Story by Debbie Coffey as it appears in the PPJ Gazette
Once Proud and Free……
Former Wild Horse feeding time at the Drummond Ranch ~ photo by Terry Fitch
Ree Drummond, who writes the popular “The Pioneer Woman” blog, is married to Ladd Drummond (whom she calls “Marlboro Man”), one of the partners of Drummond Land and Cattle, which has a BLM contract for Long Term Holding pastures for our wild horses.
While watching the Food Network the other night, I saw an ad for a new show called “The Pioneer Woman,” starring Ree Drummond (premiering Aug. 27th). Ree is a blogger/photographer/cookbook author who blogs about her life on the ranch in Oklahoma.
Last year (Nov. 9, 2010) the BLM had a tour of the Drummond long term holding pasture, but only allowed credentialed media.
About those roundups
Terry Fitch, chief photographer for Horseback Magazine who has been to the BLM roundups of our wild horses, went on this BLM tour and wrote:
“The Drummond family (according to The Land Report) owns approximately 120,000 acres which, according to Debbie Collins of the BLM, 24,292 of those acres are dedicated to the approximately 3400 wild horses living out their lives on this land.
If I didn’t know the first thing about wild horses, I would say that this is a paradise for the horses; however, I do know a little something about wild horses.
All in all, it’s the perfect place for domestic horses, not wild horses that are ripped from their family bands, separated by gender, and living their days out.”
Using Debbie Collins’ figures, that 3,400 wild horses are on 24,292 acres, this seems to be an area of about 6 miles x 6 miles (the shape of the pasture isn’t an exact square – the boundary is jagged).
Anyhow, I looked at The Pioneer Woman’s Food Network page, and then went to her blog. And I got to see our wild horses! And now you can, too. Even if you aren’t credentialed media!
Ree says she can see the wild horses right out of the windows of her house.
Why can’t we see them?
I remember seeing the wild horses closely at the Indian Lakes Road short term holding facility in Fallon, NV, until the BLM, who put the horses on private property, ended the tours and access to the public. (The BLM had a couple of token tours after they closed the facility to the public, after it was revealed that public tours were actually part of the Indian Lakes Road contract with the BLM., and after the public realized that the BLM had deceived them by claiming this facility was never meant to be open to the public.)
Before last Thanksgiving at the Drummond Ranch, Ree had a big Throwdown with Bobby Flay, a film crew and a bunch of other people at the “Lodge” (which seems to be a big guest house with a big, professional kitchen). Apparently, the Drummonds also throw big 4th of July parties every year.
Look at the photos of the fireworks at their 4th of July party this year, would you? Here’s what Ree said about it: “as I point out every year, part of what’s fun about the Fourth is that we never know who’s going to show up. We invite our church, we invite our good friends, we invite cowboys, Romans, and countrymen. But we never require RSVP’s, and we never know how many people are coming.
… Pastor Ken texts me and says, “Ree, we were wondering about the possibility of bringing eighty (visiting youth ministry) kids out to watch the fireworks…”
Under a photo of fireworks on her blog, Ree wrote “Basically, we frightened each and every one of our guests.”
Didn’t Ladd Drummond worry that the fireworks bursting in the skies or the noise from the fireworks might scare the wild horses? The fireworks could’ve even scared the wild horses at nearby long term holding pastures, which seem to be only about 1½ miles away at one point, and only about 15 miles away at the farthest point. This is a relatively flat area with few trees. And horses have good hearing.
And not to be a party pooper, but I wonder how close all of those people were to our wild horses. The contract says “The site is not intended to be a public viewing area. Therefore, the Contractor will restrict or prohibit access onto the site by the general public.”
Oh! Those funny guys from the BLM!
At roundups, the BLM keeps us, the public, far, far away because they worry that a little glint of sunlight off of our eyeglasses might frighten the horses as the helicopter chases the horses into a trap. The BLM asks the public not to wear bright clothing and to sit on the ground so our silhouette doesn’t frighten the horses. At roundups, the BLM has armed guards watching our every move. It doesn’t seem like the BLM worries much about the wild horses once they’re removed from our public lands.
Besides fireworks on the 4th, Ree says “Shooting is slowly becoming a tradition when friends visit. I don’t know what makes it such a natural recreational activity for guests, but it always winds up really hitting the spot. It could be that there’s always someone there who’s never held a 12-gauge shotgun to her shoulder before…”
You can find out a lot of stuff about our wild horses on The Pioneer Woman blog.
On Dec. 7, 2009, Ree wrote “Early last week, when my daughters and I were traveling to Dallas, Marlboro Man, my seven-year-old son, and Cowboy Josh had to gather 300 wild horses for the purposes of weaning off 22 colts that had “magically” appeared in the past several months. (Some of the mares were already bred when they came to the ranch last year.)”
Here’s a photo of the little cowboy in the saddle. (He’s the short one in the brown jacket.) The BLM contract requires that the horses have “management by individuals who are knowledgeable and experienced about the behavior and nutritional requirements of equines…” (I assumed this meant adults, not 7 year olds. Or adolescents, who aren’t listed on the contract as key personnel.)
The contract also requires that “Horses in corrals and chutes shall be worked in a manner that minimizes excitement of the horses to prevent injuries from crowding or trampling.” So I was surprised to see photos that seem to show horses that look crowded and in danger of getting injured. (Ree seemed to be worried that the Marlboro Man’s “family jewels” might get injured by politely stating: “I might want to have another baby.”)
On May 25, 2011, Ree said a tornado touched down a few miles from their house. R.T. Fitch (Wild Horse Freedom Federation) posted an article about tornadoes in areas near wild horse long term holding pastures. That same night, I had seen national weather reports and sent an e-mail to Dean Bolstad, Deputy Division Chief of BLM’s National Wild Horse and Burro Program, asking about the safety status of our wild horses.
Ree not only has a new cooking show on tv, but a book she wrote (“Black Heels to Tractor Wheels”) was optioned by Columbia Pictures for a film. (I wonder if any part of this movie will be filmed on the ranch.)
- In an interview that appeared in The New Yorker Magazine (May 2011) Ree was asked about her ad revenue, and was quoted as saying “that her revenue for 2010 was ‘solidly one million’ dollars, a portion of which goes to overhead and expenses. (This sum doesn’t include her book advances, royalties from her best-sellers, and revenue from Hollywood for the movie option.)”
- Ree has written stories about and posted photos of our wild horses on their property on “The Pioneer Woman” internet website. Could her use of these photos of our wild horses have made her image seem a little bit more “pioneer-like,” and, in part, contributed to her personal financial gain?
The Food Network page for “The Pioneer Woman” show states:
“Take one sassy former city girl, her hunky rancher husband and a band of adorable kids, an extended family, cowboys, 3000 wild mustangs, a herd of cattle and one placid basset hound and you have The Pioneer Woman. The Pioneer Woman is an open invitation into Ree Drummond’s life…”
- Drummond Land and Cattle’s BLM contract is for about $1.30 per head per day, so using Debbie Collins number of 3,400 horses, that adds up to about $1,613,300 a year. And that’s for just one year.
- It seems that Drummond Land and Cattle may have had BLM long term holding contracts since 2003 or 2004.
- Ladd, Tim and Charles Drummond, partners in Drummond Land and Cattle, are listed as key personnel on the BLM contract.
- It appears that from 1995-2010, Ladd Drummond received $106,707 in USDA farm subsidies ($66,707 since 2005).
- It appears that his brother, Tim, received about $75,644 in USDA farm subsidies.
There have been miscellaneous items in the news and on the internet about the Drummonds.
A 2007 story in Tulsa World revealed that Charles R. Drummond, his sons Ladd Drummond and Tim Drummond, and nephew Thatcher Drummond, received more than 40 speeding tickets in the state in the last decade. At least 18 of those were dismissed in their home county.
The article states: “The four members of the Drummond family have been clocked by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol driving 95, 97 and 112 mph, all speeds listed on tickets that have been dismissed by judges in the county. Although the Drummonds paid a fine and court costs on all dismissed tickets, the tickets do not go against their driving records.
The family sold a parcel of its Osage County land in 2001 for nearly $20 million, court records state. Tim and Ladd Drummond also own a 20,000-acre cattle and horse ranch in Jefferson County, according to the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association’s Web site.”
And here’s my favorite part of this story: “Osage County Special Judge John Boggs, who approved many of the dismissals as an assistant prosecutor and later as a judge, said he had no idea how fast the cited speeds were…Boggs said he had been to several bar association parties at the Drummond ranch but does not believe that he gives the family special treatment.”
The Pioneer Woman has written about Ladd’s cousin, Thatcher Drummond. Thatcher, who seems to have been arrested for speeding and driving under the influence in 2008, is the son of Tom Drummond, who was a president of the Osage County Cattlemen’s Association, on the tax committee for the National Cattlemen’s Association, and chairman of the tax committee for the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association.
The Drummonds are active in the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, which was listed on Sue Wallis’ United Organizations of the Horse original website as “opposing” the “prevention of cruelty to equines bills that make it a felony to market, transport, consume or use of horses for human food.”
- Charles R. Drummond seems to be listed as a partner of Drummond & Hull Oil Company.
- Charles and Ladd Drummond have been listed as shareholders and on the Board of Directors of a company called docplanet.com, described as a business-to-business e-commerce company that provides pharmaceuticals to office-based physicians.
- Docplanet.com, was previously called docsales.com, which was previously called Golden Pharmaceuticals.
According to a 1999 Los Angeles Times article:
“The Internet is a financial miracle. Just ask Santa Ana-based Docsales.com Inc. Three months ago, it was a dog of a company called Golden Pharmaceuticals Inc. that lost money in 13 of its previous 14 quarters and had been virtually ignored by investors. It also is a defendant in 47 lawsuits in three states related to personal injury claims by consumers who used the Phen-Fen diet drug combination it sold.
… the company said it will expand to ‘support a sales level of $25 [million] to $50 million over the next 12 to 24 months” because of its proposed online store’.”
Since the BLM places our wild horses on private property, this invites questions about the people who oversee the horses and about the proximity of the horses to homes and to activities in the area.
While the Pioneer Woman seems nice and I’m sure we’d all like to race through town (don’t worry about any speeding tickets) to go visit and have some blackberry cobbler, there’s a nagging feeling about the unfairness in seeing a select few people have the privilege of unfettered access to something we, The American People, don’t have access to any more. Even while our tax dollars pay for this.
Since the BLM manages over 245 million acres of public lands, why do our publicly owned wild horses and burros have to be “held” in long term pastures and short term holding facilities? What is the BLM doing with those 245 million acres?
The BLM has put 3,400 wild horses on about 6 square miles at the Drummond Ranch. Are the BLM’s pending plans for eco-sanctuaries just a “bigger version” of the long term holding pastures, and a cover-up of what they’re doing with our 245 million acres of public lands?
The BLM is rounding up our remaining wild horses to the point of extinction and leaving mostly non-reproducing herds on the range, in what seems to be an effort to quell public awareness of this pending extinction.
The Bureau of Land Management, which has too many other mandates, should NOT be managing our wild horses.
The BLM now allows only an exclusive, select few people to have access to our wild horses, but below are some links to The Pioneer Woman blog, so that you can see our wild horses in Long Term Holding:
Our wild horses in winter (Jan. 9, 2009) – Ladd chops ice so horses can get water.
Related Articles:
“The BLM’s Multiple (R)use Mandate: http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/the-blm%E2%80%99s-multiple-ruse-mandate/
“BLM “News Release” Fraud? http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/my-little-pony/
https://rtfitch.wordpress.com/2010/11/12/blm-long-term-holding-wild-horse-heaven-or-hell/
SOURCES:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2009/01/a_day_of_feeding/
http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2008/12/putting_out_hay/
http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2010/12/gathering-mustangs/
http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2009/12/the_days_of_winter/
http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2008/05/full_disclosure_part_i/
http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-pioneer-woman/index.html
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/11/hilarity/
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2010/october/NR_10_27_2010.html
http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/page/7/
http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2011/05/two-things/
http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2009/12/weaning_wild_colts/
http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2008/05/full_disclosure_part_i/
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/11/bobby-flay-challenges-the-pioneer-woman-to-a.html
http://farm.ewg.org/addrsearch.php?stab=OK&last=DRUMMOND&i=Search&first=&page=0
http://www.okcattlemen.org/2010ocarangeroundupresults.aspx
http://www.examiner-enterprise.com/articles/2009/12/02/real_women/real981.txt
http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/printerfriendlystory.aspx?articleID=070729_1_A1_hFour01672
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/people.asp?privcapId=374689h
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=374689
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1995_August_25/ai_17239805/
http://articles.latimes.com/1999/jul/19/business/fi-57391
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/05/09/110509fa_fact_fortini?currentPage=al
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-55135129.html
http://www.secinfo.com/duvJ5.52a8.htm
http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/printerfriendlystory.aspx?articleID=070729_1_A1_hFour01672
http://www.spoke.com/info/p73C6di/TomDrummond
http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2008/05/full_disclosure_part_i/
http://www.ocso.net/booking/September2008.htm
http://newsok.com/the-pioneer-womans-book-optioned-for-film/articl/3447409
http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2010/08/night-one/comment-page-2/
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/12/29/Hillsborough/New_Year_s_Eve_firewo.shtml
Related articles
- BLM Wild Horse Slaughter Case Moves to U.S. Attorney (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Report Released on Wild Horse Deaths during BLM Helicopter Stampede (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- BLM Employee/Contractor Publicly Promotes Hunting Season on Wild Horses and Burros (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Video: Animal Cruelty Charges Due at Obama’s BLM Wild Horse Stampede (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Wild Horses: “D” is for Destroy, Devastate and Decimate – the BLM’s plan for Wyoming’s Wild Horses (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- BLM Gives Sanitized Transparency at Wild Horse Concentration Camp Tour (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
And so your approach is to alienate and attack her and her family? She could have been an advocate but probably not huh. You are talking about his speeding tickets? Good grief.
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Christine~I would say, it is looking at the entire picture, sheesh
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Christine~Would you set off all those firewords, if it were you? Hmmmmm
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I think she brought up the speeding tickets to show that the Drummonds may be a bit entitled in their county. And this woman could have become an advocate on her own. She’s a big girl with 3400 formerly wild horses outside her kitchen window and she hasn’t even taken the time to find out where they came from and how and why.
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To savewildhorses ~ I would presume that Pioneer Woman viewing the wild horses from her kitchen window is seeing “livestock.” Things. An “It.” Feral. Not a clue, or maybe aware that fireworks, shotgun blasts, DO affect the wild horses, but so hilarious to see them spooked. Not aware of the wild horse intelligence and close family system. Not aware that they certainly go into deep depression. Yes they do. Yet again, people who appear to not care, like the Cattoors, making millions off the wild horses.
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Speeding tickets clearly show that they are getting preferential treatment, the law looks the other way, there are no repercussions for inappropriate actions (and the lack of learning in attempting to correct this behavior). So, on a small scale, if speeding tickets are being dismissed, on a grander scale, what else is being swept under the carpet?? It’s the good ‘ole boy syndrome playing out. If the Pioneer woman wants to be an advocate, then let’s have an annual party for all the wild horses advocates at her place – woo hoo! Count me in! I’ll speed all the way to the party! LOL!
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We have to remember too, that this next generation of Drummonds will most likely be in charge of our wild horses too.
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Absolutely. If local and state law enforcement agencies, or particular agents, are dismissing speeding tickets for the Drummonds, it is extremely likely that the Drummonds are escaping close scrutiny and other consequences as well. I have witnessed some very high profile sweet deals come apart because some officer didn’t understand the game.
If the Drummonds want to become advocates, a good place for them to start would be to propose some way for the American public to experience the wild horses that belong to them.
It is clear from the description of their facilities and the type of entertaining they do, that eco-tours would not be all that difficult for them to arrange. It sounds like they have a bunk house and a chow wagon already set up, so why not open up the doors to the American public.
Heck, I bet they could refurbish a Conestoga wagon, or outfit some mules to travel around the ranch.
The other side of this is that the Drummonds have are making over a million dollars a year holding our horses. We never get to see them, but could Bob Abbey allow Madeleine Pickens 1,000 BLM horses for $4,750 a year re-homed in their native habitat where the American public who is paying that $4,750 to feed these horses could see them. Oh, no. He would not consider it. Did he have the courtesy to let Mrs. Pickens and the American public know ahead of time that he had already decided to remove these far under AML horses from their herd area because he had decided, on his own, to let even more cattle graze there, no.
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Christine, if these men drive over a hundred miles an hour, repeatedly, they clearly disregard the safety of other people. What does this say about how they regard the safety of our wild horses? What if they were driving fast around the property, lost control of their vehicle and hit some of our wild horses?
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Christine, I replied about the speeding tickets, put it was posted under another comment below. I’ll try again – their speeding, repeatedly, shows a disregard for the safety of other people. What does this say about how they might disregard the safety of our wild horses?
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I’d say it shows a disregard for law and order…or maybe it’s more about them perceiving they are special, connected or above the law?
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Real NICE!!!! Can we say “George Knapp”, needs to do an airing about this??? Can we do that, can we ask? We sure can and sure should. This is horrible, what about the fact that a spark from all those frightneing fireworks can start a fire, then what?. What excuse will be used. Frustration about everything happening to our Wild Horses does not express it all, it is anger, sadness and it is downrite wrong!!!! Just who the heck do all these people think they are, some type of divine being’s….THey need to get off their high horses, sorry no pun inteneded….That included YOU, BLM…….Keepers of Corruption!!!
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I’d say the world needs to meet The Real Drummonds. Maybe 10,000 copies of this story sent to The Food Channel by people who are going to turn it off and 10,000 more to some newspapers might get something slithering around in the hole.
Good one, Debbie. For all their millions, these folks aren’t worth the spit it takes to say their name.
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Looks like these rich people are getting richer at the expense of our wild horses. Where do the yearlings go ? To slaughter ?
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I recently seen a real estate ad including a blm allotment in a separate sale 4000 acres with 540 acres deeded.
http://www.landandfarm.com/property/2_260_acres_in_Malheur_County_OR-363377/
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And there you have your multi-millionaire, multi-generational cattle ranching family who feed wild horses on the side for an additional $1.5 million dollars for some pocket change. Remember reading one of Rea’s blogs about how funny it was when their plane flew overhead and the horses acted so strange and panicked (to her it was funny). Had to write her and tell her to do a little research on just how those horses were rounded up and then maybe she wouldn’t find it funny at all. This woman knows nothing about wild horses or the cruel way they ended up in her backyard. And to stop buzzing the horses with a plane.
Yet, they give a person like Madeleine Pickens the cold shoulder and run around just because she is 100% committed to the care of wild horses and wanting to share them with the public.
Also, has this area been hit by heat and drought? No trees on the land and 100+degrees? We’ll never know unless we get invited to the next Food Network hoedown with Bobby Flay.
Finally, is this the Oklahoma facility the 52 seized horses came from? Just wondering. It could be.
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In stories from Kansas and OK newspapers it was said that the hay crop had failed this summer because of the drought. This is most alarming. BLM must prove to us the captives from Kansas to California will have enough hay this winter. NOW would be nice to begin to be concerned over this. Do the Drummonds have enough hay for the up coming winter? Will more horses be sold through Sale Authority to Kill Buyers this winter? What if there is NOT enough hay? What happens then? With all the anti wild horse sentiment in BLM and elsewhere, our captives are sitting ducks for sale to slaughter or euthanasia.
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As to the drought/hay shortage….(and this is what I LOVE about crapitalism), let’s start with hay/forage exports. Let’s start getting state and fed extension idiots to report local, state shortages (current, mid and long-term shortfalls). Let’s require X % go to the Nation before exporting.
Let’s put Americans to work handling, transporting and storing for US/us first before we let the corporate trolls steal another resource.
What is the USDA doing? What are the state Ag agencies doing outside of whacking wild equines, buffalo, wolves, timber and not on the killfloors or ports of America (oh, let’s not forget the water)?
OK…done with the mini-rant.
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Denise, so glad to have this acknowledged. It may become a deadly problem.
“Let’s require X % go to the Nation before exporting.” Good idea!
Can we really do this? If so, it would certainly be worth while. I cannot get this out of my head as it is such a dangerous situation for SO MANY captive wild horses. And for rescues. Potential tragedy.
The cost of hay is discussed all over Now by horse owners who already found money and hay scarce last Spring. mar
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All the folks in the USA that want to free our wild horses must get together as a group and file suit on all the cruel people that are responsible for the roundups starting at the top one beast at a time. Divide and Conquer, only way, regardless of their authority, they are not above the law.. You can find out who the authorities are asking their staff. First a certified letter should be mailed asking the individual if they are responsible for authorizing the wild horses roundups, euthanizing,transport, fencing., etc., do not forget to include all advisory board members in each state (there about 15 cattle rancher board members in each state), helicopter pilots, wranglers., etc., again all individuals individually who authorize or have any part of the brutal roundups, transport, slaughter.,etc. If everyone you send a letter to denies authority, then the roundups should automatically stop. But if there are individuals that assume responsibility, file law suit against them individually including animal cruelty charges. A lot of info will be recovered as many folks do not want to be part of a lawsuit. Ask your attorneys, they will let you now how it all works.
Require info from the government regarding our wild horses according to Freedom of information ACT (FOIA) which is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Information_Act_(United_States)
Folks who live in the areas of long term holding ranches also need to see what goes on regarding wild horses going to slaughter by asking local killer buyers and haulers. Here’s list I found on line. http://www.kaufmanzoning.net/killer_buyer_list.htm
For the past 40 years our wild horses suffer abuse and slaughter. Has to stop now!
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Perhaps we all need to crash their next 4th of July party and see the horses for ourselves.
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Oh goody!…we can SEE the wild equines! But will we be able to actually count them?!
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And ‘The Big Con’ continues …. Excellent article Debbie – Thank you.
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The taxpayer dollars that are being diverted….THAT is a huge part of the problem. Those Wild Horse SHOULD have been left on their home range and that money SHOULD have been spent on REAL range management.
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Wouldnt you just love the chance to show these imbeciles what real Wild Mustang management is………………… Right on the Range where they belong !!!!!! The only management needed is us and Mother Nature, and the love we all bring to them……………………………………
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Hmmmmmm… I can only shake my head and wonder if these are the millionaires the Republicans don’t want to tax.
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Why, yes they are. And wanna bet that these people bitchand moan about government handouts to the poor and elderly (entitlements you know) all while getting their government subsidies and payments year in and year out.
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Outstanding work, Debbie! If you don’t have an AP (Assoc. Press) contact, email me at HoldYourHorses@aol.com, and I’ll give you one. This needs to be a national story!
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m marking my calendar for next July 4Th! Since “everyone is invited”, I suggest that everyone in America who’s concerned about OUR wild equines arrive in our best cowperson duds and a bowl of tater salad! Won’t we have fun! And- we’ll finally get to visit our horses!
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Last week at Etsy’s blog they were featuring The Pioneer Woman and Ree Drummond. I saw dozens and dozens of women commenting how much they loved her blog. The Martha Stewart of the BLM, I called her last year. Well, I decided to tell this large group of fans that this woman was married to a man who has a BLM Long Term Holding contract. That in having this contract and thousands of our captive wild horses, the Drummonds were, in fact, supporting the sale of them to kill buyers by the truck load. The Drummonds are allowing our wild horses to go to slaughter. They make millions of dollars and they support the slaughter of our wild horses held on their lands. Etsy removed the post. I made a remark about free speech and that the Drummonds appeared to take good care of the horses. My comment reappeared. So I left them there to be seen for all it was worth by the adoring fans.
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Reminds me of the Trent Loos approach, but with finesse and better contacts, marketing savvy.
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She actually has a charming blog. She’s just clueless about the wild horses in her backyard and has no interest in finding out more. That’s her Marlboro Man’s, as she calls him, area. She sticks to the kitchen.
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This has been said many times, but bears repeating:
We can see them ANY TIME WE WANT, when they are left on the range, WHERE THEY BELONG.
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Very interesting portrayal of some of the recipients of millions of our tax dollars in exchange for the use of a portion of their land to provide an idylic wild place for our wild equines to live out their lives running free in undisturbed peace and tranquility. Gee, kind of like they would have if the cursed BLM had left them alone in the first place in their family groups roaming free on their home ranges. But that would be too simple and would not provide the opportunities for corruption and profit from taxpayer dollars, not to mention possible illegal sales to horse killers, for certain indiviuals in the BLM and their contractors. I mean those that make immense profits by conducting inhumane stampedes, hauling to both STH and LTH facilities, and those that “rent” their lands to US so we have a nice place to keep OUR horses. Places where anyone is free go to observe them and take comfort from knowing they are being well cared for in lush, expansive wild pastures that have plenty of natural feed and water, shelter from wind, rain, drought, winter blizzards, and thoughtless morons that think it is funny to buzz them with aircraft and set off fireworks or even gunfire near enough to disturb them.
For about forty years the government has been “managing” OUR wild equines in a manner that is 180 degrees opposite of how the Wild Horse and Burro Act specified it was supposed to. The DOI, BLM, USFS, and other agencies consistently lie to the public and congress about what they are or are not doing. Successive Congresses as a whole have engaged in some public hand wringing and lip service of concern but has done very little to stop the cruel physical and mental abuse being perpetrated in the name of “saving our wild herds” from the total ruin of their designated ranges through over population and degredation of grazing and water sources that would result in massive starvation if not properly “managed” by the incredibly intelligent and caring equine specialists in the BLM. You know the ones I mean, those guys and gals that know everything there is to know about wild horses and have a deep understanding of the effects of the trauma they and their hired thugs are inflicting on these amazing wild creatures. Perhaps they are working themselves right out of a job as the herds get ever nearer to becoming extinct from the standpoint of any remaining viable reproducing wild herds. The select few in Congress that from time to time have sincerely attempted to get their colleagues to do something to stop these illegal operations are crying in the wilderness and their voices have been snatched away on the winds of the solidly embedded corruption that has permeated this whole program from top to bottom.
So what more can we do to stop this? It must be obvious by now that they do not care how much we protest. They have ignored tens of thousands of letters, phone calls, faxes, emails, even personal office visits in some cases, and law suits. About all that has changed is to increase the volume of lies spewing from the BLM to fool Congress and the basically ignorant public that still naively believes their government would never lie to them. Well, my heart is not as gentle as those of most you who visit this site so I will refrain from saying what I think it is coming down to, either that or watch the last of the wild herds fade into the sunset except in places like MP’s new sanctuary in NV. But even that is not truly free however it is far better than the Oklahoma LTH facility.
Sorry about the length of my venting but this whole picture is so sickening it makes it hard to stop once I get going. WO
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Congress not only adores obfuscators and liars….they reward them.
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You are correct Denise and the first thought that came to mind when I read your comment was ‘well sure, after all most members of congress ARE attorneys’ but that would not be a very nice thing to say so I won’t say it. There are a few honorable ones scattered here and there and I shouldn’t paint them all ll with the same brush.
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Well many are attorneys, but doesn’t mean all all bad. More importantly, many are millionaires in the Senate….that being rich is not all bad, but may mean problems with regard to dealing with non-profitable issues. House is a different issue…but many new and long term are “connected” or “monied”.
However, the Pontific of the US Senate, that can hold up tons of stuff because of money/special interest….is a problem. To that issue, we (Nation) have a BIG problem.
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Sorry…believe it should read “Pontificant” (and spell check doesn’t have a spelling for it.
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It is always a pleasure to read what you post here, you are always the voice of wisdom, you always say what is in my mind, and write it so elequintely , there are many great minds here and you certainty are one of them……………………
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We just keep on doing exactly what we have been doing and increase the tempo. One big coalition with millions of members….international, because this is an international movement, growing by leaps and bounds. We do what “they” do. We organize, we strategize and we pool our resources. The big difference is that we are here FOR our Wild Herds. We knew this wouldn’t be easy, but it is well worth the battle.
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I had the displeasure of talking to charm school flunkie Debbie Collins who told me she could look out her window (in Oklahoma) and see hundreds of wild horses grazing in a paradise. I am curious where the local BLM office is in relation to the Drummond’s property or if she was, perhaps, referring to another Oklahoma property. I had called the DC office and was transferred to her. Was a little surprised to find that I was talking to someone in OK.
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Louie, I agree with your last comment. I just want to add that we are motivated by a deep love of these beautiful animals, and for the land, and the waters they are so intimately connected with. We are not motivated by the fear of losing our jobs, peer pressure, or money. Most of us are faceless, nameless troops walking through the slimey, cess pool bred by lawlessness in our own country.
We will prevail because we are right. Might without right is doomed to fail.
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I hope some one has COPYING all these photos and maybe the blogs info as well, in case some one decide to yank them down….This infuriates me that this woman is making money off tax payers and off our horses but we can not see them in person or how they are treated!!! They are treated like cattle….
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apparently from what the blog says, they gave the 22 young colts back to the BLM, to do what ever they want with them… this is their Flickr photo stream…these horses are so stressed looking makes me SICK!!! http://www.flickr.com/photos/pioneerwoman/4165542753/in/photostream/
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Well, you can certainly tell he’s a cattle rancher by day.
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Reading this brings to mind my grandmother’s saying, “Them what has. . . . .gits.”
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Right on, Janet, and “they” can never “git” enough.
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Something really wrong when you remove beautiful wild animals from their natural habitat and give one family complete control over them. Something not right with this picture.
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Excellent article Debbie, I have asked RT to send you my e-mail, hope we can chat soon.
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thanks Lori, look forward to talking with you.
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Unreal…isn’t just like the BLM….We need to find out where the foals went. Why weren’t they able to stay with the herds? Here we go again, no accountablility..
I think this really needs a follow up. We must keep the heat on..none stop..Hmmm love the idea of the party crashing…lets all merge to one spot and go as the American public..Everyone else gets to see the horses except for those who really care about them..Does it look like they need our hard
earned tax dollars…gee they must be in the top 2% holding all the money. I think a note to Bobby Flay would be in order too. Let him know where all those wild horses came from that he is seeing on the Rich Ranch…Gun, airplanes and fireworks sounds like a terrifiying situation to me for the horses. They quite frankly don’t give a rats ass..But yet we are all denied access to see how they are doing.. What’s wriong with this picture?
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Thank you Debbie, this really needed to be said and you said it VERY well. Lots of patting on the back (backside) is going on, which is “normal” for big business and politicians and our government. Some people call it “corruption”.
Per your figures, I estimate one horse per 7 acres (please correct me if I am made an error). Now, if you don’t mind the generalizations and the estimates of my only vaguely scientific experiment, let me tell you a story. BLM states they left 793 horses and 160 burros on the Twin Peaks range after the roundup (and if you believe that … I have a bridge to sell you). I just returned from spending a full day on the Twin Peaks HMA and after much driving and using binoculars I saw zero burros and two groups of two horses each = TOTAL FOUR HORSES. Of course I didn’t expect to see all that were left on the HMA but I am quite sure that I didn’t just “overlook” seeing 949 WH&B !!!
Here is the story: If Grandma drove 18 plus miles and although the landscape varied she could sometimes only see a few hundred feet on one side of the road or the other, often she could see ten miles or more on one side or the other of the road so let’s just use an average of visual sightings of one mile on either side of the road. So seeing in both directions from the road one mile times 18 miles = a “strip” 2 miles wide and 18 miles long = 36 square miles. (Grandma had binoculars). So if one square mile equals 640 acres and by driving 18 plus miles (up and back = 36+miles and yes, averaging about 5 miles per hour – it’s rough back country) Grandma saw 23,040 acres of land. With me so far?
Total area of Twin Peaks approx. 800,000 acres. So Grandma visually saw about 3% of the total HMA. On that 3% she saw 4 horses. So if (just basic averages are used for the assumption) 3% of the HMA has 4 horses … then that would equal 133 horses on the total HMA and an estimate of one horse per 6,015 acres (at no cost) compared to the 7 acres per one horse on the Drummond long term holding facility at over a million $ per year they get paid. Not to mention the ecological and moral and legal side of the WH&B being left where they belong on their rangeland.
Now take those 133 (below genetic viability even if they were all accessible to each other) WH&B and divide them into AT LEAST 5 compartments/pastures and that equals about 26 horses in each of the 5 official pastures. Then on top of that consider that each of the five official pastures are fenced and crossed-fenced numerous times (saw this over and over with my own eyes) … now what to you see? Small isolated family bands with only a few years in front of them before inbreeding and genetic deformities take over and destroy the Twin Peaks horses (if BLM doesn’t do it before then – because they have already done it per these numbers and this theory). I know this is not a scientific study but interesting and sickening when compared with where and how our wild horses should be taken care of (left alone) and how they are being “managed” (mismanaged!!!) by BLM.
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Basic math and logic has never really been DOI or USDAs strong suit.
Actually, I don’t think it is even a required as a job qualifier 😉
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Why. Why are we lining the pockets of this well heeled family. They certainly don’t take their charge to care for the. Horses very seriously. Pissed off again.
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The Drummonds have what it takes to do a good job in general. Ree has said she “loves my mares” and learned to use her camera taking some very dramatic pictures of them at dawn. When it got out about the contract last year
she had to acknowledge she could not answer questions and she seemed to bring less attention to the horses for a while. She is aware of the ‘small print’ I think. They have to know and be agreeable to become this involved with our wild captives. Wonderful monetary incentive. But they have to load horses ‘at anytime’ according to the contract. Loading by the truck load. Whoever comes first. Who ever is anonymous but belongs to us. Slaughter is NOT compatible with the 1971 FRWH&B Act that SAVED them from CRUEL Treatment and slaughter!
While you are at this conference you need to write a proposal to remove the Burn’s amendment and get those reps and senators who come to promote it as soon as possible and include access to all information in the WH&B Program. We need legislation! And we need to strike down this rider!
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Nor is long-term holding compatible with the 1971 Act. Nor is management solely by removal and population control.
They are required to consider more than these options in their management of the wild horses and burros.
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Grandma, the BLM will just lie and say you can’t see well or that you’re senile. We know that you can not only see but do the math as well. Thanks for this report , distrubing as it is.
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White Mountain round up commenced on Sunday- 1 horse dead on Monday.
http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Wild_Horses/2011wmlc-gather/gath-reports.html
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This is what really needs our attention. Roundups are ongoing and creating more captives.
They are taking them all, people. They lie. Abbey lies and WE have less than 26,000 in the wild now and MUST STOP removals.
We have no census! I wish we had the people and funds for a census. Then they would have to stop!!!!!
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Mar, we are a million strong , if everyone contributed 1 dollar, would 1 million be enough ??????? Ask that we do this , and you shall receive…………….
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We would have to craft a letter to the 1 million. Tell them they are a part of this and then get the 1 million email addresses and send it out… and wait and hope we got some percentage of the 1 million. It might work. I don’t know if RT would use his email addresses for that or even if you can….
I still wish we could get 100 to 200 people to donate $10. per month to Laura so she can function more normally and get what she needs when she needs it.
It is not easy to raise money!
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I’m sure it was pointed out somewhere in all the comments and in Deb’s AWESOME article..
But.. I want to know (being sarcastic, much..) HOW 3,400 Mustangs can live on 120,000 acres on the ‘lovely Drummond Ranch’ BUT CANNOT survive in the wild with less than 100 horses in that very same amount of acreage; according to the ‘experts’ @ BLM?
*sigh*
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“BLMATH”
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Dear RT I believe you were going to inform us after the weekend about Josh hellyor;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
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I think there is a press release coming. I have asked LL. Be patient. Something has already been done.
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Thank You Mar, I will wait patiently for the release…………………………….
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Arlene, LL just called and said to say “Hi” to you and she is working late tonight as she did last night and will have the press release out before noon tomorrow. She wants you to know she works a little faster than most and that she has dragged people by the hair to get this done as she had wanted to get it further and faster. She shares your frustration!!
I did want to go to Salt Lake/Butterfield/Herriman to see the seized wild horses from the slaughter scam… but we are just too broke. We did not count on the budget crisis having an effect on us but it did. Many things have slowed and diverted because money dried up there for a while. But we still plan and try to do all we can!
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10,000 horses are said to be captured and removed yearly. About 3000 are
said to be adopted. Very few are said to be sold without limitation. That leaves
about 6500 to 7000 horses yearly to go into long-term pastures. Long term
pastures were started back in the 1980s though only a few existed at that time.
If 7000 horses yearly go into long term pastures and 10 years have passed
at least with such pastures, then 70,000 horses should be in them. But the
BLM this year again maintains about 30,000 are in them. Where are the 40,000? Did all simply die? Or are they going into long term pastures with a
no clause slaughter policy, and then being sold to others who are not so anti-slaughter. I believe this is what has been done with the Sheldon horses.
Fish and Wildlife has an anti-slaughter policy but gives the horses to feedlots
who, in turn….
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Yes, and we have had a hard time coming to grips with what Sale Authority is and where BLM passes the buck when those trucks pull into Long Term Holding to load those ‘first come’ and they are hauled to slaughter. This is the reality.
The Burn’s Amendment must be Torn off the FRWH&B Act! This is why they are able to keep taking them and why they have ‘space’. They want them slaughtered. The buyers are killers. They all know each other, these BLM/kill buyer truckers.
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And if the Cattoors, Sun J and other so-called “roundup” experts were not sucking off the government teat….they would be KBs full time. In fact, that’s what they were BEFORE they were annointed head, official wild mustang and burro killers….wouldn’t be surprised if they still do it in the off round up, down time.
That is more than just a little conflict of interest, unethical.
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I did the math. Unless I’m missing something, $1.30 a day, per animal, comes to just under $475 a year. I don’t think that’s loads of money when it comes to caring for a horse.
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Judy when you add the $475 per horse to the millions that we pay the contractors to round them up, pen them in short term holding, and then top it off with the tens of millions that we then subsidize the welfare ranchers with to graze their cattle on the same land that the horses were grazing on for free (they only pay $1.35 per cow and calf per month and we subsidize them to the tune of over half a BILLION a year), it starts to add up.
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hi Judy, it’s a LOT of money when compared to $0, zero, when the wild horses are on our public lands. And it’s usually where they can find shelter (and no fireworks).
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Maybe we all need to show up for their next big bash, it seems to be an open house and free for all? Pity that the 4th July celebrations just happened, we missed a good opportunity.
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Why do decent rescues indicate their cost per horse per year is approximately $2,000 per horse (is that right?) what with hay and all during the winter, and BLM only gives the long term contractors 475 per horse per year? Also I would like to know if the horse becomes 10 or over in LTH, can the conractor dispose of them at sale?
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The very big cattle ranches are the ones that have contracted to keep our wild ones and they do it for the money. There is very little work pasturing adult non-reproducing horses compared to raising livestock – no breeding/birth/castration costs/complications, no shipping to auction/slaughter costs, no vet/medical costs and ranchers grow their own hay/no shipping hay cost and are only required to feed during times of drought/ice storms/emergency and only required to check on them once a week and occasionally put a bullet in the old/ill ones and nobody has to stay up all night to be sure the newborn calves don’t die in sub-zero weather little/no employee costs and on and on… and the paycheck is guaranteed. Below is an old solicitation that explains a little but they are doing it for the money and compared to raising livestock it is “a piece of cake”. (That’s my opinion). None the less, we are paying the ranchers about the same cost per day to warehouse our horses that they pay us a month to use our [the WH&B] land … any second grader can tell us there is something wrong with that kind of math. Hope that helps a little bit, Janet.
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=de34a48e624402d8458fe7157c494a28&_cview=0
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This is where the horses Leave Long Term Holding. The contractor does not make the sale. BLM makes the sale of these horses by the truckload in DC. BLM does sell the horses directly to the kill buyer and or transporter. How much closer can they get? Some of these kill buyers are so chummy with BLM they also transport the horses between facilities for them! These people have more access to our horses than we do! It is sick.
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Thanks GG & Mar, yes, something is rotten in the State of Denmark!
They (the truckers and rancher/contractors) are then probably considered the
ALMIGHTY (so-called) STAKEHOLDERS
that all our government officials, bureaucrats, gov’t lawyers and the like are ‘recognizing’ officially to take the rightful place of the
INDIVIDUAL AMERICAN VOTER AND TAXPAYER!
Check out the ‘members’ to any big non-profit wildlife organization (“stakeholder”) and you will see just more non-profit wildlife organizations, on down the line, like those Russian dolls, one within the other, until you come to the tiniest of NFP “stakeholders.”
?
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GG a quote from your link, above:
“The purpose of this contract is to continue the maintenance of these animals for the remainder of their lives.
(My note: by inserting the above sentence, perhaps they are establishing “intent” here — so that no matter what happens or doesn’t happen in long term holding, they can always say “we intended maintenance for life.” However, it’s obvious that the criteria (ground rules) below have nothing to do with the so-called ‘intention’ of the first sentence and that they do NOT follow logically as a way to implement that stated “purpose.”
…the rest of the quote:
“The possibility exists that more unadoptable animals will be removed from the range and transported to the facility.
This is not the preferred management method for these animals; however, on occasion it will be necessary to place animals at the facility, on an as needed basis. It is the intent of the BLM that the number of animals at the facility will decline during the period of this contract.
On December 8, 2004 Public Law 108-341; Section 142 amended the 1971 Wild and Free-roaming Horses and Burros Act ( Public Law 92-195) that requires the BLM to sell excess wild horses and burros which meet the following criteria: Animals that are 11 years of age and older or have been offered unsuccessfully at three adoptions.
This will require the BLM to remove animals that meet the above criteria from the (town, state) facility during the course of the contract. All animals that are in too poor of health to be prepared or transported will be released back to the pastures or humanely destroyed to avoid undo suffering. All wild horses that do not meet the above criteria will remain in a free-roaming environment. ”
They are saying that the 12-8-2004 Sale Authority (so-called) Amendment REQUIRES them to sell the excess wild horses and burros.
DOES IT, REALLY????
?
?
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Thanks to the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, after wasting my time on google, Bing and the like I found the verbage of the Burns Amendment: (This exercise has been more for my own edification than aything else since most people here already are familiar with it, since I wanted to see if they are actually REQUIRED to sell these horses by the Burns Amendment or if it is just another management option BLM are provided by law.
They rightly need to change their name. The Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Removal Program.
SEC. 142. SALE OF WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BURROS.
(a) IN GENERAL – Section 3 of Public Law 92-195 (16 U.S.C. 1333) is amended —
(1) In subsection (d)(5), by striking “this section” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting “this section.”; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
(e) SALE OF EXCESS ANIMALS. –
“(1) IN GENERAL. – Any excess animal or the remains of any excess animal shall be sold if –
“(A) the excess animal is more than 10 years of age; or
“(B) the excess animal has been offered unsuccessfully for adoption at least 3 times.
“(2) METHOD OF SALE. – An excess animal that meets either of the criteria in paragraph (1) shall be made available for sale without limitation, including through auction to the highest bidder, at local sale yards or other convenient livestock selling facilities, until such time as –
“(A) all excess animals offered for sale are sold; or
“(B) the appropriate management level, as determined by the Secretary, is attained in all areas occupied by wild free-roaming horses and burros.
“(3) DISPOSITION OF FUNDS. – Funds generated from the sale of excess animals under this subsection shall be –
“(A) credited as an offsetting collection to the Management of Lands and Resources appropriation for the Bureau of Land Management; and
“(B) used for the costs relating to the adoption of wild free-roaming horses and burros, including the costs of marketing such adoption.
“(4) EFFECT OF SALE. – Any excess animal sold under this provision shall no longer be considered to be a wild free-roaming horse or burro for purposes of this Act.”
(b) Criminal Provisions — Section 8(a)(4) of Public Law 92-195 (16 U.S.C. 1338) is amended by inserting “except as provided in Section 3(e),” before “processes.”
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Looks like at the very end there is a little tack-on to the Criminal Provisions Section 8(a)(4) of Public Law 92-195 (16 U.S.D. 1333) WHICH AT FIRST BLUSH SUGGESTS TO ME an attempt to exempt BLM from any criminal wrongdoing in the carrying out of this “suggeston?” or “directive.”
?????
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Over 10 year old horses become Sale Authority and yes, they are sold right off the pasture. Part of the long term holding contract. First horses loaded into the trailer. Gone baby gone.
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The contract says for the rest of the hoprses’ lives. Does this still apply with the Burns amendment for the long term contractors?
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Please see my 07:24:35 for Burns Amendment wording if it helps.
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Ree Drummond on Good Morning America:
1) Bar-b-q-ing in a top with long flowing sleeves
2) George had to come put out the fire in the grill
3) There’s hurricane heading for our Long Term Holding Facility.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=14380327
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The hand that wields the spoon rules the world!
Hopefully someday she will have an epiphany and a light bulb will go on over her head after her years as The Grand Chatelaine are waning. . . keep the faith.
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Janet, your comment made me laugh as much as the Pioneer Woman’s grilled chicken clip! Although I think the hurricane is heading up the Eastern Coast…isn’t that where Sec. Ken Salazar has talked of putting some wild horse eco-sanctuaries?
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I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t want to put them on a garbage barge and float ’em out to sea!
:-<
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For Debbie:
The “wild horses” of the Eastern Shores are a bit (actually WAY different) than the wild equines of the West/Southwest.
It is a highly managed, local enterprise that prides it’s self on transparency and eco-tourism. There are a few other areas in the East, but the main claim to fame are the ponies of the outer islands. Do some wind up at slaughter? Probably.
Salazar’s “Salazoos” are well in place now….ergo, Ms. Drummond. Pioneer woman my A**!
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In the Outter banks of North Carolina, there is a herd of Mustangs that have been there forever , Have been listening to the News no mention of them……………………. The Storm is there now…………………………has anyone any info on them?????
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We should have a list of these island horses and web site addresses. I know we have readers who have connections to them.
Will someone help us find information on the wild horses of the outer banks???
(Barb Steele can tell us about the ponies of Assateague and Chincoteague.)
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Thank you Mar, still no mention on the mustangs on the news they are now reporting from The Outer Banks showing the beach were they run daily , no signs of them, Pray they have found shelter………………… Geeze they could mention them??????????? Their is a stallion there who is 20 plus years old he has only one eye, he is a little beat up but he remains unseated by any other stallion…………….. I hope they are all safe………………..
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These horses have known many storms and will be where they feel safest. We will hear something soon as people come back and check.
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This is one web site… there are others…. mar
http://www.corollawildhorses.com/
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Ignore the rest of the stuff I posted. Someone named Sharon Biggs Waller on this blog is going to report back Monday after talking to her source as the Horse Fund, she says:
http://sharonbiggswaller.com/2011/08/26/hurricane-irene-and-the-eastern-seaboards-wild-horses/
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Thank You also Janet, I have been there many times to see them, there is a rental vacation home right next to where they are, i go there just to spend a week with them………….. In the morning there if you are very lucky they make a spectacular appearance on the beach……………..
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As I am not one lacking a fuzzy mind. . . her is a google search that may prove to have some good pickins:
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=wild+horses+of+the+outerbanks+Irene&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
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Here is a map of the outerbanks where there are lots of webcams. Not that any of these would be working now however, maybe later you can click on one and find the horses somewhere….?
http://www.obxcams.com/webcams.html
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http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=18736&src=VW
The Horse interview re hurricane.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 18, 2010
CONTACT: Karen McCalpin 252-453-8002
She is a Corrolla Director. This is probably not a weekend phone number.
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Called there today and left a message, for info on the Mustangs and the Hurricane, left my number i hope they will call me tomorrow……………….. I will post all info after they call…………………….
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Dear ()od in Heaven! Have ‘they’ really turned the beach into a main thorofare to view the horses? (This is an old video)
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I was there 6 years ago and they were very particular about their Mustangs , they asked since they used the mansion we rented for a cut through to the Ocean that we not bother or interfere with them in any way,……Of course we agreed , in the morning they would come to the ocean , it was spectacular,,,,,, we would view them from inside , their beauty and innocence was pure food for the soul,everyday because of those Mustangs it was pure Paradise for me…………. I didnt want to leave there………. I will never forget their pure self sufficient innocence………….. They are truly one with the Land , sea and air,,,,,,,,,,,,, and Nature……………. God they are Awesome……………… Yes there is a road on the beach to view them…………….
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http://www.arkwild.org/
The World’s Most Endangered Horse
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