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Wild horses from the Calico Complex photo by Craig Downer
In a recent decision to deny a request for preliminary injunction to prevent the Bureau of Land Management roundup of 2,700 wild horses from the Calico Complex in Nevada, District Court Judge Joe Friedman suggested the gather be postponed. Plaintiffs in the case In Defense of Animals et al v Ken Salazar et al allege that "capturing, corralling and placing [horses] in long term holding pens... is illegal." The court leans toward agreement with that premise and notes in addition that the Wild Horse Law explicitly prohibits their relocation to areas of public lands where they did not exist in 1971 Court documents state:
If the agency conducts the proposed gather as planned, with the understanding that long term holding of horses will not be permitted, BLM will have to decide what to do with excess horses that are not adopted or sold soon after they are captured... But since the agency has no funds to euthanize those horses and would be enjoined from holding them, it would face an inescapable conundrum. If the face of such a dilemma, the agency's best option might be to postpone the gather..."
The Bureau has chosen instead to forge ahead with it's capture plan which will begin on Monday. So what can BLM do with 2,700 wild horses?
"They would be ill advised at this point, considering the fact that he [Judge Friedman] has ruled the way he has, to move those horses anywhere. And that's what he calls a conundrum." says plaintiffs attorney William Spriggs , "They can't euthanize them and, under his ruling, they can't move them." BLM officials have yet to respond to questions on this subject.
The Bureaus decision to continue their capture plan has triggered an avalanche of already growing protest. Calls to stop the roundup have escalated across the country. Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Viggo Mortensen, the Barbie Twins and scores of other celebrities have joined in calling on President Obama and Nevada's own Senator Reid to stop the massive roundup until Congress decides what should be done.
Wild horse advocate, Arlene Gawne, has organized a protest to take place in Las Vegas on Sunday. Another is scheduled in San Francisco. "I's so mad. I just can't take it anymore." said Gawne. " I'm getting calls from all over the country, even Canada."
Judge Friedman indicated his desire to expedite the matter. In the meantime, how will BLM resolve their self inflicted conundrum?
Comments
Here's what to do:
There are lots of hungry people in America. We are diverting our limited resources to these stupid animals. We should round up the idiot horsies and kill them. We now have food to feed the hungry!
Excellent statement of the facts - as usual.
Hamid Ben Buba - Is that really your name? You really do need to do your homework. First, American horses aren't fit for human consumption. They are not classified as food animals, so there is NO USDA oversight at all. Horses are almost daily exposed to chemicals that are strictly forbidden in food animals. Everything from PBZ - horse "aspirin," to the regularly used wormers to the fly spray we use everyday to the birth control drugs the BLM are shooting up all the mares with. You want to kill those people? Extremely irresponsible suggestion!
It's the BLM's fault for the billions of tax dollars spent. Leaving the horses on their legal ranges would cost almost nothing.
How convenient,seems the Judge in this case is playing into the plans of the Secretary of Interior's plan to create zoo like environments for the public to come and see the once wild mustangs.
We don't eat horses! We shouldn't kill them to control their population. We need to get government out of the wild horses way. Nature takes care of things much better than the US government has ever taken care of anything they touch. Leave them alone. The BLM was suppose to control the population by gelding and injections to control the mare's cycle, and adoption. What happened to that plan? The only way to save these horses from extinction is to put them somewhere they will be safe and truly looked after. A sanctuary, Lacy J. Dalton's idea is well thought out and seems to be the real answer, and best of all it would not be government controled. What a mess they have made of this!
Why don't you complaign to congress, the only people who can actually do anything about this. There is a consent decree that ties BLM's hands on this issue.
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