Protest over Wild Horses Round Up in LA Next Week

January 2, 2010 Uncategorized 9

One of the most fun things we did last year was attend a friend’s wedding in Wyoming and making a long weekend of it turned to an outing to Yellowstone National Park where we saw herds of Bison, antelope, bald eagles in flight and a sleeping Grizzly Bear. It made me appreciate the fact we still live in a nation where wild animals still roam free.  The New Year’s Day edition of the New York Times carried this story about the federal government’s round-up of wild horses, and a friend passed along an announcement about a local protest to this action.

From the story:

Suzanne Roy, a spokeswoman for In Defense of Animals, which has fought to keep the wild horses on the ranges, said federal officials had tried to cloak the roundup in secrecy by beginning it on inaccessible private land and conducting it during the lull between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

The group also says the helicopters, which federal officials call the most efficient means to guide the herds to the corrals, traumatize the animals. But more than anything, Ms. Roy said, the horses should be allowed to stay put.

“Wild horses have tightly knit bands,” Ms. Roy said. “This shatters the social structure; foals are separated from their mothers; the horses are put in a very unnatural situation. The whole thing is just a major trauma and terror for these really beautiful horses that have lived peacefully on these lands for hundreds of years.”

But the land management bureau said the “gather,” as it calls it, would ultimately save the lives of horses.

Unlike other animals, wild horses cannot legally be hunted or slaughtered, and they have no natural predator. When the area gets overpopulated, food becomes scarce and the horses suffer, said Mr. Abbey, the agency director, who expressed exasperation with some animal rights advocates.

“If it were up to them, we would be allowing wild horses to starve to death, which is no way to honor an American icon,” he said in a telephone interview.

Here’s the press release on the protest about this in Los Angeles next week:

Return to Freedom American Wild Horse Sanctuary (www.returntofreedom.org) is partnering with other coalition members to organize a peaceful demonstration on Wednesday, January 6, in front of Senator Diane Feinstein’s office in Los Angeles to pressure the Obama administration to impose a moratorium on roundups by the BLM.        

Coalition members supporting the mission and objectives of The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) join forces In Los Angeles on January 6 2010. The campaign was conceived as a uniting and grassroots tool to help protect America’s wild horses on their rightful ranges on our public lands. The campaign is represented by a coalition of 50 diverse organizations collectively representing over 9 million people nationwide.

 Joining the Coalition will be Wendie Malick, Tatjana Patitz and award winning author Deanne Stillman, surprise guests and other friends of the horses!

 WHO:        Return To Freedom, American Wild Horse Sanctuary (RTF)

         In Defense of Animals (IDA)

         Lifesavers, Wild Horse Rescue

         The Cloud Foundation

 WHAT:        Regional Protest of the Calico Wild Horse Roundup

 WHERE:     In front of Senator Diane Feinstein’s Office

                11111 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite 915, Los Angeles, 90025

WHEN:       Wednesday, January 6, 2010 from 11AM to 1PM     

         “While this may be the new administration, it is clearly the old BLM’s intent on callously slaughtering the wild horses—our national treasure,” states Betsy Dribben from the ASPCA.  “That is now why we have taken to the streets to raise our voices that this is a public debate that most be negotiated upon at the political table and not by roundups.”

 The New York Times story clearly states the federal government round up is not a slaughter, but a relocation.  I have to wonder if a round up of wild horses for sale to private individuals, as is doen with wild horses on coastla islands in Virginia and Maryland, is a better way to go. 

 

Call To Action

 

Return to Freedom is asking the public to:

  • Attend Wednesday’s rally if they live near Los Angeles

 

  • Write to their representatives in Congress and ask them to protect America’s wild horses by supporting The ROAM Act (HR 1018/S 1579). Find your Reps at www.congress.org or call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be connected.

 

Write to Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and ask him to:

  • Call for a moratorium on all roundups until viable alternatives for minimally intrusive ” In The Wild “Management policies are in place to preserve and protect our remaining wild horse herds on the public rangelands where they currently exist.

 

  • Restore the original spirit and intent of the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act to protect our herds on America’s public Lands.

 

The Honorable Ken Salazar

Secretary of the Interior

1849 C Street NW

Washington, DC 20240

 

 

Return To Freedom, American Wild Horse Sanctuary

 

P. 805-735-3246   M. 805-588-5105    F. 805-800-0868

www.returntofreedom.org /www.wildhorsepreservation.com

9 Comments

  1. Get real!

    This is so typical of feely touchy libs, progs and dems.

    Don’t they understand that these horses will starve to death if the herd is not thinned?

    • The Calico Complex horses are in good shape, not in any way starving as the BLM propagandizes. You obviously know nothing of this issue, so why are you commenting?

      The BLM is eradicating the protected wild horses from our lands. Over 30,000 are languishing in government holding pens. There are more in holding pens than are left in the wild.

      If you don’t care about wild horses, don’t comment. This is about preserving protected animals in their natural habitat as enacted by federal law in 1971.

    • I am a right wing – right wing conservative, tea party supporting , Independent party AMERICAN sir and I can tell you that is not a political issue. The BLM has for the past many years LIED about these horses conditions in order to move them. I have the paperwork, the research and the proof. These horses are all that is left of the original Spanish herds that were returned to North America with the Spanish and escaped during the Native American revolts in what is now New Mexico. These horses are not sick, starving or over populating. They are perfectly fine and doing exactly what they have done for 100’s of years without the “management of men”. These horses are all that is left of our western history and what the BLM is doing is the next Holocaust. Except this time is happening right under your nose. Junior you need to learn the facts and then lend a hand to save your American Legacy. The American Mustangs belong to all of us sir.

  2. “The BLM is eradicating the protected wild horses from our lands. Over 30,000 are languishing in government holding pens. There are more in holding pens than are left in the wild.”

    That is BS – they don’t have the funds to keep 3,000 horse, much less 30,000 horses. You are full of horse crap.

  3. Re: Calico Complex, Nevad

    The combined AML for the Complex is a range of 572-952 wild horses. However, the current population of wild horses within the Complex has been inventoried at 3,040 wild horses.

    The current population greatly exceeds the Complex AML at about 5.3 times the low range of the AML (572) or 3 times over the high range AML of 952.

    In fact, the current population of wild horses exceeds the identified carrying capacity for both livestock and wild horses combined …”

    Tere is no eradication – there is no propagandizing – this is science – it is fact – you would starve horses to death.

    • Sir I I have personally observed these herds for 3 years. You lie sir, just as your entire fellow BLM “experts” lie. Why don’t you publish the “studies and the reports” with the names of the “experts” and the names of the folks who took the photos showing the “starving horses” where they were and when the pictures were taken. Why don’t you tell these folks when the last comprehensive range studies were done for all the BLM herds? We know the answer don’t we? You keep saying the same crap and yet you and your Elko buddies ignore the proposals that locals have put forth (Winecup Ranch Proposal).

  4. i suggest you go read the true data at http://www.thecloudfoundation.org and read how the blm has pulled this crap for years – they have one of the largest budgets in the govt – they are spending over 100,000 a day to feed the 33,000 horses they have already rounded up – before all of this came to light thru the efforts of various horse rescue groups, the blm was sending mustangs to slaughter in mexico and canada – horses were sold to killers – for around 900 per horse – a nice profit for the blm – read the truth

  5. the calico horses are fat and healthy – are you saying that on over 500,000 million acres of land 3,000 horses are overpopulated – you must work for the blm or else you believe their crap – wake up – the blm wants to get rid of horses so ranchers can rent our public lands dirt cheap to run their cattle on

  6. “.. the blm wants to get rid of horses so ranchers can rent our public lands dirt cheap to run their cattle on”

    I have no doubt that the BLM’s aim is to manage the wild horse herds in order to provide a scientificically determined balance between the wild horses and cattle.

    Dollars to donuts you are a vegan – right?

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