"Survival Wild stallions in action photo by C. Abel
The Senate has made it clear to the Bureau of Land Management that funding will not be available for the destruction of healthy, unadopted wild horses and burros. Appropriations bill H.R. 2996 was passed by a vote of 77 to 21.
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) stated in her speech to the senate body, “...because of its mismanagement and poor way of operating... (the wild horse program) is chewing up or taking up about three-quarters of the budget of the bureau of land management.”
Landrieu's speech included suggestions for improvement to boost the lagging adotion rate of wild horses and burros. She voiced additional concern about “...the humanity or inhumanness of some of the practices going on that are also crying out for attention.”
H.R. 2996 is now assigned to a conference committee of senators to work out differences in the versions of the bill that each chamber approved.
A 2008 B.L.M. announcement of plans to euthanize some 33,000 wild horses flipped the switch on a spotlight revealing numerous deficiencies in their wild horse management program. An offer by Madeline Pickens, wife of billionaire T. Boone Pickens, to provide sanctuary for all 33,000 animals has met with one brick wall after another. To date, there is no acceptable sanctuary in place.
Further protection for wild horses and burros may come in the form of the Restore Our American Mustang Act ( S.B.1579) now assigned to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The R.O.A.M. Act is intended to restore protections originally afforded in the well known “Wild Horse Annie Act” of 1971. The original act clearly states the intent of congress, deeming wild horses and burros as “an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.” Years of amendments have altered the Wild Horse Annie Act to the point where there are no effective protections remaining.
To view Senator Landrieu's speech go to: www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd
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