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495 Wild Horses in Eastern Nevada Get Reprieve
Washington, DC (February 8, 2010) — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) postponed the proposed roundup of nearly 500 wild horses in the Eagle Herd Management Area in eastern Nevada, just three days after the national law firm of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney notified the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that it would sue to stop the helicopter stampede and capture, which had been scheduled to begin February 15.
The BLM received over 9,000 public comments on the proposed roundup, which would have left just 100 horses behind to roam over 670,000 acres of public land. It’s the second roundup cancelled by the BLM this year. In January, the agency announced that it was postponing the capture and removal of 200 horses from the Confusion Mountains Herd Management Area in Utah, after receiving thousands of letters in protest.
“We’re pleased that the BLM has postponed another ill-conceived, illegal and inhumane wild horse roundup,” said William J. Spriggs, lead counsel on the wild horse issue for Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney. “Now it’s time to reform the entire wild horse and burro management program. The BLM’s mass roundup up removal of horses from their rightful Western ranges is economically unsustainable and devastating to the West’s irreplaceable and historic mustang herds.”
In a press release Saturday, the BLM stated “there is not adequate time to safely conduct the proposed Eagle Herd Management Area (HMA) gather prior to the beginning of foaling season,” even though the agency was clearly aware of the timing when it scheduled the winter roundup.
The Eagle decision was announced a day after the BLM halted — several weeks early and 500 horses short of its 2,432 horse removal goal — the intensely controversial Calico Mountains Complex wild horse roundup. To date, 39 horses have lost their lives due to the helicopter stampede and capture at Calico and an additional 25-30 pregnant mares spontaneously aborted. Equine veterinary experts dispute the BLM’s claim that the miscarriages were due to poor nutritional condition of the mares, citing the stress and trauma of the roundup and capture as a more likely cause.
Spriggs’ lawsuit, filed on behalf of In Defense of Animals (IDA), ecologist Craig Downer and noted children’s author Terri Farley against the BLM over the Calico roundup continues in federal court with a hearing scheduled in April.
For Immediate Release
Contacts: William J. Spriggs, Esq., Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, (202) 452-6051
Eric Kleiman, IDA Research Director, (717) 939-3231, ericsk@idausa.org
At Issue: BLM Helicopter Stampede and Capture of 495 Wild Horses in Eastern Nevada
Washington, DC (February 4, 2010) – The national law firm of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney yesterday notified the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that it intends to sue to stop the Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM)’s planned roundup of nearly 500 wild horses living in the Eagle Herd Management Area in eastern Nevada. The roundup, scheduled to start in mid-February, would leave just 100 horses behind to roam over 670,000 acres of public land.
“The Bureau of Land Management’s proposed plan fails to comply with the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act, rendering the action arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion,” wrote William J. Spriggs, lead counsel on the lawsuit in a letter sent yesterday to DOJ attorney Mr. Erik Peterson.
Last November, Spriggs was the lead attorney on another lawsuit on behalf of In Defense of Animals (IDA), ecologist Craig Downer and noted children’s author Terri Farley against the BLM’s round up and removal of 2,500 horses in the Calico Mountains Complex in Northwestern Nevada . The BLM proceeded with the roundup, despite U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman’s suggestion that the action be postponed due to the fact that the agency’s plan to stockpile most of the horses in long-term holding facilities in the Midwest was likely illegal. That case continues in federal court.
To date, over 30 horses have died as a result of the Calico roundup and 20 or more pregnant mares have spontaneously aborted. Deaths include a colt with a heart defect who collapsed and died while being chased by helicopter, a colt who was run so hard, fast and far that his hooves were severely damaged and partially sloughed off, a mare who crashed into a gate and broke her neck, and numerous horses who colicked and suffered painful deaths. As of February 2, the BLM had captured and removed 1,878 horses from their Calico range.
The new lawsuit from Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney attempts to protect the Eagle horses from the same fate.
“Our legal actions aim to halt the inherent cruelty of the BLM’s wild horse roundups, which traumatize, injure and kill horses, subvert the will of Congress and are entirely illegal,” Spriggs said. “Americans strongly support protecting wild horses on their natural ranges in the West. The Obama Administration must reform the BLM wild horse program to protect these animals in their western lands and uphold the will of Congress to preserve these horses as an important part of our national heritage.”
The number of wild horses warehoused by the government (35,000) now exceeds the number of horses left free on the range. The Obama Administration plans to capture and remove nearly 12,000 wild horses in Fiscal Year 2010, compounding a fiscal black hole that is costing American taxpayers tens of millions per year.
Meanwhile, wild horses comprise a minute fraction (0.5 percent) of grazing animals on public lands, where they are outnumbered by cattle at least 200 to 1. Currently the BLM manages more than 256 million acres of public lands of which cattle grazing is allowed on 160 million acres; wild horses are only allowed on 26.6 million acres this land, which must be shared with cattle.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contacts: William Spriggs, Esq., (202) 452-6051;
Eric Kleiman, 717-939-3231
Newly Released Video of Downed Horse at Gov’t Facility Shows Plight of Captured Horses – Latest Fatalities Include Horses Dying from Broken Neck, Spinal Injury, Hoof Abscesses, Pelvis Injury
Count now stands at 22 fatalities; up to 25 injuries & 20 spontaneous abortions
Washington, DC – January 28, 2010 – As the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) reels amidst mounting horse deaths resulting from its unnecessary and cruel helicopter roundup of horses in northwestern Nevada, In Defense of Animals (IDA) today released video of some of the latest fatalities including a downed mare who valiantly fought to stand but could not, and a mare having medical difficulties during a spontaneous abortion.
The BLM reports that the growing death count from the Calico Mountain Complex roundup now stands at 22 horses. According to BLM spokesman John Neill, 20 mares have suffered spontaneous abortions, which occurred after the heavily pregnant horses were stampeded by helicopter over treacherous terrain for up to 10 miles or more at full-gallop speeds. An additional 20-25 horses are being treated for injuries and lameness sustained in the roundup.
Meanwhile, the BLM has severely restricted access for humane observers to monitor the roundup activities, limiting such observations to a few hours just three days a week. Even so, t during limited viewing of the helicopter roundup, public observers have witnessed horses being run at high speeds in frigid temperatures and sometimes over rugged terrain.
“The BLM’s brutal roundup methods clearly violate Congress’ intent that our nation’s wild horses be managed humanely and in a minimally intrusive manner,” said William J. Spriggs, of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney. Mr. Spriggs is lead counsel on a lawsuit filed pro bono on behalf of IDA, ecologist Craig Downer and noted children’s author Terri Farley to stop the roundup.
” America ’s wild horses are protected by federal law as important parts of our national heritage, but they are being brutalized and destroyed by the BLM’s policy of massive roundups, removals and stockpiling of horses in Midwestern holding facilities,” Spriggs continued. “The entire program must be fundamentally reformed.”
The deaths reported by the BLM include:
* a young colt who had been stampeded so long and hard that his hooves were destroyed and his “hind feet abscessed and the outer hoof wall did separate” was euthanized at the holding facility after undergoing a painful two weeks of bandaged hoofs and treatment.
* A mare who crashed into a gate and broke her neck.
* A mare who went down in the transport truck on the four hour drive between the capture site and the holding facility and died shortly after arrival.
* A colt who collapsed and died while being chased by helicopter and separated from his mother
A full fatality list, compiled from the BLM’s daily updates is listed below.
The Calico Complex roundup began on December 28 and is scheduled to last through February. To date the BLM reports the capture of 1,326 horses of the 2,500 scheduled to be removed. That roundup proceeded despite a December 23, 2009 ruling by federal court Judge Paul Friedman — in the lawsuit brought by Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, questioning the legality of the BLM’s long-term holding facilities and suggesting that the BLM postpone the Calico roundup.
If the Obama Administration’s BLM continues its current course initially charted by the Bush Administration, it will capture and remove nearly 12,000 wild horses in FY 2010 from their Western ranges and place them in holding facilities, where they will join the more than 35,500 horses already stockpiled at taxpayer expense. The number of horses in BLM warehouses now exceeds those left on the range.
Wild horses comprise a minute fraction (0.5 percent) of grazing animals on public lands, where they are outnumbered by cattle at least 200 to 1. The BLM has recently increased cattle grazing allotments in areas where wild horses are being removed. Currently the BLM manages more than 256 million acres of public lands of which cattle grazing is allowed on 160 million acres; wild horses are only allowed on 26.6 million acres this land, which must be shared with cattle.
# # #
CALICO MOUNTAIN COMPLEX ROUNDUP FATALITY LIST
(Taken from BLM “Gather Activity Updates“)
NOTE: Although the BLM reports 19 deaths at the Fallon holding facility, it has provided information only on 17 deaths. Three deaths have occurred at the trap site.
1/27
One filly found dead of unknown cause
Three mares of poor body condition killed; one spinal injury and one sole abscess and pelvis injury
1/25
One stallion was found dead, cause of death unknown
1/23
One mare crashed into a gate and broke her neck
Two mares killed due to poor body condition; not able to transition to new diet
One mare found dead in corral
1/21
One mare downed on transport truck arrived at facility; subsequently died
One colt suffered hoof sloughing as a result of the roundup; killed by injection after treated for 12 days
“About 20 to 25 horses at the facility have received treatment for various injuries or lameness.”
1/18
Foal born on 1/14 was killed on 1/15 because s/he could “not thrive”
1/14
Two mares and one stallion found dead; attributed to “failure to adjust to a change in feed”
1/13
One 12-year-old mare die after being at facility for four days; “weak and poor condition”
1/11
One mare found dead over the weekend; “result of dietary feed change”
1/7
*One 20-year old mare was killed; “poor body condition that was unlikely to improve”
1/1
*One colt run to death; “pre-existing pulmonary condition”
12/30
*One 20-plus-year-old mare shot by riffle at the trap site; “unlikely her condition would improve”
*Indicates death at trap site.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Suzanne Roy, 919-697-938, Deniz Bolbol, 650-248-2289
BLM Accused of Secrecy, Denying Full Public Access To Roundup And Gives Only Glimpse of Deaths & Suffering
Washington, DC – January 22, 2010 – The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is now revealing that two more wild horses have died and up to 25 are under treatment for injuries as a result of the helicopter stampede and roundup currently underway in the Calico Mountains Complex in northwestern Nevada. In response, In Defense of Animals (IDA) is calling for full investigation of these deaths and full and ongoing access for public observers to all aspects of the highly controversial roundup and capture operation.
The latest victims of the BLM roundup include:
* A small colt was run so hard and long that he was killed due to “multiple hoof sloughs from the capture.”
* A mare who went down in the trailer transport truck after being stampeded by helicopter for miles into capture pens and loaded onto a trailer. No help was available for this downed mare on the 4-5 hour drive between Calico and the Fallon holding facility. She was still down on arrival and died shortly thereafter.
* 20 to 25 horses at the holding facility who are receiving “treatment for various injuries or lameness.”
“These latest tragic and unnecessary deaths document beyond doubt that the BLM helicopter stampedes violate federal requirements for humane and minimally-intrusive management of wild horses,” said Elliot M. Katz, DVM, president of IDA.
“In Defense of Animals is calling for a full and independent investigation of these and other fatalities and injuries caused by the Calico roundup,” Katz continued. “Further, we reiterate our request for full and continuing access for public observers to witness all aspects of the capture operation. Only then can full transparency of BLM’s activities be achieved.”
BLM is tightly controlling public access to the roundup and the Fallon feed lots where the horses are being held, thus no independent verification is available to document the conditions surrounding the continuing fatalities and injuries of horses in the roundup.
In November 2009, In Defense of Animals, ecologist Craig Downer and noted children’s author Terri Farley, represented by Buchanan, Ingersoll and Rooney and lead counsel William J. Spriggs, filed suit in federal court to stop the roundup. In December, U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled that the BLM’s plans to stockpile the majority of horses at holding facilities in the Midwest likely violated federal law. The BLM proceeded with the roundup, despite Judge Friedman’s suggestion that it be postponed.
Wild Horse Facts:
- The Obama Administration plans to remove 12,000 mustangs from their Western ranges in FY 2010. Most of these horses will end up in government holding facilities.
- The number of wild horses in government holding facilities (35,000) now exceeds those left in the wild (33,000 by BLM estimates).
- The wild horse population today is smaller than in 1974 when the BLM conducted its first census after Congress protected the horses due to their dwindling numbers.
- Wild horses comprise a minute fraction (0.5 percent) of grazing animals on public lands, where they are outnumbered by cattle at least 200 to 1.
- The BLM manages more than 256 million acres of public lands. Cattle grazing is allowed on 160 million acres, while wild horses are restricted to 26.6 million acres of land that is shared with cattle.
- Since 1971 when Congress protected wild horses as “living symbols of freedom” and important parts of our national heritage, the BLM has removed over 200,000 horses from the range and taken away 20 million acres of wild horse habitat.
- The BLM frequently increases livestock grazing allotments after removing wild horses. Horses are also displaced for the benefit of other commercial users of public lands, including mining, oil/gas and other extractive industries.
- The Obama Administration proposes to spend up to 500 million tax dollars to purchase private lands in the Midwest and East to warehouse wild horses removed from public lands (which the taxpayers already own) in the West. In response to IDA’s lawsuit, U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled that these holding facilities are likely illegal.
- The mustang has spent hundreds of years acclimating to the arid, rocky terrain of the west and their presence on that landscape is part of our national heritage. Not only are they ill-suited to the wet, lush Midwestern climate but their absence from the west is an affront to our cultural history.
For Immediate Release
Contacts: Suzanne Roy, 919-697-9389, Deniz Bolbol, 650-248-4489
Controversy Grows Over Gov’t Acceleration of Removing Wild Horses From Western Public Lands
Sacramento, Calif. – Wild horse advocates from In Defense of Animals (IDA), The Cloud Foundation, and other members of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign Coalition, will hold a rally Thursday, January 21, at 11 a.m. in front of the State Capitol Building, to call attention to the Obama Administration’s massive roundup and removal of wild horses from public lands in the West. The largest of such roundups is currently underway in the Calico Mountains Complex, known as the National System of Public Lands, in northwestern Nevada . The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is removing over 2,500 horses, or 80 to 90 percent of the horses living in the Calico Complex. To date, four horses have died in the Calico roundup, which began on December 28 and continues through February.
What: Rally for America ’s WildHorses
Where: State Capitol, 10th Street between L and N
When: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Press Conference at 12 p.m.
“The environmental assessment, which led the BLM to conclude that the horses should be removed, was wholly inadequate,” explains Ginger Kathrens, executive director of the Cloud Foundation. “BLM did not analyze the impacts of cattle grazing in the Calico Complex. When asked why, the agency said ‘this issue is outside of the scope of this environmental analysis.’ How convenient then, that wild horses can be blamed for range damage, and then removed at a cost of millions to the American taxpayer.”
“The Obama Administration’s decision to continue to spend millions of tax dollars to remove wild horses from public lands in the West to stockpile on private ranches in the Midwest is fiscally irresponsible,” said Elliot M. Katz, DVM, IDA president. “The BLM claims that it takes wild horses from their homes and families, stampedes them by helicopters, and warehouses them in pens for the good of the horses and the American taxpayers. Do they think we are stupid?”
“The BLM mismanages our public lands for one reason: to benefit commercial interests, such as cattle ranchers and other industries that exploit our lands and profit from the removal of the horses,” Katz continued.
If the Obama Administration’s BLM continues its current course, initially charted by the Bush Administration, it will capture and remove nearly 12,000 wild horses in FY 2010 from their Western ranges and place them in Midwestern holding facilities, where they will join the 35,000 horses already stockpiled at taxpayer expense. At that time, the number of horses in BLM warehouses will far exceed those left on the range.
A December 23, 2009, decision by federal court Judge Paul Friedman — in a lawsuit brought by IDA, ecologist Craig Downer, and renowned children’s author Terri Farley — found that the BLM’s Midwestern holding facilities are likely illegal, and suggested that the BLM postpone the Calico roundup.
Wild horses comprise a minute fraction (0.5 percent) of large grazing animals on public lands, where they are outnumbered by cattle at least 200 to 1. Currently, the BLM manages more than 256 million acres of public lands of which cattle grazing is allowed on 160 million acres; wild horses are only allowed on 26.6 million acres of this land, where they are far outnumbered by cattle.
IDA and The Cloud Foundation are members of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, a coalition of 50 organizations representing over 10 million people nationwide, whose goal is protecting America ’s wild horses on their rightful ranges, our public lands.
For more information, visit www.idausa.org, www.thecloudfoundation.org, and www.wildhorsepreservation.com .
Contacts:
Makendra Silverman, The Cloud Foundation, 719-351-8187, makendra@thecloudfoundation.org
Carla Bowers, Wild Horse Advocate and The Cloud Foundation, carla84bowers@yahoo.com
Suzanne Roy, In Defense of Animals, 919-697-9389, sroy@idausa.org
Elliot M. Katz, DVM, In Defense of Animals, 415-448-0075, emk@idausa.org
Ignoring public outrage, government hits milestone: number of wild horses in BLM warehouses exceeds those left on the range
Washington, DC (January 19, 2010) – Ignoring growing public outrage over the unnecessary mass roundups of wild horses, the Obama Administration has announced its next victims: 2,000 mustangs living in two herd management complexes in eastern Nevada . According to In Defense of Animals (IDA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)’s newest assault, when combined with the ongoing roundup of horses living in the Calico Mountain Complex in northwestern Nevada, will eliminate nearly 4,500 horses, or a quarter of the state’s estimated wild horse population.
The BLM recently announced that it is taking public comments on the next targets for capture and removal:
* 550 horses living in and near the Eagle Herd Management Area (HMA) in eastern Lincoln County (50 miles southeast of Ely), beginning mid-February and leaving only 100 horses in the 625,000 acre public lands complex; and
* 1,506 mustangs living in the Antelope Complex (east/southeast of Elko), leaving just 471 horses behind on more 1.3 million acres in a roundup scheduled for late summer/early fall.
“President Obama may go down in history for presiding over a deadly milestone for these living legends,” said William J. Spriggs of Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney, which filed a pro bono lawsuit to stop the Calico roundup on behalf of IDA, ecologist Craig Downer and popular author Terri Farley. The case is ongoing in federal court.
“Under his watch, the number of wild horses stockpiled in government holding facilities has surpassed the number of mustangs left free and wild on the range. By reducing the number of horses to dangerously low numbers, the Obama Administration is placing the viability of these historic and unique herds at great risk,” Mr. Spriggs concluded.
Since December 28, the BLM has captured nearly 1,000 horses in the Calico Mountain Complex killing at least seven of them. That roundup proceeded despite a December 23, 2009 ruling by federal court Judge Paul Friedman questioning the legality of the BLM’s long-term holding facilities and suggesting that the BLM postpone the Calico roundup.
More information on the Eagle roundup is here. Follow news of the Calico roundup and other important wild horse news on IDA’s blog and get updates on Twitter.
Wild Horse Facts:
- The Obama Administration plans to remove 12,000 mustangs from their Western ranges in FY 2010. Most of these horses will end up in government holding facilities.
- The number of wild horses in government holding facilities (35,000) now exceeds those left in the wild (33,000 by BLM estimates).
- The wild horse population today is smaller than in 1974 when the BLM conducted its first census after Congress protected the horses due to their dwindling numbers.
- Wild horses comprise a minute fraction (0.5 percent) of grazing animals on public lands, where they are outnumbered by cattle at least 200 to 1.
- The BLM manages more than 256 million acres of public lands. Cattle grazing is allowed on 160 million acres, while wild horses are restricted to 26.6 million acres of land that is shared with cattle.
- Since 1971 when Congress protected wild horses as “living symbols of freedom” and important parts of our national heritage, the BLM has removed over 200,000 horses from the range and taken away 20 million acres of wild horse habitat.
- The BLM frequently increases livestock grazing allotments after removing wild horses. Horses are also displaced for the benefit of other commercial users of public lands, including mining, oil/gas and other extractive industries.
- The Obama Administration proposes to spend up to 500 million tax dollars to purchase private lands in the Midwest and East to warehouse wild horses removed from public lands (which the taxpayers already own) in the West. In response to IDA’s lawsuit, U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled that these holding facilities are likely illegal.
- The mustang has spent hundreds of years acclimating to the arid, rocky terrain of the west and their presence on that landscape is part of our national heritage. Not only are they ill-suited to the wet, lush Midwestern climate but their absence from the west is an affront to our cultural history.
Contacts: Suzanne Roy, 919-697-9389, Deniz Bolbol, 650-248-4489
Removal of 550 horses in eastern Nevada set to begin next month
Just When We Thought It Couldn’t Get Worse – Government Claims More Than 670,000 Acres Can Only Support 100 to 200 Horses
Dear IDA Members:
We told you this was going to be a long, hard fight – thank you for sticking with us to take action on each and every unacceptable assault by the Obama Administration on our wild horses. We are up against the deeply entrenched special interests who want wild horses removed from public lands so they can conduct business as usual. That means cheap usage of our public land for their private profits at the horses’ and taxpayers’ expense.
It’s time to get public comments in on another large removal of wild horses which is planned by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This time the BLM intends to remove over 500 of the estimated 645 horses living in or near the “Eagle Herd Management Area” in eastern Nevada outside of Ely. While 500 individuals is fewer than the 2,500 horses currently being rounded up and removed from the Calico Complex in northwest Nevada (click here for Calico update), the Eagle roundup is even more ludicrous because it is 125,000 acres larger than Calico, but the government will only allow 100 horses to remain! In Calico, by contrast, 500-900 horses will be left behind in the approximately 500,000-acre public land complex.
The proposed Eagle HMA plan puts these wild horses at great risk because the BLM is reducing the number of horses to dangerously low numbers, which could threaten the viability of the herd. Many horse advocates believe this is the BLM’s method of systematically dwindling horse population numbers down to untenable levels in order to ultimately eradicate these American living legends from public lands.
The Obama Administration is continuing the Bush Administration policy of targeting wild horses in order to serve special cattle and other industry interests. Under President Obama’s oversight, the BLM is actually accelerating the pace of wild horse removals, with 12,000 horses targeted for capture from our public lands in Fiscal Year 2010 alone. The majority of these horses will be sent to government holding facilities, where they will join the 35,000 wild horses already stockpiled at taxpayer expense.
Controversy grows over removal of wild horses from public land
New York, N.Y. – Wild horse advocates will hold a rally Sunday at 1 p.m. in Columbus Circle, to call attention to the Obama Administration’s massive roundup and removal of wild horses from public lands in the West. The largest such roundup is now underway in the Calico Mountains public lands complex in northwestern Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is removing 2,500 horses, or 80 to 90 percent of the horses living in the Calico Complex. Four horses have died in the Calico roundup, which began on December 28 and continues through February.
What: Demo to protest BLM assault on wild horses
When: Sunday January 17, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Where: Columbus Circle – 59th St. at the south end of Central Park and Broadway – near the statues.
Participating organizations include The Cloud Foundation, Equine Welfare Alliance, In Defense of Animals, Friends of Animals, The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, Return to Freedom, and other members of The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign.
“The Obama Administration’s decision to continue to spend millions of tax dollars to remove wild horses from public lands in the West to stockpile on private ranches in mid-West is fiscally irresponsible,” said Elliot M. Katz, DVM, IDA president.
“The BLM mismanages our public lands for one reason: to benefit commercial interests, such as cattle ranchers and other industries that exploit our lands and profit from the removal of the horses,” Katz continued.
Cloud Foundation volunteer Lise Stampfli Torme said “We are outraged that the BLM has proceeded with the Calico roundup under a cloud of controversy and against a U.S. District Court judge’s recommendation. The agency has moved the capture points to private land where public access to observe the treatment of our living legends is severely restricted. An immediate moratorium on all wild horse roundups must be implemented until the BLM’s broken wild horse management program can be reformed.”
“An immense amount of tax dollars are being spent on the removal of wild horses while less intrusive and less costly ‘in the wild’ management alternatives exist,” says Neda DeMayo, founder of Return to Freedom American Wild Horse Sanctuary. “Americans want their wild horses to remain free and protected on the ranges where they currently exist. We are asking that the original spirit and intent of the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act be upheld so that our grandchildren’s children will know the herds, who are a vital link to our western heritage.”
If the Obama Administration’s BLM continues its current course initially charted by the Bush Administration, it will capture and remove nearly 12,000 wild horses in FY 2010 from their Western ranges and place them in Midwestern holding facilities, where they will join the 35,000 horses already stockpiled at taxpayer expense. At that time, the number of horses in BLM warehouses will far exceed those left on the range.
A December 23, 2009 decision by federal court Judge Paul Friedman — in a lawsuit brought by IDA, ecologist Craig Downer and renowned children’s author Terri Farley — found that the BLM’s Midwestern holding facilities are likely illegal, and suggested that the BLM postpone the Calico roundup.
Wild horses comprise a minute fraction (0.5 percent) of large grazing animals on public lands, where they are outnumbered by cattle at least 200 to 1. The BLM manages more than 256 million acres of public lands of which cattle grazing is allowed on 160 million acres; wild horses are only allowed on 26.6 million acres this land, which must be shared with cattle.
For more information, visit www.idausa.org, www.thecloudfoundation.org, and www.wildhorsepreservation.com.
Contacts:
Jo De George, jo@degeorgedynamic.com, 917-742-8201
Suzanne Roy, In Defense of Animals 919-697-9389, sroy@idausa.org
Makendra Silverman, The Cloud Foundation, 719-351-8187, makendra@thecloudfoundation.org
Neda DeMao, Return To Freedom, 805-588-5105
Capture of 200 horses postponed after massive public outcry
Fillmore, Utah (January 7, 2010). . . . After receiving thousands of protest emails from supporters of In Defense of Animals (IDA), officials in Washington , DC have ordered the Bureau of Land Management to postpone the roundup 200 horses living peacefully in the Confusion Mountains in Utah.
The agency had planned to begin the roundup next week, without public comment and without conducting a current Environmental Assessment (EA) on the impact of the plan to leave just 60-100 horses behind in this 225,000-acre public lands complex. On its website, the BLM’s Fillmore office warns the public that chasing or catching wild horses that live on BLM lands there is unlawful because “Foals, pregnant mares and older horses are easily hurt when pursued, so please allow them to live a free and un-harassed life.” Yet the BLM intended traumatize and harass these very horses by helicopter stampedes that run the animals over miles of rough terrain at full gallop speeds, often injuring and/or killing young foals, older horses and pregnant mares.
Yesterday, in an alert to its supporters, IDA exposed the BLM’s plan to evade public scrutiny in its capture of the Confusion horses. Less than 24 hours later, the BLM has completely reversed course, postponing the roundup until at least July. The agency will now conduct an Environmental Assessment and allow for public comment.
“Clearly, the BLM’s complete about-face on the Utah horse roundup is directly related to the massive public outcry,” said Eric Kleiman, IDA’s director of research, who first uncovered the BLM’s plan to evade public scrutiny of the Utah roundup. “The public is sending a strong message to the Obama Administration that it is time to stop the assault on our nation’s wild horses and burros. The BLM’s mismanaged, wasteful and inhumane wild horse and burro program must be reformed, and the first step is a moratorium on unnecessary and inhumane roundups.”
Meanwhile, the BLM’s assault on the wild horses living in the Calico Mountain Complex in northwestern Nevada continues. As of yesterday, 424 Calico horses had been stampeded by helicopters into capture pens, leaving over 2,000 more of these iconic animals in the BLM’s sights over the next 30 days. At least two Calico horses have died so far and one foal has been orphaned.
A December 23, 2009 decision by federal court Judge Paul Friedman — in a lawsuit brought by IDA, ecologist Craig Downer and renowned children’s author Terri Farley — found that such long-term holding facilities are likely illegal, and suggested that the BLM postpone the Calico roundup.
If the Obama Administration’s BLM continues its current course initially charted by the Bush Administration, it will capture and remove nearly 12,000 wild horses in FY 2010 from their Western ranges and place them in Midwestern holding facilities, where they will join the 35,000 horses already stockpiled at taxpayer expense. At that time, the number of horses in BLM warehouses will far exceed those left on the range.
Wild horses comprise a minute fraction (0.5 percent) of grazing animals on public lands, where they are outnumbered by cattle at least 200 to 1. Currently the BLM manages more than 256 million acres of public lands of which cattle grazing is allowed on 160 million acres; wild horses are only allowed on 26.6 million acres this land, which must be shared with cattle.
Contact:
Eric Kleiman, IDA Research Director, 717-939-3231, ericsk@idausa.org
Deborah Peterson, ReinFree, 801-580-7441, debpeterson.now@gmail.com
BLM Captures More Than 299 Wild Horses in First Week of Calico Roundup Scheduled To Last Two Months
Winnemucca , Nevada - A government autopsy on a young foal run to death in a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) helicopter stampede of wild horses living in the Calico Mountain Complex in northwestern Nevada sheds more light on the trauma befalling these iconic animals at the hands of the Obama Administration.
The necropsy (animal autopsy) report states that the little foal collapsed twice while being chased for at least a half-mile by a government-contracted helicopter. Ten minutes after the second collapse, BLM wranglers found the colt dead.
“This six-month old, dark bay/brown foal’s final moments were filled with terror trying to escape the tax-payer-funded helicopters, which are chasing the Calico horses at speeds of 20-30 mph for three to five miles, and up to 10 miles,” said Suzanne Roy, program director of In Defense of Animals (IDA), which filed a federal lawsuit to stop the roundup.
“The little colt could not keep up with his family. Separated from his mother, he fell behind and died,” continued Roy . “The fact that this colt had a heart defect in no way justifies the trauma the Obama Administration’s senseless wild horse policies inflicted on this innocent young horse and his family.”
The necropsy report is posted at http://www.idablog.org/category/horse-campaign. One other fatality has been reported in the Calico Roundup: a mare “euthanized” by rifle by the BLM, orphaning her young foal. In addition, a stallion dubbed “Freedom” made a spectacular escape from the BLM trap pens on January 2 by scaling six-foot fence and crashing through barbed wire. Read about his dramatic escape at http://www.idablog.org/featured/calico-roundup-week-1-freedom-escapes/ .
The roundup continues despite a December 2009 federal court ruling that the BLM’s plan to stockpile the horses in Midwestern holding facilities is likely illegal.
“We are disappointed that the Obama Administration has failed to heed the court’s recommendation that this controversial roundup be postponed,” said William J. Spriggs, of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, which filed a pro bono lawsuit to stop the Calico roundup on behalf of IDA, Nevada ecologist Craig Downer and noted children’s author Terri Farley. “We are on strong ground in charging that the BLM’s policy of stockpiling tens of thousands of horses in the Midwest , off their rightful Western ranges, is contrary to law, the intent of Congress and the will of the American people.”
As of January 4, the BLM had captured 299 Calico horses. The capture operation has now moved from private land in Paiute Meadows Ranch to private land in Soldier Meadows where they will remain for the next two weeks. Public access to observe the roundup is being strictly limited and controlled by the BLM.
Under the Bush administration the numbers of wild horses removed by the BLM from their Western ranges tripled. Despite promising change, the Obama administration has accelerated the pace of removals, with plans to capture 12,000 wild horses in 2010. The majority of those horses will be sent to long-term holding facilities in the Midwest , where they will join 35,000 wild horses and burros already stockpiled by the BLM. Under the Salazar/Obama plan the government will warehouse in the Midwest nearly double the number of horses allowed to live freely on public lands in the West.
Wild horses comprise a minute fraction (0.5 percent) of grazing animals on public lands, where they are outnumbered by cattle at least 200 to 1. Currently the BLM manages more than 256 million acres of public lands of which cattle grazing is allowed on 160 million acres; wild horses are only allowed on 26.6 million acres this land, which must be shared with cattle.
Contact: Suzanne Roy, In Defense of Animals, 919-697-9389; sroy@idausa.org