By R.T. Fitch ~ co-founder and president of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
UPDATE
A spokeswoman from the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro holding facility in Delta Utah during a phone interview on Monday has indicated that the animal remains found outside their gate by members of YEAH were not that of a deceased wild horse but instead the hide of a harvested elk thrown into the dumpster over the weekend by a local hunter.
Ms. Lisa Reid, from the BLM’s Delta office, stated that they have fully researched how and where it came from since the story broke over the past 24 hours.
This writer has received several direct communications from the BLM’s main public contact in Washington, D.C., Tom Gorey, stating that his office will release a statement, with details, in the next several hours and WHFF has agreed to will said statement available for public consumption…updated, see below:
From: “Gorey, Thomas (Tom)” <tgorey@blm.gov>
To: R.T. Fitch <rt@rtfitch.com>
Sent: Monday, November 25, 2013 2:37 PM
Subject: BLM statement re: alleged wild horse foal “carcass”
In response to concerns regarding the identity of animal remains
discovered in a dumpster outside the Delta Wild Horse and Burro
Facility on Nov. 4, 2013, the BLM-Utah State Office has confirmed that
a local hunter disposed of an elk hide in the dumpster on Nov. 3. The
elk was legally harvested on Oct. 7 during an
open bull elk hunt near Oak City, Utah.Tom Gorey
Senior Public Affairs Specialist
Bureau of Land Management
Washington, D.C.
202-912-7420
Related Articles
- Wild Burro night on Wild Horse Wednesdays radio tonight (ppjg.me)
- Where is the Shelter for BLM Wild Horses and Burros in Holding Pens (hippies4horses.wordpress.com)
- Exclusive Report: Where Have All the Wild Horses and Burros Gone? (ppjg.me)
- BLM must reconsider its policies on wild horses (blogs.denverpost.com)
Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
I didn’t know horse hair and Elk were so similar…hmmm…
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WHAT HUNTER WOULD KEEP A CARCASS FOR A MONTH BEFORE THROWING AWAY? NONE!!
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Those were my thoughts also. Non of the hunters I know here in Alaska keep a hide for that long unless they intend to process it….
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How much does an elk hide sell for? Doubt it.
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Thank you for following up on this R.T.
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Didn’t look like the color of the elk in my area in PA..
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I bet it has been removed.No way to examine it by outside sources.
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Please contact me directly about this possibility.
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Question: is it even feasible that an elk hide harvested on October 7th would not have decomposed further by November 4th? So some hunter hangs on to a stinking rotten hide for nearly 30 days? Wow. That is quite an explanation. I thought hunters kept the hides for tanning… the dump was not far away. Very interesting. Thank you for getting a response from the BLM officials, RT.
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Denise, I have no way of knowing what really happened there, but in answer to your question, yes, it’s not uncommon to hang a carcass for a few weeks or so to age it before butchering. It takes a while to butcher a full grown deer or elk, too, sometimes several days, after which the hide will be tossed. Usually the carcass is stored someplace cool so nothing is rotting. If you listen closely one of the girls filming mentions it seems like the carcass was empty inside or its guts were gone or something similar, so that fits as well. It wasn’t clear to me what was in there; I have a horse that could pass for an elk any time, any place, so I put orange flagging all over her in the fall.
Also would wonder how often the dumpster gets emptied; some folks in my area have ones that size and are not on any regular pickup, they just call when it’s full. If that’s true here then the hide (if it is one) could have been put in there weeks ago. Taking anything to a dump costs money so if they could toss a hide there unseen it makes sense someone might have.
Just sayin.’
I thought it was interesting how all the penned horses lined up as the girls were at the gate, expecting something. The girls mentioned they whinnied, so were probably hungry or thirsty. I’m not sure what time of day they arrived but it didn’t look early or late… so they shouldn’t have been anxious, but were.
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Several days to butcher an elk or deer…really? My husband hunts and it takes no more then a few hours to butcher one. That didn’t look like any deer or elk hind I have ever seen.
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Celestia, depends on the size. Elk are much bigger than deer. I spent many years hunting for the table so am speaking from my own experience. Yours is obviously different, but my point was just that it isn’t impossible the dumpster held game animal remains.
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We all saw the video evidence. That was a baby horse not elk remains. Bunch of BS. Lying is an offense punishable by law… Fire her ass…
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Pictures don’t lie….that sure looked like a foal carcass to me!!! And of course BLM is going to lie about it……isn’t that what they do best is lie???
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The question still remains…WHY were members of the Public denied access?
This is NOT a private hunting preserve, nor is it a disposal area for elk hunters.
Denise DeLucia
November 25, 2013 @ 10:06 AM [Edit]
Please note: this was a planned visit, the BLM knew that we were going to be in the area and refused us entry on that day.
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Didn’t look like any elk I’ve ever seen! The head looked like a horse and I watched the video a few times. More BLM LIES!
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Really?? Really???? Good God! Should we believe the BLM??? Hmmm based on their history? ? ?
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Shoo; I feel a sarcastic comin’ on…
All that baling twine on the body – surely whoever put that there would have seen the carcass and said something to someone about it? And why would a ‘hunter’ dump an elk hide?
The ‘statement’ to be released would never, ever admit that an agent or contractor had made an error; admission is just not in their rhetoric.
As in:
” ‘Gathers’ are humane.”
“We never sell to ‘kill buyers’.”
“We conducted an investigation and found no evidence of wrong-doing.”
This agency is absolutely masterful at playing a level of “C.Y.A.” mere mortals can’t comprehend. A simple acknowledgement of any number of perfectly human failings might actually buy this agency some Public grace, but the answer is always a resounding,
“No. We did not do – nor have we ever done – anything wrong.”
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The BLM are notorious liars and no better than hoarders that collect animals just to starve them to death.
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Since when do federal dumpsters avail themselves of private waste such as what shud be buried or sent t rendering. I sure would love to read the inyterview of those flies on the wall.
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It is to bad the string was not pulled away prior to taking the photo. I also wonder what was in the plastic bags?
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BLM must think the rest of the world has stupid stamped on their foreheads..that explanation is an insult …
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I wouldnt believe a thing that was said by the BLM I also watched the video several times , and I know a foal when I see one , I say BLM prove it liar liar Pants on Fire !!!!!!!! A Bunch of Habitual Liars……….
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From now on the BLM will be sure to bury any horse carcass since this one was found. Was there any foals or pregnant mares that was rounded up and kept at these holding pens? Does anyone know? The careless way that the BLM has treated young foals during roundups you know they would rather be rid of them and get them off their neck than not. If there was a sick foal you know they wouldn’t bother to call in any help for it. They do as they please like they have always done.
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What in God’s name is it going to take to stop the BLM!! Makes me so damn sick and so damn angry!!
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as I always say I don’t trust the BLM as far as I can spit and I can’t spit…..
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They can say ducks have lips , and they can believe it , that doesnt make it the truth. but can they prove it???????? What did they do with the foal ???????? did they remove it , where is It now ,what was in the dumpster?????? Were they seen removing it , or did it just disappear ????????
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BULLCRAP LIVING MANAGEWHAT? =BLM or possibly BLM= Bury Living Mustangs….whatever you figure its crap! How long did it take to come up w this story? Cause the truth only takes a few minutes.
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Lack of Accountability Remains Questionable
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs161/1101655399670/archive/1114323721413.ht
The BLM has habitually demonstrated a complete lack of accountability regarding horse and burro mortality rates. Excuses include everything from incomplete and missing paperwork, to excluding deceased foals with the death tolls. If BLM’s record-keeping is as palpable as they would have the public believe, why are there such imposing discrepancies?
As mentioned in our previous report, the Nevada BLM Office utilizes a rendering company to dispose of deceased horses and burros. The figures from the mortality reports of the Nevada BLM do not reconcile with the rendering company receipts.
Hundreds of horses were unaccounted for. The BLM’s Public Affairs Specialist Heather Jasinski rationalized this huge discrepancy in part by claiming that they do not count stillbirths (aborted fetuses, animals born dead and newborn animals found dead) and young foals that died before they were freeze marked, but also admitted that the “National WH&B Program is currently reviewing its reporting procedures for all aspects of the program and will modify them to correct any identified discrepancies.”
Our review of the mortality rates at the Palomino Valley Holding Facility in Nevada was alarming, but unfortunately just the tip of the iceberg. Received via Freedom of Information Act Request, the disposal information obtained from Utah, California, and Colorado BLM offices and landfills was enough to cause great concern. Upon reviewing the mortality reports, disposal protocols and landfill delivery sheets from January 2010 to May 2013, we were compelled to share our findings with the general public.
While each state maintained at least rudimentary mortality reports, there is absolutely no oversight whatsoever with regard to disposal. Landfills utilized by the BLM either do not keep disposal records, or refused to provide them to Animals’ Angels; referring us to the BLM instead. One landfill in Utah did respond to our request for disposal receipts, however, the receipts were for total tonnage and not by head count. Their receipts still didn’t match the records supplied by the BLM. Without an outside agency keeping and/or providing disposal records, it is nearly impossible to know the true mortality rate of horses and burros within the BLM.
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Why would a hunter kill an elk gut it and then drag it to a dumpster? Something doesn’t sound right to their story…
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I rmember this from way back in 2011 the BLM has never cared about the babies in their care-we are just seeing more because they are in our face now and don’t hide anything anymore or employees are getting lazy
https://rtfitchauthor.com/2011/07/26/wild-horse-babies-killed-by-blm-at-triple-b-roundup/
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LIsa, once a game animal is gutted (in my experience) it is taken home to age and then butcher (if doing it yourself). The limbs and head are usually removed, as is the hide. Some bones are left in the cuts frozen, others go to dogs etc. I’ve had full grown elk hides rolled up fresh that would fit in a regular black garbage bag. So what’s missing here is that under those strings may be an assemblage of parts, not an intact but gutted animal. I don’t know what is in there or who put it there, but it’s entirely possible someone tossed the post-butchering remains of their elk or deer in there without the BLM’s knowledge. It could even be multiple animals, the video isn’t clear enough to tell us.
The only way to know I guess would be to see clearer photos or get a DNA sample done. Sorry business all around.
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what happened to those remains ???? who removed them without getting a sample, quite possible if they were removed to still get an DNA sample from inside that dumpster !!!!!!! This would with out a doubt bring closure to what is was !!!!! Didnt anyone take this video that was made to someone who has the ability to scan it and make it larger , there are many ways to find out for sure exactly what it was !!!!!!!!!
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But OF COURSE the BLM did nothing wrong! They are above the law, people! OF COURSE they don’t use our tax dollars to round up and torture our wild horses and burros. OF COURSE they don’t take them to slaughter and line their pockets with blood money. The BLM MUST NOT be held accountable! OF COURSE those were elk hides! OF COURSE the people are mistaken by what they saw. OF COURSE we didn’t see horse hides. This is their excuse. Again, they are not held accountable, never have been. Will they ever be?
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If their lips are moving they are lying.
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Liars. An elk carcass, or hide, would be the size of a large adult horse, not a foal. If those kids say it was a foal, I believe them.
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The BLM s reputation always precedes them , Known habitual liars right from the get go !!!!!!!!!! They are so good at it , they even believe what they say !!!!!!!!
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The picture that I saw was definitely that of a foal, the entire, intact foal, not just a hide. It was partially covered with bundles of baling twine so I’m sure that they knew it was in there.
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