Source: By Sage Leehey of the Reno News & Review
“Every citizen should be scared to death that an agency, like the BLM, can come in and do whatever they want to do no matter how it affects this community,”
photo by Annie Jantzen
“The horses were about a quarter mile away from where the trap site was,” said Annie Jantzen, photographer and coordinator of the Deer Run Wild Horse Protection Group. “A BLM [Bureau of Land Management] worker brought a bucket of grain and lured them to the trap. They just followed them. It wasn’t even hard to catch them. These are the horses that the BLM say are a safety risk.”
Although wild horse advocates call it a trap, BLM calls this process a “gather” and follows standardized methods, according to a gather process document on the BLM website.
“Section 9 of the of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act requires that a public hearing be held prior to the use of helicopters and motorized vehicles,” reads the document. “Hearings are held annually.”
This gather or trap occurred about three weeks ago in Carson City. This herd, including three pregnant mares close to delivery, has resided in the area for more than 40 years, according to Jantzen.
Jantzen, along with the Deer Run Wild Horse Protection Group, has been working around the clock and with nationally recognized organizations to try to get these wild horses back on the range. The BLM told the group they had two weeks to come up with a proposal that responded to the complaints.
“It was just lip service,” Jantzen said. “We offered to do fences. We offered to do birth control. A citizen coalition to monitor the herd and investigate complaints was also part of the proposal. They rejected it cold.”
According to Jantzen, these wild horses are loved by the community, and the BLM gave no warning. Residents were outraged when they woke to find that half of the herd was gone.
Jantzen has been working on a photography book of wild horses with this particular herd for about a year and says they are “extremely gentle and practically tame.” She said that when you bring your children to them, the horses show you their own.
The documentation of complaints against the herd that BLM gave to the protection group included car strikes—car and horse collisions—that happened in other locations in Northern Nevada, and all of the complaints were about a stallion that was removed from the area about a year ago, according to Jantzen.
One concern some have about gathers or traps is that the horses may be traumatized by the process or by the act of splitting up a herd or family. According to a gather process document on the BLM website, the wild horses are scared during the gather activities, but they do adjust and adapt to their new environment and to human presence. It also states that “most, if not all, impacts disappear within hours to several days of release.”
Jantzen said one of the largest issues in this situation is that the BLM will not work with the community. She also claims that the BLM currently has no one to investigate the validity of the complaints made against the wild horses. Spokespeople for the BLM did not return calls for comment.
“Every citizen should be scared to death that an agency, like the BLM, can come in and do whatever they want to do no matter how it affects this community,” Jantzen said. “These horses were a part of this community.”
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Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
The actions of the BLM are devastating whole communities. They are destroying all public confidence that this is a functioning government entity. It’s become a self-serving private organization providing cheap filler meat for the slaughter industry and right hand for the large cattle ranchers. The law says no one animal should dominate public lands, yet the wild horses are losing their land to an over-abundance of cattle. How do we stop this outrage?
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I love what you are doing and I so appreciate the communitys love for these horses and what the BLM did was wrong…but..the only way you would be able to get wild horses to come to a bucket of grain is if the locals had been feeding them..which is dangerous for wild horses..they should have a healthy fear of people in the wild, otherwise like the Ochoco band that was used to riders and camps in their territory allowed people to get close enough to shoot all in the band but a foal..It is an unfortunate thing I have seen time and again..people want so badly to feel the wild horses have “connected with them” that they forget that fear is what keeps them alive in the wild
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Sandra, it doesn’t matter whether the wild horses are really wild, moderately wild, or not very wild at all; the bottom line for the State of Nevada Dept of Ag and the BLM is total and complete eradication of ALL of the wild horses and burros so that factions that want OUR PUBLIC LAND can take it over and fence it, while still forcing we taxpayers to pay with our tax dollars and subsidies for them to run their PRIVATE BUSINESSES…..so these folks should not be chastised if they do/did feed the wild horses because no matter what, the horses were going to be captured, and for no LEGAL or VALID reason.
That is how these agencies “roll” because they have been allowed to be the law unto themselves working for the various factions for many, many years and the majority general public is not committed enough to stand up for our rights and the rights of others….that is why we, and the wild horses, are the losers over and over again. Laura Bell The Starlight Sanctuary.
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Those are 2 different issues and each is important and yes it does matter that horses in the wild are kept wild
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No doubt about it…..as one who lives in Northern Nevada and has adopted many, many wild horses, and also rescued Titled BLM Mustangs and also State of Nevada wild horses at the Fallon kill sales, and from also rescuing horses from “adoptions gone bad”, I have watched for more than 20 years now the BLM and the NV Dept of Ag do whatever the hell they please, with no documentation or anything else to back up their claims. I have also spoken with officials in person, sent emails, sent snail mail letters, spoken to people on the phone, etc, but people at these agencies are really good at being nice to the public as they continue with their dirty work behind-the-scenes.
And what people should never forget is that both of these agencies are supposed to be “for the people”, but unfortunately, “for the people” to them means “for the people in the factions that want all of the state and federal PUBLIC land to do with as they will” and still make we taxpayers for these factions to run their private businesses.
Unfortunately, the other thing I do notice all the time is what short memories and attention spans, and a lack of committment by the general public who may wring their hands and cry and complain about the wild horses being captured, or that horses are being shipped to slaughter in Canada and Mexico, but rather than be committed to following through on getting our point across and being consistent in campaigns to expose the BLM and NV Dept of Ag, most people get “busy” doing other things and then wonder why the horses and we taxpayers are still being “run over” by these agencies with no VALID reasons and/or explanations given.
With all the many people who are against capturing our wild horses, it should be easy to get at least 1,000 of us to a peaceful protest, but until we can hold the attention of the non-horsie general public who I do think care, but are not committed, we do not have the strength in numbers of people in one place, at one time, for one reason, and that reason is to stop these arbitrary captures that are ALL ABOUT total and complete eradication of our wild horses and burros, whether federal or state wild ones, and once the wild horses and burros are eradicated, the complete and total take over of our state and federal public land will ramp up to the speed of sound and there will be fences everywhere so that NO ONE can use the public land unless they pay an admittance fee, or they are not allowed on the land and they go on it anyway, better watch out for the fines and/or being arrested for tresspassing.
It’s still not to late, but we need the numbers in terms of people being willing to commit to showing up in force at rally’s and protests to prove that we mean business. We have some ideas for other media attention too, but it takes $$$ to launch things like this, but with enough committment from enough people, this would be possible too. Laura Bell The Starlight Sanctuary
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To: Laura Bell
I agree with Sandra Rogers Longley that horses should be kept wild and this can be accomplished, as she wrote, by not feeding and thus taming them to be captured. I say as nicely as possible that your comment that it does not matter if the horses are fed because they will be caught by the BLM is music to their (and ranchers’) ears. You have taken a defeatist attitude and that is as dangerous as those blasted helicopters and killer buyers.
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to think that the BLM has ignored a coexisting community between horses and humans.. that’s low.. real low. at the same time.. I would have posted armed guards or something..let em know ya’ll meant business in leavin yer herd alone.. but that’s neither here nor there..
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When there is no oversight, people, corporations and government entities tend to do what ever they want to do. Until a hammer is brought down on the BLM, expect all wild horses to be rounded up and their land given to the welfare ranchers, energy companies or mining interests. As much as I want to believe that right always ends up the winner, in this case I am not so sure.
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Very well said….The BLM can do whatever and have for too long. This is OUTRATEOUS that these few horses were rounded up for no good reason. Although I read the BLM was stating the community had complaints to the BLM. They were chased in town up a tree?? Horse do not chase people? That’s a huge LIE…..so they could round them up and off they go……BLM is Corrupt to the bone..and on a ROLL and will continue until they are STOPPED!!
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Blm is a criminal cartel posing as gov agency. Hitmen for the extractionists.
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Love your comment…LOL.. had a great laugh.. I think you summed it up..
(Criminal Cartel govt. agency) pansies for welfare ranchers and oil & gas fracking…
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Wow!!!
Dead on post (literally), LNorman.
Is that C Downer in the photo?…if so (and even if not), AMEN!!!!! Good job man and woman in the photo. Thanks Anne.
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As soon as Sally Jewell is confirmed, bypass the BLM and lodge a protest with her..show her the community wants and supports the horses back in the wild..present her with a signed petition of your citizens…I hear she has a FB page..woo her- she is new to the job and BLMs wild horse massacres history
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I love that comment about bringing children to see them, and that they will show you theirs. I have long believed that horses know what a great honor it is when we trust them with their children. I’ve seen so many nervous, naughty horses become trusting and gentle around children. My old OTTB was a high strung naughty boy who thought he was still a stallion, he was never an easy ride. But he was just an angel with even the smallest child, and you could see that his entire focus was on the child. I wish we were always as kind to their children.
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All wild horses and burros need to be helped, saved, and allowed to roam free. I really hope there is not a day when our children and grandchildren will not even know a wild horse because they may all be gone..that would be truly a sad day.
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There is a serious thought that a female (or other minority) has been put in charge of DOI because the White House knows what is coming.
I hope they are trying to do the right thing by our lands, but I am not confident.
And yes, the wild equines (Fed and STATE lands) should not be removed, sterilized or sold to anyone until we can get a decent picture of the mess that all administrations from Nixon to Obama can do the math, expenditures and treat wild equines like the 1971 Act intended them to be treated. LTH wild equines should be put back….as should their acreage and an amendment to the 1971 Act that recognizes their migratory nature.
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Denise !!!! You are sooooo right , Our Mustangs deserve and have earned respect, and most of all their freedom, the BLM has been disrespecting them horribly for years ,,,,,, it is not only hugely Criminal but , my heart breaks for their pain and agony !!!!! I and others here have tried to right this horror !!!! I cannot imagine how they get away with this abuse !!!!!! The Mustangs belong to the Open free range , it is clearly the rightful place …………………….
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Well, just get ready for all Hades to break loose at the DOI.
They NEVER sacrifice white, middle aged men. Salazar’s “hispanic minority card got voided by me a long time ago and AG Eric Holder should have been canned year 3 of Obama’s administration (special treatment is the reverse of so called reverse discrimination).
Just sayin’….and they (DOI, USDA and states) get away with it because of special interest and enforcers like AG Eric Holder.
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Its really sad because the BLM are like criminals in the night. They are nothing more than puppets for the wealthy. The tide is changing because whether we live out West or not, all Americans are outraged by the actions of the BLM and our government. I called all my Legislators yesterday asking them why they are dragging their feet on these horse issues. The assistant did tell me that he had many calls from the Senator Durbin’s constituents on both horse issues. I know the hardiest thing is to get community members out on issues. You could also contact the schools in your and ask to present information to their classes. You would be surprised at the response. Kids and horses just click. They in return bring their concerns home to their parents. Declan is a fine example of how commited our children an be. Don’t forget the organized labor in your area. We are great supporters of the under dog. We helped many organizations during our union conventions which are held in July. The AFT has had many conventions in Las Vegas so I’m sure it would not be impossible to get 200 to 1,000 people together for a protest. Help or provide the signs and the issues. The Wild Horses and Burros belong to all Americans in all parts of the country. The more voices the more power. Our voices will no longer be silent on the issues of equine slaughter, transportation to foreign countries and the roundup of our Wild horses and burros.
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The BLM, &, the government that continues to support & condone them & their actions, should all burn in hell! I was raised to be loving & forgiving of others, & of those who trespass against me, but, I’m not perfect, & I can only “forgive” for so long, especially when innocent lives are at stake! Dear God in Heaven, PLEASE help us stop this horror! Amen.
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The BLM has ignored everything.
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http://themustangproject.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/more-virginia-range-horse-shenanegans/#comment-41769
this is just one of the many times BLM has pulled this crap…in one case it was in fact the US ARMY whose support along with residents and Simones help..that stopped them from zeroing out the horses..had the army not stepped in..I donot believe they would have stopped.
I remember going into the backside of Owyhee during that extermination which was to be followed by the removal of the Rock Creek horses who were off of HMA..at the entrance to this area, the barb wire gate was down and pulled back, yet inside cattle allotments had been fenced off and gates closed..now mind you that entrance had a cattle gaurd, so their was absolutely no reason for that gate to be open, as traffic did not need to go thru it..so it could only be to encourage wild horses to go off the HMA..BLM is totally responsable for wild horses off of HMAs..whether by their own actions or by the lack of fencing..it is called “Lack of Management”..If my horses get out or knock down a fence, I round them up, put them back and fix the DAMN fence
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At a RAC meeting several years back after the first calico roundup, a fish and wildlife offcer was heard to say, wouldn’t it be convient if those calico horses were to end up in the sheldon wildlife reserve(next to the HMA) then we could remove them without all this fuss…a Reason for all concerned people to attend these rac meetings in your area, even if they will not let you have a position on a RAC board..record and document everything
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I want people to understand, there is alot of contrator activity on a HMA prior to a roundup..They go in by air and ground and locate where the wild horses are..they do a pre gather..This was admitted to me at the Stinkingwater roundup by the BLM official in charge of our observation group..of course you can tell that because their first few flights gather a large amount of bands where they were dropped a day or 2 in advance..It was hysterical to watch them circle this area they had dropped bands in a “pregather” only to find they had in fact headed back out in the middle of the night and re disbursed in the HMA.
In Owyhee, Katie Fite from WWP had been in there a month previous and found the gates were closed not allowing the wild horses to migrate out in the soon to become- hot weather..horses were dying of thirst once they began the gathering..It was obvious since their pregather report was posted on BLM documenting where the wild horses were located at that time..right there..and would be easier to round up ifthey could notleave that area..then they postponed the roundup for another month for hunting season…and there you go…it was declared a “drought emergancy” roundup and removal..all caused by mismanagement
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Thank you Sandra for the huge heads up, lot s of awful things happen at these meetings , because they know not many will show and they can get away with lots !!!!!!!!
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This Deer Run herd was so special to so many of us. What the BLM did was absolutely thoughtless and showed their disdain for the General Public but most of all was such a cruel move on the wild horses who have now lost their life in freedom!
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Rotten Bastards !!!!!!!!! One can pray for Karma on this one !!!!!!
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What goes around comes around – but sometimes it takes so long!
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