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HR 1018 – The Restoring Our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act passed in the House of Representatives on the morning of July 17th, 2009.
This bill amends the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971. – adding important new protections and provisions which include banning helicopter round-ups and reclaiming land lost by America’s wild horses over the past 30 years.
Thanks to all of you who voiced support for this crucial piece of legislation.
Please continue your support for the Senate vote!
PRESS RELEASE
June 11, 2009 – for immediate release
Documents Reveal BLM Secret Plan to Destroy Wild Horses
Documents obtained from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) via the Freedom of Information Act by a Phoenix-based non-profit, The Conquistador Program, reveal shocking and detailed plans to destroy healthy wild horses in government holding facilities as well as those still remaining in the wild on public lands.
BLM employees as well as a USDA veterinarian held weekly “Implementation Team” meetings beginning in July of 2008 in which they discussed and developed strategies aimed at ridding BLM of thousands of mustangs. In October they completed a 68 page document entitled “Alternative Management Options”. Tactics included in this document are reminiscent of those used to wipe out Native American tribes in the 1800s.
The BLM team created scenarios for killing mustangs using barbiturates, gun shots, or captive bolts. Bodies would be disposed of through rendering, burial or incineration. They discussed killing 1200-2000 wild horses per year. The document states that “the general public would be prohibited from viewing euthanasia.” Additionally, the Team felt that “increased support from public relations and management staff would also be needed to insulate those doing the actual work from the public, media and Congressional scrutiny/criticism.”
“Minutes from these meetings as well as the Draft Plan reveal what amounts to ‘the final solution’ for the American mustang,” states Ginger Kathrens, filmmaker and Volunteer Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation. “Despite a huge outcry from the American public last year regarding BLM plans to kill wild horses in holding, the agency is still pressing forward with a plan to destroy our American mustangs both on and off the range.”
Division Chief of the Wild Horse and Burro Program Don Glenn told The Cloud Foundation that “no decision has been made to move forward on a large scale with this plan, yet.”
BLM meeting minutes speak for themselves. “Security at facilities and at gathers would need to be increased to combat eco-terrorism. Having the people that are willing to put down healthy horses at gather sites could be a problem. Having vets putting down healthy horses at preparation facility[ies] could also be a problem.” Meeting minutes reveal the psychological toll that employees would pay—“have counseling for employees and contractors that have to euthanize the healthy horses because it is very stressful.”
The report created an option in which wild horses of all ages could be sold “without limitation”. In other words, horses could be sold directly to killer buyers in unchecked numbers. The Team admitted that “some wild horses will go to slaughter”.
“Once they are gone, they’re gone” says Karen Sussman, President of the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros. “To lose this incomparable species would be a travesty.”
Team Members formulated ways in which they could circumvent the National Environmental Policy Act, asking “How many (wild horses) could be euthanized during a gather (roundup) without having NEPA?” BLM discussed ways to circumvent the federal carcass disposal law (43 CFR 4730.2). Conversations included how many wild horses could be rendered at the Reno Rendering plant or “disposed of in pits”. The Team concluded that “there will not be large numbers of horses euthanized during gathers or in the field. This is due to state environmental laws.”
Recommendations include the creation of gelding herds, and sterilization of mares to create non-reproductive herds in the wild in place of natural herds. The team recommended changing the sex ratio from the normal 50% males and 50% females to 70% males and 30% females. Then the experimental two-year infertility drug, PZP-22, would be given to all mares that are returned to the wild. Plans call for rounding up the wild horses every two years to re-administer the drug.
“Mares on the drug will cycle monthly and, with the altered sex ratio, the social chaos will be dangerous and on-going,” Kathrens explains. “Any semblance of normal wild horse society will be completely destroyed.”
Kathrens has spent 15 years in the wild documenting mustang behavior for her PBS television documentaries which chronicle the life story of Cloud, the now famous pale palomino stallion she has filmed since birth. “Even Cloud and his little herd in Montana are in serious danger if BLM implements these options,” she continues. “The BLM plans a massive round up in Cloud’s herd beginning August 30, 2009.”
The BLM will not guarantee that Cloud and his family will remain free.
ACTIONS:
The BLM documents referred to above and photos of wild horses are available from The Cloud Foundation.
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign
Horse Power
http://www.theamericanwildhorse.com
Testimonials on the the reality of helicopter round-ups - on AWHPC
The 2008 Wild Horse and Burro Summit is to be held this weekend in Nevada. (Want to attend? Click here.)
The gathering of wild horse advocates hosted by the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, a non-profit group, will meet to discuss what can be done to prevent horses and burros from being killed by lethal injections.
The summit is intended to be a learning experience and will bring together leading experts in the world of equine behavior, genetics, research, and range management. Equine scientists, range experts, and wild horse advocacy groups will discuss and bring forth proposed solutions to the problems facing wild horses in America. Focus will be on the current crisis facing America’s wild horses’ threatened existence on public lands.
However, the main goal is to address solutions for the present and
very urgent wild horse emergency – the impending euthanasia of approximately 33,000 wild horses now in federal holding facilities.
Officials from the BLM will also be attending the summit.
During the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meeting this June, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced its potential inability to financially support over 30,000 wild horses the agency currently has in its short- and long-term holding facilities due to a “budget crisis”. The BLM proposed a plan to “euthanize” many of these horses as a “solution”.
If a viable plan is not found and implemented soon, this situation could result in the euthanasia of thousands of wild horses.
2008 Wild Horse and Burro Summit – Open to the public
Where: South Point casino
9777 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89183
(702) 796-7111 Toll Free: (866) 796-7111
When: 8:00am – 5:00pm, Saturday and Sunday, October 11 & 12
Cost: $25 covers all sessions for both days
or contact Karen Sussman (president of the ISPMB) at (605) 964-6866.
See our post “Save the Wild Mustangs – important petition” for more information and please sign the petition to stop the BLM’s outrageous plan to kill these wild beauties.
Majestic wild mustangs have roamed the American West with a history that predates modern land use. They are part of our national heritage symbolizing our country’s freedom and independent spirit. Today, there are less than 30,000 wild horses on the range.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has announced an outrageous plan to kill these wild horses, potentially driving them to extinction, claiming that it can no longer afford to round up wild horses and confine them until it finds people to adopt them. The government agency wants to euthanize or sell these wild beauties to the highest bidder “without limitation” – i.e., sell them to anyone, even if the bidder also plans to kill these horses.
Why do they need to round them up in the first place? Good question. The BLM states that it can’t “allow horses to multiply unchecked on the range without causing an environmental disaster.” But, there are at least 3 million grazing cattle vs. 30,000 wild horses.
These wild horses have a right to inhabit the public lands they have roamed for centuries. The BLM should manage the land effectively to preserve these free-roaming beauties, rather than killing them. Instead, the BLM would seemingly rather placate corporate cattle ranchers who view these horses as foraging competition – despite the environmental damage being caused by cattle overgrazing.
Please oppose this outrageous plan and stand up for our wild horses today. Remind the government to abide by the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act of 1971.
– You can make a difference. -
Send a comment to the BLM today, call or write your government representatives, &
« Sign the petition to save our wild horses! »*
[*] – Thus far, Care2’s petition has garnered 7,141 35,443 signatures with a goal of 50,000.
Related links:
Animal Welfare Institute Press Release
Willie Nelson’s Peace Research Institute
WildHorsePreservation.org
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign Petition
The Cloud Foundation
The American Horse Defense Fund
The Humane Society of the United States
The BLM’s feedback form
Related Posts:
Wild Horses & The BLM – a selection of videos about wild horses and the current crisis.
Twitter / BlueGreenMarble
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