Source: RGJ.com
Advocates Hope That Illegal Roundups Get Nixed Next
The federal Bureau of Land Management’s largest wild-horse adoption facility in the country is getting nicked by the budget axe.
Palomino Valley ~ by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
The Palomino Valley National Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Center, 20 miles north of Reno, is scaling back its weekend operations in a move criticized by horse advocates. The facility, which will remain open on weekdays, will limit its Saturday hours to just mornings on the first Saturday of each month beginning in April.
The center is closed Sundays.
Anne Novak of California-based Protect Mustangs said most people work during the week and the move shows the BLM doesn’t care about a successful horse adoption program.
The facility serves as the primary preparation center for wild horses and burros removed from public lands in Nevada and surrounding states. Horses that aren’t adopted are shipped to government-funded pastures in the Midwest, where they spend the rest of their lives under protections afforded them by federal law. Nevada is home to over half of the roughly 37,000 wild horses that freely roam the West.
“Shutting down Saturdays for viewing and adopting will reduce adoptions and increase the costs to care for the unadopted,” Novak said. “It appears the BLM wants their adoption program to fail. They sure aren’t making it user-friendly by closing on Saturday.”
BLM spokeswoman Heather Emmons Jasinski said Saturdays have seen few adoptions and visitors. Only 10 horses have been adopted at the Palomino Valley site since Oct. 1, she said, and very few of those occurred on Saturdays. The BLM also offers adoptions through the internet and special events across the country.
“At this time, (the center) is not fully staffed and is not able to complete the necessary paperwork to adopt horses on every weekend,” Jasinski said. “Additional hours worked during the weekend significantly increase the cost to operate the facility.”
Annual horse adoptions were down nationwide from 7,700 in 2003 to about 3,000 for various reasons, including the economy, the country’s growing urbanization and a saturated domestic horse market, Jasinski said.
“The BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program places a high priority on increasing adoptions,” she said. “In fact, it is part of our proposed strategy to increase adoptions from about 3,000 per year to at least 4,000 per year.”
Novak maintained the agency is using the economy as an excuse, saying, “There are still plenty of people buying horses these days.”
The BLM said the change was prompted by across-the-board spending cuts, which took effect March 1.
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Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Maybe it’s time to stop wasting taxpayer money and reopen all of the original lands deemed wild horse and burro country in 1971…exempt them from the Multiple Use Policy…release the horses back to their rightful homes then leave them alone!
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That would be the sensible thing to do but the BLM is run by cattlemen and we all know what their agenda is..
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Exactly I agree 100%
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And leave the cougars and wolves alone so nature can take care of itself! Horses are PREY animals, cougars and wolves are PREDATORS! Leave nature to regulate itself. Keep your domestic cattle and sheep close to home and you won’t have to worry about the predators!
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Reblogged this on Serenity's Musings.
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There are plenty of people buying horses these days, but many are kill buyers shipping them to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada. One person “adopted” 1,400 horses as pets and can’t account for their whereabouts. It appears the BLM has been knowingly providing horses for slaughter, so they don’t want adoptions.You have to wonder who is getting paid off here. There must be a full investigation of thus BLM.
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They “say” they are “Investigating” =/ but I guarantee they are sitting on their butts doing nothing.
they know exactly what they are doing.
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The HSUS and the ASPCA have just released a poll that reveals that 66 percent of Oklahoma voters won’t support horse slaughter legislation. Yet the state legislature, goaded by the phony arguments of horse slaughter proponents that killing horses is good for the animals, seems hell-bent on the idea. Remember though, it took a ballot measure to outlaw cockfighting in the state. There were some lawmakers aligned with the cockfighting lobby who believed it was a form of economic development they didn’t want to squander. Hell, the family of the author of the horse slaughtering bill runs a major horse auction site, and she may be able to get a piece of the economic action that results if Oklahoma becomes the new hub of the American horse slaughter industry. Curruption in our government.Polittcians with monatary gains if the slaughter bill gets passes and now the horses in holding pens are without funding. This week oklahoma will pass the slaughter bill and bingo these horses will have a place to go.I am ashamed of my government and the greed that governs the politicians. Over 80% of Americans are against the slaughter so why is it goin forward…read the reason above.A polition is on the take.
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I don’t quite understand why Palomino Valley is ‘not fully staffed’; according to the budget allocation for the Wild Horse and Burro Program, more than $29M is earmarked for Short Term and Preparation facilities.
There are 25 such facilities; Palomino Valley is one of five designed to hold more than a thousand animals. If this budget were simply divided equally, these facilities would garner $1.17M per year, which works out to about $98,000 A MONTH. (Those facilities having fewer animals are probably allocated less money.)
I don’t believe agents operating the facilities are paid through the budget; the budget projections don’t outline salaries.
When figuring in hay and feed contractors, veterinary care and the associated costs of running a facility – even on a monthly basis – it’s hard to imagine $98,000 doesn’t cover it.
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The BLM doesn’t give 2 hoots 4 these horses…PERIODE!!! They sell them 2 mainly people poseing as good sammaritans only 2 be killer buyers. Anyone who shows interest & $$$$ is all they care about. I wish they would be more thorough in making sure these horses ended up where the papers say there going…. Oh…did I say paperwork…thats only 2 be lost or misplaced by the BLM. Sorry SOB’s!!!!
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I’ve got a great budget cut for them. Stop roundups – return all horses to the wild and cancel the Taylor Grazing Act. Then they could fire 3/4 of the BLM staff. Let’s see what would that amount to? Am I just being mean – no I’m just being honest.
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Here is a positive letter to share in response to my contacting US Senator Ayotte:
March 26, 2013
Dear Ms. Brown:
Thank you for contacting me regarding horse slaughter. I appreciate hearing from you.
As you may be aware, on March 12, 2013, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) introduced the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (S. 541) in the Senate, which was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. If enacted, S. 541 would prohibit horse slaughter operations in the United States and end the annual export and slaughter of approximately 150,000 American horses abroad.
I believe that all animals, whether domestic or wild, should be treated decently and humanely. In addition, I want to ensure that our nation’s food supply remains safe. Although I am not a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, please be assured that I will keep in mind your comments should S. 541 come before the full Senate for consideration.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. As your Senator, it is important to hear from you regarding the current issues affecting New Hampshire and our nation. Please do not hesitate to be in touch again if I can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Kelly A. Ayotte
U. S. Senator
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That’s a better response than I got from the my two!
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Let’s see if I get this right: DOI and USDA don’t have monies to keep the possibility of these wild equines alive, rehomed….BUT they have monies to round them up??????
Talk about the cart before the horse!
Hmmm…demonstrated behavior folks, demonstrated behavior. They want them dead. The Davis story and multiple roundups prove that.
‘They want them dead.
Can’t open Ellis Island, Yellowstone on time, but by GOD….we can continue to roundup wild equines.
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I think this behavior shows intent, motive and violates the Act (regardless of Burns).
I do also understand “standing” in judicial action…..Hmmm, if I’m a cattle producer (or any meat producer save equines, dogs and cats), I’d say I’d want to sue the Feds for jeopardizing my reputation. A citizen has a right to protect his/her country’s resources and complain about malfeasance of government.
This “standing” thing really pees me off.
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I just saw a short clip on Fox News about the Mustangs being rounded up and the cost. But they didn’t go into mush detail except to mention the birth control being used. They did mention the taxpayer cost.
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Yeah…and they are still asking for Obama’s birth certificate, overturning AHCA, health rights for women, guns as fast as the dealers can sell them and the electoral college/voting restructuring.
They are a bunch of freaking loons.
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What is going to happen to the captive Wild Horses and Burros that should NEVER have been removed from their Legal Herd Management Areas in the first place? Are any of them even still there? Do we even know what has happend to them?
https://www.blm.gov/adoptahorse/onlinegallery.php
Click once on the photo to see more pictures of that animal or to place a bid.
To obtain a bidder ID number, read the instructions on the How to Adopt page.
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How much $ is paid for administrative salaries/benefits, etc.?
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As with the new Secretary of Interior, who basically does not think that slaughtering horses is wrong as she is basically from the crowd who has been eating horse meat, there will be no worthwhile changes in their policies except to rid themselves of as many horses as possible through means of auctions, which are the primary places that these kill buyers obtain the horses for slaughter. Ergo, the reason that they are having to spend more money on the care of these horses that they sePind to these different places to be held until they can effectually send them to auctions. What a load of garbage. This is the same old junk – nothing new here. The idea that they can and should be able to maintain these horse on public lands has not entered the plans of the government as they are forcing through the Ruby Pipeline (thank BP and Canada for that one as Canada tries very hard to slaughter every wild horse they can find.)
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This may come to civil disobediance….
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Now you’re talking!….Where do I join?!!! We’ve all had enough, and I don’t know how much longer I can contain my anger and disgust… Oh the things I dream of doing to those bastards!!!!!
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agreed. We need to show the BLM we are sick of their crap and ready to throw back plenty of our own..
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This can be stopped but first most of the American people will have to become outraged enough to speak up…..what ever happens here will affect the world view of the entire country…..the world is watching.
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Here is the response from my Dem. Senator, Bill Nelson, regarding wild horses. I received nothing from Repug. Senator Rubio or my Repug. Representative Yoho.
Dear Ms. S:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the protection of horses from slaughter. I oppose the consumption of horse meat in the United States.
Senator Landrieu has introduced the Safeguard American Food Exports Act, S. 541. This bill would prohibit transporting or selling horses or equine parts for human consumption. In addition, it would deem equine parts as unsafe food additives or animal drugs. This legislation is pending before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
I will keep your concerns in mind should similar legislation come before the Senate. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future.
Sincerely,
Bill Nelson
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This is the pat, standard form letter they all send. I get the exact same letter from Durbin, and nothing from Kirk in IL.
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The key to successful adoptions is preliminary training.
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What great looking horses on that site. Seems any one of them born in a holding facility has been worked with – but most of the ones that were rounded up are untouched. The colors & conformation is as good as any grade horse. But that’s just a few – what about the rest? They just live out their lives in LTH. Not right.
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of course they are gonna have good conformation! In the wild a mare won’t let a stallion cover her unless she approves of him.. (that’s why mares are tied when bred.. in captivity..) These aren’t backyard bred throw backs.. these are the real deal.. and god does it right. every time.
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i was waiting from a respond from the BLM for 6 months.finally got it.no to the wild horse and burro sanctuary in winnemucca.nevada.on my land.it was listed in grants.org i thought for sure i was going to get that grant.was/am so sad it fell threw.i had the land.the time.and was willing.but either all were rejected or another got the grant.after reading this i bet we were all turned down.actually i think i was the only one who aplied.im sad.i could of made a big change.i could of helped.i wanted this very much.but you all know the story the rich get richer the poor get poorer.but madeline.the billionaires wife got her grant from the blm.in another county but says alot dosent it!!!??
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Reblogged this on akacheshire and commented:
awwww humbugg!
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Reblogged this on angelfarm and commented:
Just another day in paradise…
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The BLM wants it to fail so they have an excuse to dispose of all those extra, unwanted, unadoptable wild horses, straight to the states that want horse slaughter. It would be wonderful if the government was somehow forced to stop the round ups, but we don’t live in a fairy-tale, with those “happily ever after” endings. It would be nice, but we also don’t live in a perfect world. If horse slaughter does indeed, start back up here, you know where all the horses will go. Supply & demand, of all the horse eating hungry zombies!
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Okay, below is the response I received from Idaho Senator Risch. It’s exactly the same letter I received a few months ago when I asked where he stood on the horse slaughter issue. Since he is slightly ambiguous, I contacted him again and asked him to spell it out. Same form letter. Obvious, but not courageous enough to spell it out. A lawyer, all the way.
“Dear Ms. Williams:
Thank you for contacting me [blah blah blah].
As a rancher, I understand the role horses play as companions, their contributions to the agriculture sector and their iconic American image as an invaluable asset to settling the western frontier.
Should the Senate address horse slaughter prevention, any legislative proposal related to this issue must not unintentionally cause an increase in horse cruelty by limiting owners’ rights to choose how to dispose of unwanted or unusable horses.
There is a growing population of unwanted horses and to simply apply a broad-brush federal mandate will only work to exacerbate the current problem.
I really value your effort to get in touch with me [blah blah blah].”
Translation: Senator James Risch of Idaho is just fine with horse slaughter.
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