by Steven Long ~ Publisher/Editor of Horseback Magazine
Nevada “Welfare Ranchers” May Shoot State in Foot
photo by Terry Fitch
HOUSTON, (Horseback) – A grass roots movement is gaining momentum on a state tourism site on the social media network Facebook. There, wild horse lovers are urging tourists to boycott the state as the legislature considers a bill that would deny water to wild horses.
Others are as well. In a note to the Chicago based advocacy group Equine Welfare Alliance, Vice Presidet Vicki Tobin quoted a member in a note to supporters angered by the proposed ham fisted Nevada action. “We received an email from one of our members that was very powerful. Her employer is a national real estate firm that frequently holds their annual meeting in Las Vegas. Her email, on behalf of her employer stated that should this bill pass, they will make sure the meeting is never again held in Las Vegas. The attendance at this meeting is 8,000.”
Nevada is home to more wild horses than any other state in the nation, yet many consider them a nuisance, particularly ranchers.
Advocate organizations, usually outspoken on the issue of protecting wild horses, are being uncharacteristically timid in speaking out for the proposed boycott.
Yet the horse lovers aren’t biting their tongues on the Facebook site.
“My hubby & I go to Vegas 3 or 4 times a year from Cali. We will not be returning if the state of Nevada passes AB329 any longer,” said a California woman. “We stay at Caesars in the Augustus Towers or the MGM’s The Signature. We live in a beautiful state and have lots of other choices and we will spend our money here if this is passed. Since Nevada doesn’t seem to want “out of state” opinions I guess you don’t want our “out of state” money either.”
Another wrote, “We usually stop in Nev. every year on my way to visit family in calf. I won’t be doing that this yr. It is wrong and cruel to deny another living being water. That is a horrible way to die, and it is 100% guaranteed that is what will happen. I will pass the message on, as well as, do my part to see that our money or time is NOT spent there,”
Another Vegas fan said, “Your legislators only want to hear from Nevada residents. Apparently they don’t want to hear from tourists. Nevada will never hear from me again if they pass this bill.” Thses comments and others can be found on Facebook’s “Travel Nevada” page.
Related articles
- Facebook Protest Mounts Against Nevada’s Attempt to Kill Off Native Wild Horses (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Wild horses wouldn’t be wildlife in Nevada (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- Points to Consider: Wild Horse and Burro Mortality (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Nevada Continues to Promote Equine Abuse (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
I’m all for it! Cut off the tourism $ now. They’re already capturing and selling the FREE ROAMING HORSES and BURROS, illegally! Plenty of other places to go, gamble, hold business meetings. Hell, make the ranchers pay for the state deficit.
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One thing is for certain. Nevada doesn’t need the Black Eye that this Bill gives to the state.
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If you change your plans to travel in Nevada make certain that you ask to speak to the hotel’s public relations dept. I did and at that time they were not aware of this cowardly attempt to shanghai the law to do the cattlemen’s killing for them. I had quite a talk with them and educated them that I was probably going to be the first of many private party cancellations and also cancellations or change of venues of many larger conventions. Las Vegas is not the only town that can host a convention. I think I am going to see if I can research who has had conventions there in the past and contact those entities and encourage them to move their business elsewhere. I live in San Diego county, we have the ocean, the mountains, the desert and much to offer instead of Nevada. If anyone knows of groups that use Nevada as a convention destination please post and we can contact them to suggest a change is in their best interest and in the interest of the wh&b.
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Why are advocacy organizations being so timid about this issue?
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Advocate voices and promises to boycott Nevada if AB329 passes into law, have definitely gone viral on the Nevada tourism site & facebook! If AB329 passes into law, boycotts & lawsuits will begin instantaneously!!! Don’t you think that Nevada will be looked down upon, by the entire world? Who would want to come here & why, to see dead horses laying around?
Since I currently live in Nevada, I would highly consider packing up my 87 year old mother, a 35 year resident, selling the house, and dumping on Nevada! They will get no more of her shopaholic cash, nor mine, if this bill passes into law. Nevada without wild horses, will have nothing unique as far as I’m concerned, & many others share this opinion. Lets face it, casinos are everywhere!
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While the number of wild horses has been quantified, the numbers of wildlife has not, nor has an AML for grazing and browsing wildlife been established, except when the Green River area was remanaged.
In order to define a “thriving ecological balance” in any area, ALL impacts on the land (including extractive industries) have to be quantified, side-by-side, in a COMPLETE study. Issuing separate EAs for each usage isn’t true science, and, therefore, isn’t valid.
As to “Beneficial Use”, the wild horses have never been given the opportunity to prove the extent of that benefit in terms of jobs or tourist dollars, because people have never undertaken a complete study of those factors.
More benefit could be derived from ecotourism on preserves and sanctuaries, but without an opportunity to set them up, there’s no way to determine the potential benefits to individuals, businesses, and communities.
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Here is the convention list, but the issue is they are probably booked, unless they would threaten to cancel!
(cut and paste) http://www.insidervlv.com/conventions.jsp
“Las Vegas is also the Convention Capital of the world. Listed below are the conventions of 2,000 attendees or more for the current month and six future months.”
LIST: Convention Schedules – Current and Future Months
May 2011
Date Convention Name Attendees Location
8-12 Interop Las Vegas 2011 18,000 Mandalay Bay
9-12 The MoneyShow 2011 8,000 Caesars Palace
9-14 2011 National Alliance Of Buy Here, Pay Here2,200 Venetian
10-12 National Hardware Show 2011 31,000 LV Conv Ctr
18-20 Hospitality Design 2011 Expo & Conference 19,000 Sands Expo
23-25 RECon 2011 30,000 LV Conv Ctr
31-2 Management Concepts – Understanding National Policy 11,500 LV Conv Ctr
June 2011
Date Convention Name Attendees Location
3-6 JCK Annual Trade Show 2011 31,000 Mandalay Bay
4-6 Wholesalecrafts.Com American Craft Retailers Expo 3,000 LV Conv Ctr
5-8 Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) 2,000 Caesars Palace
6-9 Diocese of the Southwestern States 16,000 LV Conv Ctr
14-16 Licensing International Expo 2011 20,000 Mandalay Bay
18-20 2011 International Esthetics Cosmetic Spa Conference 32,000 LV Conv Ctr
22-25 Casino Chips & Gaming Tokens Collectors Club 2,800 South Point
22-26 AANP Annual Conference – 2011 9,500 Sands Expo
24-25 Natural MarketPlace 2011 5,000 LV Conv Ctr
24-26 World Tea Expo 2011 2,500 LV Conv Ctr
26-28 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) 17,500 LV Conv Ctr
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made my urgent calls….this is getting to be more and more of a nightmare. I pray this bill does not pass…it would be inhumane, and a disgrace of epic proportions.
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I sent a bashing e-mail to the tourism board and threatened boycotting travel to that state in addition to product produced and sold from this state. Most particular beef.
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The American Federation of Teachers periodically holds a national
conference there for Paraprofessionals and School Related
Personnel as well some of our union conventions. I am going to
pass this on to our Washington, D.C. office where scheduling
is done. I will also send emails to the President of the AFT and
the other Vice Presidents who usually confirm the conferences
and conventions. I recently called and sent emails to their
Reps and Senators. The ranchers have had a FREE RIDE for
too long. Its now the horses Turn!
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I am so grateful for all of my fellow horse loving advocates & friends! On this issue, I was trying to explain this to my brother about how the state of Nevada was trying to deny water to wild horses & burros, &, to my complete bewilderment, my own brother said, that everything I read or heard was “just an opinion”, & not necessarily “the truth, or fact”, because it was via the internet!! Now, I personally don’t see any difference in the news, whether it’s through TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, or the internet. I really don’t know what to say, or how to feel right now. My brother knows how much I love horses, & I can’t believe he said something so uncaring & hurtful, especially since I don’t think he knows one end of a horse from another! I’m not meaning to be so personal, but, I really need to vent, to REAL friends, since I apparently can’t talk to my own family! I hope this issue gets national attention for all those unbelievers out there, as well as those who choose to look the other way, as if that will make all this animal abuse just “go away”. To me, this is abuse in a major way! To deny any living creature life sustaining water is unthinkable, & I am speechless, & overcome with sadness right now. Thank you for listening.
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This is horrible! How can people be so cruel. Denying them from water? That is inhumane! What’s wrong with people. If these horses aren’t wanted find a state who wants them and transport them there. This is the most disgusting thing I’ve heard in a long time. I am from Maine and thought about spending my money on a vacation to Nevada but I tell you what if this bill passes you can count on that never happening! Hope you people that are fighting this can do something for these horses.
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