Update from SFTHH
Wild Horse Rally Gains Momentum
Wild Horse advocate Madeleine Pickens will be joining Dances with Wolves Author, Michael Blake, author Deanne Stillman, filmmaker Ginger Kathrens, artist Laura Leigh, author R.T. Fitch and equine advocate Simone Netherlands in a wild horse advocates’ press conference on Thursday, March 10 preceding the controversial Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Advisory Board Meeting.
As the nation simmers over not only the cruelty but the arrogant waste of millions of tax dollars being spent by the Obama administration on unnecessary wild horse and burro roundups citizens from across the country are gathering in Phoenix, this week, in an effort to voice their disdain and condemnation over the failed and defunct BLM wild horse and burro program.
Equine advocacy groups The Cloud Foundation, Respect4Horses, The Habitat for Horses Advisory Council, Grassroots Horse, and American Wild Horse Advocates are represented and have banded together to demand that the BLM halt all roundups and to cease squandering the hard earned tax dollars of American citizens.
Under the mismanagement of BLM Director Bob Abbey the agency has stripped tens of thousands of federally protected wild horses and burros from public lands where once millions roamed free. Annually the BLM conducts inhumane and deadly helicopter stampedes which result in death, injury and ultimately horses lost in a bureaucratic holding system where confined horses are estimated to outnumber free equines by a ratio of two to one.
The press conference of advocates is being held to alert the media to the travesty that is the BLM wild horse program and to garner attention and further understanding from the American public in general.
While the beleaguered Board conducts their two daylong meeting there will be alternative activities conducted by wild horse advocates which will inform the public and strengthen the movement’s solidarity. (schedule below)
The general public is encouraged and welcome to participate in these activities.
Thursday March 10th:
11:30am- 12:30pm: Press Conference at the Phoenix downtown Sheraton Hotel, 340 N. 3rd street.
1:00 pm -5:00 pm: BLM Advisory Board Meeting begins
7:00pm-8:00pm: Candlelight vigil for the wild horses and burros who have died and suffered at the hands of the BLM beginning in front of the Sheraton
Friday March 11th :
8:00am – 9:00am BLM Advisory Board Meeting resumes
9:00am- 12:00pm: Public Comment period of meeting, press encouraged to attend.
12:00am – 2:00pm Demonstration/ Protest beginning in front of the Sheraton Phoenix downtown hotel (340 N. 3rd street)
1:00pm – 5:00pm BLM Advisory Board Meeting concludes
Related Articles
- Madeleine Pickens Responds To Obama’s BLM Slap In the Face (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- APNewsBreak: BLM rejects Pickens horse rescue plan (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- Wild Horse and Burro Preservation Groups Announce Phoenix Press Conference and Rally to Call for Immediate Halt to Roundups (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Action Alert: Wild Horse Advocates to Rally at BLM Meeting (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- BLM Called Upon To Halt Wild Horse Roundups Until “New Normal ” Policies Enacted To Ensure Humane Treatment of Mustangs (yubanet.com)
- OBAMA Wild Horse Posts Still Unfilled, Board’s Current Makeup Suspect at Best (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Good for Madeleine! I’ve been sparring with Daphne BLM this week–same ol’/same ol’— BLM is right and good and concerned. It’s been interesting but a waste of time. Their heads are encased in concrete. I’ll be lighting candles on Thursday night — for Chance and Braveheart and BlueMoon–and the thousand nameless ones that have simply disappeared.
We the people will continue to be vigilant and untrusting. We shall scrutinize every word and every move of government agencies that seek to subvert our rights and silence our voices. We shall learn from history and not put it behind us. We shall continue to fight on behalf of the wild horses and an environment beseiged by greed and corruption.
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This would be a good time and place to print out these letters and petitions and get people to join:
http://www.horsefund.org/
CITIZEN IMPEACHMENT OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR
BOB ABBEY FOR CRIMES COMMITTED AGAINST AMERICA’S WILD HORSES AND BURROS
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Louie, thanks for that link. The problem, as I see it, is these corporate traitor moles infect most of our government. Look at Kenny boy Salazar. Look at Obama. I would love to get scumbag Abbey out, but we have to rid our country of the corporate cancer or it just keeps coming back.
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I don’t think I have said this before in any post, but better late than never: I have never been prouder (as well as humbled) than I am right now to be part of such an amazing, caring, strong, determined, vocal, won’t back down, put their lives on the line for those who have no way to defend themselves, group of people in my entire life (and I was involved with some pretty terrific ones when we were trying to get the ERA Amendment ratified back in the 70’s! LOL)!! I thank you all for your courage and your words on this site – for making this unholy situation public for those of us who couldn’t be there on site to help, for sharing our triumphs as well as our defeats and tears together, and in the process reminding us of Margaret Mead’s famous quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever does.” You are my heros.
As I have posted on Facebook to many who can’t make it to Phoenix this week, those of us who can carry your words and your spirit with us and we’ll stand as your representatives for the horses as well. Egypt started it, Wisconsin brought it here, and we are taking it to Phoenix, AZ on Thursday!
RT, Terry, Laura, and all the others – until you are better paid…THANK YOU SO MUCH! Blessed Be.
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There’s never been a better time than NOW to CLEAN HOUSE. The American people are fed up!
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AMEN JADE – WHAT A WONDERFUL BUNCH OF PEOPLE !
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I agree, I would love to be right there with them, I just don’t get the mean mind set of the Gov. who are put inplace to protect???
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I am soooo happy that Madeleine, Laura , RT, Simone – thank God, are joining Ginger, Michael, et. al. for Thursday. I cannot attend both days, but “wild horses couldn’t keep me away” on Friday, for public comment and demonstration/ protest afterwards, and attending with Claudia, from Equine Voices Rescue & Sanctuary. I am praying a HUGE turnout for the horses, and burros, and tons of emails, faxes, media coverage, etc. PLEASE, let this be a big turning point.
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Below is the response from letter, I got from John McCain…I think the numbers quoted in paragraph 3, JUST may be a bit off…only 10,000 wild horses in 1971? What? !
Thank you for contacting me regarding the issue of wild horse and burro management on federal lands. I appreciate learning your views on this matter.
As you know, the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971 declared wild horses on federal lands as “iconic” animals and directed the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to balance horse populations with other multiple use activities, including livestock grazing. The law also gives the BLM the authority to round up and place for adoption excess horses in order to protect the western landscape. Unfortunately, horse reproduction rates have outpaced BLM’s ability to provide for appropriate management levels or to properly operate the horse adoption program.
In 2009, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar described the Wild Horse program as “unsustainable” for both horses and American taxpayers — and I agree. The Wild Horse program grows more costly every year. According to the Congressional Research Service, holding facilities alone accounted for nearly 75% of the program’s $40 million annual budget. While there were an estimated 10,000 wild horses when the 1971 law was enacted, today the BLM manages over 34,000 horses throughout the West and keeps about 33,000 horses in overcrowded holding facilities.
Last Congress, several proposals were put forward to help improve the wild horse program. Unfortunately, to date no legislation has been introduced in the 112th Congress to address this issue. Please be assured that I will keep your views in mind should this issue be addressed by the full Senate.
Thank you again for contacting me. Please feel free to contact me on this or any other matter of concern.
Sincerely,
John McCain
United States Senator
JM/ds
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i pretty much got the same response from senator Leahy in VT….”over population” of mustangs. wtf? do they all have their heads in the sand??
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Yeah they all must have the same form letter. Senator dicky Durbin of IL pretty much says the same thing except that the BLM has been doing this for 30 years and are doing a great job. Hope he doesn’t expect my vote next time.
And NOW is the time to change the BLM. Lets get it done.
And a BIG THANKS for all of you who will be going to fight for the wild ones.
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Jade, I could not have said it better, my thoughts and prayers go with all, may the strengh of the mustang travel at you side.
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My understanding is that the numbers the government releases are totally inaccurate. It’s typical government lies and political rederic. Thanks to all the people supporting and loving the mustangs. Don’t we wish we could trade this wonderful creatures for the pediphiles, rapists and murders and put them all in holding and let our beautiful creatures run free. There is enough land for them despite what our politicians say.
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I wish we could put all the senators(against the wild ones,Sue Wallis, Dave Duquette,(sp?) Ken Salazar and all the rest of them in holding pens and let them all waste away. President Obama is just another Washington white house bald face liar.
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I am certain that the amount of money spent on the program has gone up, especially feeding the horses in over populated pens. HOWEVER, that $ would not need to be spent if infact the horses ran free. You can not tell e that they have out grown the food supply because they look fat & healthy as they are running thier hind quarters off trying toi get away from the helicopters! They have not over populated & the pics of them w/ wieght on are proof of thtat. As anyone would see if given a moment to think, over population=food depletion= skinny animals.I have not seen a pic of one in the wild in need of wieght. Now in the pens…. there they are not healthy.
It would behoove this country to learn from it’s mistakes. We continually destroy species then scramble to keep them from extinction. Then we wonder why we are broke. We break our own laws then wonder why no on respects them & pour dollar after dollar in an attempt to get a handle on crime.Why are we broke. We rationalize the need to do things in ways that are not the slightest bit efficient to offer moe employment to workers that do not work but thier jobs are protected by unions. Why are we broke.
Our society is so morally & ethically bankrupt. Well ladies & gentleman of our elected government, you are our leaders & as in a household, we follow your lead. You break the laws, we see no reason not to. You are not honest with us, we find it unrewarding to be honest to eachother.You hold no one accountable for wrong doing, we turn our heads as well because it seems defeatest to try to stay morally intact when lead by those who allow people like Ken Salazar o get away with treating our protected Icons of freedom as he has. You show no respect to this country by letting greed ruin what we voted to protect then you are making a mockery of democracy itself. So I ask you, where has our pride gone? Why are you in poffice? Where is you love for what made us a great place to live? When is this country going to stop worrying about beng so politically correct that we have bacome socially crippled?
When we look at the smaller pieces of our world because we have so many things to decide, accomplish, & solve, we often don’t see how it effects the whole picture.I ask you to sit a moment & reflect on what brought you to be in in office & what the big picture shows today as to what our country stands for. Who is America today?We do in this house everyday at dinner. We pray for our cousins, nephews, & sibblings & friends that are fighting for this great country as we bow our heads.More importantly, why they do it! We reflect daily & what we can do to bring this country back to the Moral back bone it once had. I hope you do the same.
Jessica Fitzgerald
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The ultimate brush off “Please be assured that I will keep your views in mind should this issue be addressed by the full Senate.” Yea, right I’m holding my breath on that one old man.
I am elated that Madeleine, Laura , and RT are going to be there. They can no longer expect anyone to believe the lie that Bob Abbey and his cutthroats give a damn about wild horses and burros. Thanks to the camera of Laura Leigh, it is irrefutably captured on film and has been circulated far and wide via YouTube.
And you don’t have to be a rocket scientist, or any other kind of scientist to know that Mr. Abbey and so many in congress are selling out our wild horses and burros to get them off their and so that cattle can be dumped out there for the Rolex Cowboy crowd.
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Please stop this senseless riddin of our national monument to the West. The Horses helped us to settle America. Without the horses we would not have won the west.
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We must not let our Senators and Representatives off the hook so easily. We have to re-educate them. The BLM has had it’s PR machine in place for a long time, and everyone accepted their version of things as fact. We now know, and can prove through documented evidence, that the BLM has been deceiving both our leaders and us.
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With my great concern to save American Equine History and welfare of wild horses and burros that are being so mistreated and abused—we must put a stop to this NOW. The BLM’s wildhorse program has failed. I have relocated to the Santa Fe NM area again as of May 13/2011 from the Big Island of Hawaii. I was disheartened by the struggle to save the wild donkeys of the big island. Dr. Brady Bergin was the states only DVM advocate to castrate the males and try to develope a wild burros sanctuary in there natural habitat.There are plenty of local horse ranchers and equine owners/workers, who are and willing to help everywhere.Do to Federal funding the donkeys are being shipped to California? Just give us a chance–!! Help with state funding is essential !. I am willing to volunteer all my time to a project The Cerrillos Hills State Park Wild Horse Sanctuary. in Cerrillos NM has so much potential of community involvement. Please do not ignore and cancel plans for this go ahead. I do have extensive experience with working with equine. I will volunteer all my time to help with wild horse and burro programs. Please help address this major concern of Federal spending of BLM wildhorse management-towards a humane way to help our American Wildhorse population–before it is too late. Your truly Susan Allison.
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Out raged!! That’s all I can say. Calls and emails again. I’m sure that they wanted more than two dead. Babies..they are just murderers!!! Monday as another trip to the Legislators District office!! Sickening!!! Batards!!!!
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