Jul 26 2017

DESPITE TRUMP PROMISE – BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT BREAKS RULE OF LAW MAKING EXTINCTION ALL BUT INEVITABLE FOR WILD HORSES & BURROS

Press Release from Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Wild Horse Freedom Federation’s White Paper exposes BLM: Never-seen evidence proves America’s wild horses and burros are disappearing without explanation

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

photo by Carol Walker

Pinehurst, Texas—(PR NEWSWIRE)— Wild Horse Freedom Federation, Inc. (WHFF), today released its white paper, “Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse & Burro Program, with a Focus on Problems Related to Holding Facilities.” America’s wild horses and burros – long a national treasure and symbol of freedom – are endangered and being pushed towards extinction, despite the Trump administration’s promise to uphold the rule of law.

The comprehensive white paper cites taxpayer waste and multitudes of inconsistencies in documentation presented to both the American public and Congress.  These alleged offenses continue to occur under the direction of Trump-appointed Secretary of the Department of Interior (DOI), Ryan Zinke.

WHFF’s document notes current and historical violations that include evidence of misrepresentation, wasting taxpayer funds, and lack of scientific accounting for the wild horses and burros — in absolute defiance of the Congressional statute that provides for the safety of the iconic wild herds.

The five-year investigation culminating in the document has uncovered a consistent pattern of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) releasing misinformation thought to confuse and mislead the American taxpaying public and legislators.

For years, the BLM has taken healthy wild horses and burros from their legally protected lands in the American West at the expense of taxpayers. Notably, on those lands, the cost to taxpayers was nothing, yet the BLM roundups have continued, taking tens of thousands of wild horses into captivity. Despite the reported number of horses in captivity (46,000) to date, large numbers of horses have mysteriously disappeared from the holding pens or during transports where they never arrived.  And it appears that taxpayer money has been wasted by the BLM, at the expense of the wild horses and burros they are supposed to protect.

WHFF’s FOIA obtained documentation on this topic, many of which have never been reviewed by Congress or the public, appear to verify that BLM statements are filled with inaccuracies and poor math. The beneficiaries of this systemic misrepresentation have been ranching and corporate energy interests, both of whom, not surprisingly, are major donors to politicians who cover the areas where the most wild horses and burros are found.

Despite a strident outcry from American taxpayers who want, as the law requires, the horses and burros protected and returned to their rightful place on public lands, the BLM has repeatedly asserted to America that the wild horses and burros need to be under its care. In the last century, the wild horse population has gone from two million to less than 36,000 under BLM management. Less than two out of 100 wild horses that were present then remain in 2017.

WHFF’s white paper details multiple examples of mishandling of taxpayer funds, but the upshot is simple: alleged false assurances have been offered up to taxpayers while private and special interests have had their way with the use of public lands.  In another words, the BLM is the fox that guards the henhouse, seemingly unwilling to enforce the laws that obligate them to protect wild horses and burros.

“The DOI and the BLM have undertaken a long term ‘Fake News’ campaign to spread misinformation to confuse the issue. They want the wild horses and burros slaughtered, gone, full stop.  Americans are not going to stand for that,” says Wild Horse Freedom Federation’s President R.T. Fitch. “It appears that President Trump appointed a long time horse slaughter proponent to oversee the DOI and his first major act could be to kill tens of thousands of wild horses and burros making this White Paper a timely must read for all Americans.” he continued.

This is paramount in importance right now for the wild horses and burros and American taxpayers. In the coming days the Senate Appropriations Committee will take up the Interior appropriations bill, which includes the Wild Horse and Burro Program with the threat of killing wild horses and burros touted as a budgetary necessity. Without intervention, for the rising generations of America, wild horses and burros will be gone forever.

To read the WHFF white paper and for more information go to:

http://wildhorsefreedomfederation.org/white-paper/

###

Wild Horse Freedom Federation (WHFF) is a Texas non-profit corporation with federal 501c3 status. WHFF is the voice of not only those animals that cannot speak for themselves but also, most effectively, for the majority of the American public which has repeatedly expressed the desire to stop the unnecessary removal of wild horses and burros from public lands where they should remain, and the proper, legal management of the Wild Horse & Burro Program.

WHFF is funded exclusively through the generosity of the American public.

Media Contacts:

R.T. Fitch
President/Co-Founder of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
rtfitch@wildhorsefreedomfederation.org ~ rt@rtfitch.com
1-800-974-3684

Carol Walker
Director of Field Documentation for Wild Horse Freedom Federation
cwlivingimages@gmail.com
1-800-974-3684

Jul 13 2017

Horse Slaughter Vote a Setback, but There’s No Time to Let Up!

Source: Return to Freedom, endorsed by Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Attention now turns immediately to the 2018 Interior Appropriations Bill that could potentially threaten the lives of tens of thousands of America’s wild horses and burros.  

photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation and other advocacy groups on Wednesday expressed disappointment in the House Appropriations Committee’s vote opening the door to horse slaughter, but urged supporters of wild horses and burros to keep the pressure on Congress.

“While today’s vote is disheartening for the overwhelming majority of Americans who oppose horse slaughter, there may be critical votes as soon as next week that could further threaten the lives of tens of thousands of wild horses and burros,” said Neda DeMayo, president of Return to Freedom.

“We must redouble our efforts and stand strong for America’s wild horses.”

The full House Appropriations committee voted 27-25 to reject the Roybal-Allard/Dent horse slaughter defund amendment to the Fiscal Year 2018 Agriculture Appropriations bill. Find out how members of the Appropriations Committee voted by clicking here.

Because there is no permanent federal ban on horse slaughter, advocates push annually for an amendment barring the U.S. Department of Agriculture from hiring horsemeat plans inspectors to effectively keep a ban in place. Advocates may have another chance to turn back slaughter when the Ag Appropriations Bill goes to the full House for approval in the weeks ahead.

Attention now turns immediately to the 2018 Interior Appropriations Bill that could potentially threaten the lives of tens of thousands of America’s wild horses and burros.  

A draft version of the Interior Appropriations Bill OKed by the House Interior Subcommittee, also on Wednesday, does not include provisions called for by the administration that would have allowed the Bureau of Land Management to kill healthy horses or sell captive animals without restriction.

While that’s good news, advocates must not be complacent. An amendment calling for inclusion of those deadly provisions could be offered when the full committee meets again, likely next week, so it’s critical that advocates continue making themselves heard.

TAKE ACTION

  • Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121, ask to be connected to your representative;
  • Tell staff that your wish to urge your congressperson to oppose any provision that would allow the Bureau of Land Management to kill wild horses or to remove sale restrictions that would open the door for BLM to sell horses and burros to someone who would sell them for slaughter;
  • If your representative is not on the Appropriations Committee, please urge him or her to oppose horse slaughter when the Ag Appropriations Bill goes to the floor, as well as any provisions that could harm wild horses in the Interior Appropriations Bill.
  • Please be sure to mention that humane solutions that would enable the management of wild horses and burros on the range have long been available.

These solutions include not only using safe, proven fertility control but revisiting population targets, based on a fair interpretation of multiple-use land management; providing incentives for ranchers who reduce livestock grazing in wild horse Herd Management Areas; increasing range stewardship, including much-needed water source restoration; and relocating horses, but only if truly necessary.

Jul 27 2017

Cover Letter: White Paper on BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program

Cover letter from R.T. Fitch ~ President and Co-Founder of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

“Howdy Team, remember last week, in one of these forwards, I alluded to the fact that we were going to give you a tool for your Advocate toolbox; well here you go. 

We just gave you a BLM Factory Tool, one Big Friggin Hammer (BFH). 

The five year project of the White Paper was compiled and written FOR Legislators, Lawmakers and Government leaders in an effort to pry their eyes open to the fact that the BLM has been generating false numbers and has been skewing the facts for years, they are doing it right now, as you read this.  So even though this was not geared towards public consumption, put together by one of the finest Animal Law Attorneys in the universe, we are hoping that advocates will download it, become familiar with the facts contained within and then ensure that this important Paper gets in front of their Senators and Representatives, PRIOR to the Appropriation Committees votes on horse slaughter and the wild ones. 

This could turn the tide. 

Any sane person should not vote to believe the numbers that the BLM and Zinke are throwing around and surely would not vote to kill and murder the wild ones in an effort to save money when they don’t even know the truth on how many equines are involved or how much money has been spent and where…it would make no sense. 

So please, get this out there as it is not about us, the advocates, it is ALL about the wild horses & burros. 

Below is an example of the cover letter which can be downloaded, along with the paper and exhibits, at http://wildhorsefreedomfederation.org/white-paper/

July 27, 2017

To: ______

_____

Re:       White Paper on the Wild Horse & Burro Program

Dear :

Enclosed please find Wild Horse Freedom Federation’s White Paper on certain aspects of the federal government’s Wild Horse & Burro Program. The White Paper is the result of several years of detailed research, including the collection of thousands of documents obtained from the Bureau of Land Management, independent investigations, and legal analysis of the implications of our findings in light of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1331-1340 (“Wild Horse Act”).

While much has already been written about various aspects of the Wild Horse & Burro Program, the White Paper focuses on and exposes systemic problems that have not been adequately addressed by the BLM or other horse advocacy groups. It is WHFF’s intention by the preparation and submission of this White Paper to both alert the public and the government to significant problems with the administration of the program, and to suggest a path forward that will benefit all stakeholders.

As you may know, the fate of America’s wild horses and burros – some of the most important and iconic animals in American history – is at a pivotal stage this month, as Congress considers amendments to the Wild Horse Act that could open up unlimited opportunities to kill wild horses on the range and in captivity. Before any such decision is made, the data and conclusions in this White Paper must be considered and addressed openly – in Congress, at the federal agency level, and in the public eye.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or would like to further discuss our findings. We would be happy to meet with you to further explore opportunities to turn around the current trend towards elimination of America’s wild horses and burros.

Sincerely,

R.T. Fitch

Jul 24 2017

“Fake News” and Lies Fuel Debate to Violate Federal Law and Kill Wild Horses and Burros

‘In my most Outraged Opinion!’ by R.T. Fitch

“Is it just me…?”

Secretary Zinke and BLM Plan for Wild Horses and Burros

For years we U.S. Taxpayers, who have decried the excessive removal of protected wild horses and burros from their rightful range, have been deluged with bogus numbers, bad science and just plain bull crap by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and their deep pocketed bed-fellows. Today, we are seeing it reach new heights and becoming even more toxic for the wild horses and burros; it has to stop

It’s bad enough that we have a long time horse slaughter advocate, Ryan Zinke, appointed as Secretary of the Department of Interior, (Remember back in 2009 when Montana Rep. Zinke promoted “Red” Ed Butcher’s bill to legalize horse slaughter plants in Montana? Now he has the reins of the DoI and already is attempting to send wild horses and burros in holding and on the range into mass graves.) But now we have Horse Eaters of the past crawling out from underneath their moldy rocks in an effort to taste the blood of our iconic symbols of the west.

In a recent ‘news’ article, long time Horse Hater and former member of the BLM’s rigged Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board, Callie Hendrickson has reared her horse killer head and assumed the thorny throne of chief disseminator of rumor, innuendo and trumped up numbers.

“The bottom line is we have pushing 100,000 excess horses and we have to do something,” she said.

What the hell? 100,000 excess horses, where did you dig up that number? Have you actually been sitting out on the range with your iPad and taking notes or is that, obviously, a number that was just pulled out of your backside as a matter of convenience?

Nobody, and I mean nobody has an accurate account of how many horses are on the range and the BLM has no interest in counting. Wild Horse advocates who spend time on the range estimate anywhere from between 27,000 to 36,000 wild horss are still on the range and most of the whittled down herds are no longer genetically viable due to the BLM’s unlawful practice of ripping herds apart in direct violation of federal law. So what makes you so special, Callie, and who made you the SME on a subject that you know nothing about.

Oh yeah, and what the crap does “excess horses” mean? What is the definition and where is the data to support such BS? (being rude to bulls, here) This is just the sort of misinformation that the BLM and Zinke are laying on Congress and the Senate in an effort to have the wild horses an burros killed.

Zinke is asking Congress to remove the limits on destroying healthy, unadopted equines or selling them for slaughtering and processing for commercial products; gotta love it and this is all going on in plain view and little is being done to counter it. Where is the outrage?

Hendrickson said public lands will support 27,000 of the animals, but there are 72,000 out there not counting this year’s new foals, as well as another 47,000 in holding facilities, which costs taxpayers $50 million a year for feed and care. Every year, another 15,000 wild horses are being born, she said.

More BS as the numbers change and continue to climb every time you read an article in mainstream news. Where are the documented sources and where is the data? The only number that is close to correct is the number of horses that have been stripped from their rightful range where costs were ZERO, ZIP, NADDA and now are held in herds of broken families waiting for their lives to end. Easy fix; put them back on their rightful range, where you took them from and now allow welfare cattle to graze, and put the cows back on the cattle ranches. Cost = ZERO! Cows on ranches, wild horses on wild horse ranges…simple; make sense?

The horses and burros are coming up to a cross roads as we have never had, at any one point in time, such a concentrated effort to kill all of the horses in holding and murder the remaining horses and burros on the range. That reality is with us, right now.

We must stop this, we need to put this debate behind us and educate our legislators on the fact that the BLM and Zinke are feeding them nothing but Fake News, misinformation and pure unequivocal lies.

The threat is real, the fix is in our hands…please click (HERE) for more information on how to help and make a difference, we can make it happen. We HAVE to make it happen.

Jul 23 2017

Feel Good Sunday: Equine Videos to Make You Smile

“Okay, let’s take a second off and have a quick giggle.  This compilation features everything from Houdini ponies to just plain goofballs and if you are an equine guardian I am quite certain you will recognize an antic or two that your charges pull on you.  Kid and in-law friendly.  Enjoy the moment…back to the battle tomorrow.  Be Safe.” ~ R.T.

Jul 22 2017

Horse Slaughter, Wild Horses & Burros; Senate Save – House Kill, What the Heck Does It All Mean?

Source: ASPCA

“Today we share with you a recap of recent legislative events that impact the future health, safety and well being of not only our domestic equines but also our federally protected wild horses and burros. Today’s news round up comes from the ASPCA and is a very readable article that helps to clarify the whirlwind of events and future legislative action relative to the wild ones, we thank the ASPCA for putting this together.

Likewise, we would like to recognize Neda DeMayo and the efforts of RTF for keeping us up to date and focused on the events of the past several weeks…many thanks.

With all that said, you have not heard much, specifically, from Wild Horse Freedom Federation; there is a reason for that so please allow me to briefly explain why.

As I type, every single member of our Legal Staff, Directors, Officers and volunteers at WHFF have their collective nose’s to the grindstone putting the final polishing on a five year project that is ensured to raise eyebrows, shine a light on the truth and give both legislators and the public the tools that they need to further the protection of our wild horses and burros. We stand at the brink.

Stimulate your curiosity? Then stay tuned, remain focused and keep the faith…we will prevail, my friends. Until then, may the Force of the Horse be with you.” ~ R.T.

photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

The ayes have it! That was the Chairman’s call Thursday morning in the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee after it passed the Udall-Graham-Coons-Feinstein-Reed-Collins-Shaheen Amendment to prevent horse slaughter plants from reopening on U.S. soil.

This amendment to the fiscal year 2018 Agriculture Appropriations bill is the Senate’s response to the House Appropriations Committee’s narrow, disappointing failure to pass a similar provision last week (in a 25-27 final count). It also means we have a fighting chance to retain the horse slaughter prohibition in the final law when it passes.

The House and Senate each work on a different version of the annual Appropriations bill. Once both House and Senate have passed their respective bills, they merge them together and decide which provisions to keep and which to toss. The key to our ultimate success for horses is to ask both chambers, particularly leadership, to retain this important prohibition.

For more than a decade, Congress has rejected the idea that the government should spend our tax money subsidizing horse slaughter. Outcry from voters, animal welfare advocates, equine rescues, horse industry groups, veterinarians, farmers and therapy organizations has been extremely compelling for most legislators.

Polling at the federal and state levels has repeatedly and resoundingly demonstrated that Americans view horses as companions, not food. As work and therapy animals, athletes and friends to young riders, horses have served us well. Allowing them to be served to diners overseas is not acceptable.

While this amendment cannot completely prevent all horse slaughter, we have seen encouraging statistics this year showing a dramatic 44% decline in the number of American horses taken over our borders for slaughter. We are on the right track, and once we are sure horse slaughter plants are not allowed to operate on our soil we will direct our energy to passing the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (H.R. 113). This bill would permanently prevent horse slaughter in this country as well as halt the transport of our horses to Mexico and Canada for this gruesome purpose.

The future of our nation’s wild horses was also considered this week—by the same House committee that opened the door for slaughter last week. Not surprisingly, the committee approved an amendment to allow the killing of thousands of healthy wild mustangs.

The U.S. has protected wild horses and burros from wholesale massacre for decades, but the Trump budget proposal seeks to allow the government to take the lives of thousands of horses held captive in holding pens. Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) offered this amendment to remove protections against killing any wild horse, and it passed over the strong objections of many members of the committee. We must speak out against lethal measures like this, and we must prevent the Senate from voting the same way.

Congress takes the month of August off. With this recess looming, we encourage advocates who want to ensure we win these fights to engage their federal legislators back at home in their districts and states. If you want to help wild and domestic horses, please join the ASPCA’s Horse Action Team and we’ll arm you with the information you need.

Jul 20 2017

Today: The Horses and Burros Won a Battle, Tomorrow: The War Rages On

Many thanks to RTF and Neda DeMayo for this update!

“Senate Says NO to Horse Slaughter“

photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved, on a voice vote, an amendment barring the U.S. Department of Agriculture from hiring horsemeat inspectors – keeping alive the effort to prevent legal horse slaughter from returning to our country.

That’s good news — but there’s still much to be done.

In the days ahead, the Senate Appropriations Committee will take up the interior appropriations bill, which includes the Wild Horse and Burro Program.

Despite the same committee voting against horse slaughter today, recent votes in the House show that we cannot take it for granted that the committee will reject proposals to kill wild horses.

The situation in Washington, D.C., is much too precarious not to keep pushing.

Please call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 (if you reach a full voicemail, look for district office phone numbers on your senators’ webpages and call them) and tell your senators:

* I oppose any provision that allows the Bureau of Land Management to kill wild horses,

* and I oppose any attempt to remove sale restrictions, opening the door for BLM to sell wild horses to kill buyers.

Proven, humane solutions that would enable the BLM to manage wild horses on the range are available. We do not need to kill national icons.

Return to Freedom appreciates the bipartisan leadership of anti-slaughter amendment sponsor Sen. Tom Udall and co-sponsors Sens. Lindsey Graham, Christopher Coons, Susan Collins, Dianne Feinstein, Jack Reed and Jeanne Shaheen.

Most of all, though, we at RTF and other advocacy groups are grateful for all of you who have called Congress – whether for the first time or the 50th – and encouraged friends and family to do the same. Thank you!

It is true that we are up against powerful interests intent on ridding the West of wild horses.

The opposition has been effective in sowing mistruths about wild horses starving across the range and casting doubt on fertility control vaccines recommended by the National Academy of Sciences and proven safe and effective at our own sanctuary and in many other projects and studies.

Not on our watch, we say.

What wild horses have on their side that can be even more powerful than our opponents’ deep pockets are the voices of the American people, who consistently and overwhelmingly reject slaughter and continue to stand by these living symbols of freedom.

So, keep going. Keep calling. Keep spreading the word.

The future of America’s herds depends on all of us.

Jul 19 2017

Wild Horses & Burros Need Your Voice More Than Ever!

Source: Return to Freedom and endorsed by Wild Horse Freedom Federation

“Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee passed an amendment that would allow the Bureau of Land Management to kill – shoot – healthy, unadopted wild horses and burros!”

photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

As infuriating as that is, as saddening as that is – and it is both — we cannot give up.

We’ll return to the House vote in a moment, but first we need you to make a call on behalf of horses to each of your senators TODAY. That’s because on Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will vote on an amendment to keep a ban on horse slaughter in place.

Please call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 (if you reach a full voicemail, look for district office phone numbers on your senators’ webpages and call them).

Urge your senators to oppose any provision that:

  • allows horse slaughter,
  • allows the Bureau of Land Management to kill wild horses,
  • or removes sale restrictions, opening the door for BLM to sell wild horses to kill buyers.

Remind your senators that proven humane solutions that would enable the management of wild horses and burros on the range have long existed. We do not need to kill national icons.

All of this can be as confusing as it is upsetting. What’s happening is that we’re fighting provisions on parallel tracks, in the House and Senate, which threaten all horses as well as wild horses and burros. To be clear:

The horse slaughter votes are part of the agricultural funding process. In the absence of a total federal ban on horse slaughter, advocates push each year to bar the U.S. Department of Agriculture from using our tax dollars to hire horsemeat inspectors. On July 12, the House Appropriations Committee narrowly rejected this year’s anti-slaughter amendment. If the bill becomes law without it, slaughter plants could reopen in the United States for the first time since 2007. That affects all kinds of horses, domestic and wild, so now we need the Senate to step up and pass an amendment to make sure that does not happen.

Meanwhile, the wild horse votes are part of the interior funding process. As noted above, the same House Appropriations Committee voted to remove language preventing BLM from killing healthy, unadopted wild horses and burros. The amendment passed on a voice vote, meaning individual votes were not recorded. Again, that means that we need to turn up the pressure and ensure our senators stand up for wild horses in the days ahead.

We’ve written that the situation is as precarious for wild horses as it’s been in Return to Freedom’s 19-year history. We wish we were wrong. Alas, today’s vote was still more proof:

Proof that we must keep calling and writing Congress. Proof that we must keep encouraging our friends and family to do the same. Proof that we must keep writing letters to the editor and sharing information on social media, so that others know what’s happening.

The cost of inaction could mean the needless deaths of thousands – even tens of thousands – of wild horses and burros.

We need to push back against propaganda that blames wild horses (never livestock) for range degradation or that falsely claims scores of wild horses are starving and dying – so many that shooting captured wild horses in government corrals or on long-term pastures is held up as a “humane” alternative. We need to push back at the lie that fertility control has been a failure when BLM has never spent more than 3.88% of its budget on PZP.

We need to demand thoughtful nonpartisan leadership that will work with advocates and scientists to create a proud, long-term plan that provides wild horses with a sustainable future on the range.

The American people still have the power to avert a tragedy in the making, but it will take all of us.

Let’s get after it!

Jul 18 2017

Robert Redford, Ed Harris, Elle Fanning to Congress: Oppose Mass Slaughter of Wild Horses & Burros

Source: EcoWatch.com

“Provisions in the budget…would allow the BLM to kill captured wild horses or sell them without restriction—a change that would enable buyers to purchase wild horses on the cheap and haul them to Canada or Mexico for slaughter.”

photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Robert Redford, Ed Harris, Elle Fanning, Ian Somerhalder and countless other equine enthusiasts joined The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund, Return to Freedom and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to draw attention to the threat posed to wild horses and burros.

“My family and I stand strongly against horse slaughter and against our government harming our wild horses,” said actor and director Ed Harris. “I am pleading that a humane and common sense solution to the management of our wild horse population be mandated by Congress in keeping with the spirit of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.”

Since the implementation of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has attempted to maintain stable populations by rounding up and removing thousands of horses and burros from the wild, despite repeated directives that this was leading the program to financial instability.

The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund, Return to Freedom and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have long called for the agency to cease these actions and instead redirect money spent on capturing and holding wild horses toward available solutions, including judicious use of safe, proven fertility control on the range.

The BLM did not listen, and now they want to fix their mistakes by slaughtering wild horses.

Provisions in the budget proposed by the administration would allow the BLM to kill captured wild horses or sell them without restriction—a change that would enable buyers to purchase wild horses on the cheap and haul them to Canada or Mexico for slaughter.

f Congress approves provisions in the president’s budget, then tens of thousands of horses will die.

On Tuesday July 18, the House Committee on Appropriations will vote on the 2018 Interior Appropriations bill. The bill, approved by the House Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, maintains protective language, but there is a chance it might be amended in full committee and removed creating a pathway to slaughter.

Wild horse supporters are raising their voices to ensure the protections remain.

Here’s the letter sent to Congress from actors, singers, screenwriters and scientists urging them to oppose wild horse slaughter:

We Stand with America’s Wild Horses and Burros

Our nation’s iconic wild horses are fighting for their lives and we cannot stand by silently and let that happen.

We the undersigned call on Congress to oppose provisions in the president’s 2018 budget that threatens the lives of tens of thousands of wild horses and burros that will be senselessly killed or easily sold to those who would profit from their slaughter.

For decades, we have had available humane solutions, which would keep wild equines on the range and save tax dollars. Sadly, agencies continue to discredit proven alternatives instead of committing to implement them.

The American people have repeatedly and resoundingly called for wild horses and burros—the descendants of the animals who helped build our country, made our own freedom possible and shaped a vital part of our cultural heritage—to live free on the range.

Two years after the passage of the “Wild Horse Annie Act,” which banned the use of vehicles to hunt down wild horses sold for slaughter, the 1961 movie “The Misfits” brought the brutal practices of the mustangers onto the big screen. Marilyn Monroe cried out on behalf of audiences when she pleaded for a roped and struggling wild horse to b set free.

A decade later, in 1971, the overwhelming passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act enshrined in law the historic bond between Americans and wild horses and the policy of Congress “that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment or death.”

Yet, for all that apparent progress, the lives of tens of thousands of captive wild horses are again at risk.

As American citizens and as voters, we do not accept the use of our tax dollars, which for so many years were invested in the health and safety of the captive wild horses and burros, to now pay for the destruction of these noble animals because they have been deemed inconvenient. It is unnecessary and unconscionable.

The American people would never forgive such a betrayal.

We respectfully urge Congress to take a leadership role by opposing mass euthanasia, slaughter and unrestricted sales and, instead, work together to forge a bipartisan, well-reasoned and humane management plan worthy of these “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West” by recognizing and prioritizing viable alternatives that do exist.

As a nation, we can and must do better.

Respectfully,

Robert Redford, Actor, Director, Advocate; Governor Bill Richardson, Politician; Wendie Malick, Actress, Advocate; Willie Nelson, Musician, Advocate; Ed Harris, Actor, Director; Amy Madigan, Actress; Lily Harris, Student; Elle Fanning, Actress; Ian Somerhalder, Actor; Carol Burnett, Actress; Ali MacGraw, Actress; Dr. Ross MacPhee Professor and Curator of Mammals, AMNH; Allen Rutberg, PhD, North Grafton, MA.; Bonnie-Jill Laflin, Fox Sports / BBC sportscaster; Priscilla Presley, Actress, Entrepreneur; Noah Wyle, Actor; Sam Elliott, Actor; Katherine Ross, Actress; Robert Gossett, Actor; Claire Forlani, Actress; Dougray Scott, Actor; Debbie Levin, CEO Environmental Media Association; Huey Lewis, Musician; Diane Warren, Songwriter; Scarlet Rivera, Musician; David Midthunder, Lakota Pipe Carrier, Actor; Amber Midthunder, Lakota Dancer, Actress; John Fusco, Writer; David Franzoni, Screenwriter, Geologist; Petrine Day Mitchum, Author, Film Historian; Robert Knott, Writer, Producer, Actor; Rex Linn, Actor; Rachael Worby, Artistic Director MUSE/IQUE; Lance Bass, Producer, Singer; Jill Rappaport, Media host, Advocate; Ed Asner, Actor; Mike Smith, Hall of Fame Jockey; Peri Gilpin, Actress; Laraine Newman, Actress, Comedian; Laura San Giacomo, Actress; Frances Fisher, Actress; Anjelica Huston, Actress; Jessika Van, Actress; Ray Abruzzo, Actor; Dan Lauria, Actor; Victory Tischler-Blue, Producer, Photographer; Tony Stromberg, Photographer; Amber Valletta, Actress; Kimberly Van Der Beek, Producer; Hart Bochner, Actor; Daryl Wein, Writer, Director; Olivia Newton John, Singer, Actress; Mickey Rourke, Actor; Jeff Franklin, Creator / Executive Producer; John Stamos, Actor; Beth Behrs, Actress; and Drew Carey, Comedian / Host

Jul 17 2017

Call to Action: America’s Wild Horses & Burros – No Slaughter, NO WAY!

photo artistry by Carol Walker of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

“Many compliments to the advocates who compiled the raw phone contact information for members of the House Appropriations Committee that meets this Tuesday morning, (TOMORROW), when the fate of America’s wild horses and burros will again be joined. Also included are the Senate members who’ll play a key role in deciding whether the provision allowing the reintroduction of US horse slaughterhouses will be defeated. Calls are the key, immediate and polite. “No slaughter, NO WAY!” is the goal. 

After calling, Tweet, Facebook, Email…do everything you can to get the message out but please remain focused and polite, it is a simple message, “No Slaughter, NO WAY”!  Let’s get after it!!” ~ R.T.

HOUSE APPROP’S FULL COMMITTEE MEMBER LIST:

REPUBLICANS

  • Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, New Jersey,Chairman– –202-225-5034   frelinghuysen.house.gov
  • Harold Rogers, Kentucky–202-225-4601   halrogers.house.gov
  • Robert B. Aderholt, Alabama– 202-225-4876   aderholt.house.gov
  • Kay Granger, Texas– 202-225-5071   kaygranger.house.gov
  • Michael K. Simpson, Idaho–202-225-5531   simpson.house.gov
  • John Abney Culberson, Texas– 202-225-2571   Culberson.house.gov
  • John R. Carter, Texas– 202-225-3864   carter.house.gov
  • Ken Calvert, California– 202-225-1986   calvert.house.gov
  • Tom Cole, Oklahoma– 202-225-6165   cole.house.gov or Tom.Cole@mail.house.gov
  • Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida– 202-225-4211  MarioDiaz-Balart.house.gov 
  • Charles W. Dent, Pennsylvania– 202-225-6411  dent.house.gov 
  • Tom Graves, Georgia– 202-225-5211  tomgraves.house.gov 
  • Kevin Yoder, Kansas– 202-225-2865  yoder.house.gov 
  • Steve Womack, Arkansas– 202-225-4301  womack.house.gov 
  • Jeff Fortenberry, Nebraska– 202-225-4806  fortenberry.house.gov 
  • Thomas J. Rooney, Florida– 202-225-5792  rooney.gov 
  • Charles J. Fleischmann, Tennessee– 202-225-6411  dent.house.gov 
  • Jaime Herrera Beutler, Washington– 202-225-3536  herrerabeutler.house.gov 
  • David P. Joyce, Ohio– 202-225-5731  joyce.house.gov 
  • David G. Valadao, California– 202-225-4695  valadao.house.gov 
  • Andy Harris, MD, Maryland– 202-225-5311  harris.house.gov 
  • Martha Roby, Alabama– 202-225-2901  roby.house.gov 
  • Mark E. Amodei, Nevada– 202-225-6155  amodei.house.gov 
  • Chris Stewart, Utah– 202-225-9730  stewart.house.gov or chris.stewart@mail.house.gov
  • David Young, Iowa– 202-225-5476  davidyoung.house.gov 
  • Evan H. Jenkins, West Virginia– 202-225-3452  evanjenkins.house.gov 
  • Steven Palazzo, Mississippi– 202-225-5772  palazzo.house.gov 
  • Dan Newhouse, Washington– 202-225-5816  newhouse.house.gov 
  • John R. Moolenaar, Michigan– 202-225-3561  moolenaar.house.gov 
  • Scott Taylor- 202-225-4215    taylor.house.gov (?)

DEMOCRATS

  • Nita M. Lowey, New York– 202-225-6506  lowey.house.gov 
  • Marcy Kaptur, Ohio– 202-225-4146  kaptur.house.gov or rep.kaptur@mail.house.gov
  • Peter J. Visclosky, Indiana– 202-225-2461  viclosky.house.gov 
  • José E. Serrano, New York– 202-225-4361  serrano.house.gov or jserrano@mail.house.gov
  • Rosa L. DeLauro, Connecticut– 202-225-3661  delauro.house.gov 
  • David E. Price, North Carolina– 202-225-1784  price.house.gov 
  • Lucille Roybal-Allard, California– 202-225-3536  herrerabeutler.house.gov 
  • Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., Georgia– 202-225-3631  bishop.house.gov or bishop.email@mail.house.gov
  • Barbara Lee, California– 202-225-2661  lee.house.gov 
  • Betty McCollum, Minnesota– 202-225-6631  mccollum.house.gov 
  • Tim Ryan, Ohio– 202-225-5261  timryan.house.gov 
  • C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Maryland– 202-225-3061  dutch.house.gov 
  • Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida– 202-225-7931  wassermanschultz.house.gov 
  • Henry Cuellar, Texas– 202-225-1640  cuellar.house.gov 
  • Chellie Pingree, Maine– 202-225-6116  pingree.house.gov or rep.chellie.pingree@mail.house.gov
  • Mike Quigley, Illinois– 202-225-4061  quigley.house.gov 
  • Derek Kilmer, Washington– 202-225-5916  kilmer.house.gov 
  • Matt Cartwright, Pennsylvania– 202-225-5546  cartwright.house.gov 
  • Grace Meng, New York– 202-225-2601  meng.house.gov 
  • Mark Pocan, Wisconsin– 202-225-2906  pocan.house.gov 
  • Katherine M. Clark, Massachusetts– 202-225-2836  katherineclark.house.gov 
  • Pete Aguilar, California– 202-225-3201  aguilar.house.gov 
 
Agriculture FY 2018 budget.  SENATE LIST:
(KEY CONTACTS MARKED IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DO ALL)
Thad Cochran
@SenThadCochran
Phone: (202) 224-5054
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Senator-Thad-Cochran
Patrick Leahy
@SenatorLeahy
Phone: (202) 224-4242
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorPatrickLeahy
Mitch McConnell
@McConnellPress
Phone: (202) 224-2541
Fax: (202) 224-2499
https://www.facebook.com/mitchmcconnell
Patty Murray
@PattyMurray
Phone: (202) 224-2621
Fax: (202) 224-0238
https://www.facebook.com/pattymurray
Richard Shelby
@SenShelby
p: (202) 224-5744
https://www.facebook.com/RichardShelby
Dianne Feinstein
@SenFeinstein
Phone: (202) 224-3841
Fax: (202) 228-3954
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorFeinstein
Lamar Alexander
@SenAlexander
Phone: (202) 224-4944
Fax: (202) 228-3398
https://www.facebook.com/senatorlamaralexander
Richard Durbin
@SenatorDurbin
p: 202.224.2152
f: 202.228.0400
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorDurbin
Susan Collins
@SenatorCollins
Main: (202)224-2523
Fax: (202)224-2693
https://www.facebook.com/susancollins
Jack Reed
@SenJackReed
T: (202) 224-4642
F: (202) 224-4680
https://www.facebook.com/SenJackReed
Lisa Murkowski KEY CONTACT
@lisamurkowski
Phone: (202)-224-6665
Fax: (202)-224-5301
https://www.facebook.com/SenLisaMurkowski
Jon Tester
@SenatorTester
Phone: (202) 224-2644
Fax: (202) 224-8594
https://www.facebook.com/senatortester
Lindsey Graham
Office: (202) 224-5972
Fax: (202) 224-3808
https://www.facebook.com/LindseyGrahamSC
Tom Udall KEY CONTACT
@SenatorTomUdall
(202) 224-6621
https://www.facebook.com/senatortomudall
Roy Blunt
@RoyBlunt
Phone: (202) 224-5721
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorBlunt
Jeanne Shaheen
@SenatorShaheen
Ph: (202) 224-2841
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorShaheen
Jerry Moran
@JerryMoran
Phone: (202) 224-6521
Fax: (202) 228-6966
https://www.facebook.com/jerrymoran
Jeff Merkley KEY CONTACT
@SenJeffMerkley
Phone: (202) 224-3753
Fax: (202) 228-3997
https://www.facebook.com/jeffmerkley
John Hoeven
@SenJohnHoeven
P: 202-224-2551
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorJohnHoeven
Christopher Coons
@ChrisCoons
Phone:(202) 224-5042
https://www.facebook.com/senatorchriscoons
John Boozman
@JohnBoozman
Phone: (202) 224-4843
https://www.facebook.com/JohnBoozman
Brian Schatz
@SenBrianSchatz
PHONE: (202) 224-3934
FAX: (202) 228-1153
https://www.facebook.com/SenBrianSchatz
Shelley Moore Capito
@SenCapito
Phone: 202-224-6472
https://www.facebook.com/senshelley
Tammy Baldwin
@SenatorBaldwin
Phone: (202) 224-5653
https://www.facebook.com/senatortammybaldwin
James Lankford
@SenatorLankford
Phone: (202) 224-5754
Fax: (202) 228-1015
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorLankford
Chris Murphy
@SenMurphyOffice & @ChrisMurphyCT
P: (202) 224-4041
F: (202) 224-9750
https://www.facebook.com/ChrisMurphyCT
Steve Daines
@SteveDaines
p: (202) 224-2651
https://www.facebook.com/SteveDainesMT
Joe Manchin
@Sen_JoeManchin
Phone: 304-342-5855
Fax: 304-343-7144
https://www.facebook.com/JoeManchinIII
John Kennedy
@SenJohnKennedy
Phone: (202) 224-4623
Fax: (202) 228-0447
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorJohnKennedy/
Chris Van Hollen
@ChrisVanHollen
Phone (202) 224-4654
Fax: (202) 228-0629
https://www.facebook.com/chrisvanhollen/
Marco Rubio
@SenRubioPress
(202) 224-3041
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorMarcoRubio
Jul 16 2017

Feel Good Sunday: Pink Pinto Horse is the Result of an Honest Miscommunication

Source: The HorseChannel.com – story by By Leslie Potter

“There’s a lot of negative news and activity swirling around the world of equines so a brief second of giggles is welcomed by all.  Enjoy your human and critter family, today, as tomorrow we get back after it, my friends.  Be safe.” ~ R.T.

The story of Rosy the pink horse has provided a bit of levity as British Columbia residents deal with wildfire threat.

Out of a serious situation comes an amusing anecdote, and one very bright pink horse.

First, the serious situation. More than 200 wildfires are currently burning in vast sections of inland British Columbia, Canada. Some areas have been placed under evacuation orders as crews struggle to contain the most destructive fires.

Evacuating horses and large livestock is always a challenge in cases of natural disasters as owners may not have sufficient trailer capacity readily available, and it’s not always easy to find a safe location to take horses to. Horse owners will sometimes let their animals loose if disaster is imminent and evacuation isn’t possible. Because horses may lose halters or collars, owners will sometimes spray paint their phone number on their horses’ bodies or write it in permanent marker on a hoof so that if the horses run off, there’s a better chance they can be returned later on.

And that’s where the story of Rosy begins.

Rosy’s owner, Cindy Roddick, asked her 15-year-old son, Jacob Sharkey, to use a non-toxic spray paint to write their phone number on Rosy and the family’s other horse. But he missed an important part of the request. He didn’t get the “phone number” part, and instead covered the white parts of the pinto’s coat with bright pink paint.

It made sense to him at the time.

“I thought she told me to just spray paint the entire horse to make it visible,” Sharkey told The Canadian Press. “That way, if we had to let them go, people could find them.”

According to Global News, the paint is a non-toxic variety made specifically for marking livestock, and Sharkey is now tasked with washing it off.

In the meantime, Roddick had her daughter post a photo of rose-colored Rosy to Facebook so that others could share a laugh that came out of an otherwise stressful situation.

Tap here for more information and resources from horse-canada.com for horse owners affected by the British Columbia Wildfires.

http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-news/2017/07/pink-pinto-horse-is-the-result-of-an-honest-miscommunication.aspx