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Calico Mountain wild horses photo by Craig Downer
While contracted helicopters herded 74 wild horses into Bureau of Land Management's corrals Monday, the public was busy organizing protests across the nation. San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boulder Colorado, Sun Valley Idaho and even London are on the list of those cities that will see protests Wednesday against the largest roundup of wild horses in current history.
"We're having the protest to stop the horrific Calico roundup now. We want Senator Feinstein's help to pass a moratorium on all roundups including Calico, until the American public and Congress can craft a sustainable future for our legendary wild horses and burros of the west." says Anne Novak, San Francisco bay area resident and volunteer with The Cloud Foundation.
BLM's Record of Decision for the highly controversial round up of wild horses in the Calico Mountains of Northern Nevada states that the roundup is necessary to decrease forage competition in the area, to achieve a thriving natural ecological balance and to prevent range deterioration. Advocates point to the 2,500 cattle allowed to graze the same area. By late February or early March of 2010, the number of horses gathered will be in excess of 2,700 with a portion of those returned to the range. BLM will manipulate the remaining population to achieve a ratio of 60% male and 40% female including about 100 birth controlled mares. Though their web site states a post gather population of 600 to 900 horses, Heather Emmons, BLM public affairs specialist admits those numbers are rounded off. The Record of Decision states a final goal of 572 .
Among the many issues involved, protesters cite an ongoing lawsuit filed by In Defense of Animals, ecologist Craig Downer and author Terri Farley in which District Court Judge Joe Friedman denied an injunction to stop the gather but suggested the BLM postpone their activities until the court makes a decision on the legality of placing wild horses in long term holding facilities. BLM officials state this is not an emergency gather but have chosen to continue as previously planned.
Earlier this month BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program Chief, Don Glenn, told advocates, "All of our gathers are open to the public. The public is invited to come watch all the time." That has not been the case so far. BLM officials explained over the weekend that about half of the 60 day Calico roundup will take place on private land and the landowners have requested no public access. Emmons stated today that they are working toward arrangements to allow public viewing at the gather site. Various Press representatives will escorted to the site on Wednesday.
The first load of captured horses should arrive at the newly contracted Indian Lakes Road holding facility in Fallon sometime late Tuesday afternoon. "We just scouted the facility and there is no real vantage point for the public " said Emmons, " but we are working on a way to accommodate public viewing." she added.
A long history of what advocates consider betrayal and deception has led to a deep mistrust of BLM activities and concern for the welfare of horses they round up. Many remember the 1990's investigation that revealed a huge number of BLM horses sent to slaughter. Last years announcement that lack of funds to feed the 33,000 horses in BLM's long and short term holding facilities may require their euthanization is seemingly irreconcilable with the over $1,700,000 price tag for this roundup and the addition of more mouths to feed.
Many advocates feel that Congress should be held equally accountable for BLM's current predicament. Long time Nevada advocate, Willis Lamm, asks. " Why has Congress allowed BLM to dig a bottomless pit?" It does not appear as though the issue of Americas wild horses will be resolved without Congressional intervention to straighten out the mess created by amendments to the original Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act .
A recent announcement by The Cloud Foundation states in part."The Cloud Foundation and over 190 organizations, authors and celebrities ( Sheryl Crow, Viggo Mortenson, Lily Tomlin, Bill Maher and others) are calling for an immediate moratorium on roundups until the American public works with Congress to craft a sustainable plan - one that protects and preserves wild herds on public lands in the West."
For more info:
Cheryl Crow, Viggo Mortenson, Peter Coyote public service announcement
Comments
It is my understanding that investigators are working within the contractors to catch wrong doing for the wild horses. Since the wild horses are on private lands legally the BLM has no legal claim to them but are removing them at tax payer expense for the private ranchers and cattlemen off of private lands. BLM claims these wild horses ran off of government lands and now they want to go get them when for years they ran them off of the lands to make the numbers on HMA come out right for budget reason and now they want to justify there jobs by saying we have wild horses running everywhere. Its wannabe BLM typical screw up and now cover there back side as usual. Since when did the BLM start removing wild horses off of private lands, for years they stated it was not there problems and now it is, makes a person wonder if the numbers of wild horses are really out there? For more information on wild horses visit: www.wildhorsefoundation.org
This is nothing, wait till they save the planet!
They will be rounding US up and sending us to planets with water like the moon and mars!
So if the horses are on private lands but are wild they are the ranchers problem, so if he rounds them up and sells them to slaughter and the rancher makes the money no one can gripe. There are way to many wild horses on private and blm land. I guess that if a rancher does this there will be a lot of horse lovers griping about how they should just let them be. Here lets gather these wild horses up truck them to Boulder, LA, San Fran, and Chicago and let them feed the hay burners,
These animal righteous groups would if they knew what the U.S. Army did with their unwanted calvary horses.They would be really upset at what took place.
After World War 1, the unwanted horses of the U.S. calvary were put in roundup pens and machine guns were set up, and the unwanted horses were disposed of. Back then there were hardly any protesting,and the army solved their problem.Today we are faced with the same problem,to many horses that nobody wants,but plenty of people to protest their being rounded up to help control their population. Let us give them to these protester and let them feed them,and care for them.
Kenneth, You do not know your history very well. Hundreds of soldiers were court marshalled for not letting their horses be killed. It is obvious that you do not care for animals. If a citizen like you caused harm to wild horses like the BLM has, you would be in prison. As a taxpayer you should want these animals left were they are, the land was given to them in 1971 and it does not cost you a dime to let them live out their lives in peace. Now as a tax payer you are paying millions to keep them in holding pens. I guess that you think this is a good investment. I don't!
this situation began back in the sixty’s when the ranchers were the ones that actually managed the horses by going out on the range, catching and taming select horses for their use on the ranch. This was noted by wild horse Annie to be inhumane unnecessary and for the benefit of the ranchers. The result the national wild horse act of 1971, what happened over the next few years proved to be much more devastating. While there may seem to be plenty of feed right now because the population is being managed yes maybe in the wrong way but still managed. The truth is that when these populations go unmanaged and the numbers get excessive it’s not just the weak that die the whole population in that area die's off. And believe me it really creates a stink when there is a few hundred horses piled on top of each other around a dried up water hole rotting, the smell can literally be noticed for miles then what will be left of the majestic wild mustang.
another thing yes over 33,000 mustangs sit in BLM holding facilities the cost ten dollars a day per head so all you mustang lovers out there that want to help go get one or even better one thousand and help the government out since they can’t be fed to starving countries then watch as your ten dollar a day investment rots away within twenty to thirty years it’s really sad that we have the resource to make a huge impact against world hunger but instead we are required by law to spend millions watching it just literally rot. The bottom line these populations must be managed to ensure their survival as well as they all must die at some point so let’s make use of the situation to better the world and keep our majestic free roaming mustangs by the use of proper management and disposal of excessive horses. I can still remember a time when every human had to make use of everything he was given bones were made tools not a thing was wasted now we are so wasteful in all that we do.
to Truth- you say that "this situation began back in the sixty’s" here's an article in TIME magazine from 1939 when they used to slaughter 300,000 a year...um- I think they've been "managed" enough:
actually - they won't let me post the link here? but you can find it on TIME's website...
Plenty of animals die of starvation & thirst in the wild & it costs NOTHING for taxpayers. It costs taxpayers $10,000 a DAY to house these horses. You cool with that? Or is it still better than the "stink?"
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