Posts Tagged ‘Cloud Fondation’

Wild Horse Advocates Level Another Legal Blow Against BLM’s Bogus Emergency Gather

Posted: June 30, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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BLM’s Wild Horse Harvesting Machine by John Holland

Yesterday, June 29th 2012, with the support of individual wild horse advocates, Colorado Wild Horse & Burro Coalition, Cloud Foundation, Front Range Equine Rescue, Habitat for Horses, Dr. Don and Toni Moore along with Wild Horse Freedom Federation filed another legal assault against the Bureau of Land Mangement (BLM) in an effort to block the rogue agency from circumventing early actions to save the West Douglas herd by claiming there is a drought emergency and removing the horses from their rightful land.

Last Friday the coalition of equine welfare organizations filed a “Stay Order” in an effort to preempt the BLM from taking the horses without the court’s approval.  The BLM promptly responded, on Monday, denouncing the stay order and urging the court to allow the much contested removal of the horses.  Friday the coalition, with the support of hundreds of individual advocates, filed an answer to the BLM’s response.

“There is a fundamental error in Defendants’ (BLM) briefing that is the flawed basis for virtually all of their arguments in opposition to Plaintiffs’ motion for a stay of the once threatened, now promised, illegal “emergency gather” of West Douglas horses (Dkt. 62).” The answer states, “That is, Defendants are simply dead wrong that Plaintiffs’ challenge to the “emergency gather” is not subsumed by the claims in their complaint. Defendants are engaging in another procedural and semantic shell game which the Court should reject, and grant Plaintiffs’ requested relief. Because once again Defendants are trying to split hairs and fool the Court into agreeing that Defendants can simply come up with a post hoc new excuse for the exact action challenged by Plaintiffs in the complaint, and proceed as if this Court is not reviewing the exact action already.”

Toni Moore, one of the plaintiffs in the long standing case to defend the horses, gave an example, in her declaration, of how the removal of this herd would damage her family, forever:

“Defendants’ planned removal of wild horses from the Texas Mountain area of the West Douglas Herd Area causes me unspeakable sadness. My family has camped and visited the Texas Mountain area and we have very special family memories of the encounters we have had with the West Douglas wild horses who inhabit that area. On one occasion, as my husband and three of our young children were sleeping in their tent, they heard wild horses walking right by the tent. My husband awoke from the sound of hoofbeats and he carried the 2 boys out to watch the small band heading down the hill. Even though the children were quite young their excitement of what they had seen has persisted.”

Moore continued;

“If BLM is allowed to remove these horses, this would mean not only the eradication of the wild horses but the marring of those memories forever; this would create such an unspeakable sadness knowing that my grandchildren will never have the opportunity of their parents to witness such an amazing experience.”

“We have the video and photographic documentation to prove that the BLM has fabricated this emergency so that they can accomplish their decades old quest to destroy this unique herd.”  said R.T. Fitch, volunteer president and co-founder of Wild Horse Freedom Federation, “It’s obvious that the BLM management is not smart enough to figure out that they are standing on the brink of one of their worse PR debacles to date, which says a lot considering home many times they have stuck their foot into in the past.”

This past week the Cloud Foundation and WHFF put out a public plea for support of their legal challenge and at the time of this writing many taxpaying Americans have stepped forward and now rightfully own a piece of this historic legal battle.

“The first day the cry went out,” said Terry Fitch, co-founder and Sec/Treasurer of WHFF, “we received an influx of donations and we immediately cut a check and whisked the funds off to our legal team to verify our unified commitment to this project.  We would like to thank everyone for their engagement and support in this process.”

Members of the coalition stand firm in their conviction to save this wild horse herd and continue to encourage readers to forward their tax deductible donations to either the Cloud Foundation, Front Range Equine Rescue or Wild Horse Freedom Federation.  It does not matter which group is selected as the battle and the legal team remain the same and all are in alignment with what the ultimate goal should be…freedom for the horses.

Click (HERE) to read Plaintiff’s answer to the BLM response on the Stay
Click (HERE) to read Toni Moore’s declaration
Click (HERE) to read all legal documents associated to this historic case
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Court Action Taken Over Prospect of Colorado Roundup

Posted: June 25, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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By on Jun 24, 2012 in Focus

“Private cattle stay, public wild horses go; it’s nothing short of insanity”

photo by Terry Fitch

Wild horse advocacy groups have filed court action seeking to head off what they fear could be an emergency wild horse roundup in northwest Colorado.

The groups fear the Bureau of Land Management is moving toward an emergency roundup targeting the West Douglas wild horse herd.

Those seeking the emergency motion for a stay against what it calls a “threatened emergency gather” are the Colorado Wild Horse & Burro Coalition, Front Range Equine Rescue, Habitat for Horses, the Cloud Foundation, and Don and Toni Moore.

Their action is against the director of the Department of the Interior, Ken Salazar, and the Bureau of Land Management.

The plaintiffs allege the bureau may be generating an artificial emergency to bypass on-going litigation to prevent the agency from removing the herd.

The plaintiffs, supported by the Wild Horse Freedom Federation, have spent years locked in a legal battle to prevent the bureau “from furthering their long-standing goal of removing the entire North West Colorado wild horse herd from their native public land”.

The organizations collectively allege that they have credible evidence to dispute the bureau’s assertion that a drought emergency exists in the area and the horses must be removed for their own safety.

Last week, the bureau issued two separate warnings to the court that the horses were in distress, but the groups are challenging such claims following what they described as an intensive on-site investigation and survey of the area in question.

In his declaration to the court, local resident and plaintiff Dr Don Moore states: “… in areas where the horses are found there is plenty of fresh water flowing. Some of it flows underground but comes up above ground in ‘seeps’, which are areas where water bubbles up from freshwater springs beneath the ground and which wild horses regularly find, access, and drink from. We saw many seeps in the past week with a length and a depth sufficient to support the horses. There is, based on my knowledge and experience of this area and these horses, ample fresh water even though an untrained eye might not appreciate the available water in the area.

He continues: “I observed fresh feces from the wild horses and determined that the horses were not dehydrated, based on the size and consistency of the samples observed. Visually, the horses exhibited no signs of dehydration, which could include thin body condition or emaciation.”

Lauryn Wachs, of the Cloud Foundation, also traveled to the area where the bureau said there was no water for the horses and said: “In the past week in the West Douglas Herd Area I observed horses accessing natural water from ‘seeps’, where fresh water was flowing. It was also clear there was ample water for the horses as I observed four horses who were wet, obviously from rolling in mud, a sure sign of available water.”

Wild Horse Freedom Federation volunteer president R.T. Fitch, one of the funding organizations for the court action, added: “This is an old Mustanger trick used by the BLM to circumvent the courts and accomplish what they have always wanted to do, wipe out this entire herd.

“Once again it appears that the BLM is using backroom tactics in an effort to serve their special cattle grazing interests who have joined them in this fight. Private cattle stay, public wild horses go; it’s nothing short of insanity.”

The battle over the West Douglas herd is nearly two decades old.

Click (HERE) to visit HorseTalk and to Comment
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UPDATE: BLM Ignores Media while Continuing Deadly Assault on Native Wild Horses

Posted: January 6, 2010 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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By Steven Long – Author and Editor/Publisher of “Horseback Magazine“

Field Update from Undercover Observer

Stallion "Freedom" dashes for freedom after being injured during escape from BLM - Photo by Craig Downer

HOUSTON, (Horseback) – The federal Bureau of Land Management has ceased communicating with Horseback Magazine.

On December 31, the magazine sent several pointed questions to the bureau and copied the email to its director Bob Abbey. The agency has not responded since, despite follow-up emails to both its Nevada spokesperson, Heather Emmons, and it’s chief Washington spokesman, Tom Gorey.

The magazine has also repeatedly asked for an interview with BLM Director Bob Abbey only to be rebuffed again and again.

Horseback Magazine has formalized its requests through inquiries utalizing the Fredom of Information Act. The BLM is required by law to respond to such a request.

Meanwhile, the BLM has increasingly founded itself wrapped in scandal as protests have mounted from coast to coast over its “gaqther” of a proposed 2,500 wild horses from their native habitat.

‘The agency plans to put some of the horses up for adoption and hold the remainder in massive pens at taxpayer expense..

Horseback Online will continue to cover the ongoing capture of horses in Nevada’s rugged Calico Mountains.

The following is a report on yesterday’s capture from a source who declined to be identified.

“There were approx 150 horses on site.

“They had separated the 2 mares with their 2 foals and the newly orphaned foal from the rest of the horses.. keeping them at t

“he front – two of the foals were lame! The mares and stallions were in two large separate pens on the back side of the lot, next to each other and the yearlings were next to the mares.

“I noticed a few lame mares.

” We saw no brands on any horses. They were all being fed oat hay. It was roughly 18 degrees today, no wind, but fairly foggy.

The horses were mostly huddled in groups.. many seemed like their spirits had already been broken. They were very skiddish. Much like other holding facilities, it was very barren. The place is brand new.. several workers on site welding and setting up pens, etc..

“The last public observation day for the round up was Saturday and the next one is Wed.  They will be rounding up from the other side of the range in the Soldier Meadows area next.   The horses are loaded from the trap site the following morning after the round up and taken to holding.  This site is geared to hold 2800 horses.  It’s a very sad thought to think that one day soon it will be all filled up with wild horses that should be roaming free.”

The same sourse reported to Horseback late Tuesday.

“Spent the day on the range attempting to site all the “excess” horses.  12 hours later.. all day on the Calico range, we sited 7 wild horses.  6 in a band and one stallion on his own.

” I hope the BLM has even more trouble finding them…  like you say.. it’s hard to phathom.. hundreds of thousands of acres of land, yet no room for these wild horses and burros?  the truth is that there is no excess..  of course we all know that.”

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