We wanted to make sure you had the chance to read this before getting too wrapped up in your weekend Meredith.
The roundup in the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory in California ended this week, resulting in the permanent removal of 499 wild horses from their federally protected habitat. Already three of them have died at the U.S. Forest Service’s Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals.
This latest roundup followed the removal of 932 wild horses last fall from Devil’s Garden. The USFS announced last year that the captured wild horses could be sold without limitations on slaughter (we’re suing to stop them).
If you’ve already donated or cannot at this time, please consider sharing this with a couple of your close friends. Our wild horses and burros don’t have a voice – So we have to use ours.
I am literally sick to my stomach and crying as I write this. The beautiful bay has a so called, “blown out knee”. We need to commit to save her right now. She is heading to the slaughter truck, if we don’t step up. Look at that leg, it has to be excruciating! That is how she stands (see middle pix).
I have to say I am saying YES, praying and believing that y’all would not let her down. Watching her move is beyond excruciating, and I cannot believe any human could leave a horse like that.
So she was headed to the slaughter truck, her knee basically broken, and in absolute agony. I am so angry and so sick. I just cried and cried when I saw her trying to walk. We need to call the emergency vet out asap, and I also told my person to GO AHEAD!. I am running on absolute faith, but the person who left this horse like this should be punished beyond belief.
On top of that we have her buddy, a 30 year old gelding who is slowly starving as his teeth are in beyond deplorable shape. He has horrible open sores in his mouth from his teeth poking into his gums, and is blind to boot. These horses have been through more pain than any horse should ever suffer. We were told the gelding has cancer, and you can see the tumors all over his head and neck.
We need to commit to both of these horses. AND, while I was writing this, I RECEIVED ANOTHER CALL about more orphans at the shipping yard.
SO WE NEED HELP, AND WE NEED IT NOW. PLEASE HELP US SAVE THESE 2 and provide what they need. I am sure the emergency vet will not be cheap, but we need to help this mare RIGHT NOW! Her pain ends tonight.
We also need to save the orphaned foals, bail them, vet them and get them home.
What a horrible way to live the “golden years”. Sometimes this is just way too much to even begin to deal with.
I told our person to call the vet, and again, I am absolutely running on faith. Faith that no one out there will let that mare suffer another minute more than she has to. Can you imagine walking on a broken leg with all that weight???? She can’t even bend over to get to water.
I know there are at least 2 more orphans, and we all know how those numbers can climb quickly.
_We had to put down “Our Beautiful Boy”, the one who was saved after Lucky Man got another home, prior to Matt picking him up. He too was in absolute agony and could barely even stand. He would have also been on the slaughter truck floor. _
There is way too much heartbreak. We had a $1000 vet bill from the last kids in WA, and they same day we had a huge bill in NV, and that is the day we had to euthanize Our Beautiful Boy; So between our last 2 vet bills, the ones we are incurring with these 2 kids, and the one for the new orphans, we will be hurting tremendously, and that is not even beginning to add up all the new expenses that will come with these kids.
I can only say THANK YOU, on behalf of all the horses you have saved. Especially from the ones who would have died during transport. The gift you have given these horses is amazing, and yes, once again I am asking you to help more horses.
It is definitely “GO TIME”!
WE NEED YOU TO SAVE THEM! PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN!
Y’all are amazing, and YOU HAVE SAVED SO MANY LIVES! Thank you for always being there for the horses.
Thank you as always, for your amazing love and support. We treasure all our Chilly Pepper Family and appreciate the fact that YOU MAKE THIS ALL POSSIBLE! We will keep on fighting as long as we have the funds to make it happen, even though on days like today it is simply too much. :(
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
WIN (WILD HORSES IN NEED) is a 501c3 IRS EIN 55-0882407_
If there are ever funds left over from the cost of the rescue itself, the monies are used to feed, vet, care for and provide shelter and proper fencing for the animals once they are saved.
The BLM is continuing its “business as usual” agenda with the announcement of a roundup and removal plan for California’s Twin Peaks wild horse and burro herd. The agency is planning to roundup and remove horses and burros to “achieve and maintain low AML” over the next ten years, implement fertility control on all mares and jennies, manage a non-reproducing population of geldings, and skew the wild horse sex ratio in favor of males. The BLM needs to hear from you. Please take one moment to take action below.
The BLM Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board is meeting on July 9 -11 in Boise, Idaho. In recent years, the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program has gone from bad to worse, and the special interest agenda of achieving virtual extinction of wild free-roaming horses and burros for the benefit of subsidized livestock grazing has steadily gained ground. This citizen-based board is supposed to represent all stakeholders, among the largest, the American public. Please take one moment to submit your comments today.
Yesterday, June 25, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Fiscal Year 2020 spending legislation that contains good and bad news for wild horses. On the plus side, the bill prohibits the U.S. Forest Service from selling wild horses and burros from slaughter. If passed by the full Congress, it would put the brakes on the Forest Service’s plan to sell wild horses from the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory in California for slaughter. On the negative side, the bill includes $6 million extra for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) and his allies state will be used to round up and surgically sterilize wild horses. Read on to learn what’s next.
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Just got the call for 4 HEAVILY PREGNANT MARES about to ship to slaughter.As you can see below, one of them is already bagging up. As usual, there is an imminent deadline, so we need to save them now!
I believe we have been given 24 hours to come up with the funds to save these kids. We NEED to get it done NOW, so we can get that mare to our nursery at Mama Mel’s so she can have her baby in a safe and clean environment.
I know we are always handling “emergencies”, but that is what the “front line, boots on the ground is all about”. If not, these beautiful ladies ship. I cannot even bear the thought of that little baby being born in the trailer on the way to slaughter, or the mom’s going to slaughter either.
Matt is delivering Obsidian and Goldy to their forever homes, and picking up the other kids. We were able to send payment for Lucky Man on time, and he did not ship! THANK YOU FOR THAT!
BUT WE NEED HELP RIGHT NOW TO MAKE SURE THESE GIRLS ARE SAFE. Can you even imagine the baby dropping into this world, in the middle of a bunch of terrified and angry horses. He/she would drop onto a filthy floor and be trampled to death. Let’s make sure she is born in a clean and quiet place, where her Mama can take care of her and she can nurse and have a life.
It was terrifying when I saw Hope had been born in the trailer, but we were equipped and took immediate steps to ensure her safety. Our trailer was not packed, and it was still oh so scary.
PLEASE do not let this happen to these babies and let’s keep their Mama’s safe too.
We need to purchase them, get them vetted and transported etc. This is just the beginning, but I am counting on our Chilly Pepper Family to step up once again. You guys are amazing and I am so very grateful, as are all the horses you save!!
Donate now and let’s “git ‘er done”. If ever there was an emergency, it is right now!!
(With all the babies, extra vet bills etc, we are absolutely wiped out. The amazing love y’all have shown is what made it possible to pick up the milk and get the vetting done etc. Sadly though, the babies and the other special needs kids have wiped out the budget. However, they are all DOING FANTASTIC, thanks to y’all!)
You can clearly see she needs out NOW to have her baby somewhere safe. Looks like baby is going to have all the milk he/she needs. PLEASE SAVE HER!!!!
Thank you as always, for your amazing love and support. We treasure all our Chilly Pepper Family and appreciate the fact that YOU MAKE THIS ALL POSSIBLE!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
WIN (WILD HORSES IN NEED) is a 501c3 IRS EIN 55-0882407_
If there are ever funds left over from the cost of the rescue itself, the monies are used to feed, vet, care for and provide shelter and proper fencing for the animals once they are saved.
It is Now or Never for this poor boy. As usual, right in the middle of one rescue, comes another.
Matt is on scene and we have a chance to keep “HE NEEDS A MIRACLE” safe from any more of the horrors he has already faced. As you can see, he may end up being another humane euthanasia. Obviously we will give him every single chance to heal, and if he is just a bit odd shaped and in no pain, we will make sure he finds a safe place to land. But if the right thing for him is to end his pain, we will make sure he gets that respect. HE DESERVES TO HAVE NO MORE PAIN!
But HE CANNOT GO TO SLAUGHTER :(
In Addition, we have also been asked to help with an upcoming seizure in the next few days. So as usual, we have more lives to save and can only do so with your help.
Another fun fact is that due to the extreme shortage of hay due to the odd winter, in order to keep our hay safe, they will be delivering $7000 worth of hay tomorrow. We need to pay in full. Normally we would have it over 3 months, but due to the shortage and angry customers trying to buy the hay promised to Chilly Pepper, we have to get it now to secure it.
So now we need your help to get all of this done. Thankfully the 3 little ones at the Shipper’s are still spending time with their Mama’s. The more time they have the better, so we are praying we will not get the call that their Mama’s have shipped, for as long as possible. (NO, we do not have access to purchase their Mama’s at this point.)
So it is with great concern I send this out. We need help immediately to pull “He Needs A Miracle”. I am sure our Chilly Pepper Family would all agree that even if he doesn’t have a long life ahead of him, that he definitely should not be loaded on that trailer.
Thank you for any help you can provide for the hay, to save “HE NEEDS A MIRACLE” and to help us provide assistance with the upcoming seizure.
Thank you as always from ALL OF THE HORSES YOU ARE SAVING!!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
WIN (WILD HORSES IN NEED) is a 501c3 IRS EIN 55-0882407_
If there are ever funds left over from the cost of the rescue itself, the monies are used to feed, vet, care for and provide shelter and proper fencing for the animals once they are saved.
“BANDIT”, shown above, needs your help today!!. Although we are on standby for more babies, I couldn’t ignore this beautiful boy. Seeing the despair in his eyes, and knowing that we can not only change that, but keep him off the slaughter truck sent me running to the computer. (Ok, so I can barely walk, but y’all know what i mean.) In all seriousness though, the clock is ticking…
I had to make an immediate decision, so once again I based it on faith. Faith that my Chilly Pepper Family will step up and make it possible to save not only him, but the 3 year old pony who was also scheduled to ship to slaughter. However, we can’t do it without y’all making it happen. Our budget is tapped out, and at this point, we simply don’t have funds to save these kids
Please help us save them. It is absolutely “baby time”, but every single life matters, and when God puts a certain one in front of us, I have to try and do everything I can to help.
So Please, help me, help him. Can you imagine how horrible just the trip to the slaughter plant would be in his condition? And then what would be waiting for him? It isn’t right, and since he and the little pony are “in front of us”, let’s save their lives too.
The babies are all hanging in there. Most of them have had scours and been sick at some point, and Goldilocks is still really struggling, as some of the others are. I have another vet bill for about $1500+, and between all the babies, there have been lots of vet visits. We are going through milk at a crazy pace, and so appreciate any and all help with these ongoing expenses.
On Monday, we’ll be in court to stand up for a group of both wild and privately owned horses who were wrongfully rounded up in Palomino Valley in Nevada. The hearing will determine whether the laws of the state are upheld and whether the horses can be saved, or if, heartbreakingly, they will go to slaughter.
Residents of Nevada’s Palomino Valley lost horses and burros during a multi-day roundup coordinated by members of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe – who illegally stampeded horses with motorcycles, ATVs and on horseback off private property where they had been living for years.
Several privately owned horses and burros were taken in the process. Some were released and have wandered home, but Lady, a small bay mare who belongs to Sparks, NV resident Colleen Westlake, remains missing.
Photo above of “Lady”
Right now, we don’t know where Lady and the other horses are. We do know that 238 of them were sold to a notorious kill buyer in New Mexico. We’re holding out hope that they haven’t already been shipped across the border to Mexico for slaughter.
Our team is working with the residents whose private property rights were violated to hold the tribe and the Nevada Department of Agriculture accountable for this illegal surprise roundup.
Please, support our team as we go to court on Monday to stand up for Lady and the rest of the horses rounded up at Palomino Valley, and for all our critical work to save wild horses in Nevada and throughout the West.
Right now, we are the voice for these horses. We are their advocates, and their lawyers. Thank you for standing with them and with us.
Late last night, we got a Temporary Restraining Order from the U.S. District Court in Nevada to prevent the slaughter of Lady, a beautiful mare who belongs to a Nevada resident. Lady was rounnded up in an illegal capture operation two weeks ago conducted on private lands by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. We believe Lady and the other horses are in a New Mexico feedlot awaiting shipment to slaughter.
Please help us secure the cooperation of the State of Nevada to save Lady from slaughter.
Deliver this message to the below officials:
“Please help save Lady from slaughter. Please have the Nevada Department of Agriculture immediately provide the location of the horses rounded up by the Paiute tribe two weeks ago and notify New Mexico authorities that the horses cannot be moved across the border into Mexico.”
We have just hours left before the three-day weekend so please take action now to save Lady and the other horses! Please remember to be polite and respectful – it’s the best way to save the horses.
The U.S. District Court in Wyoming just ruled in our favor and stopped the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from not counting foals in roundup removal totals, putting a stop to the tactic that the BLM employed to round up more horses than legally allowed from our public lands. This is a precedent setting win! Read more:
Residents of the rural community of Palomino Valley near Reno are devastated this week after a surprise roundup conducted by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe last weekend. Horses were driven off private land onto reservation land and captured for slaughter. The roundup left the Valley devoid of its locally cherished wild horses and ensnared several privately-owned horses in the process. Read more and support our efforts to help the residents fight back below.
Two months ago, the U.S. Forest Service completed its roundup and removal of 932 horses from the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory (DGWHT) in the Modoc National Forest near Alturas, CA. AWHC has filed suit to stop the sale for slaughter of these federally-protected horses for slaughter and is sponsoring state legislation to strengthen slaughter protections for all California horses. Read the latest about the horses and our efforts to help them below.
As the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, the playing field for wild horses and burros is shifting. Meanwhile, the shutdown drags on, affecting the agencies that manage these federally-protected animals. Read on to find out the latest developments and what they mean for our wild horses and burros.
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.
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.
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.
On Wednesday, outside of the U.S. Forest Service headquarters in Vallejo, California, 75-100 advocates protested the inhumane and illegal planned roundup and sale of the Devil’s Garden wild horses.
Thank you to everyone who came out! This protest was a huge moment in this fight to save wild horses from slaughter – and it’s a fight we can win.
Here’s everything we’re doing right now to secure protections for these horses:
Legal: We teamed up with the Animal Legal Defense Fund to file a lawsuit last week to block the sale of wild horses without restrictions on slaughter. Our legal team has been successfully litigating over the Devils Garden wild horses for five years. We’re confident we can win this latest case to protect wild horses from slaughter – with the right resources. Support our legal efforts!
Legislative: We’re working with both federal and state legislators to put a halt to this crisis and enforce protections for these horses. Assemblymember Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) has been joined by 22 other members of the California legislature in opposing the Forest Service’s cruel plans, and Senator Dianne Feinstein is working to end this abuse by the Forest Service. Help us keep up the fight.
Long term: Before this crisis began, AWHC was working with the Forest Service on a plan to introduce a humane, scientific pilot program for sustainable population management. Our PZP birth control program has proven to be a successful range management solution everywhere it’s been tried. Support our efforts to bring long-term, humane management to wild horses across the country.
Placement: We’ve created a Devil’s Garden Placement Assistance Fund to help support safe placement of Devils Garden horses. Chip in today!
If the U.S. Forest Service gets away with selling wild horses for slaughter, it will set a horrific precedent that will open the floodgates to slaughter of thousands of federally protected mustangs.
We won’t let it happen – and with your help, we’ll win this fight.
Thanks for standing with us, and with the Devil’s Garden horses.
Today, we’re organizing a rally at the U.S. Forest Service Region 5 headquarters in Vallejo, California to protest the roundup of wild horses from the Devils Garden Wild Horse Territory and the pending sale of captured horses for slaughter. Even if you can’t make it in person, we need your help to raise awareness for the issue online during our rally.
Support our protest against the sale of wild horses without limitation on slaughter by joining our virtual sit-in today.
We could be working toward humane and sustainable wild horse management – instead, we’re working around the clock to make sure these horses are not sold by the truckload for a $1 a piece. Supporters across the country have come forward to voice their support for saving these horses. We need that energy today.
Make your voice heard TODAY! Here’s how you can help:
“Save wild horses from slaughter! I oppose the U.S. Forest Service rounding up wild horses in California and selling them without limitation – where they could be sold by the truckload for $1 a piece to be butchered for horsemeat. #ProtectWildHorses
While we’re protesting at the Forest Service in Vallejo today, we’ll be counting on you to raise awareness of this issue online and across the country. If we all raise our voices, the Forest Service will have no choice but to change their plan of mass roundups, sale and slaughter.
Message, tweet, and share your support of America’s Wild Horses with the hashtag #ProtectWildHorses, and let’s tell the Forest Service we won’t stand for this government-sponsored cruelty.
Before the U.S. Forest Service announced its plan to sell captured Devil’s Garden wild horses without limitation on slaughter, AWHC was working with the agency on a plan to introduce a humane, scientific pilot program for sustainable population management.
In fact, we were (and remain) ready to implement a PZP birth control pilot program in the Garden, and to work with ranching permittees to explore compensation for retirement or reduced use of livestock grazing permits on the public lands in the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory.
It’s disappointing that the U.S. Forest Service has prioritized mass removal and sale for slaughter instead of taking a step toward humane and sustainable wild horse management. This is particularly true since their plan violates both the intent of Congress and the laws of California, which has banned the cruel practice of horse slaughter for two decades.
So now we have to fight back — and let them know that choosing slaughter over humane range management is unacceptable to the American public.
Here are the steps we’re taking to fight back against this cruel and illegal plan:
We’ve filed a lawsuit to block the sale of wild horses to kill buyers. Legal action is one of the most potent weapons in our arsenal — but it’s expensive. Chip in today to help us win this lawsuit.
We’re mobilizing our supporters from across California to attend our rally in Vallejo demanding that the Forest Service put a stop to this inhumane plan. Support our field efforts.
We’re working with allies in both the state legislature and the federal government — and we’ve already gotten huge support. State Senator Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) and 23 of his colleagues in the California Legislature have joined the fight, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein has made her voice heard. Help us keep lobbying our leaders for action.
We believe that we can win this fight — but only with your help. Thanks for standing with us.
Unbelievably, in less than 90 days, the U.S. Forest Service intends to offer federally-protected wild horses for sale without limitation on slaughter. The horses — who are being rounded up right now from the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory in the Modoc National Forest near Alturas, California — will be sold by the trailerload for $1 a piece. Kill buyers will be allowed to purchase these wild horses and truck them across the border to Canadian slaughter plants, where these American icons will be butchered and turned into horsemeat for human consumption overseas.
The Forest Service’s roundup and slaughter plan is one of the most brazen acts of destruction we’ve seen this year. And all so that ranchers who hold grazing permits in the Forest can put MORE cattle on our public lands.
By now you’ve probably heard about the situation in California, as a thousand federally-protected wild horses are being rounded up from the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory in the Modoc National Forest. Hundreds of these iconic mustangs are in danger of being sold without limitation on slaughter. AWHC is working on numerous fronts to address this crisis – and our activism is working.
Here’s an update on the work we’re doing:
Federal – We’re working to close the technical loophole that the Forest Service is using to evade the Congressional prohibition on selling federally protected wild horses for slaughter. Our team also reached out to California Senator Dianne Feinstein about this situation and she immediately responded with a strongly worded letterto the Forest Service.
State – Under California law, the sale of horses for slaughter for human consumption is a felony. We worked with Assemblymember Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) to generate a sign on letterfrom 23 members of the California legislature opposing the Forest Service’s cruel plans. We’ve also asked the Attorney General to intervene to ensure that California’s law banning horse slaughter is enforced.
Legal – We’re teaming up with the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) and our legal team at Meyer Glitzenstein and Eubanks to take legal action to stop the Forest Service from selling the federally-protected wild horses without limitation on slaughter.
Public Support – We’ve generated thousands of phone calls and emails to the Forest Service and our media outreach has resulted in unprecedented local, state and national news coverage of the Forest Service’s cruel plan for our wild horses! Additionally, we have had observers onsite daily at the roundup to document, via photograph and video, the Forest Service’s treatment of these national icons.
We’re organizing a rally on October 24, 2018 at the U.S. Forest Service Region 5 headquarters in Vallejo, California.
Placement – We’re actively seeking options for placing larger numbers of Devil’s Garden horses who have been rounded up and are in need of safe forever homes.
Long-term Management – We’ve offered to partner with the Forest Service to implement a pilot fertility control program in the Devils Garden Wild Horse Territory – at no cost to taxpayers — as a first step toward developing a long-term, humane management plan for California’s largest, most significant wild horse population. We’ve also offered to facilitate financial compensation of ranchers for retirement or reduced use of livestock grazing permits for public lands within the territory. These are win-win solutions that can and should be implemented.
Join our rally on October 24, 2018. We need a strong showing of support to demonstrate that Californians will not tolerate the federal government’s plan to send our state’s wild horses to slaughter.
Bottom line: Our activism is working. The Forest Service has already decided to extend the time during which horses will not be sold for slaughter. The horses aren’t safe yet, but we’ve got their attention and we must keep pushing!
Thank you for all of your support in saving the lives of these wild horses.
The U.S. Forest Service is planning to round up and remove 1,000 wild horses from California’s largest federally-protected habitat area – the 233,000-acre Devils Garden Wild Horse Territory in the Modoc National Forest near Alturas. Even worse, the Forest Service intends to sell captured horses age 10 and over “without limitation,” allowing kill buyers to purchase a truckload of 36 horses per week for slaughter! We can’t let this happen – especially in California, a state that has banned the cruel practice of horse slaughter (including export for slaughter) for two decades! The roundup starts as early as next week, so time is of the essence.
Late last week, AWHC, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and The Cloud Foundation filed a motion for preliminary injunction to stop the BLM from performing risky and inhumane sterilization experiments on wild mares in Oregon. The BLM plans to begin the experiments — which involve a veterinarian placing his hand into a mare’s abdominal cavity via an incision in her vaginal wall, manually locating the ovaries, then twisting, severing and removing them by using a rod-like tool with a chain on the end — in early November. Check out our press release below, with more information on this critically important legal action.
On Tuesday, the BLM began the roundup and removal of wild horses from the Warm Spring Herd Management Area (HMA) in Oregon. The BLM intends to round up 100% of the wild horses and burros in the Warm Springs HMA (approximately 800) AND permanently remove 685 horses and burros from their homes on our public lands in this area. The agency wants to use 100 of the captured mares in the brutal sterilization experiments described above. Read our field observer’s reports from the roundup below.
Next week, the National BLM Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meets for the first time since the BLM delivered its disastrous and deadly report to Congress.
This board is supposed to represent stakeholders that include the public, science, wild horse advocacy, environmental and wildlife concerns. It’s time for its members to stop doing the bidding of the special interest livestock lobby, which continues to profit greatly from the BLM’s mustang roundup program. We need to be heard because the majority of Advisory Board members certainly aren’t representing the wishes of the American public. That was obvious when the board voted to recommend the mass destruction and sale for slaughter of the nearly 50,000 wild horses and burros in holding facilities. Only one member of this Advisory Board – our friend and colleague Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation – voted no.
Our opponents’ primary goal for the last two years: strip protections for wild horses and burros from federal appropriations legislation.
This week, they failed yet again. The House and Senate Appropriations Conference Committee agreed on a “continuing resolution” spending measure that will maintain protections for wild horses and burros against mass slaughter and cruel sterilization tactics.
We know that the the continuing pressure our movement is putting on Congress is making a difference. But this stopgap funding bill only goes through December 7.
It’s another victory for horses, and another set-back for our pro-slaughter opponents – but the fight continues right now. They think they can wear us down in fight after fight, but they’re wrong.
Our team has never stopped fighting. Tens of thousands of supporters like you have made calls, signed petitions, and emailed Congressional offices. And our team of AWHC lobbyists has been working the Hill to educate and pressure lawmakers.
And all of this work has been against the backdrop of one of the most cruel and brutal summers of roundups we’ve ever seen. Just this week, an “emergency” roundup in Nevada removed 359 wild horses by water and bait trapping – and, in Utah, the BLM captured 151 wild horses from the Muddy Creek HMA.
It’s hard to imagine how lawmakers and special interests continue to pursue cruel policies of roundups and slaughter. But while they remain on the wrong side of history, our movement will keep fighting for these innocent and majestic animals.
