Horse News

Audio Post

Eye Witness report by R.T. Fitch ~ Author/Director of HfH Advisory Council

Live Coverage Today, signal permiting, in Comment Section Below

Last attempt for freedom heads south as wild horse gets caught on pen ~ photo by Terry Fitch

As the mean Antelope Complex wild horse stampede is allowed to continue the number of equine victims continues to mount. Be it shattered bands as stallions escape and their families are taken or the large number of full term pregnant mares being harassed and hauled away, Obama’s wild horse agency (BLM) relentlessly stalks, hunts and inhumanely removes the natural natives of Northern Nevada’s Antelope complex never to know freedom again.

Yesterday, a stallion attempted to escape the claustrophobic and incorrectly designed holding pen only to be hung upside down by his hindquarters for an extended period of time. Although contract wranglers rushed to free the imperiled horse their initial humane actions were quickly countered by their lack of care as they pulled and tugged the possibly injured horse by the neck and promptly released him back into the pen with rope still attached as they prepared to satisfy their greed by loading yet another group of incoming horses into the very same pen.

After the pen is loaded several stallions begin to fight with entangled horse caught in the middle with the rope pulling him to and fro. It is an ugly fight but time does not permit the uploading of the video this night. The horse is later separated with two others and put into a trailer where observers could not monitor his condition for several hours. The final disposition of this horse is unknown at this time.

The embedded videos document this occurrence but were taken at maximum telephoto distance without the stability of a tripod. These raw videos are unedited and contain the dialog between Terry Fitch and her husband R.T. operating the video camera who could not see into the view finder due to the glare of the sun. Voices in the background are those of BLM employees.

It is highly recommended that you boost these videos to “full screen” so that you can clearly see the events.

If you are concerned and/or interested in seeing an end to this inhumanity continue to “turn the volume up” by faxing your elected representatives and ask them to put an end to this insanity. Congressmen, Senators, the President…they all need to hear and hear the message in a big way. Crank it up and shut it down, NOW!” ~ R.T.

66 replies »

  1. I can’t stand this brutality. These people have to be stopped! They are animal abusers and only in it for the money! Our government is aware of the circumstances, but apathetic to the situation. Shame on them. How can they face their children and grandchildren and say that the Wild Mustangs and Burros are no more? They are the responsible for the equine genocide.

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  2. Here’s the BLM’s take on it:

    An incident with a stud horse happened in the gather corrals today. The stud stuck his hind leg through a panel. The crew got a rope on him and worked his leg loose. The leg appeared to be OK, so he was loaded and transported to the holding corral where he is moving about freely and eating hay. The vet examined the horse and didn’t find an injury. The crew’s expertise in handling wild horse was apparent in their professional response to this incident. This is one of the kinds of incidents that can occur when working with horses.

    Sounds pretty far from the truth if you ask me.

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    • They are such liars! Don’t trust them. They have pulled so many criminal acts and, like so many others now-days, they are teflon coated, so nothing sticks to them, no matter how evil their acts are or now many witnesses have documentation to the fact.
      I agree. Lets flood the FBI with letters, phone calls, personal visits.

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  3. All those stupid idiots would have had to do was push his hind legs free.
    Call here today please.
    Thank you for your e-mail to the Nevada Office of the Attorney General. Although the wild horse gatherings on Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land are taking place within the State of Nevada, the state has no jurisdiction over the wild horses on BLM land nor any decision or method of removal of those horses in that area. All comments or complaints on this issue should be directed to the state office of the BLM which is located in Reno, Nevada. Comments should be directed to Nevada BLM acting director, Amy Lueders, 775-861-6590.

    Sincerely,

    CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO

    Attorney General

    By: Citizen Response Unit

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  4. BLM website states for Wed 2/23 Animals shipped: 36 to Salt Lake, Utah; 26 to Delta, Utah
    Does anyone know which facilities these are? Not the usual PVC or Gunnison…

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    • Salt Lake is a short term holding and Delta is also. They were used routinely this past year. Salt Lake had sick horses and I am not sure if Strangles was the disease or something similar. I have not seen updates. Many of the horses in these fascilities end up in LTH. Some may get into the adoption program. mar

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  5. That poor horse that was kicking…I wish he had kicked some of these fools between the eyes. Maybe he would have knocked some sense into them!

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  6. It is a sad misconception by some that working with horses needs to be done with dumb brute force. They are prey animals and react to being cornered. But that doesn’t mean they are vicious. Just fighting for their lives (and rightly so). The human strength that is needed to work with horses has to be tempered with intelligence and compassion, (not something that can be bragged about in bars).
    How can we as a nation decry the destruction of tigers, gorillas and elephants in far off lands, when we can’t even tolerate a few mustangs on millions of acres of local range.
    The mustang will be herded to extinction for the sake of the dollar, and so will, eventually, go the world if mother nature doesn’t intervene.

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    • I agree with you!
      And I also agree with you that whilst U.S. animal advocates criticize other countries, many barely seem to look much at these roundups… this maddens me so much! not even PETA seems willing to help 😦

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  7. Whatever you can think of to do – DO! Yell. Kick, scream – stop being POLITE! The scenes witnessed are all the result of negligence and disrespect – to you, and me and the horses whose lives are pawns in the transfer of money.

    Try not to hate – follow the horse.

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  8. This is disgusting it is just not Obamas but all of ours we need to stand up for these horses and make the news play the videos like they did with the beef and the slaughter houses I am sending this to friends and together we will push the issue to local tv stations and we all need to do this

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  9. WHY??????
    You tell me why the round up’s happen??????
    You tell me why the cow’s are not moved and kept from water just like horse,
    You tell me why we should not start doing this to your “o so precious cows”

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  10. The fences on trap site are not tall enough? Do you all agree? How many times have we seen these horses flip themselves over this fence? Also I really, really think they should not tie the domestic horse( saddled horse) to the trap fences. We have seen from previous round ups that mustangs will charge a fence with a domestic horse behind it. In fact a mustang died charging a fence because of that reason in a previous round up.

    These round ups need safety and policy changes. The only way we can get these changes if we call and right our reps, senators,congressmen and president. We need to get others like family members and friends to do so also. This can be changed, we can halt these rounds ups, we just need the numbers.

    Anyways thanks to all those who are video taping, taking photos and calling their reps. Together we can make a difference.

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  11. I just finished sending two more messages to my Congressman. One from the WHPC web site and one from my personal email. Both urged him to not only stop these operations NOW pending a Congressional investigation but also to use his influence to encourage the House Natural Resources Committee to deny salazar the additional 12 million dollars he intends to request in the hearing scheduled for 3 March. Apparently he will claim he “needs” the additonal funding to support the horses in LTH facilities. We all know they should not be putting more horses in those facilities but he will undoubtedly try to convince the committee that BLM has no choice in order to save the horses! I also believe if he gets this money it will be funneled into additional roundup/removal operations, not just caring for LTH horses as he claims.

    I realize it feels like we are standing on a windswept ridge while the lather soaking our coats turns to ice, screaming against the freezing wind for our kidnapped, lost bands but we must do whatever we can. Please contact your representatives and advise them of what is really happening “out there” off of their radar screens and demand they refuse to hand salazar any more of our tax dollars to engage in activities that should not be taking place at all.

    It is my understanding they cannot accept on-line videos. Or is it will not? These sickening videos and on-site observations clearly show that the BLM versions are nothing but lies wrapped around a few grains of actuality. The really despicable part of that fact is that they must know they are lying and counting on most people that are not otherwise informed to just take their word for it.

    It is very difficult to deal with knowing this is happening every day and see our constant supplications for the welfare of the horses either completely ignored or denigrated and twisted as nothing more than the bleating of a bunch of animal extremists that don’t know what we are talking about.

    No one else is speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves so we must not stop. It is particularly hard for ones who like myself are inclined to take more direct action to resolve a situation.

    I am trying to learn just where the horses reportedly being brought to SLC will be held and will let you know if I can. I think the place they used to hold them was all burned over by a wild fire last summer.

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    • OMG this should have been done years ago !!!! How Many of Our Beauties Perished over the MORONIC , BLM s Policies….. When something is broke you fix it , Where were the Investigations years ago, Our Mustangs have been chastised for years , Its has been a disgusting coverup for years, The BLM themselves admit they are now a horse agency >???????????? If that is the case what in the hell are they doing, Do they even know ????????? The wild mustangs to them are dollar signs , this is what the see, they figure no one would pay attention if they just got rid of them all, seriously thats what there thought process looks like…………… These last round ups were gruesome to say the least , they do this cause nobody stops them , they push to the Limit (They believe there is none) OMG, to witness this is the limit to everyone who knows their gentle nature and loves horses, my patience is wearing very thin I have had to step away a few times out of shear anguish …..each time only more determined to Stop the BLM>>>>>> We as a human with human feelings cannot stand the Mustangs torture , and that is exactly what it is TORTURE……………… Only the imagination can even try to feel their extreme pain and agony , yet they try to get free because Freedom is the only thing they know !!! and want…….They are relentless in their pursuit of it, that is why they represent Freedom so Gracefully…… Mother Nature and their Creator gave to them this to bring it to us , in such a way that it would be unmistakably presented…. They gave the Mustangs many countless virtues to present and convey to us..They gave them also Power, and Beauty beyond compare….. They fight for freedom because it is a tremendous feeling for them and anyone it touches………………And that is why everyone of us will not forsake them……As the BLM is doing , against the Law that was created to protect them , this is unforgivable…………………………

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  12. BLM plan will likely include a 2 year study by Nat Academy of Sciences, partnerships with pvt. parties (FROM George Knapp)*
    BLM will continue roundups but will release more mares back onto the range after shots with birth control

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    • Nell, they have yet to release any back into the wild. They are blowing smoke. I’d bet the missing horses… they load 42, deliver 26…. they will claim were released back into the wild which they were not. They’ve been fudging numbers for years, they are good at it. Where are the missing horses going? Someone checked their numbers and said 212 missing just from what the BLM has posted. So again I ask… where are the missing animals?? They don’t even mention the burros anymore on their site. Why not? Wait…. I forgot… a bunch were shot to death and they want that to disappear….

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  13. OMG!!! Nell, that is wonderful news! Lets hope this is going to be a genuine overview/overhaul, and not just more of the ‘fox guarding the henhouse’ variety…

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    • Dear Louie !!! Today I sent all videos to every Rep. In Ohio !!! and Implored for Personal Replies from each one of them, also wrote letters and emails to back them up !!! !!!! Yesterday sent faxes to all also !!! There are lots of people here in Ohio who are dedicated Horse people………………To get this message for our Mustangs needs media attention here……..and everywhere in the US, we must make every effort to deploy an all out every effort to make this happen , the Media is the Key to success for the Mustangs I cannot express that fact enough !!!!

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  14. All of us need to get the twitter account information for all high profile people, establishments & officials and tweet away with links to these articles. I have already tweeted Donald Trump, Anderson Cooper, Oprah, Ellen Show, and a few others… You get them in the tweet by mentioning their name (twitter handle) in your tweets or by replying to their tweets directly, you must follow them to get this option. To mention without following format like this @ellenshow, @oprah, etc..

    Just another free way to spread the word..

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  15. I don’t have the words to describe the outrage that I feel. Those of you that are keeping us informed are suredly horrified and dismayed at the governments unwillingness to stop this criminal round up of the magnificant animals. I wish I could be there with you. If you’re a horse lover, and you see these pictures, make our politicians suffer the consequences>

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  16. I just sent another email to my congressman to help fight this kind of action. again the people that are the employees need to be fired they do not care about these animals at all, how you they like it if it was done to their families if there were horses? The pictures are tough for me to take really made me cry . It is just sickening to think the employees of the blm are so heartless and cruel. i hope and pray we all can fight these bastards together.

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  17. DON’T BE FOOLED BY BLM! FALSE PROMISES– they have done this too many times in the past. They are going to Congress to beg for more money so this is just PR/SNOW JOB. WHEN THEY STOP THE ROUND-UPS, WE’LL KNOW THEY ARE SERIOUS.

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    • The uses of PZP with local assistance from certified technicians can be done selectively and maybe achieve it’s goal of stopping growth, just as Little Book Cliffs in NW Colorado, had done… by using the one year darted PZP… with locals involved.

      I other places, like Nevada, many mares and fillies are receiving, regardless of age, are being given PZP-22 which has no research and the horses being given this are the guinea pigs. Mares will not reproduce for anywhere from 3 years to six years or never… this is not a drug we need. Nor do we need the 7 year birth control that is said to be in development. Many horses will be at risk taking these drugs and many more herds may be lost or zeroed out once the bands have simply stopped reproducing.

      I do not trust that each herd will really have individual and selective birth control…
      I do not believe BLM should be in control.. if you project where zero population growth is really going, it will be negative population growth soon… all BLM has to do is add more cows to any PZP controlled herd area and the horses will get removed anyway. Or have they finally decided to stop crowding the herds more and more, each year with more cows, sheep, mining and energy projects? Hmmmm? mar

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  18. Could it work to get a lawyer to come out and take his own pictures and videos and then file a lawsuit against Sun J, the pilot, the handlers, and the truck drivers for animal curelty. Make them spend big money defending themselves in court. Making it not profitable to work for the government. And has anyone tried to contact greenpeace, show them the pictures and videos and get advice from them on another course of action. After all they have gone against countrys, governments and big business. And about the horses in long term holding on private property the air space is NOT private and hiring a small plane to fly over to take pictures of the horses is legal that way at least we will know if there are horses or not, it is kind of hard to hide that many, and if no horses are found then a class action lawsuit on behalf of the American tax payer could be filed. Just some of my thoughts.

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  19. I have some “cattle” questions. I know I’ve read that American’s eat 3% of the beef raised in this country. How accurate is this info? How many cows does this equate too? What happens to beef not sold at the grocery store (to old, has gone bad), Costco and the like? Is any of it used to feed the hungry in this country? How much of it is sent overseas?

    I ask because if there is this huge glut of too many cattle grazing and not enough meat sold–then BLM should be compelled to lower cattle grazing permits.

    Now I have some horsie questions for you. Why does BLM keep saying that they have some 38 thousand horses in holding when they don’t even account for the ones taken last year or even this year so far? They keep saying that they can’t afford to feed the ones they already have–so why add to the trouble and add on more? Isn’t this hoarding? And why are we suppose to take the word of Bob Abbey when he says “trust us” all those horses are safe and sound in LTH? This is the man who a day or two after that mare was run into the ground–said that she jumped up and ran off. Making it sound like—a quick slip, jumped in a sec and was fine. Then he went on to say how that helicopter never came near her. To which all I can say is WATCH THE VIDEO!

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    • The 3% is what percent of beef comes from the cattle the welfare ranchers graze on our public lands. It is not what Americans eat. I wish it was though.

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      • So where is the rest of it going? Is it going overseas? Why can’t those countries pay the “real” cost of grazing. Why should the American people be forced to pay for this? I know we want to be seen as the good guys worldwide but enough already.

        I know RT and really great people like him fought for our rights–each and every day they were on the front. This is not to slam him for swearing to uphold our ideals and values. I guess I just believe that in this economy that really sucks we just shouldn’t have to be absorbing worldwide costs. There has to be give and take.

        I still wonder how much beef actually goes bad because it isn’t sold in a timely manner. If this is the case–then I believe its only right that BLM lowers grazing rights.

        Me? I’m proud to say that I eat turkey and chicken and have beef–maybe a couple of times a year. I guess I just believe that the cholesterol is just too much. Beef sits heavily in my stomach. Milk is my HUGE weakness.

        My favorite breakfast and this isn’t vegan. Not quite sure how you would do this to make it mix correctly…but here goes.

        10 ounces water
        1/3 cup dry powered milk (skim) for the calcium
        1/2 cup Kefir the one that farmers promise are antibiotic free
        2 scoops protein powder
        Splenda to taste
        Big handful of frozen peaches and strawberries–FROZEN
        If this is too thin–you can add blueberries to thicken

        Instead of ice you use frozen fruit so it thickens the smoothies.

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    • USDA and US Meat Export Federation have extensive data. USMEF has some data available to the public, but to get the “juicy” stuff you have to have a member access password/login. I guess they are just another food industry that doesn’t believe in full disclosure. Funny though, because as a marketing entity they run around the world represnting the US.

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  20. Hmmm Federal land. Federal everything if you think about it…. So…. why not flood the FBI with calls and faxes too?? Investigate IS in their title. They are Federal. I’d bet they wouldn’t be happy if they got a couple thousand calls about this with people wanting the BLM investigated. Would they not be required to DO their job? Just wondering….

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  21. plz let horses be they r animals like us but cant talk like we can but they just wont to be free and have a normaly life sooo plz let the horses run free and wild

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  22. IN THE NEWS:

    The reality of a government shutdown

    Regardless, federal contractors would lose out. Many contract workers could be furloughed without pay and not receive lost wages retroactively, especially in an extended shutdown.

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  23. thanks RT..It gives us all a lift just knowing you are out there, by the way how many Yen does it take to make a million dollars?- the cost for this roundup..we should all know since we are all borrowing this money from china to conduct them

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  24. Remember that Salazar not getting his $12 million increase for the WH&B Program is not enough. Their budget needs to be slashed! Leave them no money for unnecessary round ups.

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  25. The link is posted for those who want to read the rest of this article. Notice the date–doesn’t jive with the ” BLM promise to overhaul the Wild Horse and Burro Program from top to bottom”.

    http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2011/02/137.shtml

    Wild horse advocates attacked over “false claims”
    February 20, 2011

    A moratorium on wild horse gathers is untenable, Bureau of Land Management director Bob Abbey says.
    He directed sharp critisim at wild horse advocates, saying false claims, misleading statements and false characterisations about the bureau’s actions, motives and intentions are circulated on virtually a daily basis on the internet.
    Wild horse advocates have been seeking a halt to all wild-horse musters to enable an overhaul of the bureau’s wild horse management programme, which they label inhumane and costly.
    Abbey, in a guest column in “Roll Call” , said many members of Congress had received emails, letters and phone calls from wild horse activists in recent months.
    “These activists are waging an aggressive campaign, both in the federal courts and in the court of public opinion, that is aimed at stopping the Bureau of Land Management from gathering wild horses and burros from overpopulated herds on Western public rangelands.
    “With herd sizes growing at an average rate of 20 per cent a year – thus doubling in size every four years – these removals are necessary to protect wildlife habitat, the horses themselves and the public rangelands from the environmental effects of herd overpopulation.

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    • And what about foal mortality rates???? If BLM hadn’t had all the mountain lions killed in the Pryor’s they would free of PZP. The cats were doing fine at maintaining levels for several years all their own. As per Ginger. Sure it isn’t pretty. But what the BLM does is less pretty. And a mountain lion is usually pretty quick about its kill. Jump, bite through the spinal cord and its over.

      Once the spinal cord is severed at least the horse doesn’t suffer any pain. This is Mother Nature at her finest.

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    • We here all know that the BLM tells nothing but lies and hollow promises, they twist and rearrange the Truth as it is , they think they are experts at what they do thoughtlessly without properly addressing any of it , with Knowledge and understanding, The Wild Mustangs are not damaging to anything, they brave the cold , fight for their family units , and show courage in all they have to deal with they are the Greatest Representative of FREEDOM the World will ever know……

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  26. Until the scientific review and an independent population count for range and holding is confirmed, NOTHING LESS THAN A COMPLETE MORATORIUM IS ACCEPTABLE!

    No Mr. Abbey….the only thing untennable is your and your cattle hack cronies destruction of OUR public lands and OUR American wild equines….I don’t care how you “dress up the pig”. You are a documented liar.

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  27. Did anyone read the three part series on the Antelope roundup that was published 2/17 & 2/18 by the Elko Daily Free Press? I assume not, since there was only one comment to the second article, in which Lesli Coakley said the gather will continue until the end of February, unless the BLM BEGINS to see pregnant mares, in which case the gather will cease due to dangers in gathering these animals. Not a direct quote, but how many pregnant mares have been captured since this interview was done?

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  28. Does it just not matter to you and our government that American taxpayers are demanding a halt to BLM’s atrocious roundups? Does Salazar and his cattle lobbist own you? Are you going to let that jerk kill all our horses?

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  29. The illegal atrocities currently taking place in America’s tax-payed lands amongst the iconic Wild Mustangs & Burros are the equivalent of Hitler led WWII. The whole lot of all involved BLM minions associated in conducting said atrocities from the office associate to the proven thugs in the field, don’t carry the level of integrity that of a third-world, pond scum maggot.

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  30. Please, every one, start making 9 X 11 IN. POSTCARD & SENDING THEM TO YOUR REPS & THE PRESIDENT. I did & it’s easy to make one. PUT the GROSSEST pictures on them you can find.
    Here’s how I made mine.
    Used the thin cardborad from a calender. 2 sheets of copy papper & 2 types of tape, doubble sided & clear packing tape.
    On address side I but 3 pictures in a row down one side. Put my return & Presidents address on the other side. On the back is the letter with info. It starts with “This is not one of your 10 day letter things” It tells how much money is spent, from what contractor makes per every horse rounded up, to the cost per horse to feed for a yr. to how many horses BLM claims are in holding, to how much is spent sending horses to Oklahoma where Salazr wants to start ZOO with non breeding horses & the fact that contraceptives are in use on mares. last but not least, hand wrote at bottom, This is your BLM, do something about it
    I used dbbl. sided tape to hold paper in place. Cut card borad to size of papper
    & covered both sides of card with clear packing tape to protect it.
    Cost was $6.00 to send with return reciept to Obama. Every one in the world will see it.
    If you don’t know all info there is to know about Mustangs, please tell whom ever why you love these horses, what they do for you or to you every time you even think about them, smell them or see them, what they stand for, anything.
    Can we all start a home made Post Card rush on Obama or the person of your choosing? Please spread the word.
    In a day or 2 I’ll be sending a package to President that I for worned him to look for.

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  31. Can somebody pleaser tell me where the proof is that the BLM is now using PZP-22. I read where it’s being used in NV but need proof . Also info about a 7 year PZP ? Some think this is a rumor. I hope so.

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    • This past summer and fall in the BLM releases for the roundup announcements from Little Humbolt to Pine Nut and others they say PZP-22, I am certain. They do not use the annual but in a few places.

      Palomino Armstrong wrote here about a 7 year contraceptive only last week… there were many responses to that alone… it may have been part of a presentation she made. RT has it. mar

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  32. Barbara, they DO say that they are using PZP-22–it’s under FINDINGS OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT section for the Owyee, Rock Creek, and Little Humboldt Wild Horse Gather Plan Environmental Assessment–it says that 195 mares would be vaccinated with PZP-22.

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