is a sample letter to editors which we modified for Wyoming from a template prepared by the Colorado Conservation District Association. Concerned citizens are strongly encouraged to write letters to your local papers. Use this as a template if you like, or better yet, put the problems you see in your own words. If your Congressional delegation is not already on board, make sure you call on them to do the right thing. Look for opportunities to educate them and the public based on sound science and fact.
Dear Editor:
As a rancher, Wyoming state legislator, and a leader of a nationwide organization dedicated to the well-being of all horses and the equine industry, I would like to call attention to a serious natural resource problem in Wyoming and the West. In many areas the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is not in compliance with their own management plan for wild horses. As a result, wildlife habitat, rangeland conditions, and the overall health of the horses are being jeopardized.
Communities including agriculture, conservation, sportsmen, environmentalists, wildlife enthusiasts, and others are working together to educate people on the disastrous effects of not managing wild horse herds properly. Bad management based on politics instead of sound science results in devastating consequences to our western economies when it comes to endangered species and the multiple uses our public lands were intended for. Wild horses play an important role in our heritage and we want to insure they are properly cared for and managed, but the current situation and the overabundance of horses will only lead to severe natural resource depletion and ultimately, unhealthy and unsustainable wild horse herds, which is a lose- lose situation.
We appreciate our Wyoming congressional delegation and Rep. Lummis’, Sen. Barrasso’s, and Sen. Enzi’s support on this issue. We hope that they are able to convince their colleagues in Congress to allow the BLM to gather the herds, to adequately count the horses, to deal with the excess in a way that does not exacerbate the problems in our domestic horse industry, or pile on unsustainable taxpayer burdens for the support of excess horses-in short, to develop a plan that makes sense.
The conservation of our natural resources is crucial to our way of life in the West and we look forward to working with BLM and other stakeholders to find a solution that works for everyone.
Sincerely,
Sue Wallis, Executive Director
United Organizations of the Horse
PO Box 71
Recluse, WY 82725
307 685 8248 ranch
307 680 8515 cell
HSUS veterinarian expresses concerns over BLM's anesthesia protocols during wild horse castrations - National Equine Advocacy
HSUS veterinarian expresses concerns over BLM's anesthesia protocols during wild horse castrations - National Equine Advocacy
After having observed the BLM veterinarian's castration of 35 "high risk" stallions from the Calico Mountain Complex at the Indian Lakes Road feedlot near Fallon, Nevada on July 1st, the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association (HSVMA)'s Dr. Eric Davis has issued a report that raises grave concerns about the safety and pain management procedures that are being used on the wild horses in BLM custody.
MORE...
After having observed the BLM veterinarian's castration of 35 "high risk" stallions from the Calico Mountain Complex at the Indian Lakes Road feedlot near Fallon, Nevada on July 1st, the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association (HSVMA)'s Dr. Eric Davis has issued a report that raises grave concerns about the safety and pain management procedures that are being used on the wild horses in BLM custody.
MORE...
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Obama Administration Accelerates Assault on Wild Horses Three Actions You Can Take To Help!
Obama Administration Accelerates Assault on Wild HorsesThree Actions You Can Take To Help!
Largest Roundup Of Wild Horses In California’s History Underway
Act Today To Oppose Other Planned Roundups
On August 11, 2010 the Interior Department began the largest roundup of wild horses in California’s history. Nearly half of the 4,000 wild horses left in the state will be removed from their homes and families in the next few weeks. This devastating and unnecessary roundup began despite a lawsuit filed by In Defense of Animals (IDA) and others. We have a representative on the ground at the roundup and will provide an update on the IDA blog later this week.Act Today To Oppose Other Planned Roundups
Today we are asking you to take three actions to help wild horses. Congress and the Interior Department must continue to hear from you! Together we can change this broken system if we continue to fight the deeply-entrenched special interests which control the Interior Department’s management of our public lands and the wild horses who live there.
1. Speak Out Against The Zeroing Out Of All Wild Horses From The Winter Ridge Herd Area in Utah
Take action to oppose the removal of all horses at the Winter Ridge Herd Area in Utah. This is just the latest effort of the Interior Department to remove all wild horses from lands specifically designated for their usage – while allowing livestock grazing to continue on the same lands. Click here to submit comments.
2. Oppose Removal Of 321 Wild Horses From Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area In Colorado
Oppose the Interior Department’s plan to remove the majority of wild horses in Colorado’s Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area. The agency will only leave 135 horses on this 190,000-acre public land area, while allowing hundreds more livestock to graze the same public land! Click here to submit comments.
3. Summer Recess – Perfect Opportunity To Visit Your Senators And Representatives At Home Through September 12.
One of the best actions you can take to help wild horses and burros is to meet in-person with your Senators and Representative. Ask your members of Congress to stop the mismanagement of America’s wild horses and burros. Despite public opposition, the Interior Department continues the unsustainable practice of rounding up, removing and stockpiling wild horses in government holding facilities – this ill-conceived and unnecessary practice is bankrupting the American tax payer wasting tens of millions of tax dollars annually.
In the next eight weeks, the Interior Department plans to remove four-thousand wild horses, using helicopters to stampede them and removing them from their families and homes on public lands only to be stockpiled in government-holding facilities. Congress must step in to stop this.
Members of Congress are currently in their home districts on recess until September 12. This is a great opportunity to let your Senators and Representative know that you, their constituent, want them to take action to help America’s wild horses and to end horse slaughter.
Here's what to do:
Call the district offices of your U.S. Representative and both U.S. Senators and:
- Request a face-to-face meeting with both Senators and your Representative to discuss these issues (you may need to meet with one of their aides – try to meet with their chief of staff or lead aide on this issue);
- Ask for specific dates of town hall meetings or open events that constituents can attend.
Learn more about the issues by reviewing briefing documents here.
Below are talking points for specifics on what to say to schedule your in-person meeting.
TALKING POINTS FOR MEETING WITH YOUR FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES
1. Call the local offices to schedule a meeting.
Here’s a suggestion for what to say:
“Hello, I am a constituent of ____ and I would like to set up a meeting with him/her while he/she is home in our district to talk about wild horse protection issues. I’m also wondering if he/she has any town hall meetings coming up that I can let others know about.”
2. For your meeting, dress professionally, be friendly and polite. Here are some suggestions of what you can say to begin the meeting:
“Thank you for meeting with me. I am very concerned about our federal wild horse management program. Public opposition to the Interior Department’s massive wild horse roundups is growing. The roundups are unnecessary, inhumane and wasting tens of millions of tax dollars.
For the first time, we now warehouse more wild horses in government holding facilities (38,000+) than are left free on the range (less than 33,000). This stockpiling of horses costs taxpayers tens of millions of dollars annually. Even Interior Secretary Salazar acknowledges the program is unsustainable, yet BLM roundups continue with over 12,000 to be removed from the range this year alone. They have no solution to stop this broken cycle.
The problem is not overpopulation. Fewer than 33,000 horses live on 26 million acres of BLM-managed public land. The problem is inequitable distribution of resources within the small percentage of BLM lands that are designated as wild horse and burro areas. The majority of resources are allocated to privately-held livestock, not federally-protected wild horses.
The BLM has demonstrated repeatedly that it is not capable of reforming itself. It’s up to Congress to reform this broken federal program.”
3. Ask your Senators and Congresspersons to take the following actions:
1) Join the 56 House members who have called for a halt to roundups by sending a sign-on letter to Secretary Salazar.
2) Ensure Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations language that:
- Suspends wild horse and burro roundups in all but verifiable emergency situations;
- Prohibits the use of any funds to euthanize healthy horses or sell horses directly or indirectly for slaughter;
- Authorizes a National Academy of Sciences reevaluation of Appropriate Management Levels including analysis of resource allocation for livestock and other commercial uses;
- Phases out long-term holding and shifts BLM resources toward managing horses on the range in a humane and minimally intrusive manner as Congress intended;
- Rejects request for $42.5 million government “preserve;”
- Funds public/private partnership solutions.
In Defense of Animals, located in San Rafael, Calif., is an international animal protection organization with more than 85,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by protecting their rights and welfare. IDA's efforts include educational events, cruelty investigations, boycotts, grassroots activism, and hands-on rescue through our sanctuaries in Mississippi, Mumbai, India, and Cameroon, Africa.
In Defense of Animals is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We welcome your feedback and appreciate your donations. Please join today! All donations to IDA are tax-deductible.
In Defense of Animals
3010 Kerner, San Rafael, CA 94901
Tel. (415) 448-0048 Fax (415) 454-1031
idainfo@idausa.org
3010 Kerner, San Rafael, CA 94901
Tel. (415) 448-0048 Fax (415) 454-1031
idainfo@idausa.org
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Governor of California Won’t Help Wild Horses
The Desert Independent
By ROBERT WINKLER
The Desert Independent
August 19, 2010
SACRAMENTO, Calif – I have heard from many readers who have reported that when they contacted their governor seeking help to stop the holocaust of the Wild Horses in his State, he essentially told them it wasn't his problem.
In other words "the buck doesn't stop here."
This is your governor's "canned" response to pleas for help...
Thank you for writing to Governor Schwarzenegger. The Governor appreciates hearing from people like you who care about the future of our great state.
The issue you have written about is federal in nature and falls outside of the Governor's jurisdiction. Our office suggests you contact U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein on this matter at the following address:
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, California 94104
(415) 393-0707
http://feinstein.senate.govYou may also wish to contact your U.S. Congressional Representative. To find out whom your local Representative is, please visit www.house.gov/writerep.
Again, thank you for writing and voicing your concern on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Lauren Thurston
Office of Constituent Affairs
What a guy.
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