Posts Tagged ‘stampede’

Obama Wild Horse Stampede Contractor Rewrites the Truth

Posted: January 30, 2011 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Horse Slaughter, The Force of the Horse, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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(In My most Pissed Off Opinion) by R.T. Fitch ~ Author/Director HfH Advisory Council

Sue Cattoor Loves that Rogue’s Limelight

Sue Cattor playing to the Cloud Foundation's camera of Ginger Kathrens and Makendra Silverman at the destruction of the Pryor Mt. Herd in 2009 ~ Photo by R.T. Fitch

On January 24th our good friend and college Robert Winkler of The Desert Independent published a guest editorial written by the wife of one of the Bureau of Land Management’s chief helicopter wild horse stampede contractors, Sue Cattoor.  I read it, I gagged, I moved on and did not comment.  There was a moment that I considered posting it, here, and decided against giving this self-ordained queen of wild horse suffering any more publicity to feed her maniacal ego.  But after days of eating at my soul; I just can’t let it go as I sincerely owe it to the tens of thousands of wild horses whose lives have been destroyed, both figuratively and literally, to respond to this trashing of the truth and blatant attempt to further mislead and twist the opinion of the American public.

Now a word of warning about Sue Cattoor, the woman is out of touch with the laws of the land and is seriously attempting to rewrite the First Amendment and quell free speech in the press within our borders.   Last year the Cattoors had their attorney send ugly and shabbily constructed (in my pissed off opinion) threat letters to rescues, foundations, publications and bloggers who publicly questioned the high flying duo for their techniques, tactics and methods of mismanaging the costly and deadly Calico Complex debacle. (You can view our letter by clicking (HERE)) These letters laid out demands for retractions, apologies, deadlines and timelines with threats of what would happen if we did not comply.  Some caved, some did not, others engaged their attorneys who basically told the constitution assailing Cattoor attorneys to stick it.  What ole Sue fails to realize is that she has gone above and beyond the norm to make herself a public “personality” and once that was established we are all welcome to have our own opinions of this very public, controversial, outspoken media Black Hole.  As a writer and blogger I most certainly have my opinion and that is exactly what is expressed within this article.  (Actually, several of us feel that a suit initiated by the Cattors would be a really fun ride for all of us because the discovery of their books and background would be a riot, wouldn’t it?…enough fodder there for the next several decades worth of Op-Eds)

The title of this “look at me” rant is “Helicopter Roundups are the Most Humane Way to Gather Wild Horses”.  That one sentence says a lot, in fact, its double talk.  The BLM and Cattoors refer to their helicopter stampedes as “gathers” and they have cringed when more astute individuals use the term roundup.  Now we have ole Sue using both terms in one sentence, pretty slick.  When we use the term “gather” we are usually using it in regards to flowers, eggs, leaves or maybe something like, “Come children, gather around and we will tell you a fairy tale before you go to bed.”  Images of young girls dancing through meadows of tall lush grass with baskets of flowers on their arms comes to mind when we think of gather, NOT the bloody images of stampeded horses running for their lives before a roaring, mechanized bird of prey.  The images just don’t mix.

And then there is the intent of the headline; ”most humane way to gather wild horses”.  Like there are other ways that are worse or the entire process is inhumane and this is the lesser of the evils?  I for one think the later is the implication.

But enough chatter regarding the title let’s get on to the article which is pretty much, yup you guessed it, a one-sided list of lies that ole Sue’s BLM boss Bob Abbey could be proud of.  The Cattoors have made millions off from the backs of traumatized wild horses so why would anyone think for a single second that they wouldn’t believe it is such a wonderful and noble thing that they are doing.  Sue is pulling all of these starving horses off from the over grazed range so the handful of wild horses that are left can grow fat and sassy.  The Cattoors have been drinking that BLM Kool-Aide for far too long.

I won’t answer sentence by sentence but I will counter Sue’s hurt feelings for the likes of us using the term “Stampede” when we refer to their helicopter chasing horses down.  That’s what it is Sue, it is not a walk, trot, gallop, stride, nada…it is a head long rush to escape the 100+ mile an hour generated winds, noise and terror from a giant metal bird that is swooping down upon these terrified creatures.  Panic, sheer panic is what ensues when your helicopters chase the horses upon our public lands.  There is nothing calm, civilized or humane about it and you have actually run the hooves right off from horses in doing so.  Documented, signed and sealed so don’t attempt to quote a dictionary to me as to what the meaning of the word “stampede” is, you have taught it to me well, in person and it ain’t pretty.

If you have the stomach for it you can read the article by clicking (HERE) but I won’t dignify it on this website…she has a whopping 9 comments on it at the time of this writing and most of them are from family, friends or maybe even manufactured email addresses as all seem to think what she is doing is so wonderful and kind.  Bullshit.

Personally, I believe that the Cattoors, employees of the BLM and DOI should be arrested and tried for thousands of counts of animal cruelty and held to the same standard that the general public is as outlined by very descriptive warning signs on BLM supervised land.  But no, our government allows these private contractors to decide what, when, where and who can watch their destruction of OUR wild horses on OUR public land.  It’s an outrageous travesty.

We said it before and we will say it again, Sue…we live for the day when you and your indicted hubby just go away, dissolve, disappear, never to be seen again over the blue skies of our public lands.  And as we gaze out over the empty plains we will remember that once there were happy bands of wild horses there, living out their lives prior to the cattle and your cruel intervention.  Now those horses are in long and short term holding while the bulk of them have been sold off to slaughter to tantalize the palate of  wealthy foreigners;  our national icons in the bellies of other nations.  Thanks for being great Americans, Dave and Sue, you’ll have a whole lot to talk about come judgment day as you sold your souls to the devil a long, long time ago…and that devil, today, is Obama’s BLM.

Sleep tight.

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Doing Our Part – And Being Dismissed

Posted: January 22, 2011 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, The Force of the Horse, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Original Story by SFTHH Investigative Reporter Lisa LeBlanc

In the past few years, on government web sites and in newspaper op-eds, a large portion of the failure for the Wild Horse and Burro Program was laid on the overwhelming populations of wild equines on the ranges and in holding, then at the feet of the Public, for lackluster performances in adopting thousands of animals removed in the face of a poor economy. Yet, according to information published by the Bureau of Land Management, the Public has participated, to the best of it’s ability, even in the leanest years, 2007 – 2009.

In August of 2010, a spreadsheet was developed, incorporating Wild Horse and Burro removal numbers, population estimates and theoretical reproductive percentage rates, all based on data gleaned and calculated from the BLM’s “Public Land Statistics”  http://www.blm.gov/public_land_statistics/index.htm from 2000 – 2009. These published statistics also include numbers of animals adopted.

2010 Public Land Statistics have yet to be published, and so will not be included here. But from 2000 - 2009, based on data archived in Public Land Statistics, 94,280 wild horses and burros had been removed from their ranges. In that same period, 57,212 animals were acquired by the Public - nearly 65% - a staggering percentage given tight constraints on personal budgets and the various declarations of failure. In any given year published, these statistics show more than half the animals removed were adopted. In fiscal years 2007 – 2009 - years of critical economic concern - of the 19,414 animals removed, 11,952 were adopted. ’Adoption’ is an overall assumption; there were no separate statistics published in these documents for animals acquired under Sale Authority.

There is a disclaimer at the bottom of the “Removal and Adoption” page:

“The adoption numbers have been adjusted downward to account for animals that have been returned to BLM and have been re-adopted. These adjustments have been made since 2004 to account for the 300 to 500 adopted animals that are returned to BLM annually.”

The interested Public is attempting to participate, though efforts at cooperation have become overshadowed by segues into the ridiculous:

Lady Madeleine Pickens has put her considerable wealth and energy behind efforts to relieve the BLM of a portion of it’s burden by securing a massive acquisition of captive Wild Horses and constructing a large-scale sanctuary, a beautiful desert mirage that continues to shimmer in the distance, just beyond reach. Despite Lady Madeleine’s willingness to continually rework her best laid plans to placate all involved, her goals remain unfulfilled;

A small group of determined citizens moved mountains personally and financially, to acquire legacy Stallions and Mares from the 2010 Calico Complex roundup, to provide them a home and a promise of a quality of life. Altered a bit from what they had known but perpetually safe from the blanket dismissal of an Environmental Assessment, Horses and Citizens both wait patiently for whatever comes next. Many of the Calicos were purchased for far more than the adoption fee, a fact acknowledged little in mainstream media or on government web sites.

While a 100% adoption rate - the apparent benchmark of a ‘successful’ program - remains elusive, the interested Public has stepped up and paid out. And that money is slated for the BLM’s coffers, as well. If the $125.00 fee alone were taken into consideration, $7,151,500 or roughly $715,150 per year in adoption fees has been, in theory, rendered into the BLM pocketbook for the past 10 roundup years, an addition to the taxpayer money already funneled into the Program through appropriations.

The table below represents Long Term Pastures for June, 2008, from a report authored by the Government Accountability Office:

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0977.pdf

(Note: The GAO based this investigation and report on interviews and surveys with BLM field offices.)

“In 2000, BLM spent approximately $668,000 in 2000, compared to more than $9.1 million in 2007 to care for wild horses in long-term holding. The long-term holding facilities are primarily located in Oklahoma and Kansas, where forage is typically more abundant.“

Table 12: BLM Long-Term Holding Facilities, June 2008
Name of facility

Location

Year(s) animals first held in facility

Capacity

Horsesheld

Bartlesville

Oklahoma

1989

2,300

2,066

Catoosa

Oklahoma

2001

2,000

2,042

Teterville East

Kansas

2001

2,200

1,913

Teterville West

Kansas

2002

2,200

2,531

Foraker

Oklahoma

2003

2,500

2,507

Pawhuska

Oklahoma

2003–2004

3,400

3,646

Grenola

Kansas

2004

2,200

2,269

Hulah

Oklahoma

2004

2,200

2,203

Herd

Oklahoma

2007

1,000

1,042

Whitehorse

South Dakota

2007

1,100

1,169

Strohm

Oklahoma

2008

1,000

713

Total

22,100

22,101

41 – Long-term holding costs were, on average, $1.20 in 2000, $1.22 in 2001, and $1.25 per horse per day from 2001 through 2004. In 2005, the cost increased to $1.27 per horse per day through 2007 and will increase to $1.28 per horse per day by the end of 2008.

Using the 2008 ’per horse’ amount in the footnote, this calculates out to well over $10M dollars for 22,100 animals or slightly less than $940,000 per pasture per year, in 2008 dollars. This year, with purportedly over 40,000 Captive Wild equines, the bulk of which are scheduled to live in exile, that figure could rise to $1.7M per pasture – for animals deemed ‘unadoptable’. As of this writing, they are unavailable to the Public for either viewing or acquisition, and so generate no income.

And, there are the inconsistencies within the Gospels: According to Published Land Statistics, 57,212 wild horses and burros, conceivably acquired by the Public since 2000 (the Burns Amendment and it’s fallout carefully ignored, for the moment), are considered a failing as it applies to the Adoption Program. For FY 2009, published data places those adoptions at 3,474 animals, from 6,413 removed.

http://www.blm.gov/public_land_statistics/pls09/pls5-13_09.pdf

Yet, the FY 2009 Adoption Statistics from the BLM’s web site, http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/wh_b_information_center/monthly_review_of/fy_09_adoption_stats.html , adoption numbers total much less - 2,614 animals, a difference of 860 animals for statistics published for the same fiscal year by the same agency.

There is a consensus among those who advocate for Wild Equines that routinely calls into question the accuracy of nearly all data presented as fact, whether mathematics or science. That data would seem to be authored with the hope that, when faced with a hundred thousand lines of information, numbers and graphs, the eye will cloud over and the mind will wander to other, more interesting tasks. Blame can land elsewhere, with no pursuit of either accuracy or accountability.

But if efforts are failing, it cannot always be traced to inaction on the part of the Public. Sometimes, despite attempts to establish relationships with those who hold the reins, earnest expressions of interest, following up and following through, it all goes sideways.

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This One Stallion

Posted: January 22, 2011 by R.T. Fitch in The Force of the Horse, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Original Story by SFTHH Investigative Reporter Lisa LeBlanc

A tall, charcoal maned gray stallion living in Twin Peaks has, through no intentional actions on his part, accrued a small fan base.

Twin Peak's "BraveHeart" ~ Photo by Lezlie Sterling

He is stunning, though years of defending his family and his territory have left his black skin visibly scarred, a common testament to a fiercely protective nature. First observed during a ‘mixer’, a Wild Equine version of speed dating, he pawed the ground, trotting, snorting, kicking up dust in a frank display of masculinity. Middle age and hard living has begun to moderately effect his body, leaving him angular, in contrast to the inherent roundness of a younger, untested stallion. Still, he exudes a powerful appeal in his direct gaze and commanding stance, an assurance that he is more than capable of taking care of what is his. And in his small realm, he is undisputed Lord over all he surveys. In Wild Horse society, little credence is given to perceived perfection; he wooed and won many mares. His mares chose him for his competence as protector and provider, for his experience on the range and likely, for the hardiness & vigor sure to be handed down to his offspring.

They lived in an area near Skedaddle/Shinn Ranch. Through changes made by unseen hands, they came to occupy a fenced allotment. In that mysterious manner of horses, he had, over time, become a familiar sight, respected, anticipated, even loved by those humans who had come to recognize him. Dubbed BraveHeart by an admirer (not to be confused with Silver King’s Braveheart), he and his family, their environment and resources, were observed and studied, season to season, by a researcher writing a thesis toward her Masters degree. Her hope is her studies will result in a more equitable division of resources for Wild Horses and management that will involve the application of scientific principals to Horse Management Areas rather than outdated policies and management practices. She became a familiar face at field offices and the holding facility, a logical progression in authoring a well-written thesis.

But more subtly, the researcher was developing a heart-felt attachment to BraveHeart.

The announcement of the Final Environmental Assessment for Twin Peaks came as a disappointment but not a surprise, particularly in a year where roundups could be characterized best as a firestorm. As BraveHeart’s admirers came to terms with the inability to halt the roundup through Public comments submitted against the Environmental Assessment or through legal means, the researcher decided to observe a portion of the roundup, perhaps as a final chapter to her research. During observation of the roundup, she carried with her a folder containing her thesis notes – and a picture of BraveHeart, which she freely shared with anyone interested. As if Fate had worked some serendipitous tragedy, the researcher watched as BraveHeat and his family were among the ‘removed’ during the first days of the roundup. He was seen near the mouth of the trap, calling his mares and children to him; in the ensuing panic, half his family disappeared into the trap. Rather than leave them unguarded to the Unknown, BraveHeart followed after. Later, the researcher watched him in a holding pen with his Alpha mare, trying to stem the fear and aggression by diversion.

Because he had become an integral part of her research, she couldn’t allow BraveHeart to fade off into uncertainty. She decided later, when the roundups had concluded, to proceed with his acquisition, to keep him in Northern California where he had been born and provide him with some semblance of a life close to all he had ever known. A plan was laid, a home acquired and so began the initial process.

The first major disappointment occurred when it was announced the Twin Peaks stallions had been gelded, though that did not negate the fact – he was still valued, still wanted. Early November began a series of e-mails and phone calls, expressing interest and for information on application for acquisition under Sale Authority. Photographs were sent, phone messages left unreturned, assurances blithely made by BLM staff. An outbreak of strangles was running through the facility; It would probably best to wait until it was under control. Perhaps in January? Snow, the holidays, more assurances, now fallen flat.

Dissatisfied with the inaction and lack of verifiable information, a desperate five hour drive in early January to the holding facility to ascertain BraveHeart’s whereabouts, costly in terms of time and fuel. The researcher looked over as many as a thousand horses in the general population and in special pens for those slated for ‘sanctuary’, to no avail. Finally, an accidental conversation with a friendly employee revealed – BraveHeart, shipped out with countless others, to the anonymity of the Midwest’s Long Term Pastures – at the beginning of December. Given the vastness of Long Term Pastures, the likelihood he’ll be found or returned is remote. Whether by accident, oversight, contempt or simply an unwillingness to go beyond the status quo, This One Stallion, so important to a few, may be lost in the system forever.

Given the heightened pace of removals and the large numbers, it’s probable this loss is not an isolated incident. BraveHeart, in the scientific context, should not have been considered ’excess’; as a captive, he has not been offered for adoption once, let alone the requisite three times, nor is he of an age or appearance that would label him ‘unadoptable’. It may well be, for the majority of those captured from Twin Peaks, there will be no ‘adoption event’; it was simply more expedient to send them off, to disappear them into the black hole of the Midwest Pastures than to allow the interested Public an opportunity to acquire horses touted as ” highly sought after for their size, conformation, dispositions & unique colors “.

Who will be held accountable for BraveHeart? While This One Stallion alone may have meant nothing to those who held the reins, for those who knew him – prepared him sanctuary near the home he had always known, to share his history and secure his future, to atone in small measure for the vicarious actions of others by providing This One Stallion a second life of purpose and peace - he is and will remain important to them.

Perhaps, when future issues of the Wild Horse and Burro Program arise - when facts and figures are gathered, drafted into important documents and given voice, again blaming Wild Equines for their indiscretion and the Public for non-involvement, it might be prudent to remember – who failed This One Stallion and those who fought for him and lost.

DOI/BLM Dupe Public and Congress in Covert Wild Horse Land Grab Scheme

Posted: January 20, 2011 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Press Release from Grass Roots Horse

Plan to Finish Off Wild Horses Buried in Budget

Same Gender Herd at BLM Long Term Holding Facility ~ Photo by Terry Fitch

During a Grass Roots Horse research project looking into the FY2011 Budget for the Department of Interior which oversees the Bureau of Land Management, the agency entrusted with the management and protection of America’s wild horses and burros, it was discovered that the Interior has received 445.4 million dollars which is an increase of 106 million dollars for federal land acquisition through the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

In 2011 the Interior is proposing a list of land acquisitions to advance their projects. The BLM’s request of 83.7 million dollars includes 42.5 million for the proposed planning and acquisition of a Wild Horse Preserve, which is part of the Department’s Wild Horse and Burro National Management Strategy.

These wild horse preserves are not slated for family bands of wild horses but for non-reproducing herds. What will they use the “treasured lands” for in 20 years when the non-reproducing herds die?  The plan mentions alleviating the numbers of wild horses in short term holding but what about the horses in long term holding? As BLM continues to remove wild horses at an alarming rate, they estimates the number of captured wild horses in government holding will be 45,955 by the end of FY2011 and the holding costs are expected to be 47.8 million dollars.

In the Wild Horse and Burro Program overview in the FY2011 Budget Justification, among the program components list, one of the BLM’s responsibilities is stated as “Determining whether AML (appropriate management levels) should be achieved by removal or destruction of excess animals, or other options such as sterilization or natural controls of population levels”

It is noticeable that in the 2007 – 2012 Strategic Plan for the Department of Interior there is no mention of the wild horses or burros at all, even where the plan lists specific programs administered by the BLM. This carries on throughout the Strategic Plan for 2011 – 2016 where the only mention of the Wild Horse and Burro Program is on page 8, under BLM programs, listed after Renewable and Conventional Energy and Mineral Development, Forestry Management and Timber and Biomass Production.

“I was thinking of all the places BLM/DOI could hide things in a budget and of course the management of lands and resources came to mind.” said Maureen VanDerStad of Grass Roots Horse. “Hidden within 600 pages of the FY 2011 DOI Budget Justifications were clues hidden among the layers of what I would call deliberate and willful actions by these agencies to mislead Congress and the American people as to their true intentions, which is to get what they want at all costs.”

Within the FY2011 Budget Justification set forth by DOI/BLM, regarding the Wild Horse and Burro Program and statistics there are many fallacies and untruths, many of which are found, not in the section called Reforming the Wild Horse and Burro Program but in the Management of Lands and Resources, in various sub activity sections.

In Section DH-38 of DOI budget 2011 in a segment called Treasured Landscapes, is the news that Ken Salazar has achieved his goal of getting millions of dollars to fund what is known as his “Salazoo Plan” created ostensibly to bring relief to the BLM’s failed Wild Horse and Burro Program.

The wild horse preserve plan refers to “partners”. Who are these “partners exactly ? Foreign countries ?

“The program has failed and continues to fail not because of the reasons stated by BLM or DOI but when looked at in terms of the plans DOI has for public lands, the wild horses and burros who have a Congressional right to live free roaming on those lands, just don’t fit in to the plan. A great many things do not add up in the budget justification that DOI/BLM has set forth. Statements presented as fact by DOI/BLM to Congress are not even matching up with the DOI/BLM’s own previous statements or actions. The ramifications of this apparent mismanagement of both public lands and a federally protected American icon are mind blowing” concluded VanDerStad.

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BLM Wild Horse Boss Glenn to Retire

Posted: January 20, 2011 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Story by Steven Long ~ Author/Publisher of “Horseback Magazine“

Voluntary or Mandatory?

WH&B Program Director Don Glenn ~ Photo by the Cloud Foundation

HOUSTON, (Horseback) – The controversial head of the federal Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Program has quietly announced his retirement. Horseback Magazine learned through wild horse advocates that Don Glenn will be stepping down. There was no official government announcement.

“Don retired on his own volition,” BLM chief Washington spokesman Tom Gorey said. “no word yet on his successor.”

Glenn’s tenure as head of the program has been sparked by a record number of wild horse deaths during last year’s “Calico Gather,” misrepresentation of drought conditions to a federal judge by BLM lawyers, illegally banning over flights of its roundups against FAA rules, the capture of an iconic Palomino named Cloud and his band featured in three PBS specials, at least five major lawsuits, and coast to coast protests of the agency’s handling of a resource many consider a national treasure, the North American Mustang. He has also been caught in repeated lies such as saying “All of our gathers are open to the public” which he stated at a December 7, 2009 Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meeting.

Much of the criticism has been sparked by massive helicopter roundups in which horses are routinely hurt or killed.  The agency has also been criticized for removing wild horses from lands designated by Congress as sanctuaries, and then leasing those lands to stockmen for grazing at the rock bottom price of $1.35 per cow and calf per month.

The agency claims that horses are breeding themselves out of grazing land, however, the BLM manages 245 million mostly vacant acres in the West.

Knowledgeable sources speculated Wednesday that Glenn became too much of a lightning rod for controversy in an administration which doesn’t need any, or simply quit after being the target of close press scrutiny.

Click (HERE) to Visit Horseback Magazine Online

Don Glenn promising BLM transparency to public while secret Wild Horse roundup was underway

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BLM Denies Wild Horses are “Stampeded”

Posted: January 4, 2011 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Story by Steven Long ~ Author/Publisher of Horseback Magazine

Running Horses until they Die is Not a Stampede in BLMese

BLM's Cattoor Chopper "NOT" stampeding wild horse family at Twin Peaks, Stampede ~ Photo by Terry Fitch

HOUSTON, (Horseback) – Officials of the federal Bureau of Land Management have become increasingly sensitive to the media’s frequent use of a common English word. Horseback Online and many other news sites have used the word “stampede” to describe what BLM bureaucrats in Washington routinely describe as a “gather.”

In a note to Horseback on the first Monday of the year, BLM’s chief Washington spokesman Tom Gorey said, “Wild horses and burros are not stampeded during gathers. Go observe one for yourself. Stampede is an anti-BLM propaganda term, pure and simple.”

Horseback responded.

“Tom, stampede is a word common to the English language. Your response drove me to my copy of the 2,129 page Webster’s Universal Dictionary,” said Horseback Magazine Editor Steven Long. “The definition I quote in the first reference is ‘A sudden headlong running away of a group of frightened animals, especially horses or cattle.’ That seems to fit perfectly what I have seen in every video of the BLM roundups. I don’t view it as a propaganda term whatsoever, and I’m certainly not anti-BLM as you well know. It is simply a term which best describes for my reader, in common language he will understand, what is going on. While I’m certain BLM would prefer me to call these things a gentle trot down the trail, that doesn’t seem to be fitting considering hundreds of horses have died in the process.

Horseback has also learned that controversial BLM chase contractors, Cattoor Livestock Roundups have been awarded a new five year contract.

“October 1, started a new contract for the wild horses roundups and CLR, and another company, Sun J, received the two awards for the next 5 years,” Sue Cattoor told Horseback Magazine last week. We asked Ms. Cattoor about the new firm.

“They are not based out of Nephi, but out of Vernal, Utah, and they are not related to us,” she said.

Asked if the BLM had used any new criteria in awarding the contracts to Cattoor in light of the unprecedented number of wild horse deaths in 2010, Gory said it was business as usual.

“The Cattoors have demonstrated an ability to conduct safe and humane roundups, so that’s why their contract was renewed,” Gorey said.

Today, CNN ran a story critical of BLM’s wild horse roundups showing a helicopter flipping a donkey with its skid. The news network didn’t identify the company chasing the burro.

Horseback asked Gorey if pilots actually touching animals with the skids of their helicopters was taken into consideration in awarding contracts.

“Regarding the new footage concerning the burro, I’m trying to get the specifics of where and when this happened,” Gorey said.

In earlier video shown on You Tube, a horse appeared to be flipped by another helicopter flying low, its skid apparently touching the animal. Again the company flying the helicopter in the chase wasn’t identified.

“Several weeks ago a piece of footage purporting to show a horse getting flipped over by a helicopter was shown on YouTube,” Gorey responded. “The footage, in point of fact, shows no such thing.”

Asked if in light of the overwhelming number of equine deaths caused by BLM in its 2010 “gather” schedule, BLM was considering ceasing helicopter roundups.

“No. Gathers are necessary to protect rangeland health,” he said.

Click (HERE) to Visit Horseback Magazine

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BLM Helicopter Stampede Contractor Sues Citizen Journalist

Posted: December 31, 2010 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Story by Steven Long ~ Author/Publisher of Horseback Magazine

Cattoors Attempt to Rewrite the Constitution

Wild Horse Stampede Contractors, Dave and Sue Cattoor give the U.S. Constitution the finger

HOUSTON, (Horseback) – A citizen journalist working for The Examiner.com has been sued by the government’s largest BLM “gather” contractor. The suit filed in a rural Juab County, Utah district court charges Maureen Harmonay routinely misrepresented the facts in a series of stories on wild horse roundups in several western states.

Harmonay has filed a denial with the court.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are David and Sue Cattoor, owners of Cattoor Livestock Roundup, Inc. of Nephi, Utah.

Citizen journalists are recent phenomena, an outgrowth of Internet publishing. Under press freedoms afforded by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, virtually anybody can be a journalist. Unlike in other countries, in the United States no license to practice the craft is required. Such journalists, like their professional brethren, are afforded broad protections under a landmark 1964 Supreme Court ruling, New York Times vs. Sullivan. Since the ruling the legal doctrine has provided safe refuge for a generation of journalists who write about the rich and powerful, often to their subject’s discomfort. The ruling sets very high standards a plaintiff must meet to prevail in a lawsuit. Journalists are largely protected by the doctrine when writing about public officials and public figures such as someone in the news. The plaintiff must prove malice.  Both Cattoors, because of their high profile in the BLM wild horse and slaughter controversies, would likely be considered public figures by the courts.

Harmonay is a Sterling, Massachusetts real estate agent and freelance writer.

“I am a former Thoroughbred bloodstock agent and am passionately interested in the welfare of horses,” she told Horseback Magazine. “I write about equine advocacy and rescue topics, as well as about Thoroughbred pedigree issues.”

Examiner.com is a website that publishes the freelance contributions of local and national writers on a variety of newsworthy topics, including arts, culture, education, food, pets, politics, sport, and travel.

The Cattoors have been fiercely protective of their turf closing off their roundups to journalists. The couple has also threatened other publications and reporters with lawsuits.

The Cattoor’s attorney, Stephen Queensenberry of a Provo, Utah, law firm has written several extremely threatening letters to journalists, publications, and websites, covering the Cattoor’s BLM roundups including one to Harmonay stating, “I want to remind you that you will be litigating pro se in a rural county of a conservative state. Our clients have lived in Juab County for a very long time. It is likely, from our prospective, that a jury might award anywhere from six figures to the low seven figures. Our case is defamation per se, so we do not have to prove any actual damages. If we obtain a judgment, we will pursue it through bankruptcy or anything else.”

“You can see from this brief excerpt how threatening this is,” Harmonay said.

In their years as BLM contractors, the Cattors have billed the government millions.

Sue Cattoor responded to a request for comment by the Horseback saying, “I am sure you have read the lawsuit and what we asked Maureen to do and not to do.  The other defendants – publishers & etc I believe can not be held accountable for what she writes or has written.”

Two defendants including the operators of The Examiner have been dropped from the lawsuit according to Harmonay.

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“I, likewise, have been attacked by the Cattoors in an effort to subvert my First Amendment Rights.  Isn’t it incredible that a contractor who works for the Federal Government who is then funded by American taxpayers can believe that they can then sue taxpayers for reporting the truth?  Absolutely mind-bending. My love letter from Sue can be viewed by clicking (HERE).” ~ R.T.

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