Unaltered BLM Press Release – LIVE LINK
Release Date: 12/03/10
Contacts: Tom Gorey , 202-912-7420
Statement of BLM Director Bob Abbey on “Summit of the Horse”
BLM's Abbey attempts to defend appearance at Horse Slaughter Convention
The Department of Interior and the BLM have already removed from the discussion table any consideration of the euthanasia of healthy wild horses and the unlimited sale of older horses, even though these legal authorities exist under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, as amended. Having taken the position that slaughter is not a viable or acceptable management option, I will focus my remarks on the present and future course of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, which the BLM is committed to putting on a sustainable track, as called for by the Government Accountability Office in a report issued in October 2008. I am also open to discussing new management approaches, and have already had talks with Madeleine Pickens regarding a possible wild horse ecosanctuary.
I recently met with wild horse advocates in Sacramento, California, including representatives of the Humane Society of the United States and the Cloud Foundation. I have demonstrated a willingness to discuss the BLM’s management of wild horses and burros with any organization interested in ensuring the health and welfare of wild horses and burros, both on and off the range. Some of these organizations take conflicting positions on what is the best way to manage wild horses and burros, but that is to be expected and welcomed in a nation known for free and open dialogue on controversial issues.
The BLM manages more land – more than 245 million acres – than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
–BLM–
Washington Office Division of Public Affairs 1849 C Street N.W. Washington, DC 20420
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
The key word here is “stakeholders”.
Has anyone ever seen the BLM stakeholders list?
If anyone has the list it should be published for all to see.
Also the HSUS is only involved in this due to the fact they are the PZP supplier and making money off of all the suffering etc.
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Agreed, the line: “I am committed to meeting with diverse stakeholders who have an interest in public land management issues…” is a bit disconcerting. Unfortunately, the word stakeholders sounds like a reference to people with a financial investment. The horses have only their lives at stake, and under discussion.
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Stakeholders are defined as those who are affected by the decisions and actions of an organization. Anyone who has something at stake.
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What a bunch of baloney–Abbey and his cohorts seem to have a limitless supply. The BLM met with the HSUS in Sacramento???? What’s that supposed to mean? It’s simply the BLM admitting having a meeting with their business partner in the PZP (infertility drug) deal as it’s the HSUS who sells the BLM their supplies of it. No one in either organization cares one bit about the treatment or preservation of wild horses as they continue to prove by their actions–or in the case of the HSUS, in the case of their non-action. Both are out for money and money only–but wait, they want to look like “nice guys” as they rip off the public and kill off the horses–enter the baloney.
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If the BLM really wants to put the wild horse program on a sustainable track it would stop all the unnecessary roundups that cost millions and return the wild horses in holding to their lawful 20 million acres , HA’s and HMA’s that have been zeroed out. Also the 1990-91 GAO report blamed the millions of cattle for the range and riparian area destruction and NOT wild horses since there are not that many of them. There are not 36,000 still free but there are at least 36,000 in holding that never should have been rounded up and removed. Now according to the BLM’s own numbers there will only be about 700 wild horses still free after the 2011 roundups. This will cause their extinction which the BLM has been trying to do now for decades. All returned mares are being given PZP or PZP-22 also. Genetically viable and sustainable herds are not being left and the AML’s are too low , out of date and influenced by ranchers. This is all against the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act that mandated our American wild horses be protected and preserved. So how in the hell is the BLM doing this?! It is breaking this law !! BTW I just received notice of a roundup of 1,917-2,278 “excess” wild horses from the Antelope Complex and adjacent areas during the WINTER of 2011 in the Elko , NV district. How many horses will die , how many mares will miscarry and how many foals will have their hooves run off because of another WINTER roundup??!! Answer that , Mr Abbey !
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Mr. Abbey, you continue on your path of propaganda. Your agency has failed and you blindly continue practices that are inappropriate and fiscally irresponsible. The continued removal of horses is a haste attempt, carried out in a speed that would be well done in reverse – to actually correct your fundamental problems and suspend all gathers until you fix your failings in your current program, in a humane and TRANSPARENT manner. The animal welfare standards present in current gathers are evidently in dire need of improvement. The killing and injuries of horses in cruel helicopter chases carried out under the current management regime is a reflection of your unsconscionable and unjustified management, the loss of range caused by your agency to benefit private livestock interests. Yet you still continue wiping out entire herds from public lands where they belong by law.
Your concern is clearly not the health of the range… as cattle are far more destructive and BLM seems to not worry about their impact nor their reduction.
Livestock permittees can be phased out, and wild horses should be allowed to enhance the the native ecosystem, which they do. The propaganda of BLM and the slacking of implementing action with true science as it is available by experts, to help preserve our mustangs in the wild on behalf of your agency, is a shame. The cruelty carried out by your agency, done in our name as if it’s the will of the American people… despite the nationwide outcry, the cost and the call for a moratorium and the continued ignorance thereof is poor government policy that only perpetuates the mismanagement of our public lands. Time is of the essence, yet you lack transparency, as promised in Denver… you lack moral commitment to do your job as you are assigned to do, and you lack a true desire to help the horses.
We need to see action in working with true horse advocates and inviting true pro-active partnerships to have results benefitting our horses, not your image or the continued PR gig of pacifying the public with detour suggestions that are nothing but the same old failure and mess your agency has created in the first place.
Stop the rounds ups now – end the scapegoating of mustangs for the sake of corporations and greed. The American public and our mustangs deserve better !
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BLM has recently said there are 22,000 in LTH and 11,000 in short term transition.
Horses are gone. mar
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I guess at this point all we can do is wait for the other horseshoe to drop. Mr. Abbey will have his chance to live up to this Press Release. Unfortunately it will be in front of a quasi-public audience. And what happens totally in private may be an entirely different matter.
We certainly aren’t stakeholders in the horse slaughter business, but we ARE stakeholders when it comes to wild horses and burros. We pay for everything that happens to them. We also pay Mr. Abbey’s salary and expenses, so we’re stakeholders all around.
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I think that if Mr. Abbey and his public servant staff are discussing wild horse policy, these sessions need to be open, free of charge, to the public.
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Can’t figure out what Abbey is saying? Stakeholders?? I thought only corporations and the like, had “stakeholders.” Not a government agency. Welllll…WE must be the “stakeholders.” The TAX PAYERS who pay the BLM salaries, Cattoor, BLM hell-pens… So, I imagine WE too have a voice at the Slaughterfest Summit??!! We should be able to get up there and speak…and NOT 3 minute limit !! Read Abbey for counter-point…but the same ole, same ole manipulation… aka gibberish aka LIES! Well now its out there. What we have known for years. The wild horses & foals & yearlings & burros regularly go-to-slaughter. Now the BLM has a forum to present it in the arms of mass killers and a standing ovation!
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How many of you have read the following? I wrote the the BLM (note the date) asking for clarification of the following:
I would like clarification please??
Marge Mullen
PRESS RELEASE
June 11, 2009- for immediate release
Documents Reveal BLM Secret Plan to Destroy Wild Horses
Documents obtained from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) via the Freedom
of Information Act by a Phoenix-based non-profit, The Conquistador Program,
reveal shocking and detailed plans to destroy healthy wild horses in
government holding facilities as well as those still remaining in the wild
on public lands.
BLM employees as well as a USDA veterinarian held weekly “Implementation
Team” meetings beginning in July of 2008 in which they discussed and
developed strategies aimed at ridding BLM of thousands of mustangs. In
October they completed a 68 page document entitled “Alternative Management
Options”. Tactics included in this document are reminiscent of those used
to wipe out Native American tribes in the 1800s.
The BLM team created scenarios for killing mustangs using barbiturates, gun
shots, or captive bolts. Bodies would be disposed of through rendering,
burial or incineration. They discussed killing 1200-2000 wild horses per
year. The document states that “the general public would be prohibited from
viewing euthanasia.” Additionally, the Team felt that “increased support
from public relations and management staff would also be needed to insulate
those doing the actual work from the public, media and Congressional
scrutiny/criticism.”
“Minutes from these meetings as well as the Draft Plan reveal what amounts
to `the final solution’ for the American mustang,” states Ginger Kathrens,
filmmaker and Volunteer Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation.
“Despite a huge outcry from the American public last year regarding BLM
plans to kill wild horses in holding, the agency is still pressing forward
with a plan to destroy our American mustangs both on and off the range.”
Division Chief of the Wild Horse and Burro Program Don Glenn told The Cloud
Foundation that “no decision has been made to move forward on a large scale
with this plan, yet.”
BLM meeting minutes speak for themselves. “Security at facilities and at
gathers would need to be increased to combat eco-terrorism. Having the
people that are willing to put down healthy horses at gather sites could be
a problem. Having vets putting down healthy horses at preparation
facility[ies] could also be a problem.” Meeting minutes reveal the
psychological toll that employees would pay—”have counseling for employees
and contractors that have to euthanize the healthy horses because it is
very stressful.”
The report created an option in which wild horses of all ages could be sold
“without limitation”. In other words, horses could be sold directly to
killer buyers in unchecked numbers. The Team admitted that “some wild
horses will go to slaughter”.
“Once they are gone, they’re gone” says Karen Sussman, President of the
International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros. “To lose
this incomparable species would be a travesty.”
Team Members formulated ways in which they could circumvent the National
Environmental Policy Act, asking “How many (wild horses) could be
euthanized during a gather (roundup) without having NEPA?” BLM discussed
ways to circumvent the federal carcass disposal law (43 CFR 4730.2).
Conversations included how many wild horses could be rendered at the Reno
Rendering plant or “disposed of in pits”. The Team concluded that “there
will not be large numbers of horses euthanized during gathers or in the
field. This is due to state environmental laws.”
Recommendations include the creation of gelding herds, and sterilization of
mares to create non-reproductive herds in the wild in place of natural
herds. The team recommended changing the sex ratio from the normal 50%
males and 50% females to 70% males and 30% females. Then the experimental
two-year infertility drug, PZP-22, would be given to all mares that are
returned to the wild. Plans call for rounding up the wild horses every two
years to re-administer the drug.
“Mares on the drug will cycle monthly and, with the altered sex ratio, the
social chaos will be dangerous and on-going,” Kathrens explains. “Any
semblance of normal wild horse society will be completely destroyed.”
Kathrens has spent 15 years in the wild documenting mustang behavior for
her PBS television documentaries which chronicle the life story of Cloud,
the now famous pale palomino stallion she has filmed since birth. “Even
Cloud and his little herd in Montana are in serious danger if BLM
implements these options,” she continues. “The BLM plans a massive round up
in Cloud’s herd beginning August 30, 2009.”
The BLM will not guarantee that Cloud and his family will remain free.
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Here is the response:
A draft document entitled Alternative Management Options was released in a
FOIA request. This document was developed by BLM staff to identify and
evaluate the pros and cons of critical issues for managers to make informed
decisions. Options evaluated in the paper are increased fertility control,
adjustments to sex ratios to favor males, experimental use of spayvac or
gonacon, castration/vasectomy for stallions, non-reproductive herds and
buyouts or agreements with livestock permittees to graze wild horses. The
requirements of the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act, euthanasia and
sale without limitation, are also included. Many of these options were
addressed by the Advisory Board in their 19 recommendations to BLM. This
paper is not a decision document, it is only an identification and analysis
of alternatives. Thanks, Sally
****************************************
Sally Spencer
Wild Horse & Burro Program
Office: 202-452-5196
Cell: 202-641-6106
Fax: 202-653-9084
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What the heck are “buyouts”?
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If you have any further contact with Sally, please tell her that the amendment that gives the BLM unlimited rights to sell or send wild horses to slaughter was gotten in the dead of night, behind closed doors with an underhanded agreement requested by Senator Reid of Senator Burns to add this amendment into another unrelated bill and if the BLM tries to do either to the American mustangs and burro it will cause great outrage among the people. Many forget how so many bills become adopted by the last minute attaching of bills to unrelated bills and this is becoming a BIG problem with the taxpayers who feel that all bills should be voted on as the bill stands on its own. I would like to see the BLM just try and come out and say they are sending 33,000 to 40,000 wild horses to slaughter. They know that they would feel the outrage full force from the people. Despite what the BLM thinks many people will take to the streets if necessary to stop that. The BLM would be brought down like no other department in US government. The people do still love the mustangs and burros and would never allow it. Abby makes it sound like he is the one who is stopping it but in fact they know it would be political suicide.
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Here is just one of the several emails I sent to the BLM asking for a list of all stakeholders:
The stakeholders are mentioned in the last sentence of your email
regarding BLM Statement regarding Madeleine Pickens’ Wild Horse Sanctuary
Proposal.
The BLM is committed to working with Congress, stakeholders, and the
public to ensure the welfare of wild horses and burros, both on and off
public rangelands, while also protecting these Western lands from the
destructive effects of herd overpopulation.
I would like to know who the stakeholders are?
Marge Mullen
President
New England Saddlebred Association, Inc.
Here is the response I received back from Sally at the BLM:
Hi Ms. Mullen,
BLM stakeholders are groups and individuals who have an interest in the
Public Lands and the resources on the Public Lands. These stakeholders
include individuals and groups interested in some aspect of wild horses and
burros and wildlife and ranching and hiking and camping and oil and gas and
forests and water and cultural artifacts and mining and recreation, etc.
The list really does go on and on and it would be difficult to provide a
specific list of every one of the stakeholders. Thanks, Sally
****************************************
Sally Spencer
Wild Horse & Burro Program
Office: 202-452-5196
Fax: 202-653-9084
****************************************
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Sally, I’m an “individual” “interested” in many of the things you mentioned. Where do I sign up? Or perhaps you meant to say “have a financial interest in”, or “have direct ties to” which is also true for me since I’m a TAXPAYER. Again, SIGN ME UP!
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Not one for taking no for answer I persisted on my request:
I am still waiting for the complete list of stakeholders?? Your excuse
that the list goes on and on is unacceptable. Please forward immediatley.
Marge Mullen
Here is Sally’s response to me:
Hi Marge,
Since your request encompasses all of BLM, please send a FOIA request.
Here is a link on FOIA requests.
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/res/FOIA.html
Thanks, Sally
So maybe some of you would like to email for the FOIA to see just who are the stakeholders and I can tell you the general public (thats us, the ones footing the bill)
are not included.
Marge
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This just in, talk about hypocrisy!
BLM Releases Report by Independent Observers on Handling of Animals at
Three Wild Horse Gathers
The Bureau of Land Management today released a report prepared by four independent, credentialed equine professionals concerning the care and handling of wild horses and burros at three major gathers or round-ups held over the summer. The full report, accessible at the BLM’s national Website (http://www.facebook.com/l/8d736zowxSgvChkJy07MbFdl5Zg;www.blm.gov), made several observations and findings, including the observation that, in general, “horses did not exhibit undue stress or show signs of extreme sweating or duress due to the helicopter portion of the gather, maintaining a trot or canter gait only as they entered the wings of the trap. Rather[,] horses showed more anxiety once they were closed in the pens in close quarters; however, given time to settle, most of the horses engaged in normal behavior….” The report also favorably noted the helicopter’s “precision” in gathering horses and burros, comparing it to “a dog working sheep.”
The four professionals who prepared the report, each of whom is an academia-based equine veterinarian or equine specialist, are Camie Heleski, Ph.D., from Michigan State University; Betsy Greene, Ph.D., from the University of Vermont; Sarah Ralston, VMD, Ph.D., from Rutgers University; and Carolyn Stull, Ph.D., from the University of California at Davis.
These four observers were selected by the Washington, D.C.-based American Horse Protection Association, whose mission is to protect and preserve wild horses and burros on U.S. public rangelands.
Other findings by the equine professionals, who observed gathers at the Owyhee Herd Management Area (Nevada), Stinking Waters Herd Management Area (Oregon), and Twin Peaks Herd Management Area (California), include:
• contractor and BLM personnel appeared to be gentle and knowledgeable,
using acceptable methods for moving horses forward at the trap sites and the temporary holding facilities;
• chutes and pens were set up in a manner that reflected recommended
handling practices for reducing animal stress in traps;
• horses were sorted appropriately at temporary holding facilities;
• horses were assessed by Federal veterinarians (from the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS) to be capable of travel before transport to BLM holding facilities;
• APHIS veterinarians were open and candid regarding protocols for
treating injured or ill horses. In the case of euthanasia or injuries, there was no attempt to minimize or hide any information or details related to the injuries or euthanasia procedures; and
• when faced with unexpected and extraordinary circumstances (such as
water toxemia at the Owyhee gather), BLM, APHIS, and contractor personnel demonstrated the ability to review, assess, and adapt procedures to ensure the care and well being of the animals to the best of their ability.
The independent observers also made a number of recommendations to the BLM, which can be found in the full report posted on the BLM’s Website. The Bureau will review and respond to each recommendation. The BLM will use the observations and findings of this report as it considers development of an independent observer program as part of the agency’s ongoing effort to put the Wild Horse and Burro Program on a sustainable track.
The BLM manages more land – more than 245 million acres – than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
(See attached file: IndObserverWH&BNewsRelease_Fri3Dec2010.docx) (See
attached file: AHPAFinalReport.pdf)
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” when faced with unexpected and extraordinary circumstances (such as
water toxemia at the Owyhee gather), BLM, APHIS, and contractor personnel demonstrated the ability to review, assess, and adapt procedures to ensure the care and well being of the animals to the best of their ability.”
These observers began After the Owyhee Massacre. They were sent after the worst was over. This is also a white wash. It is lies… mar
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Those observers must not have been at the Warm Springs gather this fall!
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“The independent observers also made a number of recommendations to the BLM, which can be found in the full report posted on the BLM’s Website. The Bureau will review and respond to each recommendation”
Yes, and if they cannot implement these recommendations, they are asked to tell WHY.
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Here is an older list of the Advisory Board members. Some terms have expired. I will get an updated list and them we can email all of them with our thoughts. I have also added Sally email at the bottom if you care to email her for any info.
Wild Horse and Burro Advocacy
Ms. Robin Lohnes
Executive Director
American Horse Protection Association
1000 29th Street, NW Suite T-100
Washington, D.C. 20007
AMHRSEPROT@AOL.COM
(Term Expires: 01/08/2012)
Livestock Management
Ms. Renee C. Taylor
Taylor Environmental Consulting, LLC
P.O. Box 1734
100 S. Pou Road
Evansville, Wyoming 82636
renee@taylor-environmental.com
(Term Expires: 06/14/2010)
Humane Advocacy
Vacant
Natural Resources Management
Dr. J. Wayne Burkhardt
2410 River Road
Indian Valley, Idaho 83632
rangeswest@ctcweb.net
(Term Expires: 06/14/2010)
Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Boyd Spratling
Starr Valley Route
P.O. Box 27
Deeth, Nevada 89823
boyddvm@wellsrec.net
(Term Expires: 01/08/2012)
Wildlife Management
Mr. Larry Johnson
Black Eagle Consulting, Inc.
1345 Capital Boulevard, Suite A
Reno, NV 89502-7140
Johnson@blackeagleconsulting.com
(Term Expires: 11/06/2009)
Wild Horse and Burro Research
Dr. Vernon D. Dooley
1074 Lane 11
Powell, Wyoming 82435
dooleyv@northwestcollege.edu
(Term Expires: 06/14/2010)
Livestock Management
Mr. Gary Zakotnik
68A Eden West 1st South Road
Eden, Wyoming 82932
gzakotni@wyoming.com
(Term Expires: 11/06/2009)
Public Interest
Ms. Janet M. Jankura
3550 Saint Andrews Lane
Richfield, Ohio 44286
Janet.jankura@hiintergrity.com
(Term Expires: 01/08/2012)
****************************************
Sally Spencer
Wild Horse & Burro Program
Office: 202-452-5196
Cell: 202-641-6106
Fax: 202-653-9084
Sally_Spencer@blm.gov
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Well I’d like to know when that recent meeting was in Sacramento – this “stakeholder” never received notice. Our local HSUS office is pretty small to be hosting the likes of Bob Abbey. I would have loved to have sat in on that meeting. As I am sure many other citizens would have. So as far as sitting down for all sides, I don’t think the “recent sitdown” counts against appearing at a well advertised multi-state conference. Not working Abbey – your PR just laid a gooseegg. Get your hands off our wild horses and burros. No one who is as preposterous and arrogant as you or your handlers should have anything to do with deciding the fate of our horses. It is a well known fact that every aspect of slaughter has its feet in FRAUD – it rolls off your tongue so smoothly. And no we won’t go quietly to our room. Get your hands off our horses and burros. The law protects them as written – we stand behind it. Your interpretation is unlawful –
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http://www.recordcourier.com/article/20101203/NEWS/101209952/1062&ParentProfile=1049
comments please
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I saw very good recommendations on page 8 of this document. It was obvious the veterinarians were trying to be gentle in what they said. I did not agree with what was said earlier about the horses not being under stress during the round up. But perhaps what THEY saw was ‘structured’. In their recommendations they espoused what we have been wanting (added padding, higher fences, no roping and tying of horses for an extended time, no long separation of mares and foals, Not so much loading and unloading of the horses, etc.) I think they did they best they could under the circulmstances.
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BLM Chief Gives Reasons for Attending Slaughterfest 2011
OK I’ve read it twice and still can’t find his “reasons” for attending- what am I missing???
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Abbey should also meet with us.
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Abbey is disgusting. We, the stakeholders, should DEMAND his dismissal as well as all his coherts, and We, the Stakeholders demand that we, want to decide where our wild horses and burros go. not this bureaucracy. We are paying for the roundups as we are the keepers of the monies by virtue of being citizens, and we, as the stakeholders want all the wild horses and burros RETURNED TO THEIR NATURAL AND PREVIOUS RANGES, AND we will decide that they will be the ones on our ranges, NOT CATTLEMEN’S cattle. And, no mining will be done without our expressed approval. We, the stakeholders are speaking up and we want this demand implemented NOW. We are demanding his firing and the dismantle of the BLM NOW, not tomorrow, not next week or next month. THIS SHOULD BE DONE IMMEDIATELY. We will win this one as GOd is on our side and these are his beautiful animals he has entrusted in our care.
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Well I’d like to know when that recent meeting was in Sacramento – this “stakeholder” never received notice. Our local HSUS office is pretty small to be hosting the likes of Bob Abbey. I would have loved to have sat in on that meeting. As I am sure many other citizens would have. So as far as sitting down for all sides, I don’t think the “recent sitdown” counts against appearing at a well advertised multi-state conference. Not working Abbey – your PR just laid a gooseegg. Get your hands off our wild horses and burros. No one who is as preposterous and arrogant as you or your handlers should have anything to do with deciding the fate of our horses. It is a well known fact that every aspect of slaughter has its feet in FRAUD – it rolls off your tongue quite so smoothly as well. And no we won’t go quietly to our room. Get your hands off our horses and burros. The law protects them as written – we stand behind it. Your interpretation is unlawful –
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Bravo Janet!
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Please remember none of us according to the BLM are “stakeholders.”
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These are not reasons for their attendance these are lame – assed excuses, However I am not surprised, If we are not stakeholders what do the call we are fitting the Bill for this total nonsense, total waste of the TAXPAYERS money !!!! So they can sit there and talk total nonsense, this the worst hunk of crap ever, they Brutally murder and maim , starve , tie up foals and leave them to die on the desert, Wake up America stop these fools and buffoons, they have Betrayed America , wasted Americas money, and worst of all they are destroying Americas Icons…………….They all belong in Jail , for there crimes against Americas Majestic Wild Mustangs the most beautiful in the World……….. they shame us unmercifully they make a Mockery of American citizens who believe the Mustang represents Freedom……….. and get away with it….. For this and this alone they need to be disbanded …………….. Fire them all……….For what they have done and continue to do , this is America not in our backyard BLM>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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My issue of Horse Illustrated arrived today and there is a large artilce titiled New Column – Hot Topic – Wild Horse Roundups.
I have not finished reading the entire article but did see some familiar names quoted, Laura, R.T. and a few more. The BLM is still reviewing Pickens proposal which is posted on the BLM website. Tom Gorey is quoted “but we have not taken any position on it.”
Will have to check the on line edition to see if it is available.
What I found interesting is the twi year National Academy of Sciences study scheduled to begin in January 2011 lead by Rahall.
The study is designed to identify the most accurate, science-gased mehtods for estimating witl horse and burro populations and to recommend practical, effective, non-lethal and publicly acceptable management alternatives to current BLM policies.
So it appears nothing is going to get done for least another year.
Marge
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There has been a wealth of important, useful information on this blog today. Thanks for sharing.
At this point, I do not know how useful this information is, but there is a sponsor for the ROAM Act. Senator Kirsten Gillenbrand (D-NY) signed on to co-sponsor this bill with Senator Byrd; however, her name was only recently added to the public record.
Her address is: The Honorable Kirsten Gillenbrand
478 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
I emailed her several weeks ago, but have not gotten a reply. I don’t know if all states do this, but in our state, your email gets popped out if you are not a constituent to a Representative.
If any of you live within driving distance of your Senators’ or Representatives’ home offices, it might be worth your time to try to schedule an appointment with them over the Christmas break.
In terms of the 1971 WFRHB Act, as amended, the Secretary has very broad discretionary power; however, throughout the Act, he is constantly told that he must consult with scientists, states’ ag and wildlife departments, etc. On the basis of the scientific standards required for in the law, I think there is plenty of evidence that the Secretary has failed to use the protocols provided by law.
For example, this American Horse Protection Association sounds a lot like one of Sue Wallis’s type groups, so I tried to find information on it on the Internet, and the only thing I could find was a blurb which confirmed my gut instincts—not enough information to register a complaint with DOI IG. I have nothing against these four veterinarians, but we have to investigate the backgrounds of anyone that the BLM or DOI recruits to give them a thumbs up. We are seeing a proliferation of hokey 501 (3) C groups, and as some of you, RT, Steven Long, and others have pointed out, we need to look out.
I am going to use the avenues for oversight that the government has provided for citizen watch dogs—then, if we are able to build a case that DOI/BLM is not using the science (should be peer reviewable) level of expertise that it should be using, there should soon be evidence that a halt to round-ups is in order. If the IG at DOI can’t put it together, then perhaps GAO will. At least, if we try these avenues, when we go again to our law makers, we will have tried this. If it works, great! If not, then we can see, we have tried going through the process you have given us, and these practices continue.
It is going to take some time to parse out all the various ways DOI/BLM has violated the law, even as amended, and all the laws they have violated trying to violate the law, as amended. It will take some research because if you say someone is breaking the law, you are going to have to know which law and what part of it he is breaking, what specific action he is taking or is planning to take that violates or will violate the law. I don’t pretend to be a lawyer, or to be particularly bright, but there has got to be a system here that will work. And without question, the weak link at DOI/BLM is science. The second weak link is underestimating the will of the American people.
I was naive enough to believe in the basic decency of the administration—that if they only could see what was happening, they would recognize how wrong it is.
However, I was the one who is wrong. Our wild horses and burros are in the way of this administrations vision—a vision that including coming to an agreement with South Korea with the goal or creating another market for beef (and heaven only knows what other mean products) and approving the sale mineral licenses of two Wyoming uranium mines to a Canadian company whose majority shares are now owned by the Russian state government. Wyoming has bigger problems than the one in Recluse.
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Advocates will be protesting at the Summit of the Horse in Las Vegas, Nevada ~ January 3-6. Send me a private email to janniegoodearth@hotmail.com and I can put you in touch with the woman in Las Vegas who is organizing this protest. I’m sure some of you already know her. Advocates are planning to attend from as far away as New York. Permit for all 4 days to protest is being obtained.
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YIPEE!!
May the force be with you all!!!
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