Here’s where we stand: With just a few hours to go, we’re falling short of our our $100,000 goal.
If we don’t hit that goal by midnight, we’ll lose the chance to have those gifts MATCHED – and that means we won’t be able to fight back against all of the threats facing wild horses.
We’re down to the wire. Our end of year fundraising deadline is only 48 hours away — and we haven’t yet heard from you.
If you’ve been holding off, here are five reasons to give now:
#1 The fate of wild horses is at stake now more than ever. Just this year we’ve seen some of the worst roundups yet, and we had to fight back attempts in Congress to legalize slaughter. We’ll have to continue the fight in 2019 to defeat the powerful special interests seeking to overturn protections for wild horses and burros against slaughter and mass sterilization. Help us win on Capitol Hill.
#2 We’re the most effective advocates for wild horses and burros in the country. We were party to seven lawsuits against the federal government this year — and we’re listed as one of the 30 Great Animal Organizations Worth Your Donations. We have to keep up the fight.
#3 We must unleash a massive grassroots and PR campaign to save the most visible and visited mustang population in the West — the famed Onaqui wild horses in Utah — and defeat a BLM plan to remove 91% of the herd in the Spring 2019. Please support us today.
#4 We must defeat the U.S. Forest Service’s plan to sell federally-protected wild horses in California for $1 a piece by the truckload for slaughter, and we must help rescue, when necessary and possible, wild horses facing this horrific fate. Help us keep wild horses out of the slaughter pipeline.
Horses have always been special to me — you can see a photo of my mustang Leroy and I below. And when I saw how many threats wild horses like him are facing, from slaughter to mass capture and sterilization, I knew I had to do something. I had to be their voice.
There’s a big difference between rescue and prevention. Although rescue is important, it’s like trying to keep an empty bucket under a faucet that never stops flowing. We need to turn off the faucet — which is why AWHC focuses our work on sustainable, humane management that keeps wild horses and burros wild and free and on our public lands.
I know of no other nonprofit as efficient, dedicated, and impactful as AWHC. The team runs a lean operation, activates a powerful movement, and fights aggressively in every arena — from the range to the courtroom. I’ve become a board member because I trust that my time and money is going to go as far as it can to protect wild horses, and you can trust that too.
It’s a season of giving — and what better way to celebrate than by giving to America’s wild horses and burros?
This year has been a challenging one for our cause, with attacks on all fronts. But from the courtroom to the halls of Congress, we have won repeatedly against some of the most powerful special interests. And it’s all thanks to you and this grassroots movement we’ve built together. We’re hoping you can step up one more time before the end of the year.
In August of this year, a photo of an unnamed foal went viral after our documentation of the Bureau of Land Management’s Red Desert roundup in Wyoming. We showed the world the cruelty of BLM helicopter roundups up-close.
The tiny foal was chased for miles with his mother and the rest of his band. As they neared the trap, his mother tried to save him, bravely putting herself between her baby and the helicopter. But ultimately, she was no match for the terrifying machine in the sky. She and her foal were captured. Her baby, pictured below collapsed in a holding pen, died overnight due to “capture shock,” ie. being run to death.Help us fight back.
Sadly, the foal was just one of ten horses who died during the roundup. At least four young foals were run to death; a fifth was euthanized after breaking his leg. A sixth foal was euthanized due to a previously broken fetlock, meaning he was chased for miles on an injured leg.
We document these cruelties to shine a light on the horrible, cruel practices of the BLM. And we fight each and every day through court battles, public awareness and legislation – to change the BLM policy so that our wild horses and burros can remain safe, wild, and free.
We fought many battles in 2018 – and saved many lives. But wild horses and burros still need our help.
Earlier this year our team captured these images of Sage, a wild mare from the Warm Springs Herd Management Area (HMA) in Oregon.
Sage lived her life amidst the sagebrush, junipers and wide-open spaces of Oregon’s high desert. But then, on October 3, 2018, the helicopters descended.
She was captured along with hundreds of other wild horses and put in a small holding pen – set to become a subject of a gruesome, invasive, and potentially fatal BLM sterilization experiment.*
This year, we filed seven lawsuits to defend the freedom, safety and welfare of wild horses like Sage. Our litigation has been highly successful, but it’s not cheap.
Brieanah Schwartz, Esq., AWHC Government Relations & Policy Counsel
*WARNING: GRAPHIC DETAIL: An “ovariectomy via colpotomy” involves a veterinarian making an incision in a mare’s vaginal wall, placing their hand and arm through the vagina into the abdominal cavity, manually (and blindly) locating the ovaries, and then severing them with a rod-like chain tool known as an “ecraseur.”
It’s been an honor to work with you this year to protect the magnificent wild horses and burros that grace our public lands. Together, we’ve made significant strides, and much work lies ahead.
For now, we enjoy the holiday season and the spirit of compassion, generosity and joy that it inspires.
Wishing you and your family peace, love and freedom over the holidays and in the New Year!
This holiday season, you can set up your own fundraiser for wild horses and burros through Facebook! It’s a fun, easy way for you to make a difference for mustangs and burros, and to share an issue that you care about with your friends and family.
All proceeds from these campaigns will go directly supporting wild horses and burros, and help us reach our end of year fundraising goal. You can add your own goal, share your reasons for raising money to save America’s wild horses and burros, and invite your network to take part.
We couldn’t have predicted at the beginning of the year how difficult it would be for wild horses and burros in 2018. Efforts to legalize slaughter in the federal budget. Brutal roundups almost year-round. A plan to move forward with cruel and risky sterilization surgeries on wild mares. A federal agency’s attempt to sell wild horses knowingly and directly for slaughter for the first time ever.
It’s been nonstop attacks for the entire year — but we’ve been able to fight back, because of your support. We’ve worked with our allies in Congress to maintain slaughter protections in the budget, documented the worst of the roundups so that Americans know how their tax dollars are being spent, and successfully stopped the inhumane sterilization experiments in court.
But this fight is not over. The fate of the innocent wild horses pictured above — rounded up just months ago from our public lands in California and now in danger of being sold for slaughter — and so many other wild horses and burros hangs in the balance.
By making a donation, you can help us carry on the critical work to defend wild horses and burros into the coming year… work like the litigation and grassroots/political action that has so far held off the slaughter of cherished California wild mustangs.
Remember, now through December 31, your contribution will be DOUBLED, thanks to a generous matching gift offer up to $100,000. That means your gift goes twice as far for wild horses and burros!
Wild horses and burros face unprecedented threats – from slaughter to mass sterilization and roundups. But this movement keeps winning – and it’s thanks to you.
Now, with end of year fast approaching, we’ve got to be prepared for the battles 2019 will bring.
Your donation will help us keep up the fights in court that protect wild horses and burros from federal attempts to sell them for slaughter and reduce their habitat on our public lands; in Congress to stop members from stripping critical protections; and in the arena of public opinion to continue to shine a light on cruel roundups and other inhumane government management practices.
Our End of Year Fundraising Campaign is the biggest fundraising event of the year – and we rely on our donations from this time to fund the critical work that lies ahead in 2019 to protect America’s mustangs and burros.
We won’t stop working until wild horses and burros and our public lands are protected and managed properly, safely, and humanely. With your help, we’ll be able to make this goal a reality.
If we could list every single one of you in the credits at the end of the video, we would. Why? At every step, it has been you – your calls, emails, donations, and action – that has propelled this movement.
We’ve fought for wild horses and burros in court, warding off threats to wild herds and their lands. We’ve joined with elected officials in retaining all-important slaughter restrictions in the federal budget. We’ve been able to document the BLM’s inhumane roundups to hold them accountable and bring public awareness of the issue to a whole new level. And through press and media attention, we’ve grown our movement to new heights, as more people than ever have become champions to these threatened, majestic creatures.
Congress has extended the time before it votes on a final government spending bill by two weeks.
Some lawmakers are using this extension to try to ram in all sorts of clauses into the final bill, including language that would strip critical protections for wild horses and open the door to slaughter.
Members of both the Agriculture and Interior committees are considering dangerous changes that could end the prohibition on horse slaughter for human consumption. Other changes to the bill could include allowing cruel and untested sterilization experiments on mares.
This is not the first time we’ve faced this threat from Washington, and we know that if we raise our voices, we’ll win the protections wild horses need. We’ve won before. And we can win again. Please act now.
Last month, 932 wild horses were rounded up by the U.S. Forest Service in the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory in California – with a portion to be sold for $1 a piece, by the truckload, with no limitation on slaughter.
We can’t let this happen. Our team has been working around the clock to save these horses from slaughter. Now, we have two big updates:
On Tuesday, California Assemblymember Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) introduced legislation to protect the state’s wild and domestic horses from slaughter. We’re working closely with his office to create and pass a strong bill to accomplish this goal.
Last week, our legal team filed a motion for preliminary injunctionin federal court to block the Forest Service’s slaughter plan, which clearly violates state and federal law. We’re asking the court to prohibit the government from selling horses without limitation, which it currently plans to start on January 15.
We are doing everything possible to protect our wild horses from slaughter. But we need your help to carry on this critically important work.
The deadline for Congress to finalize a government spending bill is December 7 – and some lawmakers are now trying to sneak changes into the bill that would remove protections for wild horses and burros from slaughter.
We have faced this threat numerous times in the past two years. At every critical moment, we have succeeded, but ONLY because this movement has mobilized. Don’t stop now.
Our opponents on both the Agriculture and Interior committees could make dangerous changes that could lead to horse slaughter for human consumption or cruel, untested sterilization experiments on mares.
The Hill calls these disputes “small-ball skirmishes” but we know they could be life or death for thousands of majestic creatures.
Thank you for making Giving Tuesday a success for wild horses. With your help, we hit our goal and unlocked our full $50,000 match!
The threats to wild horses have never been greater. But, with your help, 2018 has been one of our most successful years ever. Together, we succeeded in keeping slaughter prohibitions in the budget, protected wild mares from cruel sterilization procedures, and drew national attention to the cruel roundups across the West.
Thanks to your continued support, we’ll be able to keep up the fight wild horses and burros in the courtroom, in the halls of Congress, and in the field. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing all of the successes from the past year, and the fights still ahead.
Thank you for being with us as we continue to stand up for wild horses and burros.
-Team AWHC
PS – If you didn’t get a chance to donate yesterday, there’s still time to help make a difference! Click here to make a tax deductible donation to support America’s wild horses.
This year has been one of our most successful in history. We’ve beaten back attempts to strip slaughter protections from the budget, won injunctions against cruel sterilization experiments, and worked with legislators to strengthen protections for horses and public lands. We’ve sued the federal government to demand that they uphold the law, the intent of Congress and the will of the American people to protect our wild horses and burros on our public lands.
We’ve accomplished so much this year — and we must continue to build on our success. Today is Giving Tuesday, and a generous donors has stepped up to MATCH every gift we receive up to $50,000 from now until midnight. Can you chip in now and have your impact DOUBLED?
We have ambitious plans for next year — keeping up our fights for wild horses and burros in the courtroom, in the halls of Congress, and in the field. We must prevent the sale of horses for slaughter, protect them from cruel, inhumane roundups, and ensure that their home on our public lands is secure.
This year has been one of our most successful in history. We’ve beaten back attempts to strip slaughter protections from the budget, won injunctions against cruel sterilization experiments, and worked with legislators to strengthen protections for horses and public lands. We’ve sued the federal government to demand that they uphold the law, the intent of Congress and the will of the American people to protect our wild horses and burros on our public lands.
We’ve accomplished so much this year — and we must continue to build on our success. Today is Giving Tuesday, and a generous donors has stepped up to MATCH every gift we receive up to $50,000 from now until midnight. Can you chip in now and have your impact DOUBLED?
We have ambitious plans for next year — keeping up our fights for wild horses and burros in the courtroom, in the halls of Congress, and in the field. We must prevent the sale of horses for slaughter, protect them from cruel, inhumane roundups, and ensure that their home on our public lands is secure.
Our good friend and hugely talented photographer Kimerlee Curyl, is offering nine of her incredible images of America’s mustangs for sale with 30% of the proceeds going directly to AWHC! What’s more, from November 23 until November 30, use the code StayWild to get an additional 10% off of your purchase!
Did you know that Thanksgiving Coffee Company offers a coffee called Wild Groundsto help wild horses? It’s true! 10% of the proceeds go towards our work to keep wild horses wild! All the coffee is certified fair-trade from the farming co-ops the company has known and worked with for years. It’s all organic and shade-grown, which is vital for preserving precious jungle forest and providing bird habitat. And, they are a B corporation, which certifies their commitment to environmental and social justice.
Our 2019 calendar, American Wild, is currently available for pre-sale and features the stunning photography of amazing wild horse and burro photographers and AWHC friends! All proceeds will be used to fund our advocacy, litigation, field and rescue programs. Calendars start shipping November 28!
We wouldn’t be able to protect the wild horses and burros of America without supporters like you. That’s why this Thanksgiving, we wanted to share a very special thank you for making it all possible.
We’re so grateful for you and for the magnificent animals we are working so hard to protect.
We’ve got many challenges ahead – but with your help, we’ll continue to meet them to ensure that our wild horses and burros are running free on our public lands for our children and grandchildren to enjoy.
From all of us at the American Wild Horse Campaign, warmest wishes to you and your family for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
The U.S. Department of the Interior is proposing to destroy thousands of public records including those related to the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Progam. AWHC and other wild horse protection groups believe that many of these records are valuable to research and our advocacy and litigation work. Their destruction could significantly hamper our efforts to protect wild horses and burros. Please take action today.
Members of the AWHC team attended the Devil’s Garden wild horse sale and adoption event this weekend in Alturas, CA where 45 horses were placed. We have serious concerns about the safety and welfare of the horses in the pens in the Modoc National Forest under the management of the Modoc County Farm Bureau. While every person who took a horse appears to be a legitimate trainer or rescue, the remaining horses are far from safe, because in less than two months, the Forest Service plans to sell any horses for $1 a piece without limitation on slaughter. Read our firsthand account below.
Next week, the BLM helicopters will descend on the Silver King HMA in eastern Nevada, kicking off the winter roundup season. A total of 1,600 wild horses and burros have been targeted for removal over the next two months. Read on to find out what herds are being targeted.
