Source: by Steven Rose as published on RGJ.com
“No one in the BLM cares about our horses or is held accountable for the deplorable handling of this program….”
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said she would look at the National Academy of Sciences’ two-year study of the Bureau of Land Management’s wild horse program and make changes to improve it.
This is the program that cost the BLM $1.2 million. It was labeled “an expensive failure” that did not meet any of its goals. So, what has Jewell and her team at the BLM done? Nothing, just like her predecessor. Her spokesperson stated that “there is no timeline for changes.” So, guess what they did next?
They have scheduled ongoing wild-horse roundups, ignoring all of the facts in the study that they asked for — so let the abuse and killing begin again. Their arrogance and ignorance is offensive to the millions of us who are trying to save these icons of America.
They continue to spend $77 million per year for this failed program that keeps 49,000 wild horses in pens — and yearly ask for increases of about $2 million.
No one in the BLM cares about our horses or is held accountable for the deplorable handling of this program. There are now more wild horses in BLM pens than there are on the open range, where they belong.
Why? That’s an easy one. Because it is more important to them to sell cattle-grazing leases, more than 15,000 of them, oil-drilling leases and mining leases for the cash.
Yes, it is the land of the dollar bill and they think more of the money than they do about the humane treatment of our wild horses. They have come up with every excuse in the book to continue to remove them.
The latest quotes are, “They are starving due to the drought” and, “They are a public safety issue” and, “There is no room for them on the ranges.”
Pure and simple lies. Nevada on its own has more than 70 million acres of land. If you gave every wild horse out there 20 acres of land, they would only be using about 1 million acres — but there is no room, right?
In Carson City, we could put a few on the hundreds of acres right next to the BLM office, where they park the more than 100 cars and trucks for the 70 people that work there. Oops, my mistake; we had 11 horses there, and they rounded them up due to “public safety.”
They are still going to use helicopters and quads and shock prods to gather them and don’t care if a few dozen die along the way.
Thousands of horses have died while under their “care” and no one is listening or caring about how unethical the BLM is, how they bend every rule and do not follow the federal law from The Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro act of 1971.
Wild Horse Annie got helicopters banned and now the government has butchered the law and is about to start butchering the horses once again.
It is just more of the same and Jewell is ignoring it and has just become another person turning a blind eye on a inhumane program handled by irresponsible government dictators.
Steven Rose is a Vietnam veteran and businessman who lives in Carson City.
Click (HERE) to comment directly at RGJ.com
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Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
That photo of Jewell and Salazar makes me cringe! Ickkkk!
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BOYCOTT, BOYCOTT, BOYCOTT THE BEEF & OIL INDUSTRIES UNTIL THE SAFE ACT IS PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEN THEY’LL LISTEN TO THE VOTING PUBIC, That is if we still have the right to vote in this country!
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I SUGGEST THAT WE DO ONE THING. AFTER ALL COMMENTS ARE MADE AND THERE ARE SOME REALLY GOOD ONE RUN OFF THE COMMENT LIST AND SEND TO CONGRESS AND SENATE. LET THEM SEE EXACTLY HOW THE PEOPLE FEEL. WE PUT THEM THERE AND WE CAN TAKE THEM AWAY. THE HORSES DESERVE THIS.
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I fear for this country when there is no respect for the animals then we are lost and soulless!
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Obama picked Salazar to get rid of them and now Jewel, as far as I’m concerned this administration destroyed the wild horse herds of America, no way do I believe there is 49 thousand wild horses any where. Disgraceful.
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Yes … what he says is true and when listening to the webinar hearing a few weeks ago I discovered that Jewell not only had about 10 years at the sporting goods company but also about ten years working for Mobil Oil and about ten years in international banking or that’s how I understood it … so she was the “perfect” person to stab away at our public lands in favor of oil and other exploitative big money corporations. Years ago I heard the phrase “wild horses and wild burros are the vermin of the public land and must be eradicated”. I was unbelievably shocked when I heard that but that is exactly what has and is happening and their actions speak much louder than their words.
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I said this when her nomination was made and still believe it. The pipelines from Canada to the Gulf often come through wild horse habitat. Sally Jewell was never going to make any changes to the BLM policies given her 20+ years with oil and banking interests. No money or political power to be had if she did.
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Yes, the Keystone Pipeline. It will destroy wildlife habitats and be an environmental hazard to the surrounding areas. The gas produced in Canada is destined for China. It only goes through the United States to ports in the gulf for easy export. We pay an expensive price for multinational corporation’s greed. In light of all that $$$$$, horses (et. al.) become very expendable.
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Will be writing to Ms. Jewell. Not that it will do any good. Shame on her, and all the rest of these landraping, horsehating prevaricators.
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WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES – Demand that Congress pass the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (H.R. 1094/S. 541) to prevent horse slaughter from resuming in our country and to permanently stop the shipment of our wild and domestic horses to slaughter for other countries.
http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
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I’m not optimistic about the Interior. Between the two appointees under the Obama Administration, in addition to having no continuity of one person for both terms – it shows how little importance these matters have to this administration. Instead of making proclamations about having a politically correct staff at the Interior (which shouldn’t be newsworthy and should be a given) the current Interior Secretary ought to be focusing on the job at hand – on thing would be to clean house at the BLM. She’s only got three years and the clock is ticking – and who knows who will be doing this job after that!
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She was never going to do anything. She has ties to specific companies and organizations that have invested a great deal including going outside of our constitutional process to see that our horses and burros are regarded as non-native, invaseive, alien species. That’s why she was nominated and that is why she was confirmed by the Senate.
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Aren’t most of our elected and appointed officials non native and invasive alien species? I wrote Steve Daines in Montana and he wrote back a lame reply that just because our culture did not recognize eating horses others did and that is ok. so guard your pets as that culture that is buying and eating our horses likes dogs too.
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so is this thier conclusion from the public workshop on August 6,2013? If so, then the advocates who were at this meeting need to retain the attorney they have for the Fallon Slaughter that the federal judge ordered the TRO for the 149 horses waiting thier fate from the court hearing this Wedneday 8/21? Dont ya think?
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While the existence of adminsitrative departments under the authroity of the executive branch is mandated by the Constitution, regulating and reining in their overreaches is possible as many congresstional actions show.
All Americans…not merely horse advocates or even activists in general…need to be sensitized to this, as all the greatest governmental abuses in our country, from failure to enforce the Wild Horse and Burro Act, to persecution of small family farms by the USDA, all come down to the unbridled power and abuses of the Exacutive Branch.
Not only that, depending on who is in the White House, both democrats and republicans are guilty of failing to fulful their duty to protect the American people, so i hope others will join me in calling for the rejection of party politics and individuals and instead supporting specific legislations that rein in those agencies that are extirminating our national treasure, the wild mustangs.
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There was a mere flicker of hope when Sally~O came into office. But NO. Another government official NOT for the People nor the Environment & the Wildlife that OWN THE LAND! Mother Earth is raging. Again, C-O-R-R-U-P-T-I-O–N. We will never stop: For the Wild Horses ❤ Thank You.
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http://www.change.org/petitions/president-barack-obama-replace-interior-secretary-sally-jewell?utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition
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I pray that Jewell will listen to the advocates for wild horses and burros and clean up the corruption in our nation’s wild horse and burro program, restoring the herds and reducing the livestock and other exploitive industries that are tearing our public lands ecosystems apart!
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she has done nothing and will do nothing. she is nothing more than a mouth piece for the oil and welfare cattle corporations.
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Don’t Count On It Craig. Don’t Set Yourself UpForMore Disappointment.
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well, He Hit The Nail On The Head, Didn’t He. I Knee This Was Coming And Am Not Surprised.
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Veteran speaking out against the BLM stating JUST the facts shouts volumns doesnt it?
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We have the hearing for the unbranded horses from the illegal and stealth roundup from Toiyabe National Forest and Tribal lands at Fort McDermitt on this Wednesday. It is our hope these horses can go home. In face of the fact that this is not what is done normally, we hope these horses will have the opportunity to be adopted out and not sold to homes when they have been traumatized and also many were injured. Forest Service is required to adopt captive horses just as BLM. BLM has not claimed them. But the USFS was basically found to be directly involved, altho their calling off the roundup and sale had absolutely no effect and all went as ‘planned’ despite the fact it was no longer a secret the horses were being laundered through a tribal source who did not represent the entire tribe.
Have hope for these horses who are ours and for them to find peace and security at home or with humans. Good luck to Protect Mustangs. Their first suit is a part of this hearing!
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“Their arrogance and ignorance is offensive to the millions of us who are trying to save these icons of America.” I am furious beyond words that my tax dollar is being used to do something I am totally against ! Put the cattle in the stockyards–where they belong. Put MY wild horses back on the ranges I pay for. It’s that simple. It doesn’t need a NAS study. How can we defund BLM ? Is there any way to get rid of them?
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I have to agree with other commenters on here.
Don’t count on Jewell being sympathetic and concerned. She’s deliberately skimming
over all Wild Horse issues with EXCUSES!..
Obama where the heck are you these days? Thousands of calls to the white house
desperately seeking attention from our President to Intervene on the Wild Horse
Roundups???
He can stop this NONSENSE and does not.
I
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And this is a surprise to who? Business as usual in the government. The one with the biggest bucks wins! it’s all disgusting.
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So as taxpayers we are funding big oil, big ag and big a++! Then why are we paying twice for oil, gas, and beef? The way i figure it we own it. And i also figure claiming horses are starving on their budget means they ought to take a paycut since they cant manage hay, feed, and shelter they should.cut back on their personal paychecks, i mean the horses shouldnt be starved, unfit, and in the elements or die at brutal slaughter when they go home to air condition, beefsteaks on the bbq and a comfortable home with acres of land paid for via the BLM and wild horses friends/taxpayers!
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A rescue in Calif has been taking donations so they can rescue all the foals in the Indian round up. http://WWW.horsehumane.org I have followed these people for a number of years and they are honest about what they are doing. I emailed them Friday and told them about the sale being temporarily stopped if none of them had seen it yet. They have found a place that will give the coggins so the foals can be moved to their Calif rescue. They have a vet and a trainer on site that will check all foals health. This group buys slaughter bound horses every month at auctions. They run on donations. They also take in horses from owners that need euthanasia, the horses are checked for quality of life. There have been instances where the horse that was left by a owner were helped and went to another rescue that takes in horses and other animals as pasture pets, also donkeys that no one wants. This organization works with law enforcement and the local humane society to take in animals and horses if the owners are found to be starving them and not taking care of them. I have seen the photos of dozens of starving young horse that the humane society brought to them to try to help. Most of these horses found homes.
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