Archive for August 17, 2012

Problems Arise at Desatoya Wild Horse Gather in Nevada

Posted: August 17, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Information supplied by The Humane Society on Aug 16, 2012

…BLM contractor appear to hogtie and leave a lost foal in the path of stampeding mustangs…

BLM Contract Chopper Cruelty at Antelope Stampede 2011~ photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

The Humane Society of the United States expressed its concerns about the actions of the Bureau of Land Management after an HSUS executive witnessed a BLM contractor appear to hogtie and leave a lost foal in the path of stampeding mustangs at the Desatoya Wild Horse Gather near Austin, Nev. The continued negligence and inhumane treatment of animals in the field is at odds with the agency’s stated vision and goal of improving and reforming its wild horse gather procedures.

The incident was witnessed by Holly Hazard, senior vice president of Programs and Innovations for The HSUS, who attended the gather as an observer to determine if BLM was incorporating HSUS recommended changes in standard operating procedures.

At approximately 12:30 p.m. PDT on Thursday, Aug. 16, after several bands of horses had successfully been herded into a trap, Hazard saw a BLM contractor ride out on horseback to collect a stray foal. When the young horse resisted moving deep into the gather trap, Hazard watched the BLM contractor appear to hogtie the foal and then leave her in the path of galloping horses. Once the band of horses was safely captured, instead of aiding the foal, BLM instead gave the go ahead for another band of horses to run around and past her again.

“The Bureau of Land Management has made significant progress in reforming its wild horse program in recent years – but the agency must set a higher standard and not allow such callous disregard for animals to take place in its operations,” said Hazard. “The public has been calling for more transparency and responsible treatment of animals in the wild horse and burro program, and it’s time for the BLM’s stated goals and objectives to be applied in the field as well.”

The Desatoya gather is slated to occur for two weeks with the goal of gathering 500 wild horses and applying the fertility control drug PZP to approximately 64 females who will be released.

As a result of the incident, The HSUS is calling on BLM to:

  • Immediately review its protocols and make all changes necessary in order to ensure that no contractor has the authority to unnecessarily stress any animal in its custody and control in the name of gather efficiency;
  • Review previous HSUS requests to develop and implement a Humane Observer program that would allow a knowledgeable, objective witness to intervene at gathers in order to prevent similar incidents from occurring during gather operations;
  • Deliver a status report on the young foal in question, including information on her overall health and well-being and whether the foal was reunited with her mother at the temporary holding facility.
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Rodeos – Some People Call This Sport!

Posted: August 17, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, The Force of the Horse
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Guest OpEd by Glenn Wilson of Waterfall Creek

“Making a horse (or bull) buck for our entertainment is like inducing an epileptic friend to have a seizure so we can watch…”

“Recently Glenn wrote a response to an April, 2011 post on the cruelty of horse tripping in rodeos…his vision had such depth and clarity that I asked if we could feature his comment, here.  This may not make a lot of my kinfolk back in Texas very happy but the words, below, speak to a very basic and simple truth; exhibiting compassion to the other beings that are passengers on “Spaceship Earth” is long overdue.” ~ R.T.

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Imagine this: In another world where the animals ruled, they select a certain type of human with a special characteristic we would call epilepsy (no offense intended to those afflicted). The animals would use these epileptic humans to entertain themselves in a show called a rodeo.

The animals had figured out a way of inducing a violent physical reaction, to certain stimuli, in the epileptic. Once the ‘right’ buttons on the epileptic were pushed, they would buck, jump, writhe, contort, thrash around and inflict wounds and injury upon themselves for a period of time.

This was all done for the entertainment of the animals. They even developed a competition based on the ‘quality’ of the thrashing display of the epileptic. A horrible thought really.

Making a horse (or bull) buck for our entertainment is like inducing an epileptic friend to have a seizure so we can watch, be entertained and have a laugh. According to my doctor, when an epileptic experiences an epileptic seizure, he or she expends a huge amount of energy and physical effort for a relatively short period of time. Post seizure they are totally exhausted. They need a period of deep rest for recovery. Compare this scenario with a horse or bull that is made to buck.

And then there is calf roping. Here’s where the real men get their jollies off. First they chase a very young calf flat out across the arena, then they hurl a rope at it and jerk it off its feet (a very real jerk on both ends of the rope), they then wrap the rope around its baby hooves to disable it whether it is conscious, injured or not. A definite contest of skill, judgement and absolute cruelty. The injuries often inflicted upon the calves are horrendous.

Some people call rodeos sport. The reality is that participants, spectators and sponsors are complicit in animal cruelty that makes the roughest Indonesian abattoir look like a picnic on the beach.

Perhaps, what is known as ‘judgement day’ is when we humans reflect upon and take full responsibility for each and every one of our actions in this lifetime.

Click (HERE) to visit Australia’s Waterfall Creek

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