Press Release from the Equine Welfare Alliance
Ranchers Want Our Public Lands for Their Livestock, and Want the Govt. to Stick It to Wild Horses and Taxpayers
EWA (Chicago) – The Cloud Foundation and Wild Horse Freedom Federation today released BLM livestock data for Beaver County and Iron County, Utah showing that despite a chorus of demands from ranchers for the removal of wild horses from the over-grazed range; the data shows livestock outnumber wild horses 10.6:1 in these areas.
Facts Don’t Lie, Welfare Ranchers Do! (Click Image to Enlarge)
“It is irresponsible and false for Iron County commissioners or anyone to claim that the wild horses in that area are having a significant negative impact on livestock and wildlife as some local news releases have indicated,” stated Bob Edwards, Range Scientist and 30 year veteran of the BLM. “Having been well acquainted with these areas for over 25 years as a BLM employee, it is obvious that resource degradation has been and presently is mostly caused by livestock which have been historically allowed on these areas in excess numbers and duration.
“The situation of lacking forage started years ago with continual overuse of forage resources by livestock. The practice still occurs. To now use the wild horses as a scapegoat, because (delete – the forage is depleted and) livestock numbers must be reduced, is totally unfair and unacceptable,” Edwards continued. “The rationale for this is not and cannot be based on scientific data. The BLM and Iron County commissioners must step up and deal with the real problem on the landscape: allowing livestock to graze public lands.”
Angry ranchers began demanding the removal of the wild horses shortly after the BLM requested them to reduce their own livestock grazing. The ongoing drought has forced the move. “Faced with the loss of cheap forage for their cattle and sheep, the ranchers found a way to deflect the blame and economic burden,” says Vickery Eckhoff, a writer who was fired by Forbes after writing an article critical of welfare ranching.
“When the BLM refers to wild horses as ‘overpopulated’ they must have their tongues firmly in their cheeks,” says Ginger Kathrens, Director of The Cloud Foundation. “The only reason they characterize wild horses as overpopulated is they allocate the lions’ share of forage to livestock.”
“The BLM is correct on one point” states R.T. Fitch, President of Wild Horse Freedom Federation, “Public lands are overgrazed; but the villains are not wild horses, burros and wildlife. The destruction comes from privately owned, BLM-approved, tax-payer subsidized, welfare cattle and sheep.”
Click (HERE) to read “Ranchers who graze their cows on federal lands are hellbent on taking wildlife and the public along with them for the ride.”
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Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Reblogged this on cindymendoza47.
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It is a head shaker – every time. I have to believe anti-wild horse and burro folks do not even listen to the words, ‘facts’ and ‘science’ coming from whatever source they hold sacred.
Thank GOODNESS for those pesky wild horses – the real culprits behind the fall of modern agriculture. And when the wild horses are gone, there’s always the deer, elk and antelope…
Look to thy selves, Cattle Boys. When there is nothing left out there to blame and nothing left for your animals to eat after generations of destruction brought about by having your every whim catered to, who will you blame then?
Look inward…
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Horses care for the land. They remove brush that is conducive to wildfires. They crunch off the tops of plants which then continue to grow.
Cows eat grasses down to the dirt and sheep pull up the grass by its roots – both species killing the grasses and all other available flora.
Horses spread the grass and flora seeds during their nomadic travels dropping the seeds in a perfectly, fertilized incubator aka a “green apple”.
Animals such as livestock have cloven hooves and hang around water holes mucking up the water. Horses do no such harm as their hooves are flat, do no damage, and horses move on.
It is time that the truth prevails. Our plains are dying from over grazing not by horses but by cattle and sheep. Lies about cattle for greed is in the long term a killer for all concerned not just the horses.
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Thank You Eliane , for the Facts straight up, there should be NO QUESTION in anyones Mind what and who devastates the Land !!!! And who is soley responsible for replenishing the Land , the Mustangs !!!!!!! so uniquely a Perfect Balance for land and wildlife……. God does not make MISTAKES,People Do !!!! He created the Horse with Love and made them so devastatingly beautiful and so perfect so there would be no Mistakes!!!! People so over taken by Greed cannot understand , they are lost in Greed !!!!! and self gradification…………………………… It is our responsibility to take the reins and turn this Travasty around , and give back to the Mustangs what is theirs and theirs alone the Land !!!!!!!! and Most IMPORTANTLY the FREEDOM THAT THEY WERE BORN TO HAVE !!!!!!! IN 1971 Congress was so intune to this Unnamiously VOTED this to be THE LAW !!!!!!!!
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This is one of the better articles. Thanks. Sharing.
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Thanks to Edwards for having the courage to tell the truth.
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Good!
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Thank you for being clear and honest about this situation. Greed will only destroy.
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Interview with Jon Marvel, former executive director of Western Watersheds Project & Sagebrush Habitat Conservation Fund, with Progressive Radio. He mentions the horses as belonging on the landscape.
http://prn.fm/resistance-radio-jon-marvel-061514/
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That was an excellent radio show – thanks!
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Reblogged this on The PPJ Gazette.
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I usually try not to spend time degrading other people but I read this quote that summarizes many of the ranchers and many of the BLM involved in these lies.
“He had just about enough intelligence to open his mouth when he wanted to eat, but certainly no more.”
― P.G. Wodehouse
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GG – doesn’t this apply to an awful lot of people in the BLM???
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The disturbing aspect of this equicide, second only to their abuse and deaths is that the freakin’ courts and Congress ignore the law and DOI/USDAs malfeasance, incompetence and flat out evil policies, documentation, pseudo-science and actions.
This is the true definition of evil: when good people with the opportunity stand by and do NOTHING to stop the evil and injustice. And I’m not talking about the advocates.
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Then w need to keep getting the message out the over crowding and it is not the horses , but the cattle and the sheep who are doing the harm to the range…due to the Ranchers …
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Of course, no reply. —–Original Message—–
From: Tcourt5096
To: dacollin
Sent: Wed, Jun 4, 2014 12:30 am
Subject: Number question
Hello Debbie,
I read an AP article in our local paper today about a round up in Wyoming. BLM is still claiming they “estimate” there are 40,600 wild horses and burros on public ranges. The word “overpopulation” was used again.
Why is BLM not following the law they’re supposed to be implementing that ‘requires’ them to do a real and regular “inventories” of wild populations? Why is your census based on “estimates” year in and year out? The law only allows for “excess” horses to be removed, if BLM has not done any inventories in the past decade or two, how can they possible know what “excess” is?
Please could you reply ?
Monika
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Thank you, Monika, for all of your great work!
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The BLM Lie…all the time , and change things around to their liking
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been lieing and out and out breaking the LAW for 20yrs i know about !!!!!!
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