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a small harem of Nevada wild horses photo by Carrol Abel
A new price tag has come to light for the highly controversial roundup of more than 2,700 wild horses from the Calico Complex in Northern Nevada; an expenditure almost double the previously reported number.
In a telephone interview earlier this week, Alan Shepard, Bureau of Land Management lead for the state of Nevada, quoted the expected "all inclusive" cost to be $900,000. He verified the information in a second interview the following day.
An email communication to The Cloud Foundation from Tom Gorey, BLM senior public affairs specialist, provided a much different number.
The Washington Office has provided BLM-Nevada with $1,943,460 broken down by 3,186 horses gathered (not removed) @ $610 per horse for the Calico gather. We cannot break it down any finer. This covers the contract and BLM personnel." Tom
Mr Gorey stated in a telephone interview today that after speaking with Shepard, it was determined that Shepard thought he was quoting only the cost for the contractor, Cattoor livestock roundups. Gorey was comfortable with quoting an estimated cost " as high as ' $1,700,000 which includes BLM activities for the gather and payment to Cattoor. The newly quoted expenditure projection is based on Gorey's original quote adjusted to reflect fewer animals targeted.
A tempest of public discontent surrounds the Calico roundup. Over 10,000 public comments were submitted to BLM officials prior to the release of a final determination on the environmental assessment. The final determination of " No Significant Impact" shocked animal welfare and wild horse advocate organizations. Additionally, an email address provided for comments regarding the upcoming Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meeting ( Dec. 7) experienced such an influx of activity their email was reportedly overwhelmed and temporarily disabled.
The Department of Justice responded to a lawsuit filed by the animal rights group In Defense of Animals and well known wildlife ecologist, Craig Downer, by delaying the roundup originally scheduled to begin December 1, 2009. A filing for a permanent injunction will be heard by Federal District Court later this month. The roundup it is currently scheduled to begin Dec 28 of this year.
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Comments
Just when I think it can't get any worse - it gets worse.
It does get worse - NEVADA DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE SENDS WILD HORSES
TO SLAUGHTER DEALER, you can get all the links for the story at Alliance of Wild Horse Advocates'WILD HORSE WAR ROOM - aowha.org
You can add to it that Catoor has been convicted of stealing federal property (mustangs) before and sending them to slaughter also. Catoor is making millions off the round-ups, but still is so greedy he has to steal on top of that. So, the BLM hires felons to do the round-ups...which is illegal. There's your tax paying dollars at work!!
Billions eagerly appropriated to destroy in Afgah/Iraq. Millions to destroy harmless wild horses. Requests for minimal appropriations for Health, education, or infrastructure and Congress suddenly becomes concerned about the deficient. What is the country's leadership's fascination with destruction?
Thanks for raising awareness.
I'll believe the BLM's figures long before I'd take advice from the Cloud people...At least I know that the BLM doesn't have the ability to rake in obscene amounts of contributions in the name of some fantasy horse. Either way it's moronic to keep spending this public money on perpetuating the fantasyland of "wild" horseys--which are actually just farm stock turned loose. Since the animal rights gaggle has shut down kill facilities, horse abandonement has increased--- and when gas prices go up again, and the economy continues to sink, there will be more. Thank you HSUS for making well-cared for horses worthless.
I would never take one thing the BLM says, and mostly info from the offices
in Washington. The Calico Roundup, where they removed over 1,900
horses is to have a discounted rate per horse. I was told the rate is usually 610.00 per head; but due to such a large number of horses, they are given a discount. No reply as to what the discounted rate is.
Yes, It is moronic to have wild horses rounded up at all.
If the BLM did what they got paid to do, the horses would
be out on the range.
Yet, there are 20 million acres less now than they had in 1971.
Try to get a REAL answer to where that land has gone. I believe
they have been asked to describe in detail that story, but
nothing so far. So, no, the taxpayers do not support roundups.
The funding needs to cease for roundups; until the BLM starts doing what their boss has suggested when he took office;
Something about being transparent???
yeah,Ever wonder where the horses have disappeared to?
DEMAND A FULL INVESTIGATION ,What's nex
Why is it that people who hate the wild horses keep calling them feral or non-native species? I don't care what horse haters call them they are still wild to me as most of them have been born on the range and are owned by no one except now. And cut the crap about the animal rights people. People calling for saving the wild horses aren't just animal rights people but people that see this government is going to hell in a handbasket. Why are they spending money on these round ups when there are only 37,000 horses left in the wild? Why can't 37,000 horses live full lives on 264 million acres? Because the cattle ranchers who own 7.5 million cattle want as much free or cheap grazing as possible. And now the government is being pushed to come up with more home grown energy so they don't want the wild horses anywhere. The new solar field in CA doesn't want any wildlife around and they are making sure of it by putting down herbicides to make sure nothing grows there. Its not just wild horses.
Sounds like someone needs to do some real research and not take the first figures that agree with their opinion at face value. Scientific DNA studies have proved that these horses were here thousands of years ago,long before the Conquistadors or any Europeans even looked in this direction. The avenues to send your horses to slaughter instead of taking care of them as if your responsibility is still readily available. In fact this is the usual end to any horse listed as free or cheap. Let's start discontinuing the myth of no horse slaughter as over 100,000 have met that end. And as far as believing the BLM figures get one report from them and then compare it to another report regarding the same roundups and you will find that none of them are in agreement--I know I've done my research and sat there for countless hours pouring over BLM official documents dragged out of them by FOIA requests that take years for them to deliver on. So much for their truth in accountability.
M. Reddford:
You are sorely misinformed of factual information regarding the Bureau of Land Management. You have not been enlightened on all the corruption within that agency that leads to federal government offices at the state and national levels.
Have you asked to see the accounting books for The Cloud Foundation? They are a tax exempt non profit organization with public accounting records. Have you studied either Creationism or Darwin's theory of evolution to understand the current state of North America's animal kingdom? What is the Ruby Pipeline all about? Who controls the finances for American Mining Association? Why are ‘excess’ domestic horses going to slaughter with the highest percentage of the equines being expensive Quarter horses, Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds and Arabians? Are you perplexed that Nevada Majority Senate Leader Harry Reid seems to be running the show on current U.S. legislation that will have phenomenal impact on our countries' future?
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