Press Release from the Cloud Foundation
Dangerous field mutilation procedure endorsed for American icons of the West
SALT LAKE CITY (October 30, 2012) – The Cloud Foundation opposes the recommendation of spaying wild horse mares in their native western rangelands. During its meeting in Salt Lake City today, the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board recommended that the agency implement spaying wild horse mares in the field.
“They talk about this mutilation of mares as an immediate response to a crisis,” explains Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of the Cloud Foundation (TCF). “How can they recommend a procedure that is proven to be dangerous and invasive?”
The Arizona-based Conquistador Program obtained information regarding field-testing of mares via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The invasive sterilization procedure was tested on wild horse mares from the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada, and resulted in 10% mortality rate, with recovery taking at least a month.
“This is a very invasive procedure and most veterinarians are reluctant, at best, to even recommend it,” states Donald Moore, DVM, of Fruita, Colorado who questions the ability of BLM to conduct such a dangerous technique. “It is not feasible to perform this surgery in the field. Even if this ill-advised surgery were to be performed, BLM is not equipped to house and handle the mares in a manner that meets an acceptable level of care required for their recovery.”
Even BLM’s vet, Dr. Al Kane USDA-APHIS, expressed concerns regarding this protocol: “It’s a lot more complicated and the potential for complications and side effects is much greater,” he reported to the Advisory Board last year. “The potential effects on herd behavior or individual mare behavior are an issue.”
Spaying mares was proposed in the summer of 2011 on two herds in southern Wyoming. This proposal was met with public outcry and was withdrawn from the table.
The Advisory Board also brought up concerns regarding the ineffectiveness of the immunocontraceptive drug known as PZP. “BLM used PZP on only 1000 mares this past year, and proposes to only use it on 1000 again in 2013,” explains wild horse advocate and TCF board member Linda Hanick. “They have set PZP up for failure and instead are opting for permanent sterilization.”
Spaying of mares largely stems from concerns over the lack of space in BLM holding facilities. BLM faces increased scrutiny since it was revealed that more than 1,700 wild horses being sold to one man, Tom Davis, who apparently sold the horses to slaughter.
“BLM approved Davis’ applications for the purchase of wild horses. The man is a known kill buyer,” states Lauryn Wachs, Associate Director of TCF. “How do you authorize the sale of truckloads of horses and not question where they’re going?”
BLM Assistant Director Ed Roberson confirmed this week that the Department of Interior’s Office of the Inspector General is going to investigate the slaughter allegations. BLM won’t comment on the subject. Meanwhile the Advisory Board continues making dangerous recommendations for the management of wild horses on their native rangelands.
“Ken Salazar should be proud,” says Kathrens of the Secretary of the Interior. “This is an advisory board he has created to manage wild horses to extinction.”
Related Articles
- BLM Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board Member Endorses Horse Slaughter during Public Session (rtfitchauthor.com)
- Wild Horse & Burro Preservation Groups Announce Salt Lake City Press Conference to Call for Immediate Investigation of BLM “Slaughtergate” Allegations (rtfitchauthor.com)
- Advocates decry BLM’s wild horse roundups at meeting in SLC (rtfitchauthor.com)
- Citizen board recommends BLM sterilize wild horses (heraldonline.com)
Categories: Horse Health, Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Can the BLM think of even more ways to torture these poor creatures??!!! My God, can you imagine the damage, lack of oversight and torture this kind of procedure would produce in the field!!
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First of all, thanks RT for passing this along to us. Yes I see now that their plan is to eradicate all of the wild horses and burros completely. I’ve always said that mankind would bring the destruction of the earth and this is a prime example. All these bible thumping, incest loving religious hypocrites. Why don’t they just have themselves neutered and all their offspring spayed because of their destructiveness. People have the ACLU. What do the horses have?
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They have us and all those who respect these magnficent creatures! It’s time for a Congressional Investigation and stop this madness, now! Thank you RT and the Cloud Foundation for the press release.
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This is no surprise. Since when have the BLM self-styled equine specialists ever been hindered by the facts. Even with their own vets warning of the dangers these morons apparently intend to proceed. It is clear they intend to completely destroy the wild herds they were charged with preserving and protecting. It isn’t that they do not realize what they are doing, it is that they do not care about the effects of the abusive, inhumane methods they are employing or the injuries, psychological trauma, and unnecessary deaths they are wreaking on these animals that have no defense except hopeless flight. The BLM as an organization itself is sickeningly corrupt and the individuals that lower themselves to do this work must have no sense of personal honor.
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There are no specialists , or highly educated people that work for the BLM if there in fact were this horror would not b e happening to the Horses , there are only greedy subhumans who are hell bent on destruction of the Horses to which the US owes everything to, they cant obviously read and understand the horses are ecologically perfect and without them we and all wildlife will perish, these people are hellish demons who need to be removed from dealing with the precious horses , they really should be dealing with the rat situation in New York that is their mentality………… Leave our Darn Horses and Mustangs alone, appoint a New Agency get rid of them !!!!!!!
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Even in the most sterile surgery room, spaying mares is rift with consequences. To suggest they be spayed outside, in the dirt is unbelieveable. But this is the BLM, protector of wild horses we’re talking about, right?
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Look at how inept they are in castrating males (from photos and reports) and we are to think they will be any better with the spaying of females? Just an excuse when a bunch of horses disappear(they will claim they died from the procedure). Do these people think we wake up every day dumber than we were yesterday?
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Until we band together and DEMAND a Congressional Investigation, nothing will be Done , if we truly LOVE OUR HORSES !!!!!!! DEMAND A CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION !!!!!!!!!!
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I did watch the live stream of the meeting. Pathetic how “we” as a people can move along through a serious – incredibly crucial – emergency matters on the table – meeting… while claiming the “best interest” of the wild horses as the very foundation… yet purposefully ignore making changes to what is leading up to these needless round-ups / holding facilities in the first place! Instead, the board moves forward with recommendations that further the plan to harm and zero out this species to the tune of hundreds of thousands of U.S. Tax Dollars. Yet in the same breath, stumble over the ability to fund a future meeting? Due to the… budget? I have a recommendation that would shave hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs right here in this very budget, or wait is that NOT REALLY a concern nor on the table for discussion. Hypocrisy at its finest.
Interesting observation: In the final comments, formal “thank you’s” and “claps” were prompted to attendees, but NOT to the “public” attendees in the meeting. Not like it was a huge room, they were the only ones that were not thanked! Obvious avoidance of the one voice there that actually does stand for the best interest of wild horses.
If an acknowledgment had been given to the “public”, perhaps one might have been left with a final impression that “we” , as Americans, really do work together for the Protection of Wild Horses and Burros. Dropped the ball on that performance.
Thank you so much for attending and especially sharing with us important info regarding the ongoing plight of Americas’ Wild Horses.
Upset but NOT giving up hope !
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This is bolony considering how often they have babies and how many of those babies live or become prey to others. No one is overrun by wild horses leave them be already!!!
“Tell a gelding, ask a stallion, discuss with a mare…plead with a pony.”
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Sterilization will definitely cause extinction of our Mustangs and Burros. That is a bad Idea as far as we know horses are disappearing quickly due to the BLM killing and selling them for profit by Ken Salazar to kill buyers. This sterilization defeats the purpose of protecting and allowing the horses to exist without human interference. The need to investigate Ken Salazar for the 1700 horses that have been missing and or sold to killbuyer for slaughter to Mexico and Canada. We need to get together and let our government know that we are against funding from our taxes to end the transport of our mustangs and burros to Mexico and Canada. I’m hoping they are not allowing him to conduct the investigation as he will do all he can to get rid of incriminating evidence to his dealing with the killbuyers and slaughter of our mustang. He definitely violated the horse welfare act.
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How can we form a massive coalition to get this information out to everyone in the world, or are people just not listening? I didn’t think things could get much worse. I recently read an EA for the proposed round up of the Jicarilla Herd in NM. It made me think of something you’d read in Hitler’s Final Solution. What else can we do that we aren’t doing.
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Start an advocate based group and vote for everything and get people involved on all levels and go after the corporations and grants and independent research. We need to become an established entity and develop some real CLOUT! We need a Wild Horse Conference with a working agenda of meetings and needs and people to to fulfill it!
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Sign me up !!!!
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http://prophoto7journal.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/a-short-note-to-wild-horse-herd-advocates/
Here is a short-agenda to approach the BLM / DOI Drones. To start make them prove their EA’s; Demand Accurate Horse Head Counts and prove within the context of the EA; Demand and have them show “Provable Science” and “Valid Data Range Research” within the EA that shows beyond a doubt the harm done to the exact Range area discussed, supposedly by the horses, and where the correction is required (via provable range research and non-bias data).
More and more outright Felony situations
The highlights of current violation foreshadow previous investigations – ALL FELONIES:
BLM Management personnel have authorized the transportation of wild horses to group adopters at the expense of the government;
BLM management personnel have authorized the fee waiver and/or fee reduction of wild horses without delegated authority;
BLM management failed to inspect and prepare written reports for group adopter facilities and property prior to receiving adopted wild horses;
BLM personnel publicly and openly promoted the commercial us of wild horses, i.e., bucking stock and slaughter house;
BLM personnel in concurrence with BLM management, entered false information regarding the wild horse documents into BLM DPS-8000 (i.e. or current updated facility) data base;
BLM personnel through their government positions, arranged for special privileges and allowances pertaining to wild horse adoptions;
BLM personnel and management knowingly converted to the use of another, wild horses belonging to the United States;
Many, many more “lack of document” charges, especially in regard to the Wild Horse Herd Counts and the financial income and expenditures mandatory at each BLM facility, were not completed, lost, or unavailable for confirmation – in order to appropriate funding for each facility;
Several more listings expressed concern toward illegal activity, and lack of following directorial and mandated training and compliance of Inspectors, Wranglers, and Field Level Administrators of the Wild Horse and Burro Program.
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Hi louie, How can we address this, I am with you… What can I do? This has frustrated me to know end, and I wrote letters to Ken Salazar and the BLM and never got any response from anyone and everytime I turned around I heard the devastation that the BLM under Ken Salazar has been doing to our horses. I just don’t understand why has our government ignored the People who have been stating what they have observed and what has been reported…
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Louie, We are not supposed to ask BLM to prove anything. We are supposed to provide Independent research to follow and to formulate decisions and management from!! We need to prove what is real and true and we need to develop this ability NOW. E need a Wild Horse Conference and we need professionals and research scientists. We have all been chasing BLM when we need to establish research THAT WILL REFUTE THEM!
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What we need is to form an agency of true experts , to refute and prove this is nothing but a plan executed by people who had not one fact to stand on……………We need to take back and put back our Mustangs where they belong !!!
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Have you ever seen such ignorant morons anywhere…ever??
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The BLMs policies against Federally Protected wild horses amount to a program of vivisection and mutilation. These recommendations are against their own mandates of care, against the will of the American public–and add up to monstrous cruelty. How dare they even consider using my tax dollars in this depraved manner. How do we get rid of BLM–seriously—their war cry now is “Death to the Wild Horses”. I’ll chip in to any fund that can unseat this govt. abomination.
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I second that Ann
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Monie, probably the best thing to do is get the word out EVERYWHERE …. support the lawsuits and investigations/documentations to the degree that we can. Everything helps. DON’T LET UP.
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I promise! Thanks for your inspiration… Louie
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Ya know I am not surprised of the decision to spay the mares. They have been wanting to do this from the beginning. The main goal is to elliminate all the horses on the range. Some of the those old farts on the board have ranches and cattle in their family for over 40 yrs and there is not room for the horses. HA< BITE ME!!!!
BUT, I think it is true there are still too many people not aware of what is happening to the horses and burros. In this economy, it will take even more and harder. IT HAS TO BE DONE.
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With no science this is insane. We must back science based management and stop the abuse which is from short sighted people who have swept past all reason and decided that ‘anything goes’ when the proper route is there in front of all of us. Read the WFRH&B Act of 1971 and you will find a path with science and sensibility that has been buried by BLM and Congress and all the mighty corporations leading them.
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I watched both days of the BLM Advisory Board Meeting. Of course, it was the usual subliminal how to get rid of the wild horses. Then at the end, Jim Stephesen shouted: “Slaughter Market.” Not so subliminal, but very “telling.” Day 2, the vet, Dr. Boyd Spratling was on a roll with sterilizing mares with a procedure that was like magic: laparoscopic ovariectomy. Just a small incision, insert a small lighted tube with “scissors” at the end…and WALLA!…pull out the ovaries and no more babies. Because, the BLM stated they had, “…to do something BIG.” Beeeecause they are at a max crisis point with the wild horses!! And this would be the fastest and MOST reliable way of stopping babies…and not disrupting the herd. Then they would fool around with PZP and SpayVac. This would be more brutal BUTCHERY! For one, the mare should not have food for a day or so. Importantly, capturing a WILD mare to sedate?! The mare would be in a state of trauma and shock before the procedure began!! But if this is accomplished, do you think the laparoscopy would look like this out in the sandy, grassy, rocky, field?: http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2010/02/2010-94.html
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All Doctor Frankensteins, ridiculous ,NO Crisis viewable or fact related……………….. Congressional Investigation NOW!!!!!!
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http://protectmustangs.org/?p=2673
Underpopulated not overpopulated
REPRODUCTION, MORTALITY, AND OVERPOPULATION IN WILD EQUIDS by ROBERT C. BAUER, B.S. in Biology
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Dear RT I wanted to tell you and all on the radio show last night , great show, good comments , had some computer trouble listening but did hear lots of it, Northeast Ohio most here have been without power ,mine was off for 4 days, still raining here been raining since last friday without stopping , but still not as horrific as New York and New Jersey, found out 40 degrees is really cold without any heat……………most of our illuminating co, was sent to NY and NJ so power restoration is slow here , , they will be working there way back here as they restore and help get power backt here…. not complaining just reporting…………….. My power came on yesterday……………..
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This travesty of justice for our wild horses is continuing because of the likes of Ken SLAUGHTER-CZAR and HIS goal of ZERO WILD HORSES IS ALL OF OUR WESTERN STATES. They HAVE accomplished THIS in SIX so far, and won’t stop until they are all removed!!!! It matters not that there have been court orders to halt roundups, they just ignore them and NOTHING HAS HAPPENED TO THEM FOR THAT MOVE!!! Now to call for SPAYING the mares, is just to prove a point….that they CAN do ANYTHING to OUR MUSTANGS that they want, and NOTHING will happen to them for that move. WE PAY THE TAXES THAT SUPPORT THESE ANIMALS, yet to hear it said by the BLM, one would be led to believe that THEY have to carry the bill and pay all of them out of THEIR own personal bank accounts!!!! WE have been dunned for the bills for ALL of the horror shows they call roundups and WE are paying to keep them in holding pens…meanwhile, all of the ones that have “disappeared” and can’t be found have been sent to slaughter while BLM collects their blood money for THAT move. When only one truck was caught in route to slaughter, think how many have NOT BEEN CAUGHT. AND I would wager MY OWN DONKEYS on the fact that they are STILL shipping via the cattle trailers that are outlawed!!! How many of you can say that when you see them roaring down the highway, that you can say WITHOUT A DOUBT that they have all had cattle on them???? UNLESS one follows them until they stop ( and that COULD be a 300 mile journey) for a break, it is impossible to know their cargo. Ken SLAUGHTER-CZAR will NEVER be satisfied until ALL of these beautiful creatures are ERADICATED from the face of this planet!!! He is FIRST and FORMOST, a “cattleman”….phoney as a $3.00 bill, like most wannabe “cowboys”. A bolo tie and cowboy hat do NOT a cowboy make, and he may own land and have cows on it….but the TRUE cowboys did NOT want to remove the mustangs. The oldtimers I met in Baggs, Wyoming told me of them as young men, how their fathers and neighbors would hunt the herds for the surplus batchlors and catch and geld them for their riding horses. They got animals that were stout, hardy to the territory and they didn’t have to grow them up or pay to feed them to end up with some of the best riding and cow horses they could find. They would now and then turn out a remount stud ( thinking to “improve” the lines….which I doubt did add much if that stud even made it long enough to get any mares bred) but whatever, they were all in agreement that the horses caught wild at around the age of 4-5 were some of the best they could have. NOW that there are the likes of city slicker SLAUGHTER-CZAR in charge, it is HIS goal to eradicate all of the horses because the cattlemen today want ALL of the range for their wealfare cattle to use, so they can have WAY MORE than they could afford if they had to maintain them on what they own for land and they do NOT want to “share” that land with any of the horses. If the Antelope,mule deer, or elk were not the money makers for the state that they are with hunting licenses, they too would most likely be on that kill list, even tho they do not eat what the cattle eat. Until ‘ WE THE PEOPLE’ can find an HONEST Judge, and actually get the BLM to be HELD ACCOUNTABLE, there will be NO MORE FREE ROAMING Wild Mustangs and Burros for our grandchildren to see and enjoy. For every time there has been a ruling to halt a roundup, and it has been deliberately ignored, and NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO THEM…..but let a citizen do this very same thing, and it would be nothing short of jail time with untold fines on top!!!!
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This is not new news, The Dep. of Interior 2015 Wild Horse Budget clearly states “creation of nonreproductive herds” another way they are doing this is in Colorado Douglas Herd area. They are rounding them up and than are stating that there will be no need for contraception due to the fact there will be NO mares returned to the herds. They “managers” are only resource people with only resource mentality — at least those in charge. They can not stand anything that uses resources without a monetary return. Especially Sec. Jewells, who gets all of her info about horses from Australia’s extremely conservative/cattle/mining driven few.
Their plan as one can find in their online literature from time to time has a goal of zero horses within most if not all HMA’s within 10 years. States like Wy also want zero mountain lion, zero wolves, zero buffalo, relocated antelope, …. I am not makng this up. We need to discuss this. This is not just an environmentalist wild thinking. Who are these extremely few people who so arrogantly close there eyes and ears to the American public?
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