Wild horses and burros: BLM's public relations nightmare

Wild stallion escaping capture at BLM's Calico roundup                           photo by C. Downer

 Wild horse roundups have been prevalent in news headlines of  late.  Viewing Bureau of Land Management's  wild horse and burro program under a microscope has resulted in a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of negative public opinion. Protests by animal welfare advocates along with press releases , public service announcements and calls to the White House in growing numbers have apparently put pressure on the BLM to respond to allegations of wrong doing.  

Robert Abbey, Director of the Bureau, appears to be working overtime in an attempt to regain a favorable image for the program and for the bureau itself. His efforts seem to be concentrated in Nevada where the highly controversial Calico Mountain roundup of 2,700 wild horses is underway.

The Reno Gazette Journal, located just south of the roundup, published an opinion article by Abbey titled " Bob Abbey: the BLM shares wild horse advocate goals"  Though the title would appear to be a peacemaker, the advocates don't agree.  Perhaps the beginning sentence, " A small, but vocal, group of wild horse advocates has sparked some very emotional resposes..." was aimed toward public opinion rather than the ten thousand advocates themselves.  Abbey has also made himself available at the Calico roundup site and is expected to do so again.

Though the  February roundup of more than 600 wild horses along the Nevada/Utah border is still scheduled, a Utah roundup was postponed because BLM officials neglected to do an environmental assessment of the proposed action and had not allowed the usual public input. 

Shortly after the postponement was announced, "Abbey: many myths in wild horse management debate", an article signed by Abbey, was published in the Salt Lake City Tribune.  Abbey tackles five allegations leveled by advocates in the form of myth versus fact.  A large portion of the text was taken from BLM's website which lists eleven allegations.  When looking at both sides of the debate, one must say that some of the allegations listed are factual and some..... well, not so much.  However, the facts presented in both articles are a combination of true, not so true and "boy look at the spin on that sucker".

Abbey's reply to the assertion that BLM removes wild horses to make room for more cattle grazing stands as a good example.  Abbey states in part, " Authorized livestock grazing on BLM managed land has declined by nearly 50% since the 1940's."  Though this has little to do with BLM management decisions or with wild horse herd areas, it is indeed a logical statement..  The introduction of feed lots in the 60's and 70's created a huge decline in the need for grazing ranges.  Nothing in the statement speaks to current activities.  What Abbey doesn't say is that only a small percentage of grazing allotments on public lands actually involve herd areas. An answer which addressed the original allegation might have been a better public relations approach.

Carleen Johnston, a waitress from Redondo Beach, California, responded to the statement by saying,   " Everybody knows politicians answer questions without really answering them.  I just never knew that other people working for the government did the same thing.  How is anybody gonna trust them?"

A large amount of the bad blood between BLM and Animal welfare groups could possibly boil down to a matter of perception. Are wild horses an American Icon which Congress intended to protect or are they just another type of livestock?  Do advocate concerns stem from over reactive emotions or from the experience of seeing it with their own eyes?

The BLM says the assertion that horses are held in overcrowded holding pens is false.  Terri Farley, author of the well  known Phantom Stallion book series, says, " I have to believe my own eyes over BLM.  I saw a palomino foal knocked down in a muddy corral so crowded with horses, no wrangler could reach him before he sucked a slurry of mud into his nostrils wide from panic, and drowned."

There are two public groups the BLM must address, those who have become involved and those not yet involved.  The current approach appears to be geared toward the latter.  Perhaps a more effective solution to the public relations "bleed" would be to work with  the advocates directly in order to address their concerns and to do so from a "no spin" zone.

Related articles and websites

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The Cloud Foundation

February roundup

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