AAHS Replies to St. Petersburg Times and N.Y. Times

                                          

November  2011

St. Petersburg Times

Tampabay.com

St. Petersburg, Florida

To Whom It May Concern,

In response to your article titled “Slaughter of Horses Goes On, Just Not in U.S.” dated October 24, 2011, Americans Against Horse Slaughter (AAHS) respectfully submits the following information regarding the horse slaughter issue. Agreeably, horse slaughter is a widely debated topic among U.S. citizens and our legislature. As a news organization, we’re certain you concur that having all the facts enables the media to provide the public with newsworthy information based upon facts and data, as opposed to unsubstantiated opinions.

U.S. horses have never been raised for human consumption. However, due to foreign demand for horse flesh for wealthy diners in Europe and Asia, America’s horses have been bought, stolen or acquired under false pretenses by the foreign-owned horse slaughter industry for processing of our horses in their plants on U.S. soil. American companies and trade associations that support horse slaughter because of having a vested interest in the horse slaughter trade promotes and contributes to the export of tens of thousands of America's horses for slaughter by actively opposing federal legislation, deceiving the media by giving biased statements that are unsubstantiated, and by attempting to mislead the public and members of Congress with false claims.

The three remaining U.S. horse slaughter plants were closed in 2007 (not 2006 as was stated in your article) as a result of state legislation following the 1998 closure of California’s slaughter house. In 2007, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 1949 Texas state law, which made it illegal to sale horsemeat and the two Texas slaughterhouses were closed. The last remaining plant, located in Illinois, was closed following a ruling by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which prohibited the transportation and slaughter of horses. In the 5th Circuit’s decision, Jude Fortunato Benavides wrote “The lone cowboy riding his horse on a Texas trail is a cinematic icon. Not once in memory did the cowboy eat his horse.” In 1998, California was successful in abolishing the practice with 60 percent of the vote. However, American horses continue to be slaughtered in Canada and Mexico for wealthy diners in Europe and Japan where their meat is considered a delicacy. The great majority of horses sent to slaughter are the by-product of the for-profit horse industry.

Your article quoted a Nebraska horse breeder who stated “When they closed the plants, that put more of a hardship on our horses than the people who wanted to stop the slaughter can imagine.” Every state has enforceable anti-cruelty laws which are designed to prevent irresponsible owners from starving, neglecting or abusing their animals. Contrary to pro slaughter claims that ending horse slaughter will result in a surplus of unwanted horses with nowhere for them to go, the National Agricultural Statistics Services stated that since the decline in the number of horses slaughtered, those horses have been absorbed into the current population through re-homing, adoption or rescue organizations. The argument that ceasing horse slaughter will result in an increase in abuse, neglect, the amount of unwanted horses or mass abandonment is unfounded and contrary to research statistics. According to the California Livestock and Identification Bureau, the state saw a 34 percent decrease in horse theft and there was no documented rise in neglect or abuse cases following California’s horse slaughter ban. In addition, since the closure of the Illinois horse slaughter plant, there has been no correlating rise in abandonment, neglect or abuse cases according to authorities. On the contrary, the horse slaughter industry promotes over-breeding and neglect by providing an easy dumping ground for careless owners, insatiable breeders and ruthless killer buyers looking for a financial gain.

The majority of horses that go to slaughter are not unwanted, but purchased by “killer buyers,” which are middlemen who work on behalf of the foreign-owned horse slaughter industry. The horses they buy are not sick, old, diseased or dying, but in good health because they bring the best price per pound for their meat. According to the USDA Guidelines for Handling and Transporting Equines to Slaughter, more than 92 percent of horses slaughtered are “in good to excellent condition.” According to a 2001 Animal Sciences Research Report by The Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, titled Characterizations of Horses at Auctions and in Slaughter Plants, “…more than 70 percent were in good, fat to obese condition…” The late John Hettinger, former owner of Fasig Tipton (the second largest Thoroughbred Auction House), past Chairman of the Grayson Jockey Club Foundation, previous member of the Board of Directors of The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and NY Racing Association Trustee, stated that

7,000 to 9,000 Thoroughbred racehorses are slaughtered every year. Killer buyers frequent horse races to purchase under-performing racehorses after the races end. Thoroughbred Deputy Broad raced at Mountaineer Race Track in Chester, West Virginia on July 11, 2011 and was needlessly slaughtered one week later, not because he was “unwanted,” but because he was disposable. The famous racehorse, Ferdinand who won the 1986 Kentucky Derby, the 1987 Breeders’ Cup Classic, the 1987 Eclipse Award Horse of the Year and became a highly sought-after stud horse in 1989, was sold to Japan where he was slaughtered in 2002.   

Therefore, the horses that end up at slaughterhouses don’t need to be killed, but are young, healthy horses that are a result of over-breeding by those attempting to produce the “perfect horse,” to supply the horse racing industry with a constant influx of rising stars, pregnant mares, foals, riding school and show horses, wild horses, mares and foals that are by-products of the Premarin industry (an estrogen replacement drug for menopausal women), horses purchased by killer buyers through owners that are unaware of whom they’re selling their horses to and stolen horses. Although some horses are sold directly into slaughter by irresponsible owners, the majority arrive at the slaughterhouse through livestock auctions where unsuspecting owners sell their horses to killer buyers. Despite the closing of U.S. slaughter plants, the buyers continue to purchase and haul as many horses as possible and transport them to Mexico and Canada for slaughter. Many of these horses are faithful and trusting pets whose owners list them for sale in ads where killer buyers lurk. Horses are often acquired by killer buyers without disclosure from the buyer, contributing to both consumer fraud and horse theft. Horses are regularly stolen out of barns and pastures for the horse meat trade, facilitating private property rights violations since the horses are sold for a profit. The large number of horse thefts in the U.S. necessitated the creation of a wide network of individuals and organizations working together to locate stolen horses and reunite them with their owners, called Stolen Horse International, Inc. (www.netposse.com).

In addition to the Thoroughbred horse racing industry, the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) is the biggest offender with regard to over-breeding. Interestingly, the Quarter horse is also the most slaughtered. The AQHA promotes a self-destructive business model of breeding as many horses as possible and disposing of those that don’t meet predetermined criteria, thereby contributing to the inhumane treatment of horses and the slaughter industry. Consequently, there are currently more Quarter horses slaughtered in Canada and Mexico than there were when the U.S. plants were in operation.

Animals’ Angels USA (www.animals-angels.org) conducted investigations of the horse slaughter system from 2007 to 2009, which included the conditions and treatment slaughter horses undergo at auctions, feedlots, during transport and at the slaughter plants. In their comprehensive report, the organization found that “…horse slaughter encompasses public safety issues, public health concerns, environmental issues as well as the obvious and very significant concerns regarding cruelty and inhumane treatment. Our investigations during 2007 to the present made clear that at the instant a horse is designated a ‘kill horse,’ handling and treatment change radically from that normally given horses. A ‘kill horse’ is treated with cruelty, with indifference at best, but more typically with violence and aggression. Cruelty increases, while safety, health and welfare - its care and humane treatment are so diminished it is virtually nonexistent. These horses are “only passing through,” say the veterinarians as well as the ‘kill buyers.’ If the ‘kill

horses’ had been normal horses under the care of a different type of owner, humane officers and police would have required, in keeping with state animal cruelty laws, proper veterinarian care and sufficient access to food, water and shelter. The ‘kill horse’ is outside the protection of cruelty laws.” Based upon their investigations, horses destined for slaughter are subjected to being transported with no rest, water, food or shelter for dangerously extended periods of time and beyond that required by law. And in fact horses are purposely dehydrated so that the slaughterhouse can obtain a more accurate weight of their meat. Horse slaughter is the leading cause of the cruel and inhumane treatment of horses, not owners who aren’t able to care for them due to economic difficulties or because they’re simply unwanted. The abuse of slaughter horses begins long before they are hit with the captive bolt, stabbed with the puntilla knife or hit with a gunshot at the slaughter plant.

The idea that horse slaughter is humane euthanasia is false based upon factual statements given by slaughterhouse workers, video footage of the slaughter process, as well as statements given by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), which claims to support horse slaughter. The definition of euthanasia is a gentle, painless death that prevents suffering. Horse slaughter, however, is filled with cruelty, brutality, pain and suffering from the abuse they endure while kept in holding pens or feedlots, during transportation to the plants and the actual slaughter process. The AVMA contradicts itself in its public thesis on humane euthanasia, when it stated "Animal welfare is a human responsibility that encompasses all aspects of animal well-being, from proper housing and nutrition to preventive care, treatment of disease, and when necessary, humane euthanasia. The AVMAs commitment to animal welfare is unsurpassed." When describing what humane euthanasia is, they stated "When the horse is euthanized, death will come quickly and painlessly. If the horse is standing when the death-inducing drug is given, the horse will become unconscious and unable to sense fear or pain while still standing. After the horse has fallen, unconscious, to the ground, death will ensue." The AVMAs guidelines state that unless a horse’s head and neck is restrained, the captive bolt pistol or "stun gun", which is a pneumatic device intended to render a horse unconscious prior to slaughter, is not deemed humane. However, undercover films and witness testimonies from slaughter plants in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan and Great Britain reveal a very different story.

Horses are intelligent animals that are highly sensitive and acutely aware of their environment. They react to the smell of blood, the sounds of other horses being slaughtered and react violently to death when they see the instrument or “stun gun” aimed at their heads, which drives a four-inch spike into their skulls. They make desperate attempts to flee, exhibiting typical equine “fight or flight” behavior and extreme panic and fear. They prance back and forth with their ears pinned back and their eyes wide open. That inevitably results in the instrument hitting the horse and wounding it and not rendering it unconscious, but rather resulting in repeated blows.

In addition, video evidence shows horses being beaten on their faces, necks, legs and backs; purposely blinded by bludgeoning their eyes out to get them under control, electric cattle prods inserted into their rectums to get them to move into the kill box, mares giving birth on the kill floors, and remaining alive and conscious when they were shackled and hoisted by a rear leg to have their throats cut. The horses stand in line sensing the terror and electrocuted or speared into the kill box where they shake violently, falling and unable to stand from fear.

The USDA released photos of horses with broken bones protruding from their bodies, eyeballs hanging by a thread of skin, and open wounds, all taken at former U.S. horse slaughter plants. Slaughter practices in Mexico are particularly barbaric. In 2007, an investigation by The San Antonio News-Express revealed workers using the puntilla knife to repeatedly stab horses in their necks to paralyze them prior to slaughtering. The horses were still fully conscious during the beginning of the slaughter process. The slaughterhouse in Mexico is owned by Beltex, which previously operated out of Texas.

A hidden-camera videotape taken at Beltex by the Humane Society of the United States in 1994 shows animals writhing and shuddering well after the stun gun is applied. In a sworn statement before Cook County, State of Illinois, a former employee [name withheld] of Cavel International, a horse slaughtering plant now closed but owned by the same company as Beltex and Dallas Crown, testified the following: "In July 1991, they were unloading one of the double-decker trucks. A horse got his leg caught in the side of the truck so the driver pulled the rig up and the horse's leg popped off. The horse was still living, and it was shaking. [Another employee] popped it on the head and we hung it up and split it open. ... Sometimes we would kill near 390, 370 a day. Each double-decker might have up to 100 on it. We would pull off the dead ones with chains. Ones that were down on the truck, we would drag them off with chains and maybe put them in a pen or we might drag them with an automatic chain to the knock box. Sometimes we would use an electric shocker to try to make them stand. To get them into the knock box, you have to shock them ... sometimes run them up the [anus] with the shocker. ... When we killed a pregnant mare, we would take the guts out and I would take the bag out and open it and cut the cord and put it in the trash and sometimes the baby would still be living, and its heart would be beating, but we would put it in the trashcan."

Owners who for whatever reason are unable to care for or maintain ownership of their horses have many safe and humane alternatives to horse slaughter. In addition to selling them to caring individuals, owners can donate or lease them to a variety of equine organizations. There are a large number of equine rescues, adoptions, sanctuaries, retirement farms, ex-racehorse Thoroughbred organizations, pony clubs, private riding schools, equine therapy facilities, assisted psychotherapy riding programs, police or parks departments, prison inmate training programs and veterinary schools. Horse rescues, sanctuaries and farms have the ability to find them new homes, retrain horses with behavior and temperament issues due to abuse and cruelty or incorrect training, train Thoroughbred ex-race horses for new careers or provide long-term care for aging or ill horses. There are horse rescue foundations across the country and new ones continue to be established, which are either run by volunteers, non-profits or are privately funded. If horse slaughter ended, the overflow of horses could be handled by those systems already in place. There is sufficient evidence to support the fact that these horses could easily be absorbed back into the population and that over-breeding would subsequently decline as a result. Proper management of horses combined with responsible breeding programs and the efforts of rescue and adoption agencies are and will provide the solutions needed.

Horses that are sick, elderly or dying should be humanely euthanized by a licensed veterinarian using lethal injection. Following euthanizing, rendering, incineration and burial are all options for disposal of the remains, depending on state laws. Approximately 920,000 horses die each year and are safely disposed of by means other than slaughter and don’t have a negative impact on the environment. However, there were numerous legal complaints and actions against the horse slaughter plants in both Texas and Illinois, resulting in local law violations related to the disposal of blood and waste materials. Having a horse humanely euthanized is easily available and highly affordable. The average daily cost to keep a horse is roughly $7 per day and the monthly cost is approximately $200, while the average cost of euthanizing and disposing of a horse is between $40 and $225. Some rendering services will pick up the body free of charge if the owner is unable to bury it. If owners take the responsibility of having and caring for their horses, they can certainly give their horse a painless, peaceful and respectful death, not one highlighted by fear and brutality which typifies transport to and killing at slaughterhouses.

The widespread use of pharmaceuticals and antibiotics given to horses throughout their lifetimes are substances which are “not prescribed for food animals” and renders their meat potentially dangerous to human health if consumed. Drugs given to horses are prohibited for use during the life of any animal that’s destined for human food. One such drug regularly administered to horses is phenylbutazone or Bute, which is a known carcinogen and considered illegal for use in a food producing animal. Under FDA regulations, horses would not be considered safe for U.S. food supply. Canada’s Democratic Agriculture Critic Alex Atamanenko has re-introduced a Private Members Bill that was initially introduced in British Columbia’s last Parliament, and which garnered tens of thousands of Canadian supporters to end horse slaughter in Canada. This is why the sale of wild horses to the horsemeat trade is lucrative. Although domestic horses put consumers at risk of exposure to potential harm due to the drugs administered to them, wild horses aren’t subjected to the same chemicals, making their meat a special delicacy.

Horse slaughter is not a public service, but a foreign-owned business operating for profit and paid for by the wealthy. The failure to enact federal law prohibiting horse slaughter, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, has allowed for the export of American horses to Canada and Mexico, exacerbating the brutality of already cruel transport and slaughter practices. No matter how horse slaughter is carried out, it isn’t and will never be a humane way of ending a horse’s life by anyone’s standards, including that of the AVMAs. Horse slaughter is wrought with cruelty, is prolonged and excruciating and it’s man’s ultimate betrayal of the noble horse. And we, as Americans, should be ashamed.

Americans overwhelmingly support an end to horse slaughter for human consumption. Polls from Kentucky, Texas and Utah show that 82, 72 and 69 percent, respectively, oppose it. A national poll revealed nearly 70 percent of Americans support a federal ban. House Bill H.R.2966, The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA) and Senate Bill S.1176, would permanently end the inhumane and brutal slaughter of the United State’s horses for human consumption overseas, as well as prevent them from being transported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.

Horses have played an indispensable role in U.S. history and assumed substantial roles in the progress of our great nation. They’ve gone with us into battle and carried us to our greatest victories merely because we asked them to. Horses are icons of the American historical heritage of which the United States is built upon. The values, ethics, beliefs and cultural significance of our country are symbolized by the beauty, grace and majestic nature of America’s horses, wild and domestic. In 1971, the United States Congress recognized Mustangs as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West, which continue to contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people.”

Horses have assumed trusting and faithful roles in the industrialization of our society and they’re part of our cultural legacy. There was a time, before the automobile, when horses were essential to our nation's prosperity and development. It was upon the backs of these great and noble steeds that our forefathers staked claim to the lands that became our earliest communities, and which enabled our 18th century communities to prosper and flourish. Unfortunately, in a consumer-driven society, horses aren’t seen as having significant economic value to commercial interests. The loyal companion that carried Paul Revere, pulled our wagons and plows, and enabled man to forge west is being slaughtered to supply the demand for horse flesh in the foreign market. The reality is that horse slaughter is not driven by a need to compete with an overwhelming population of unwanted horses, but by the foreign demand for horse flesh. The American people should not allow such atrocities against such an important part of our history. They deserve better than to be slaughtered for a wealthy diner’s dinner plate.

For questions regarding the content of this letter please contact the author, Charmaine Jens, Public Relations Representative for Americans Against Horse Slaughter (AAHS) at CharmaineAAHS@gmail.com. For additional information regarding AAHS, its mission or initiatives, please contact Debra Lopez at 262-989-0604 or Shelley Abrams at 215-932-4800.

Respectfully,

Charmaine Jens

Charmaine Jens

Public Relations Representative

Americans Against Horse Slaughter

Americans Against Horse Slaughter is a non- funded, grassroots national movement comprised of supporters of a federal ban on the slaughter and the transport to slaughter of American horses for human consumption overseas. Americans Against Horse Slaughter has no other agenda, other than to stop the brutal slaughter of American horses.

For more information, visit Americans Against Horse Slaughter (americansagainsthorseslaughter.com) or email: aahsus@gmail.com.

Resources:

http://www.ahdf.org/

http://www.horsefund.org

http://www.homesforhorses.org/faq.php

http://www.awionline.org/content/slaughter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfzX4Fx5xuE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8ZNiRV5-Mw

http://www.ahdf.org/archive/archive-slaughter06.htm#fedlegis

http://www.habitatforhorses.org/joincampaigns/proandcon.html

http://www.avma.org/issues/animal_welfare/unwanted_horses_faq.asp

http://www.stopslaughteringhorses.org/14-animals_angels_horse_slaughter.pdf

http://castlegarsource.com/news/mp-introduces-bill-ban-horse-meat-human-consumption-14189

YOU CAN DO A BLM PROTEST IN YOUR CITY OR TOWN!

You Can Do a BLM Protest in Your City or Town! (courtesy of Barb/AZ - AAHS)


When I saw BLM protests springing up all over the country, I thought well, how brave of them to do that. I didn’t even consider doing one in my own city. Then, a group in Tucson, just south of here, announced their own protest. It wasn’t long before I was approached to do one in our area.

“Could you send out an email to see if somebody will step forward to organize it?” I got this request several times, so I sent out an email to the group asking for somebody to organize a protest. I will be the contact person if somebody will be the point person. Many people replied saying they wanted to help. I started organizing the people who wanted to help, still hoping somebody would be the one to organize it.

Well, you know how that one turned out! I began to realize I was the one in charge. Panic hit, but I figured I was stuck.

I called Makendra at the Cloud Foundation, pleading. “Help!” What do I do?

She sent me to Tuesday’s Horse, and low and behold, they had a CHECK LIST, a sample press release, and everything one needed to do to organize a protest! The work was already done!

http://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/wild-horse-rally-resources/

I literally downloaded their checklist and started filling in the spots where I needed help. One person agreed to write the press release. (Makendra will also do this for you.) I got media contacts from a local horse organization, one person agreed to work on signs, and fliers, and pretty soon we were on our way.

In Defense of Animals sent us handout fliers and extra signs if we needed them.
http://www.indefenseofanimals.org/campaigns/horses/index.html

In Defense of Animals also sent out an email alert to everybody in the Phoenix area. They were tremendously helpful.

My job remained to GET THE WORD OUT. I posted the information everywhere I could, through emails, horse forums, Facebook, Bridle and Bit, yahoo groups, local message boards, the Arizona AAHS blog, and put up fliers at the feed stores. I even posted the protest on Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Facebook page!

Before I knew it, it was time to set the alarm for Saturday morning.

We chose a corner in downtown Phoenix, in front of the BLM office. Any public corner is fine, and the Tuesday’s Horse checklist includes checking for permits, which we did.

30 people arrived, and then something remarkable happened. WE HAD FUN! One woman’s sign said to “Honk for the Horses.” Another person had brought a cowbell. Every time a motorist honked, we rang the cowbell! There was something special about being in a group of people with the same purpose in mind. Suddenly, I didn’t have to “explain” what the BLM is doing to our wild horses. They already knew.

Two media cameramen showed up, one with our local NBC affiliate, the other an independent cameraman. They interviewed several protesters who gave it their all, including the emotions this brings out. It wasn’t all emotions, though, and many people had their facts straight and were very impressive. We ended up being on four different network broadcasts that evening.

As we were packing things up to leave, something else remarkable happened. Two people stepped up to organize two more protests!

I was absolutely overwhelmed at the beginning to think we could pull this off, but SO many people came forward to help, it was unbelievable.

I hope you will consider doing a protest in your area, no matter how small your community is. The best thing to come of this was the news coverage, and getting the word out about the fate of our wild horses.

Notes:
(A few things I did differently/in addition)

Card table:
• Sign-in sheet for email addresses

• Business cards—I ALWAYS carry AAHS business cards with me

• Hard copy of Cloud Foundation petition for signatures

• Fact sheets on wild horses and horse slaughter, also

Requested a mounted police unit. (Unfortunately, they couldn’t come.)

OUR Sheldon Horses... How did this happen? - by Laura Leigh

OUR Sheldon horses…
How did this happen?
Laura Leigh

Recently I became interested in the issues faced by Wild Horses in our country. I did some digging and what I discovered disturbed me so much that I took a trip to Nevada to see “with my own eyes.” The legislative nightmare surrounding these horses leaves you with a very real sense of how voiceless they have become. And how difficult it is, due to special interests, to get a logical response from those in authority.

As a horse-rescue person I am familiar with the adage “Maybe you can’t change the whole world, but you can change one whole world.” So I started to look at the possibility of adopting a wild horse.

As with all “breeds” there exists differences in bloodlines. This statement rings true for wild horses as well. Some have more “Spanish blood,” some a greater human manipulation in their histories. Each herd is then shaped by the natural environment and challenges of each. I fell in love with the Sheldon.

The horses at Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge exist in primarily three horse herd groups. Traits general of the horses in the herds of Sheldon are 15+ hand size, bays, sorrels, and white facial and leg markings. It is also widely claimed, by those that have known these horses in their own lives, that they have “good minds.” The groups appear to rarely mix so each group also has specific characteristics.

The horses called the Catnip/Round Mountain herd seem to be a bit flashy. Some sorrels with flaxen manes and tails, overo pinto sorrels, palominos, some buckskins. Fish Creek herd horses are larger bays and dark brown horses, some tobiano pintos. Those of the Badger herd appear Thoroughbred/quarter horse, sorrels, chestnuts, and bays.

So I began to see if I could find a horse from the Fish Creek herd that needed a home. Not an easy task I discovered. Sheldon is not part of the BLM, the agency most of us think of when we think “wild horse.” The horses that exist within the boundaries of the refuge do not have the consideration, however mismanaged, that the BLM offers. The wild horses at Sheldon are considered nothing more than an invasive species!

Sheldon wild horses are the product of an evolutionary genetic pool that consists of original wild horses, ranch horses, and cavalry remounts. In the early part of the 20th century ranchers turned their saddle horses loose on the range.

During World War I, ranchers such as Harry Wilson went into business with the federal government raising horses for the Army. Wilson provided Standardbred mares acquired from the Miller and Lux ranches and the government furnished Thoroughbred studs.

Over 1,700 head of Wilson horses ran from High Rock Canyon north to the Oregon border, including all of the present day Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge." (from "MUSTANG COUNTRY”)

Sheldon Wildlife Refuge was created in 1931, to provide habitat for wildlife and is under the jurisdiction of the US Fish & Wildlife Service. At that time horses were believed to be a feral invasive species, and management law plans are still based on that assumption.

From the 40’s- the 60’s our federal government leased land to cattle companies operating on and around Sheldon.

In 1971 something truly remarkable happened. In response to public pressure, both houses of Congress unanimously passed a bill. Congress' intent clearly was to protect and preserve America's free-roaming horse herds and proscribe methods by which the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture were to manage those herds.

§ 1331. Congressional findings and declaration of policy

Congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people; and that these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene. It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.

During the 70's and 80's, ranchers in the vicinity of Sheldon gathered horses, keeping the ones they wanted for saddle horses, and turning the remainder loose.

How it came about that the legal protections afforded most of America's free-roaming horses failed to include the herds at Sheldon is still unclear to me. Apparently Congress assumed that free-roaming horses and burros were found on BLM and US Forest Service lands, and somehow did not specifically include US Fish and Wildlife Service lands and the National Parks Service lands in the 1971 Act. I have tried to find any legal documents that actually describe the issues of standing and legal responsibilities over these horses and no clear explanations or documents have come to light.

Like all good “soccer moms” I turned to the World Wide Web. This is what I found.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) manages Sheldon NWR. The USFWS is different from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The mission of the NWR system is to administer lands and waters for the conservation and restoration of fish, wildlife, plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of the American people.

So how that translates into a reality that provides the horses at Sheldon no protection under the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, that supposedly expressed the overwhelming wishes of the American people is unclear to me.

However the defined mission of the US Fish and Wildlife Service appears not to include practical and humane management of free-roaming horses and burros, and therefore the Service can argue that the intent of Congress doesn't apply to them.

As a result these horses cannot be placed through the BLM's Adopt-a-Horse program. A situation has been created where an agency without the appropriate infrastructure to manage, gather and place horses and burros through qualified adoptions, or even hold them until they can be suitably placed is tasked with this responsibility without adequate support or management criteria. Thus another bureaucracy has been created where our tax dollars are "well spent."

So I went back to the web to find a place to adopt a Sheldon horse. A quick search provided the following list:

Forever Free Mustangs
Sisters, OR
(541) 923-6124 (this phone number was out of service when we tried to call them in mid-June, 2006)
mustangs@outlawnet.com

Carr’s Wild Horse and Burro Center
4844 Couts-Carr Rd
Cross Plains, Tennessee 37049
(615) 654-2180
(615) 654-4655 fax
carrsholding@aol.com

Gary Graham
W. Highway 6
Las Lunas, New Mexico 87031
(505) 565-8457
(505) 859-0690 cell
grahamhorses@msn.com

Brian Day
Refuge Manager
Sheldon NWR
(775)941-0200

Again all of this info is easily found on the internet. What I found turned my stomach.

First I discovered the process Sheldon uses to find suitable homes for horses and burros that the agency rounds up.

It all starts by making it impossible for rescues and individuals to directly adopt small numbers of the Sheldon horses directly from Sheldon. Sheldon allows only groups of horses to go to three supposedly screened agencies. The US Fish and Wildlife Service pays these "agents" $300 per horse to take them by the truckload! Is your head spinning yet?

To me it appears that these agreements are basically Federal contracts for services totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Also I can’t find any process for selecting agents or contractors that involves any public bidding process. But that becomes a simple “sidenote” to what I found next.

I called Brian Day four times in the last week asking how to adopt a horse. My calls go direct to voicemail and I have yet to receive a call back. It’s summer time; maybe he’s on vacation?

Carr’s response seemed to be for real. I was given a date and a dialogue was actually begun about an adoption.

I located some information posted regarding Forever Free.

In conversations with potential adopters, Flora stated that FFM had placed 680 Sheldon horses last year, but when asked by Mr. Holland to confirm the number of horses and the timing, she became vague. When asked if FFM received $300 per horse, she responded "not for all of them". When asked for specifics, she became increasingly defensive. She stated that they had been careful to get them good homes and to make sure they did not go to slaughter. In conversations with others, Flora indicated they placed yet another "load" in January of this year and expected the next load in June. The timing of the gathers would indicate that FFM was able to place large numbers of horses within months or even weeks of their arrival.
More tellingly, Forever Free Mustangs has admitted that approximately 40 of the horses they originally adopted were found in a slaughter pen and had to be "bought back.”*

How can Forever Free place so many horses, so fast? In the rest of the world it just doesn’t work that way.

Then I looked into Gary Graham.

Apparently encouraged by the incredible efficiency of the Forever Free Mustangs adoption process, Brian Day, Sheldon Fish and Wild Life Service Refuge Manager, sent a letter to potential adopters in May announcing the new policy of funneling all horses through agents. The letter states "I have made it abundantly clear to all of them that the worst thing that could happen to this program is to have horses end up in a slaughter facility." In the letter he announced that they had found a third agent and that a thorough screening had shown this man to be of the highest integrity. The new agent's name was Gary Graham and his address was later given as 440 W. Highway 6, Los Lunas, New Mexico. A background check on Graham returned only the address and telephone number given by USF&W, but the address was a different matter.

The Graham address is virtually a Grand Central Station of horse slaughter. It is well known to the purchasing agents of the BelTex slaughter house in Texas. A summary check of their records showed that one Bill Owen used the same address when he delivered dozens of loads of horses to slaughter even as the Steffans were having such remarkable success finding "local adopters".

But the slaughter connection to Gary Graham's address does not end there. A physical check of the location revealed that it is the home of the Southwest Stock Yard run by one Dennis Chavez. Dennis Chavez was also busy delivering horses to BelTex during the period of FFM's adoption success, but using the address 24 Dallies Road, an address that is virtually the same property as that of Gary Graham and Bill Owen! And as if this were not enough, it is the address used by one Leon Spain when he delivered slaughter horses to the Dallas Crown slaughter plant in Kaufman, Texas.*

*This information comes directly from documents posted in 2006 by a special research group: Susan Pohlman, Valerie James-Patton and John Holland signed many of these documents.

This information was gathered in 2006! This is not a “new” situation. These horses have virtually no protections. They leave the Refuge unbranded, unidentifiable. How many have crossed our borders and into a slaughter plant by an industry that appears to be completely subsidized by tax dollars, and supported by an agency (Sheldon NWR) that does not have the ability to cope with wild horses with a standard that at least is attempted by the BLM!

The 2006 Gather

In June of 2006 the Sheldon NWR ordered a gather of wild horses. They had their specially screened contractors ready to take horses and the contractors would receive $300.00 a head for each horse they removed from the gather. The public was assured that gathers are safe and not done during foaling season. Yet extreme measures were taken to attempt to hide all activity from the public. Police were hired, gates were installed and a two-mile distance was then established for the public. Cattoor the company that flies the helicopters took to the air. I will add more info about the Cattoor contract later.

The FWS announced that the gather was done safely. It made a claim that all the foals had arrived with their mothers. FWS reported one injury involving a lip.

Reports began to come in of the various deceptions. Those listening to radio transmissions during the gather heard talk of a horse that broke a leg and was shot. A ground search began that turned up dead and injured foals. Mares in the gather pens aborted.

Sheldon NWR was notified of the slaughterhouse connection with Gary Graham. Out of the horses gathered Graham was still given 62, along with his $300.00 of taxpayer money per horse. Are you outraged yet?

If you would like to see pictures and statements from eyewitnesses go to this website.
Warning the pictures are not suitable for younger people.
http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/sheldon.html


July 2009, Challis, ID

A gather has taken place just recently in Idaho. A repeat process plays out of more terror, death and needless cruelty. Of particular interest is the absolute harassment of a single horse. The pilot flies so close that the horse can actually kick at the helicopter. This is your tax money at work.

Pictures at Challis, July 2009:
http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/resources/testimonialId09.html

Gather planned at Sheldon, soon

As I made my inquiries to find my horse I was told horses would be available soon. Further inquiry has led me to the belief that a gather will take place within the next couple of weeks.

So I attempted to try to find ANY reason why this type of operation should be approved and funded buy my government. I found the EA (Environmental Assessment), I tried to compare to data from past gathers. The April 08 Final EA for Sheldon NWR is the document that will be used to base the “interim” gather policy until a final plan is drawn. Within the pages of the document I found inconsistencies in language. I found data only collected in house used within the actual document. Only within the public comments section are any real questions raised. Questions that are simply negated by a reiteration of the data in the document, no debate. However the most outlandish of the sources for data used to support the current protocol for gathers comes from Cattoor.

The data that appears within the Sheldon EA to support helicopter use as “safe,” during a gather, is produced from Sue Cattoor. Sue Cattoor owns Cattoor livestock. Cattoor livestock holds a “no bid” contract with the BLM to do the gathers. A “no bid” contract is one that is awarded without accepting other bids from other contractors. This contract over its term has netted Cattoor over 18 million taxpayer dollars. In any other process of law her statements would be viewed as biased due to self-interest and not considered as an objective recommendation as her statements would go directly to the survival of her contract! Even if her statements held validity it would not be appropriate that they be used as the sole source for any decision, in any process, that results in her receiving more of your taxpayer dollars.

The data used to justify the gathers themselves are no less suspect. I can find conflicting environmental data easily on the net, but none within the EA. I can find no truly impartial source within Sheldon's document.

From looking at this process there is in truth no viable, impartial, environmental reason for these gathers to take place at all. The data appears to be constructed primarily to justify and perpetuate a business venture: one that began without the planning or resources to ever attain any real functional and sustainable ecological balance. It correlates with no protocol adopted on a national level, provides no infrastructure within the Sheldon NWR to handle the issue, and offers no protection for the horses. What it does do is make me ask more questions.

From my point of view this is a clear cut example of the need for current legislation sitting now in the Senate to finally create a national standard that was intended in 1971.
S. 1579 actually is that doorway to begin the process of fixing the problems in a very tangible way, for all of OUR wild horses.

I am asking more questions. I am finding more answers. I will share them with you soon.

The answers aren't going to be found at Sheldon.


Current Action status:
There is a movement happening now to raise these questions and others on a legal level to begin to protect the horses at Sheldon and our national herd. The umbrella issues are beginning to take shape with actions surrounding S.1579.

But as national attention and resources are drawn into the larger issues, the horses continue to be exploited. The gather at Challis July 09, the one planned for the well-known “Cloud’s herd” in the Pryor Mountains (BLM), and the almost voiceless band at Sheldon NWR.

There may be a gather at Sheldon NWR within the next two weeks.

There is a chance that a legal effort made now can stall or stop the prospective gather. A strategy is currently in play.

Please clink on the links to see how you can help.
http://www.aowha.org/war
http://www.letemrun.com/sheldon.htm


Laura Leigh
A concerned horse owner and artist
http://www.barndoorstudio.com

My Wild Horse Education...by Laura Leigh

My Wild Horse Education…
Not what I thought it would be
By Laura Leigh

"A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"
- King Richard III

Throughout history horses have been respected, admired, revered and put to work like no other animal throughout the human experience. Dogs and cats have been our beloved companions and have at times been used for utilitarian purposes, however it was the horse that got the big jobs done. Americans relied intensively on the horse to facilitate our westward expansion, to till, harvest and deliver our food, and to move raw and finished materials that were so necessary to our early economic growth.

Mechanization has markedly reduced the horse's role as a work animal, however horses are still used to perform a remarkable number of jobs. Horses still remain the companion species that can literally take us where we want to go and that can serve as our teammates in sporting and competitive events.

In spite of their history and their immeasurable importance in our development as a nation, horses in our country exist in a very bizarre legal gray area of confusing and conflicting laws and regulations that often lack any true definition. While America's very first animal cruelty laws addressed the treatment of horses, our nation presently has no coherent modern policy with respect to these incredible animals.

Domestic horses walk a line between pets and livestock. They exist within a murky lack of designation that has produced gaps with respect to legislation intended to protect the welfare of our workmates and companions. The absence of any national consensus as to whether they presently exist as work animals, companion animals (pets) or simply livestock has produced a hodgepodge of inconsistent laws of which unscrupulous individuals take advantage in order to unreasonably exploit horses for profit. It also creates a treacherous opportunity for a whole class of animals that were not raised as food animals to enter the human food supply by being exported for slaughter.

Slaughter is clearly treacherous for horses, however it is treacherous for humans as well. Everything that goes into animals raised for food, including drugs and medications, is regulated and producers are required to keep records. Horse owners medicate horses for a variety of reasons and when those horses find their way into the human food supply, they present a rogue food source for which consumers have no ability to know what the meat they are eating might actually contain. Our export of potentially tainted meat is actually no less sordid than other countries shipping us children's toys covered with lead based paint. These are things that modern, civilized countries simply don't do.

Any debate involving animals brings with it an emotional component. The horse debate is no exception and the exemplary role the horse has played in the United States is actually used against him. Is the horse a pet? Is he a working animal? Is he simply livestock? Can his status be changed at will to benefit someone wishing to make a quick buck? Efforts to bring some continuity to this issue often get bogged down in committees and debate. These debates often become filled with circular logic, misrepresentation of facts by special interests, and a lack of clear statistical data. In the meanwhile we continue to export an agricultural product that is unregulated, inhumane, and unsafe. “My little pony” is still being crammed into a double-decker cattle truck to be stabbed to death in Mexico.

This clear lack of definition and the consequences of our failing to come to grips with how we care for the most significant animal in our history become magnified when we begin to look at the wild horses of America.

When we think of "wild horse," most people think of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM.) BLM was tasked by Congress to manage most of the wild free-roaming horses in the United States, however many wild horses fall into other jurisdictions run by other Federal and even state agencies. It stands to reason that if we can’t pass any consistent legislation addressing our domestic horses, achieving any national policy to collectively protect America’s wild herds is little short of a nightmare.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act

In 1971 something truly remarkable happened. In response to public pressure, both houses of Congress unanimously passed a bill. Congress' intent clearly was to protect and preserve America's free-roaming horse herds and proscribe methods by which the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture were to manage those herds.

§ 1331. Congressional findings and declaration of policy

Congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people; and that these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene. It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.

The American people and Congress spoke, and it was believed at the time that America's wild-free roaming horses had achieved protected status, at least with respect to having legal status on America's public lands and being protected from capture, branding, harassment or death on the part of private individuals who historically profited from "mustanging."

Congress recognized that horse herds would grow and would require management, and that part of that management involved removing some excess horses from public ranges. It was envisioned that horses that were removed would be provided to American citizens by means of an adoption system so that those horses could be cared for, and in most instances, become gentle and useful as riding and companion animals. The adoption program was intended to ensure that these horses continued to receive proper care over their lifetimes and stimulate the agricultural economies where they were placed. At the time it was estimated that over the lifetime of each horse, the average adopter would voluntarily direct around $20,000.00 of his or her disposable income to pay for hay, supplies, farrier and veterinary services and other expenses related to the training and maintenance of an adopted horses - as opposed to sending that same money overseas for foreign made consumer products. 2004 figures showed the adoption program, when properly run, to provide a four billion dollar stimulus nationwide, calculated over the lifetimes of the horses placed.

But somewhere in the implementation of the Act, something went terribly wrong. In its findings, Congress declared, "these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene." However the agency tasked by Congress to protect and preserve these horses became a machine that removed more horses from public lands than any other entity in modern history.

As BLM's management approaches became more reflective of special interests than of science, horses disappeared from our public lands and piled up in a complex system of holding facilities. This trend finally reached a point that more "wild free-roaming" horses were held in corrals than were freely roaming western public lands. And, as with so many laws, disreputable people found loopholes. Protected horses continued to find their way to slaughter, oftentimes through slight-of-hand paperwork.

The epitome of wild horse skullduggery involved Montana Senator Conrad Burns. During Congress' Thanksgiving recess in 2004, Senator Burns slipped a "stealth rider" into a several thousand-page omnibus spending bill that stripped protections from tens of thousands of wild free-roaming horses. When they returned from the recess, Congress unknowingly passed a bill that included Senator Burns' rider, and that action created a debacle known as "Sale Authority."

There are valid reasons that the American legislative process is to be conducted out in the open with opportunity for debate. Decisions made by consensus are oftentimes better reasoned and more appropriate than decisions made by a single individual. Senator Burns' stealth action ultimately harmed the horses, harmed BLM, harmed the American taxpayer and even harmed Burns' special interests. The sudden unexpected appearance of Sale Authority was akin to a passenger pulling the emergency brake cord on a commuter train. BLM had to scramble to implement a new ill-conceived program, taking resources away from an already strained adoption program.

Horses were sold and went to slaughter. As a result most horse organizations and private citizens capable of taking in Sale Authority horses and placing them with private individuals stayed away, fearing the potential fallout if any of the horses that they received ended up at one of the slaughterhouses. Meanwhile BLM's regular adoption program fell further behind as BLM's limited staff and finances had to be directed to a program that basically didn't work.

Senator Burns also discovered that there were repercussions for his actions. When he came up for reelection, a Democrat defeated Burns. When the public viewed Senator Burns' stealth rider as a product of influence the beef cattle lobby, many consumers modified their food choices, adversely affecting beef prices. Senator Burns illustrated how bad public policy can have far-reaching implications.

Meanwhile America's wild free-roaming horses continued to suffer their fate of "fast disappearing from the American scene," and the problems associated with BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program were far from being solved.

While the spotlight shined on BLM, horses and burros on a number of other Federal lands were suffering under even more chaotic management. When the Act was passed, the general understanding was that nearly all the free-roaming horses and burros on Federal lands were found on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. As the numbers of horses on these public ranges diminished, it became evident that other Federal agencies also managed free-roaming horse and burro populations, and that management was less coherent, less efficient and more hazardous to the animals than the much criticized actions by BLM. The National Parks Service proposed to shoot burros that were, ironically, much sought after by adopters in the Eastern States. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted chaotic roundups and sold horses by the truckloads to slaughter buyers. Clearly Congress' intent to provide for a coherent, humane and practical management strategy for free-roaming horses and burros on Federal lands was not happening.

After years of trying to let the BLM correct its problems in-house, legislators in Congress, led by Congressman Nick Rahall, said "enough is enough" and drafted a bill designed to overhaul the management of wild horses and burros on public lands. The bill passed by a majority of 54 votes in the House of Representatives, and as of this writing the bill has been referred to the Senate. The House version of the bill was named HR.1018, the Restore Our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act.

As was expected, hysterical opposition to the bill has emerged, fueled by special interests, and exaggerated claims abounded predicting everything from the bill bringing about the ruination of the Federal budget to a tsunami of horses flooding back into Nevada and sweeping everything else out in its wake. When one actually reads the bill, it primarily forces BLM to get its act together and seriously explore alternatives other than simply rounding up horses and feeding them in holding facilities in its efforts to manage horse populations.

In its present form, the ROAM Act restores prohibitions on the conversion of these protected animals for commercial products (slaughter) and it requires a number of potentially positive changes in the way free-roaming horses and burros are managed on Federal public lands.

The bill:

* Provides a more concise definition of "thriving ecological balance" and it reasserts relevant Federal land use policies,

* Converts some "authorized" activities and methods into "required" activities and methods with respect to taking inventory, making determinations and application of peer reviewed scientific methods as the basis for developing management strategies, and it requires consistent evaluation and management practices across all public lands,

* Permits BLM to establish sanctuaries and exclusive use areas, however the Secretary is required to assess and report on a number of conditions specifically listed in the bill prior to establishing those areas,

* Authorizes BLM to identify and appropriate additional rangeland for wild horses and burros through various means, subject to the conditions and requirements set forth elsewhere in the bill. Those conditions include avoiding any potential conflicts with other lawful public lands activities and uses as identified in the bill,

* Requires BLM to develop and implement enhanced fertility control, as is presently used by a number of private sanctuaries and non-BLM horse management agencies. While the science of equine fertility control is relatively new, it shows great potential in reducing horse recruitment rates (expansion of populations as birth rates exceed mortality rates) without decreasing the genetic diversity of the herds,

* Charges BLM with the responsibility of undertaking all practical options for maintaining a thriving ecological balance on the range,

* Prohibits BLM from maintaining horses in prohibitively expensive contract corrals and short term holding facilities for longer than six months, upon which horses in such holding facilities must be moved to more cost-effective facilities or appropriate alternative ranges,

* Charges BLM with improving its adoption "marketing" strategies with specific examples provided,

* Reinforces BLM's authority to remove horses and burros subject to conditions stipulated in the original Act,

* Requires BLM to provide additional data with respect to its management activities, and that data is to be more transparent and available for public inspection on the BLM website,

* Expands BLM's ability to enter into cooperative agreements to address program deficiencies and needs, and

* Outlines specific program reporting requirements so that Congress and the American public can be informed as to BLM's progress with respect to complying with the provisions of this law.

Many wild horse advocates who supported the bill as passed in the House hope that the Senate version will close a few additional loopholes that they view as being problematic.

* "Transportation" for purposes of converting protected horses and burros into commercial products needs to be added to the list of prohibitions. The shipper is the last person who has custody of animals crossing our borders and under current law a shipper could argue that he didn't actually sell the horses for slaughter.

* Federal law should permit disposal of deceased or euthanized horses by means of rendering since many local laws prohibit burying horses on private property and many landfills will not accept horses that were euthanized by use of barbiturates.

* Congress is asking for a coherent and consistent management strategy for horses and burros on all public lands. Therefore that language that appears in the original Act that limits its application to BLM and Forest Service lands should be stricken and the Act should apply to all horses in the various jurisdictions under the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture.

* Specific examples of "fatally injured or terminally ill" should be stricken from the section that describes conditions under which horses may be humanely destroyed. The list that appears in the bill includes conditions that aren't fatal or terminal, and such determinations should be left to a qualified veterinarian on a case-by-case basis.

Inconsistencies and Wild Horse Guesswork

As I began to look at the issues surrounding wild horses I came across some very interesting people involved with the care of these magnificent beings. As I looked closer I began to see the overwhelming obstacles they faced.

Wild horses can be found on federal property, state property and private property. The regulations that govern their management and protection vary according to where the horses are located. Even different Federal agencies have different rules. Horses standing on the south side of the Carson River in Nevada are covered under one set of protections, yet if these same horses happen to be found on the north side of the river, those protections don't exist and a different set of rules apply.

Much of the BLM's public lands on which horse populations range are leased to special interests and permittees under the "multiple use" doctrine. However some of these interests that are permitted to graze, mine and "harvest" on our public lands start behaving as if these public lands were their own private property. Subtle changes in administrative laws and procedures have created a situation where it can oftentimes take years for agencies to reign in rogue permittees, some who not only violate the terms of their permits, but in some instances have stack up tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid permit fees before they are eventually held accountable. In the meanwhile the horses and the taxpayers suffer.

Rural Nevada can be a dangerous place for BLM and Forest Service personnel who find themselves at odds with a few of the old time ranching families. In some instances rural Nevada law enforcement offers little, if any protection. Federal employees are not permitted to venture alone on some rural Nevada public lands, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported the situation to be so threatening that some Federal workers quit their jobs rather than face the risks. If someone routinely threatened Federal employees in any of our urban areas, the perpetrators would likely be arrested under the Patriot Act. However such conduct seems to be acceptable in rural Nevada.

Leases and grazing permits are occasionally issued without having accurate data on elements as basic as horse population counts. When the number of cattle allowed under a new ten-year grazing permit is based on a gross undercount of the horses present, then overgrazing is surely likely to occur. When the range resources subsequently start to become depleted, the knee-jerk reaction is often, "Remove the horses!" In many instances these problems are not caused by BLM field staff, but rather by a system that doesn't provide real statistical data and requires field personnel to rely on estimates and computer model projections.

Managing horse-human conflicts in more urban areas isn't much easier. The encroachment of suburban development in and around horse ranges presents a whole new set of problems. Although state law in Nevada requires developers to fence horses and livestock out of new developments that abut pasture and grazing ranges, enforcement of this law is sporadic at best. Oftentimes horses are removed at taxpayer expense when they wander into unfenced developments to graze on lawns and the California-style grass medians and shoulders found on residential boulevards.

A Closer Look at Nevada

I began to follow some of the issues in Nevada and took a trip to see things with my own eyes.

I saw the main BLM facility in Palomino Valley. They were in the process of clearing the facility to clean it and prepare for the next round of gathers that will start in August.

The BLM claims to be broke. It claims to have no money to support the 33,000+ horses it currently has in holding. The BLM suggested that it might have to develop plans to kill these horses because of the costs. However BLM is preparing to do another round of gathers. BLM claims that it must continue gathering horses at the present rate due to over-population. However oftentimes BLM doesn't really know how many horses are out on the range because the agency relies on computer modeling and guesswork more often than "hard" actual animal counts.

BLM has closed millions of acres to horses - acres that were provided to the horses by Congress - citing the difficulties in managing those particular ranges for horses. So the horses were rounded up and tens of thousands stand in contract holding facilities where they receive feed and care at significant taxpayer expense. This is money that could have been much better spent improving range conditions and developing proactive management strategies, however BLM's obsession with removing horses has produced the greatest animal boondoggle of our generation.

The BLM claims that it does not gather during “foaling season.” Such a claim is ostensibly true since most horses foal in the spring. However the sheer volume of horses being snatched up by BLM's "gathering machine" requires gathers to begin as early as August. While most mares have already foaled by then, there are still thousands of young foals out on the range.





When I visited BLM's Palomino Valley Center on July 21st, the only horses remaining in the facility were mares with foals. These were mares that had been brought in while pregnant and had foaled while in the facility, and a few were possibly from an emergency gather because of a wildfire. Many of the foals were still quite young and nursing, and they were representative of the age and fragility of countless foals still out on the range. It doesn't take a three-year governmental study to recognize that August gathers can be extremely risky for young foals and that gathering horses in the August heat in Nevada's high desert ranges is stressful and dangerous to horses and humans alike.



I have tried to find any impartial study that resembles a credible analysis of the environmental impacts of removing large numbers while increasing the populations of European cattle. If one exists, I can’t find it. If BLM's intention is to comply with the law and maintain healthy herds of free-roaming horses on our public lands, then the removal of large numbers of any animal from the wild should be monitored closely, and the long-term implications of successive gathers as well as alternatives to outright removals should be investigated and analyzed.

Nevada is the most arid state in the Union and experiences extreme environmental changes from one region to the next. However for the most part Nevada's horse and burro herds can adapt to changing conditions. In fact it is this oft times harsh environment that makes America's "mustangs" what they are. These herds are the product of successive generations of survivors.

Occasionally some ranges suffer a catastrophic failure of rainfall and forage. Since the horses cannot migrate to new ranges due to man-made barriers, BLM does have to intervene. Usually by the time they are brought in, the horses have fallen into pretty poor condition. Ranchers and other interests who want to see horses removed from the range take these rare, but recurrent situations and attempt to portray the entire range inhabited with suffering, starving horses. A more accurate portrayal is that BLM, the agency charged with managing horses on our public ranges, was asleep at the switch and allowed a problem to turn into a full blown emergency before it took corrective action. Furthermore, BLM's response is usually not to address range conditions and prevent such emergencies, but keep the round-up machine running at full speed.

I also saw some situations at BLM's Palomino Valley Center that raised concerns.

Wild horses are high desert animals, however when out on the range the horses will often find shade or breezy locations during the heat of the day. BLM's Palomino Valley facility provided virtually no shade for the horses held there, and neither do the contract holding corrals in Carson City and Fallon. A private adopter is not allowed to keep a BLM horse without providing sufficient shade, even if the horse is on grass pasture, yet BLM keeps thousands of horses in hot, sandy lots without shade. BLM claims the horses are only held in these corrals "short term," however in reality "short term" can literally mean years.

BLM feeds various kinds of hay to the horses that are brought in, depending on the condition and needs of each group of horses. However most of the horses are eventually switched over to straight alfalfa. Many modern nutritional studies have concluded that straight alfalfa is not desirable for horses, particularly those that are not receiving much exercise. However the feeding of alfalfa is based on economics, not horse health. In Nevada, alfalfa is typically sold at a lower price than grass hay.

As a practical matter, most of BLM's field personnel who actually work with the horses seem to care about them. However somewhere up in the bureau's hierarchy, policy decisions are being made by people who have apparently forgotten that BLM's mission with respect to America's wild free-roaming horses and burros is to manage, protect and preserve our heritage herds.

Wild Horse Advocacy - The Front Lines

On July 22 I was in Carson City and visited a demonstration that took place in front of the State Capitol.
The demonstrators were members of several of Nevada's wild horse groups and they were protesting the mistreatment of the Virginia Range horses at the hands of the Nevada Department of Agriculture. The Virginia Range horses roam the Comstock National Historic District and the hills around the old gold rush town of Virginia City. The BLM pulled out of the region decades ago, so the horses fell under the management of the counties, then under the jurisdiction of the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

The wild horse advocates had been tracking what they claimed was a series of unlawful activities on the part of certain Agriculture officials, including illegally selling horses "out the back door," dumping horses out of state, and attempting to extort favors from horse groups by threatening to kill orphan foals if groups didn't comply. The groups sought corrective action from the Governor's Office. Governor Gibbons apparently couldn’t care less. Apparently the Governor is still smarting from all the cell phone photos being circulated when he went out with a former Playboy model while still married to the First Lady.

After giving the Governor's office a chance to fix things, the groups requested investigations from the Nevada Attorney General's Office, otherwise known as "the gang that couldn't shoot straight." Among other snafus, the Attorney General's investigator apparently lost the file and had to start over. The advocates eventually took to the streets to raise public awareness about these issues.



In the horse-dumping incident, the horses crossed state lines, an act apparently facilitated by falsified paperwork. As an outsider I am unclear why this issue is being brought to the state of Nevada at all. This appears to be a Federal issue. I am told that it is "protocol" to allow the primary state agency of jurisdiction investigate the matter first, then proceed through the U.S. Attorney and other means if the Nevada Attorney General fails to perform. From the looks of things right now, "other means" is certainly appearing on the horizon. Meanwhile the small Oregon rescue operation that had the horses dumped on them is trying to care for mares used in a fertility study they can’t even get specified medical records on!

If you read the comments and articles in a local paper after the protest it really does appear as if the state has a personal beef with certain individuals that have questioned their practices and it extends into the community.

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20090723/NEWS/907229959&parentprofile=search

The AP picked up the story but appears to not question the “sound bite” answer given by local authority. No research or information is given except the “he said, she said.” Sad… http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_12892866

I have to remind myself that all this is happening in Nevada, and in Nevada this kind of stuff is not so unusual. Skullduggery over wild horses often gets overshadowed by such things as stories about a former mob lawyer turned Las Vegas Mayor who wants to use Federal stimulus money to fund a mafia museum. And he apparently plans to run for Governor. Wild West?

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jan/12/mayor-returns-fire-over-museum-funding/

This is one small piece of the nightmare created by a lack of accountability through a national non-designation and standard for protocol of herd management. Current legislation needs to be written to create an umbrella that sets a standard for accountability and gives authority to manage resources that provide for the health of that environment. Clear data to support the decision making process must be gathered in a consistent fashion.

Until such a designation and standard of accountability is created we will continue to see examples of political maneuvering to create profitable circumstances for a select few that hold contracts within each state. We will see laws written and abused to exploit a symbol of the American spirit. We will go about our days as these horses… our wild American icons… join our domestic horses in the pipeline, shipped over our borders, then brutally slaughtered and sent overseas to be eaten by foreign fine diners.


- A few links:

Youtube corruption in Nevada state government:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRmHag1JfDo

WWER and the fertility study swindle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLBpBhshFtg&NR=1

Here is the link to read about a piece of the Nevada mess in detail.
I have seen the e-mails repeatedly requesting specific medical info on these horses, it never comes.
http://www.whisperingwindsequinerescue.com/fertility_study_update.htm

Scientific data on the “origin” of horses in America
http://www.livescience.com/animals/080724-nhm-wild-horses.html

Horses waiting to die?
http://willienelsonpri.com/peace/690/blm-to-kill-thousands-of-wild-horses.html


Some organizations on the “front line” of wild horses
http://www.aowha.org/
http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/
http://wildhorsepl.org

Frontline against horse slaughter
http://www.americansagainsthorseslaughter.com/


What you can do:

Call your local representatives and just say, “I care about what happens to OUR horses.”

Here is a link to find the Senator in your state.
Refer to the need for HR1018 to be carefully re-crafted to include a standard that cares for ALL of OUR wild horses.
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Contact Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar exsec@ios.doi.gov or 202-208-7351 and ask that the BLM please refrain from taking premature action that may jeopardize this resource to the point of no return.

Contact President Obama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/
Tell him that this issue must be dealt with now. Responsibility to the intent of the wishes of the American public expressed, as no other, in 1971 then gutted by Burns and allowed under past administrations to go unchallenged, MUST take place.

This is a time in history when we as a people desperately need this symbol of the American Spirit.


Laura Leigh is an artist and horse owner living in the PNW.
http://www.barndoorstudio.com