Story and Photography by Carol Walker ~ Wild Horse Freedom Federation Advisory Board
Forward by R.T. Fitch ~ co-founder/president Wild Horse Freedom Federation
“This past weekend the public was not allowed to witness nor audit the controversial BLM helicopter wild horse stampede and roundup in the Red Desert of Wyoming. This subversive action on the part of the federal agency so infuriated the Board and Officers of Wild Horse Freedom Federation that Advisory Board Member and noted photographer Carol Walker put our cares and concerns for the weather aside and traveled to the area in question to be the eyes and ears for WHFF and the wild horse and burro advocacy. Below is her report along with her photographs which will be added to her stunning collection of wild equine photography at www.wildhoofbeats.com upon her return home. Carol will cover the release of the PZPed mares and final operations before heading back, stay tuned.
Please note that the roundup was concluded, as I had predicted in my OpEd “Obama’s BLM Continues Assault on American Wild Horses over Holiday Weekend“, over the Thanksgiving weekend without any public observers allowed to witness the activity. Either the BLM is becoming so set in their cruel ways that they have become predictable or I have been following this issue far too long…probably a mixture of both. Keep the Faith and thank you Carol” ~ R.T.
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“There was no playing, and the mares and foals seemed frozen in place, resigned, unmoving…”
photography by Carol Walker, soundtrack from Opus Moon’s Wild Horse Anthology “Let Them Be Wild And Free” available on iTunes, produced by R.T. Fitch
In Carol’s own words:
I headed to Rock Springs the day after they completed rounding up and removing over 580 wild horses from Salt Wells Creek and Adobe Town in the Red Desert of Wyoming.
The last day of the roundup was done without any public observation. Today, Tuesday, they treated 43 wild mares with PZP and I came up to watch them be released.
I went to the Rock Springs Short Term Holding Facility where all of the wild horses who were removed were taken. I find it a very depressing place to visit. The contrast between these horses running wild and free with their families to the horses standing or milling around in pens separated by sex, with other horses they do not know, is painful to see. I always hope that I do not recognize horses there, because then there is a chance that the ones I know are still free.
There is an overlook area that allows visitors to see most of the horses in pens. Stallions and mares are separated, and mares and older foals are separated, and there are some mares who were allowed to keep their younger foals at their sides. The horses are immediately run through squeeze chutes, tagged and freeze branded with a number and blood is drawn for their Coggins tests, which needs to show negative results before the horses can be moved to another location. The stallions will be gelded here, but today they were still stallions, and they had only been there a couple of days, not long enough for the new reality of their situation to sink in. The light had not completely died in their eyes yet. The stallion pen was nearest the overlook, and with a storm coming in, the horses were frisky. Several of the stallions were playing together, running and biting each other, not in a serious way but the way that bachelor stallions in the wild play, running, bucking, kicking and biting.
The next day after a winter storm moved in, the view of the corrals was completely different. Blowing snow painted the whole scene a painful white. The backs of the horses were coated with snow. The more dominant horses were eating hay, while the more timid waited their turns. There was no playing, and the mares and foals seemed frozen in place, resigned, unmoving. There is no shelter for these wild horses in Short Term Holding Facilities, and although they have heavy winter coats, these horses have nowhere to get out of the biting, stinging wind. This will become more difficult for them as the temperature drops to zero or below in the next couple of days. If I were in their herd area right now, and they were still there, I doubt I would be able to see a single horse. They would be out of sight in low areas, gullies, next to cliffs, sheltered from the wind. But they cannot seek shelter here.
Related Articles
- Obama’s BLM Continues Assault on American Wild Horses over Holiday Weekend (rtfitchauthor.com)
- A Personal Thanksgiving Greeting/Threat from a BLM Wild Horse Helicopter Stampede Contractor (rtfitchauthor.com)
- Exclusive Report: Where Have All the Wild Horses and Burros Gone? (ppjg.me)
- BLM Helicopter Roundups Continue to Destroy Wild Horse Herds (hippies4horses.wordpress.com)
- R.T. Fitch on Wild Horse Wednesdays radio tonight! (ppjg.me)
- BLM must reconsider its policies on wild horses (hippies4horses.wordpress.com)
Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
The cold-hearted, cruel BLM, is a disgrace to humanity.. We must not cease to expose their actions. The inhumane treatment these precious animals, is a reflection of our current administration!!
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My understanding is that this has been an ongoing problem with the BLM and private contractors. It would be best for these animals for us to keep it non biased regarding political parties and work together to fix these atrocities.
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Well said, Jane. I couldn’t agree more and this is what our tax money is being spent for in the millions. This action was not even legal and the BLM is breaking the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act and wiping our wild horses out. More will die and some even go to slaughter.
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Reblogged this on akacheshire.
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beautiful video
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This is a crime, repeated over and over again……
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Please note in the video, there are NO skinny horses as the BLM, contractors and horse-haters would have you to believe…another lie exposed!
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Please note in the video, there are NO skinny horses as the BLM, contractors and horse-haters would have you to believe…
I have noticed that in several of the videos I have watched. The horses look very healthy with beautiful, shiny coats. Disgraceful lies. I don’t know why our current government does nothing.
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The President’s major donors are among those that have planned and step by step put this evil in place. President Clinton put the mechanism in place through international treaties and his executive order 13112. Our horses are being managed as invasive species because President Clinton had the services of a brilliant, arrogant, and totally unprincipled politico scientifically credentialed. The Senate Speaker has received funding from these same sources, and his 2004 land plans for Nevada and other manipulation has allowed these multinational energy concerns to get their blood-sucking hooks into U.S. soil.
We have a media that thinks that nothing happens if it is doesn’t happen on either coast when the real story is happening out in what most people think is the middle of nowhere.
The House might actually take action. The House has passed three wild horse protection bills since 2009.
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What Are We So Joyful For? What? Call Me What You Will But My heart Is With All The Mustangs.. It Is Very Heavy Right Now..
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MY GOD what the hell is happening???????? Where is our backbone??? There HAS TO BE something done NOW. These horses need to be released. What would happen if we show up in numbers and release them ourselves?? What are they going to do? Shoot us?? I’m so tired of being bullied by the goddam government that is supposed to represent us. They are nothing but animal abusers in the worst sense. Going through the legal system has allowed HOW MANY horses to suffer? I know that’s the proper way to do it but its NOT WORKING.
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Elaine…I have thought about that many times myself. We have all called, signed petitions, etc. There are court cases going on. We are doing it according to the law…to what end? There have been few victories. The horses are the ones that suffer and our hearts broken. In the old days, our forefathers would have stood for what they believed in. Nowadays, we are afraid, more and more, our own freedoms are being taken away by our own government. I believe it is time to make some noise and stand up for the horses. So many more people need to get involved and not be afraid to stand up thru the courts against the BLM. It is time for other measures and ideas…wouldn’t it be nice if the horses got to go home back on the range? We all need to stand up for what’s right, stand our ground, and find our courage to see it thru…..
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Elaine lets go!
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Do you realize that it is below zero right now in Rock Springs and the high is only supposed to be 3 degrees today??? What happens to the horses in those temperatures with NO SHELTER? It will below zero at night for the next few days. I live in Wyoming and can tell you that with the wind and these temps it is a wonder that anything can live outside WITH shelter. I’ll bet the a holes in the BLM and the pieces of trash Catoors are in nice warm houses….
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Elaine, I could not sleep all night – knowing this winter storm is rolling in. It will be below zero the next few nights, and the first real winter storm many of this year’s foals have ever felt. No shelter, big Wyoming winds… mega stress from the roundup/removal/”processing”/family destruction/PZP or castration/and introduction to hay (hopefully not alfalfa) for the first time. And wasn’t this the facility that had a strangles outbreak in recent memory?
How many foals are there with those 89 mares still awaiting release?
Why are there no photos or observers? If the work was done well there is nothing to hide… so where is the accountability?
Even Carol’s photos above are not this week’s captives it seems, the brands on them are old.
Can anyone get any media from Rock Springs out there today?
I agree those horses would be better off turned loose to find their way, they know how to deal with winter (the adults anyway). Confined, we have taken away all their options. How will we know if any foals don’t make it? Keeping all this hidden is unconscionable. We and they deserve better from those we are paying. If any of you are reading this, please step up!
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I’m calling and/or emailing all of the news stations in the Denver area, then I’ll start on surrounding states and work my way around. I agree that if we ALL do this they will be more likely to do report it and it will get the horses more exposure to the general public. We should give them the facts, because the blm will be sure to try and twist things their way. I believe that prayer in great numbers has to help too. Prayer that asks for their protection during this terrible cold weather and beyond.
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I drove through that area in April and I am still not over seeing all of that pasture land filled with free-standing wind farms. Our DOI in turning the West into an industrial wasteland.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not against renewable energy or wind energy particularly. It is just we are spending billings of dollars on a technology that needs a lot more testing and design modification. We need empirical data on how may birds are harmed by these windmills and try to explore ways to mitigate through design modification Maybe they need to look like old time fans. Meanwhile, since the government is funding them and paying for ones that do not produce enough energy to do what. . .
Call me cynical, but at their current level of performance, the main thing they are doing is giving the government some cover while they remove our wild horses. They also give the Sierra Club some reason to continue to rally their troops against wild horses and other forms of energy, but this is a farce.
It might be possible for those of you that live in Western states to do what the Nevadans did with their governor and state legislature to protect herds at the state level. We will lose herds, but we may be able to protect some herds.
If we have any advocates that are Wyoming citizens, they might begin to work on the governor and state legislature to find an area to preserve wild horse herds in their families. Wyoming is one of the areas where fossil remains indicate Equus caballus and other horses evolved in North America. Particularly the area where they are.
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I am at a loss regarding your remarks about the Sierra Club?
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For though wondering about the Sierra Club comments, the Sierra Club’s official policy is that all horses and burros should be removed and slaughtered. been that way for years, easy to look up.
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The Sierra Club is NOT a friend to the wild horses and burros, you are very correct!!!! This is a link that was sent to me by the Sierra Club when I called and asked about their stance on our wild horses and burros. It says they should be controlled carefully and the method used to control them should be firearms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here’s the link, its short and to the point…
http://www.sierraclub.org/policy/conservation/feral.aspx
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OMG – Where have I been? I have written letters back and forthe with the Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity for their stances never knowing this about the Sierra Club. Thanks for cluing me in.
I wrote a nasty little note to them re their contact as follows:
It was just brought to my attention that the Sierra Club is terribly mistaken about the Native status of our Wild Horses and Burros. I will never donate to or promote the Sierra Club again until this false propaganda that our Wild Horses and Burros are feral and therefore subject to removal from our lands is rectified, and I will spread your misinformation as the lies it is around to everyone I know.
If you want links to the paleontology which strongly refutes this, please feel free to contact me.
Absolutely disgusted,
Elaine Brown
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Way to go, Elaine. The Audubon Society is against them also.
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The BLM – should be renamed to Unabated Rancher Acquiesce and Assault Service. URAASS
YOU, WE, US……are responsible for this.
Our money pays for the sub-contractors who become millionaires from our hard earned tax money, the crappy holding facilities with no way to get away from biting cold, and many others that profit off of this insanity. We, yes WE THE PEOPLE continually allow these federal agencies to bombard, assault and terrorize free roaming, protected Wild Horses and Burros. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? Start by sharing this info with people.
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We lost our Little Colorado herd here in Sublette County, WY one year after the gas drilling began. BLM rounded them all up. Ranchers here had no problem sharing the land with the wild horses for decades. Apparently, the extraction industry does. No more wild horses but thousands of wells. Same thing happening for Salt Wells/Adobe Town.
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Is there any local effort to stop the FRACKING?
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No, Elaine, this is Wyoming where they love the extraction industry.
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I have been sharing this and screaming it to anyone that will listen and even those that would rather not listen…surely there is something that can be done, other than go in and open the gates. I am willing to do that if necessary, if it would actually help the horses. I hope that others would join me…
I am a newby to this fight, I only found out what was going on a short time ago and I probably sound like an idiot, but I just can’t believe that there is NOTHING that we as individuals and American citizens can do to stop this cruelty and bulldozing by our government.
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Elaine, the BLM would only round them up again. Also they are not near their HMA’s and would even get hit by vehicles and killed. It would only cause more harm .
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I understand, I’m just horrified and totally frustrated just like everyone else….seems like there has to be a solution.
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Apparently, many of us were unaware of the depth of this. Every time I hear how many FRACKING wells are located in Weld County, Wyoming, and the figure varies in the many thousands – one source said in the 50,000s, I realize how long this has been going on and I freak. It was 2005 when Cheney had secret meetings with energy companies and would not disclose who he met with or what they discussed. Well, I’d bet that it was all about FRACKING and removing the WH&Bs, which must have delighted the ranchers and the hunters both of whom support their removal.
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These horses are in Sue Wallis state of lowest educational.scores….they truly were and there is a connection between violence and improper education restricting peoples opportunities…..the violent pattern started with the Ken L Ration Era and tge folks in Wyoming thatbelieve this behavior is a good idea like Wallis are behind it. The BLM doesnt give a SHIT about horses, so its time to Have The Horse Funding Pulled From Them and demand the Government relinquish All horses remaining to ActualAdvocates and Not Wallis cronies.The Government doesnt care…….so give the horses to the people who do.
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As counter-intuitive as this may seem, some of the absurd arguments that Sue Wallis has made are consistent with government policy documents that list both domestic and wild horses as feral, non-native, invasive species. The Clinton administration scientifically credentialed mythmaker of the non-native, invasive, pest (of plants) horse is currently on the PNAS of the United States. In 2012, he published a paper arguing that people should not eat a popular, invasive species that the government is trying to get rid of because if becomes a popular food, this will add value to the animal making it next to impossible to get rid of.
This paper was written by a Harvard PhD and one of his graduate students and published in a policy recommendation document. Who the audience was intended to be for this document is not known, but several watered down versions of the same document without author attribution appeared in National Geographic and other issues.
Given this information, we must find a way to realize that our wild horses and ranchers in Wyoming face the same enemy. Yes, I know they have spread the propaganda that there are too many wild horses, but we do not know whether they were told if they did this they would hold their grazing permits for 20 years or whether these extended grazing permits are make-up to the ranchers for Congress not recognizing that people that are not friendly to ranchers have infiltrated some BLM offices and deliberately did not perform NEPA and renew the rancher’s grazing permits.
The failure of the BLM to protect ranchers indicates that loyalties within the BLM have shifted. We cheered because we were glad to see that the ranchers were not in control plus we don’t believe they do serious environmental reviews anyway. But if look at the method through which WWP was able to win law suits, they were able to win because the BLM did not do what the BLM was supposed to do. This is cause for concern because, again, it is a signal that the paradigm of power has changed.
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Not all ranchers are enemies of wild horses. Some are, but not all. I don’t believe ranchers are the real threat, I believe there are other reasons for our govt wanting to get rid of our horses but the ranchers are a great diversion and easy to blame. The real money is had by the energy companies, they have a lot more pull than ranchers. More than the Grazing Assoc. as well….
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HH, wise words all. Two comments.
One, this mysterious Clinton/Gore scientist keeps coming up, does this person have a name or is s/he in the witness protection program and in hiding? Why the concealment of this person’s name and history?
Next, I admire the WWP but on reading a recent victory which removed 130,000 forever from grazing leases, this was earned that the price of not litigating against the Ruby Pipeline, which traverses, what five? legal HMAs. So while these legal contortions will bring some positive change, they also bring troubling tradeoffs. For those who care most about wild horses and burros, this is sad news. For those whose primary focus is on other species, it is great news. Boil it down and even these victories divide us against the larger foes.
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Elaine, I agree not all ranchers are opposed to letting wild horses roam free. I keep puzzling over why so few (maybe 4% of the national beef herd) livestock herds could carry so much clout, especially when some proportion are smaller businesses, and some are still traditional family ranches. That they are able to leverage their own real estate property values based on leases is one explanation, maybe, but like you I think the enemies of the horse are further up the tree.
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Have to have the cooperation of the Congress House of Representatives to defund the BLM horse funds and agreement of the Senate and President.
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This is a True Disgrace in this country to us and our Wild Horses..
They look healthy and SAD….I just can’t stand seeing them like this
as they continue to warehouse them in LTC and others end up in the
slaughter pipeline….
“Opus Moon” excellent music from Cindy Loos…one is my favorite.
“Where have all the Wild horses gone”. another is “Bandit” a song about
a Beautiful Stallion named Bandit. Who has disappeared in the past months from “The Little Book Cliff’s” in Colorado…
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This is so horribly sad and WRONG! Who do I call, What can we do to stop this? I’m with Elaine Taylor. I would be willing to go bust em out! This is beyond cruel, and must be STOPPED!!. I hope they burn in HELL for this!!
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This poignant video is of recently captured mustangs. The gather reports stated on all of their reports that the body condition of horses was ALWAYS 3.5 to 5. Bull Shit these horses are in terrific condition, especially since it’s WINTER. A time when they should not be chased for miles. Body Conditions look as good as my horses, 7 to 10’s, in my opinion. Sad, sad, sad, sad and getting mad, mad, mad at the Bloody Government’s managing to extinction program… Now, who is going to pay to feed the horses? Us, not the private cattle “welfare” ranchers, not the big mining, oil and gas fracking corporations that destroy these wild lands for pure GREED and PROFIT. Profit extracted from the backs of innocent wild horses that should be left ALONE to run on their “federally protected” wild, native lands, in their secure family bands. This is a public disgrace to the Nation. Hang on wildies, we, Wild Horse Warriors have not forgotten you. We are coming and Hell’s coming with us…
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Thank you, my thoughts exactly!!!!
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WHP, the first part of the video shows horses whose white brand hair has already grown in, so they weren’t captured all that recently, at least not in the past week. It isn’t until the end of the video some of the footage seems to be this week in Rock Springs, and some of those were already captured earlier as well. All were taken from their homelands though… my concern was about the horses just rounded up and now maybe stuck in a serious winter storm without shelter, and with unfamiliar feed, and maximum stress levels. I wish those doing this “work” would feel good enough about their efforts to share some actual photos and videos with us. It raises many suspicions that they seem to do everything with as much secrecy as they can manage. How about it BLM and Cattoors? Show us your stuff if you have nothing to hide! How many freshy-weaned foals are standing in the storm in the Rock Springs corrals tonight?
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Icy-Is it possible that these photos are of the horses “not counted” that they keep referring to when they list the shipped horses? I don’t get that – so WHY are these horses NOT COUNTED???? I asked this before – have they been standing in these pens since the last roundup? Actually I guess this is nit picking & going off the main subject – but there are NO answers.
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Thanks for keeping eyes on for us – and the world – as this atrocity unfolds. The fact that 80% of the American people still support the intent of the original Wild Horse and Burro Act is just further evidence that we must forcefully wrest our government back from the hands of the corporate terrorists that have wrested it away from the will of the American people.
While the demise of the wild horses is not the only trajedy that has resulted from the seizure of our government by corporate terrorists and thugs, it is certainly the saddest, meanwhile the blatent corruption of the BLM from top to bottom is so in everyone’s face that its continuation defies credibility like the proverbial elephant in the room that everyone agrees not to notice.
Its a bad dream i can’t wake from. Feeling extremely sad and dispairing.
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You are right, Debbie. The 1% is controlling our the House of Representatives and have put some in the Senate, while it seems the Obama administration made a pact with the devil to extract energy indiscriminately without regard to land and animals on it. So all the e-mailing, faxing and calling to stop wild horse roundups without any scientific count first is falling on deaf ears/and or being filed in the round file. The American Natural Gas ads are an insult to injury, because so many of us know the true costs. Yes, this end so very sad and cruel to our horses. What to do now?
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Hate seeing those natural gas ads where everyone is happy & healthy & the flowers are blooming etc etc. Same thing for the BP ads. Lies.
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WE NEED TO GET SOMEONE THERE TODAY WITH A CAMERA, MEDIA OR BLM OR CATTOORS OR ??? THIS STORM COULD BE A FOAL KILLER! BY BLM COUNTS THERE ARE 89 MARES FRESHLY IMPOUNDED – HOW MANY FOALS? HOW MANY FOALS JUST ARRIVED THERE AND ARE TRAPPED IN THIS STORM?
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There is a FB page Wild Horses in Wyoming and the person that hosts that page lives in Rock Springs. They have firsthand knowledge of what is happening. They are a great resource for information.
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Thanks Elaine, I am not on FB but maybe can see something there. I will check the newspapers, too, they should be covering this, whether they approve or disapprove.
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There are 73 foals being held… some were separated from their mothers, probably the older foals and some were allowed to remain with their mothers.
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America’s war on wild horses is shocking. Our tax money is paying for the BLM, that helicopter, those holding pens and ultimately clearing wild horses and burros off public land so cattlemen can take over all the grazing. The public is paying for this outrage and also being told they cannot view the process? Outrageous. Some of these horses are descendants of old Spanish stock which will never been seen again. I’m finished calling for BLM reform. Now I’m campaigning for the complete dismantling of this useless organization. What a bunch of thugs.
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I had the same thought this morning. The Department of the Interior is also pretty useless…Jewell turned out to be another Salazar. No wonder the economy’s in the toilet with rampant waste accepted as business as usual
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Lynn, we are not the only ones finding the BLMs actions unconscionable and unethical regarding the so-called “protected” species under their purview. This was in my mailbox today:
http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/435877/2d2dac1fe8/1454001502/1b1885e7d4/
…
The BLM fails to meet the objectives of the Owyhee RMP that requires protection and enhancement of bighorn populations and habitat and the reduction of the potential for disease transmission between wild and domestic sheep. The BLM should designate areas where the risk of contact threatens the viability of bighorn sheep populations as unsuitable for domestic sheep and goat grazing. Because bighorn sheep are mobile and routinely foray into new areas, this risk analysis must be conducted whenever bighorn sheep are detected in new areas outside of the previous risk analysis areas to determine the suitability of domestic sheep grazing.
WWP provided a protest of the proposed decision last week and we’re prepared to take this to court if we have to. BLM can’t just pick a number and accept the potential for domestic sheep to extirpate bighorn.
Although the protest period is over, you are welcome to contact Idaho BLM Acting State Director Tim Murphy at tmurphy@blm.gov or give him a call at (208) 373-4001.
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Reblogged this on "OUR WORLD".
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I DIDN’T KNOW THAT WILD HORSE AND BURROS COULD BE LED INTO TRAPS BY HELICOPTERS – DID YOU? (puke)
It appears to me:
This Public Lands Council is ALL about cattle and sheep use/abuse on our public land and they have all the BIG livestock associations behind them and funding them and they go to Washington DC to influence our government and I read the other day that they have been a MAJOR influence to zero out the Wyoming herds.
http://www.publiclandscouncil.org/default.aspx
More B$ from the National Wild Horse and Burro Rangeland Management Coalition – who are the vocal ANTI wild horse and burro group for the Public Lands Council – who are the paid mouth-piece for all livestock associations. If you follow this chain of ANTI wild horse and burro groups you will see they all feed off each other and that Callie Hendrickson (Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board member) is one of their leaders and in fact C.Hendrickson is given credit for the photo within this article that shows wild horses being chased by a helicopter and the caption says, “Horses being LED into a corral by a helicopter during the Piceance/East Douglas HMA horse gather, in Colorado, 2011.” http://whiterivercd.com/wildhorse/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/cost-horse-and-burro-fact-sheet.pdf
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GG, I suspect whoever wrote the caption there may have meant to say they were being led in by the Judas horse…. not sure there.
I checked your second link quickly, though, and found this gem:
“Wild” horse herds are not monitored or managed as are livestock. Therefore when horses are added to an ecosystem, little habitat is left undisturbed and more species may be impacted. The negative costs incurred by overabundant horse and burro populations can be minimized with improved management, increased control of horse and burro population numbers and growth, and through restoration and mitigation of existing impacts.”
I wonder what we are paying the BLM for then, if they are not monitoring or managing our wild herds??? And since when are horses being ADDED to ecosystems? They are on their legally designated homelands, which over time have been shrunk by something like 22 million acres. Who wrote this BS? Nothing at all mentioned on the impacts of introducing cattle and sheep in to ecosystems, or how their “monitoring” is substantially different than WHB management by the BLM. I’d submit the domestic livestock actually are better treated, since they can’t be stampeded too far(they’d lose weight and calves) and are worth $$$ to their owners if they remain healthy and fertile.
Hard to imagine even the folks who wrote this tripe could believe it.
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The caption definitely says “Horses being LED into a corral by a helicopter…” and although we know this is not true, these organizations (Public Lands Council and their ANTI Wild Horse and Burro offshoot the National Wild Horse and Burro Rangeland Management Coalition) are run with/by donations from the Livestock Associations. This is pure and simple “tripe” as you call it and written as propaganda against the wild horses and burros by those that would profit through the replacement of our wild horses and burros by more livestock – and the NWHBRMC also gets support ($$$) from the Safari Club etc as listed in Louie’s post below).
All are ANTI Wild Horse and Burro and ALL have BIG money.
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Wild Horses and Burros are responsible for maintaining the ecology of the areas they occupy. They are nomadic, eat a variety of vegetation including that which causes forest fires, and they chomp off the grasses like a mower allowing the plant to regrow. They pick up seeds and poop them in the many areas they travel through via little “green apples” where the seeds are nurtured and able to grow. The solid hooves of horses do not muck up the water holes – horses come into the water to drink and do not linger, but move on. The Native Americans say that the horses who tamp in the seeds as they run provide the “Heartbeat of the Earth”. Horses reestablish and maintain the ranges they roam.
Cattle languish and only move when prompted. They eat grass off so close to the soil that the grasses die. They have runny manure which flattens and dries into “cow pies” and is of no use in fertilizing seeds. The cows have cloven hooves and they muck up the water holes where they remain for long periods of time. When they do move their hooves tear up the grasses and soil. Sheep pull out the grasses by the roots and also have cloven hooves and move around slowly. Both cattle and sheep leave the earth “scorched”.
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GG I sent the “horse & burro factsheet people an email – suggested that their photographer (C.H) possibly wasn’t allowed to get close enough to see the whole picture! ALL the pictures were taken by the same person – I suggested they might get some of the cattle & sheep damage… I’m SURE I’ll get a response – right.
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Can someone tell me why they are doing this? Why do they SAY they are doing this cruel action & why they REALLY are/might be doing it ?
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They are doing this because of a court case brought by ranchers in the area who are just the front men for the drilling industry.
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I’ve shared this, and I’ve made appeals to my congress representatives (not Wyoming so maybe they don’t care). Until the mass media picks up this story, nothing much will change. EVERY PERSON commenting must contact their congressional reps., local and state reps., and all the local media, to express outrage & indignation. I’ve heard (true?) that there are more wild horses under BLM management than running free. The land is being cleared of them for gas/oil companies.
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I live in Wyoming and have contacted my representatives many times and they couldn’t care less about the horses. I believe they are more concerned with the big money energy companies and pleasing them.
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Exactly, Elaine.
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Marsha, actual verifiable numbers are difficult to find, but most agree there are approx. 50,000 in captivity now, and between 15,000 and 37,000 in the wild.
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Yes, Icy Spots – 37,000 according to the BLM – 15,000 or less according to the activists in public lands that supported two million several decades ago.
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I am going to start investigating a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, and reading all the congressional changes such as the Burns Amendment to the 1971 Act. Anyone have any helpful suggestions or information?
And believe me, the historical evidence indicates that these horses are absolutely Native – the propaganda of the haters is just that. We need more PR, but a CLASS ACTION should help.
We need some BLM Whistle blowers like the USDA-Wildlife Services Whistleblowers that came out in a big expose’ this week. We know that there are some who are disgusted and some may have quit. Anyone know anything?
You can PM me on Facebook via my Avatar if you prefer.
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Link up with Joe Camp on FB. He is a former BLM employee that has shared quite a few horror stories, lies, deception, inside contracting favoritism, etc with me. Might as well let him get some DIGS in and lead you towards getting the evidence necessary to go forward with a law suit. You probably are aware of the other horse foundations that have filed law suits? Wild Horse Education, Protect Mustangs, HSUS, WHF, and others. Join forces with them to make more effective suit, get evidence, see what grounds they are suing on behalf of, etc. Joe Camp FB https://www.facebook.com/josephsheltoncamp?fref=ts
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Joe Camp is number one in my opinion…great guy.
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http://www.predatordefense.org/exposed/index.htm?v=52P9cGt0Lbc
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This is the most unhumane thing ever!!! An absolute outrage…these are beautiful wild animals and should be left alone to live in peace.
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The number for the BLM public spokesperson is 307-212-0197. Her name is Serena Baker. I just spoke with her and she said that 40-41 mares are being released right now. She said that there are no foals with them. I asked if the remaining horses including foals had shelter and windbreaks in the Rock Springs holding facility. She said that they do….does anyone have any pictures or first hand knowledge of this??? I’m a little skeptical……
I think it would be a great idea for EVERYONE to call and voice our concerns.
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Elaine, here’s the BLM page with older still shots of the RS facility. It looks like they have some mesh and thin strips of plywood on the fence rails, which could cut some of the wind but look more like they are intended to keep people from reaching in. The wind would roll right on through.
Did Serena give you any numbers on foals being held there? It will drop well below freezing tonight, double digits + wind.
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Serena didn’t give me numbers but Wild Horses in Wyoming did….73 foals.
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What I understand is that there is NO shelter but possibly some small windbreak of sorts. Nothing that anyone would deem protection. The foals and older weaker horses can’t survive the weather they are having out in the open with the wind like it is….so what I was told by the blm spokesperson was not true…
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Elaine, thanks. 73 foals… and if 41 out of 89 mares were released today, that leaves 48 mares that might still be with their own foals (for now), leaving 25 newly weaned and more or less bereft. I think it takes 30 or so to fill a semi?
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ROCK SPRINGS GRAZING ASSOCIATION
http://wildhorsepreservation.org/media/ranchers-blm-settle-suit-over-wyoming-wild-horses
The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed in 2011 by the Rock Springs Grazing Association, a group of ranchers who run cattle on a vast area of southwest Wyoming known as the Checkerboard. The area is a mix of public and private land that dates to federal land grants for the Continental Railroad.
The association’s president, John Hay, of Rock Springs, declined to comment Thursday.
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This is the alien, non-native, invasive, pest (of plants) language.
Not nearly enough fencing exists to keep wild horses off the Checkerboard’s private tracts. The result, ranchers say, is that horses damage the range and compete with cattle for forage.
The problem can be especially bad where cattle and horses alike congregate at water sources.
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$upporting roundups and removasl of Wild Horses and Burros from America’s Public Lands
THE PUBLIC LANDS COUNCIL
Click to access Free-Ranging%20Horse%20and%20Burro%20Position%20Statement_with%20images%20(2).pdf
America’s wild and free-roaming horses (Equus caballus) and burros (E. asinus) are the descendants of domesticated Eurasian and African horses and burros and are an iconic, yet non-native species in North America.
Conclusion
The burgeoning population of horses and burros on public lands threatens natural rangeland ecosystems, native fish, wildlife, and plants, livestock grazing, horse and burro well-being, and taxpayer funds. The consistent application of sound science and economics in relation to animal and rangeland management should be used throughout all horse and burro programs.
The National Horse & Burro Rangeland Management Coalition is a diverse partnership of 11 wildlife conservation and sportsmen organizations, industry partners, and professional natural-resource scientific societies working together to identify proactive and comprehensive solutions to increase effective management of horse and burro populations and mitigate the adverse impacts to healthy native fish, wildlife, and plants and the ecosystems on which they depend.
American Farm Bureau Federation
Masters of Foxhounds Association
National Association of Conservation Districts
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
National Rifle Association • National Wildlife Refuge Association
Public Lands Council • Public Lands Foundation
Safari Club International • Society for Range Management
The Wildlife Society
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Louie, that’s a broken link…
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None of the horses I see in the pictures looks unhealthy, what exactly do they mean horse and burro wellbeing?? If you want to talk wellbeing take a look at the pictures and listen to the facts about their wellbeing in the holding pens. Again I think a lot of special interest groups want their finger in the pie…
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This is not only Anti Wild Horse Talk. It is Pro Slaughter Talk. All LIES! It is the money that wants the horses removed that is spinning their propaganda. It is the cattle and sheep that bring a “scorched earth” to the public lands. I keep hearing that not all the ranchers support these lies – so where are they?
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I have a question??You all are more educated on this issue than I, but what I can read and see BLM has been doing this for years and it looks to me as getting worse, but maybe not?? SO all the emailing, all the letters, all the phone calls, and what ever else we can do has NOT Fazed BLM…..WHY has someone not taken THEM to COURT and SUED them???????
Certainly there must be thousands of documentation, pictures, and so on….I am JUST ASKING, cause I don’t understand how they can keep breaking the Wild Horse Protection Act with out some kind of accountability, so TAKE them to COURT…. Am I being totally off the wall in thinking this?? They will continue till they are all gone….. Can WE NOT FIGHT them that way in a court room, for neglect, breaking the Protection Act, for cruelty, for I am sure allocating money where it should not be, giving the land to cattle, and others, ALL of this is documented… ??????? Can anyone explain to me why this has NOT BEEN DONE??
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Debbie, there have been a series of amendments to the original law which pervert both its intent and its enforcement, including a last-minute Burns Amendment in 2004 which it seems nobody read, which opened the slaughterhouse door to wild horses. This week’s roundup was the result of a convoluted Consent Decree which is well covered elsewhere on this website. Wild horses and burros are falling into the cracks; not treated as livestock and not treated as the natives they are, so the only people making decisions on their behalf are our hired guns, the BLM and USFS, who seem intent on blaming them for all the ills of mankind. When they are all gone, who will they aim for next?
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The cattle.
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Try this link
PUBIC LANDS COUNCIL
Click to access Free-Ranging%20Horse%20and%20Burro%20Position%20Statement_with%20images%20(2).pdf
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That’s strange…the link works from this end, but not when posted here.
Click to access Free-Ranging%20Horse%20and%20Burro%20Position%20Statement_with%20images%20(2).pdf
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Just played Carol’s video all the way through (thanks, Carol!) and noticed at around 1:50 there are horses on the salt blocks, but one block is a blue cattle block. All the ranches I worked on taught me those were toxic to horses so we kept them away from them. Anyone have a good reason why they are in the BLM pens, where there are most likely never any cattle?
Here’s one discussion I found, not sure how sound the science is but it fits with what I’ve learned (50 years owning horses).
SOURCE:
http://nz.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071029203608AAWUVx4
The problem with the cattle blocks is not copper, it is UREA! Urea-containing supplements can be dangerous when formulated or used improperly, and they are not made for horses. Urea or ammonium salts are added to protein supplements as non-protein sources of nitrogen (NPN), which can be used, under the right circumstances, by ruminant livestock to provide up to 40 percent of their protein nitrogen requirements. NPN sources such as urea can be converted to protein and amino acids by rumen microorganisms in NPN-adapted ruminant livestock when energy intakes are adequate. They are commonly used because they are often less expensive than natural protein sources. Horses do not have a rumen, and are therefore more prone to NPN toxicity.
So to answer your question, no you can’t. I would definitely move the blocks when your horses are in that particular pasture.
Source(s):
Many, many years of horse ownership, and also own goats (which are ruminants)
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It’s possible that the Public Lands Council link doesn’t work because the pdf doesn’t come through in the link.
This link might work and it indicates most of the same groups that support removals of our Wild Horses and Burros from Public Lands.
http://wildhorserange.org/
National Horse & Burro Rangeland Management Coalition
The National Horse & Burro Rangeland Management Coalition is a diverse partnership of 13 wildlife conservation and sportsmen organizations, industry partners, and professional natural-resource scientific societies working together to identify proactive and comprehensive solutions to increase effective management of horse and burro populations and mitigate the adverse impacts to healthy native fish, wildlife, and plants and the ecosystems on which they depend.
The Coalition was formed in 2012 in response to the steadily worsening degradation occurring on portions of our nation’s rangelands due to inadequate management of “wild” horse and burro populations. For many years, individual organizations concerned with rangeland health have attempted to influence the federal land management agencies’ effectiveness at managing these non-native, congressionally protected animals. When, in 2009, the Secretary of the Interior announced his plans to develop a new horse and burro management plan, these organizations provided individual comments to help improve the program. The Secretary’s plan has yet to be finalized and management has yet to improve.
Frustrated by this inaction and the resulting rangeland damage, a core group of organizations—each with different memberships and purposes, from producer to conservation organizations—recognized they shared a common goal:
Members
American Farm Bureau Federation
Masters of Foxhounds Association
Mule Deer Foundation
National Association of Conservation Districts
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
National Rifle Association
National Wildlife Refuge Association
Public Lands Council
Public Lands Foundation
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Safari Club International
Society for Range Management
The Wildlife Society
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The paragraph below exists because President Bill Clinton signed the 1992 UN Convention on Biological Diversity on June 4, 1993. The Senate did not ratify this treaty, but Article 8 (h) is listed as the invasive species law of the United States per international treaty. Because this treaty did not get ratified in the Senate, the Clinton administration took Article 8 (h) from the much larger treaty and included this provision under the terms national invasive species program and wrote this part into the 1997 Update of the International Plant Protection Convention that did not go into effect until October 2, 2005.
Both of these treaties direct parties to prevent, control, and eradicate (alien) or (to protect plants from invasive plants and animals that are pests of plants) species where they occur. This policy went into force during the Bush administration.
President Clinton created the Alien Species Act E.O. 13112 to create a National Management Plan for Invasive Species. However, this President that has shown no bond with any animals throughout his life other than in White House photo shoots with his daughters’ dogs.
What the ranchers and these other agencies may not realize is that cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and domestic horses are on borrowed time. All of them are listed as invasive to the United States, and these treaties intend to end the existence of these animals in North America. Perhaps the plan is to let non-industrialized nationals raise our food, but it doesn’t look like ranching in the West byond the next 20 years is in the global plan being executid by the Obama administrations.
———————————————————————————————————
America’s wild and free-roaming horses (Equus caballus) and burros (E. asinus) are the descendants of domesticated Eurasian and African horses and burros and are an iconic, yet non-native species in North America.
———————————————————————————————————-
Scientific fraud should be a felony. These political agents posing as scientists out of our national science programs. They never present evidence. They claim they are experts. They are experts at lying.
__________________________________________________________________
Conclusion
The burgeoning population of horses and burros on public lands threatens natural rangeland ecosystems, native fish, wildlife, and plants, livestock grazing, horse and burro well-being, and taxpayer funds. The consistent application of sound science and economics in relation to animal and rangeland management should be used throughout all horse and burro programs.
ecosystems, native, — emerged to replace traditional American ways of thinking about land and what lives where
sound science—it exists, but anything that this government has produced about horses or burros is highly questionable because there has never been any proof that the horse was not native
In fact, numerous peer reviewed journals that require rigor rather than opinion were publishing just the opposite. It is astounding that this has not been challenged.
Go the Dr. Kirkpatrick’s and Dr. Fazio’s paper. Trace their references to the original documents that the paper was written from. Look at the dates of publication of the articles they use. These people did not think the American people would notice that they had no evidence for the basic premise that the animals did not originate here or that certain animals do harm when they actually do good.
The Wildlife Society is the biggest joke of all. Their recent testimony for FWS made it entirely clear that they were referring to the alien, invasive species provisions. FWS could have picked anyone to testify. They picked WS CEO.
During the original debate about the 1992 UN CBD, the Farm Bureau was opposed in part due to the alien species provisions. I do not know what assurances they have now, but in the documents that are consistent with what is happening to horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs are targeted. They are now attacking to the pig problem.
The National Horse & Burro Rangeland Management Coalition is a diverse partnership of 11 wildlife conservation and sportsmen organizations, industry partners, and professional natural-resource scientific societies working together to identify proactive and comprehensive solutions to increase effective management of horse and burro populations and mitigate the adverse impacts to healthy native fish, wildlife, and plants and the ecosystems on which they depend.
American Farm Bureau Federation
Masters of Foxhounds Association
National Association of Conservation Districts
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
National Rifle Association • National Wildlife Refuge Association
Public Lands Council • Public Lands Foundation
Safari Club International • Society for Range Management
The Wildlife Society
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Just stumbled on this, thought it was appro.
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From WYOMING??? The place that has NO interest in the wild horses & burros welfare??? Yet they use the horses & the idea of freedom to their own advantage!
HUH>>>
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No kidding!!! AND they have the big rodeo in July “The Granddaddy of Them All” Cheyenne Frontier Days” I actually live in Cheyenne WY (I’m a transplant) and the politicians here don’t give a hang about the wild horses’ and burro’s welfare. They are all for big money voters. Period. Animal welfare does not concern them. Vey backward and very sad. There ARE a lot of people in this state that DO care about the horses though. There is a FB page Wild Horses in Wyoming that is very informative.
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Holy Crap! How misleading can they be? Instead they should be showing helicopters chasing terrified horses and pens full of sad hopeless horses. The wild horses should be left alone.
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Elaine, I think they will need to be changing the state logo to a cowboy riding a helicopter 🙂
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Reblogged this on Carte Blanche by Amelia Curzon.
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If you look at the Rock Springs holding facility on google earth dated June of this year, you can see ONLY 3 small shelter structures at the small far end corrals and one shelter structure that looks like it is for the processing (chute) area (i.e. the employees).
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Ms Baker with the Rock Springs BLM point blank lied to me this afternoon. I asked her if there was sufficient shelter and windbreaks for ALL the 600+ horses and she said YES THERE IS.
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What is the governor doing. He is suppose to look out for the residents of Wyoming? I may have to rethink things. This isn’t the first time he or the Senators have gone against public opion. I called a Senator about a law he was going to vote in favor of. It rang for five mintues are more than someone picked the phone up and hung it up without saying a word.
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I’ll ask another question WHY has no one tried to override the Burns Amenment, it seeme to me that this piece of legislation is key and all would be working on this component ??? But I don’t hear that much about from anyone trying to stop the Interior Dept…
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After reading RTs other editorial on the Wildlife Services – sure seems like there are many branches of our sainted government whose main purpose is eradicating any and all wildlife – or people or pets if they get in the way. The more light that shines on this subject the better.
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I ask for any daring group to let them out and be free.
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I wish everyone who is truely concerned for the wild horses wouldstop eating beef! You are aiding the welfare cattle industry by do so. They will continue to take land for their cattle if you continue to buy it. simple as that. How much are you really willing to do to save the horses.
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Its not only about the cattle, the energy companies are right in there too. And they
seem to have unlimited resources and power. And I believe there are other shadowy reasons for these roundups as well, they just haven’t come to light yet.
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CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
http://heatherclemenceau.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/human-casualties-in-the-long-war-for-horses/#comment-2453
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The government has no respect for family, whether it be horses, animals of any kind or even humans! These horses are God’s gift to us all and should be treated with respect and dignity. They have the right to live in the wild! But this administration, much like Hitler’s, wants to group, divide, and destroy all that is good in our country. If people look back at what happen to the Jews in Europe, families were separate. Husbands from wives, children from parents, in separated groups together until they were put to death. There is a demonic evil in our world that is trying to destroy everything good that God created. Now…what are we going to do about it??? Remember, government and the court systems are so corrupt that they will never be the answer. Someone is going to have to get creative. We are going to have to unite and demand that the rights of all living creatures prevails, including the Constitutional Rights of all Americans. If they are capable of treating horses this way, then they are capable of doing the exact same thing to all of us. One other thing, look at how the Ag industry treat animals as well. Penned up with no life to speak of and then destroyed, packaged, and shipped to your local markets for their profits. It’s a huge sin!!! We can stop this, but we have to grow in numbers and be a powerful, demanding force! My heart breaks over what is happening to these horses! These people must be stopped because they have no respect for any kind of life. All they know is kill and destroy!
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These roundups did not start with this administration. They have been going on long before. We do need to do something, I agree. One thing is to stop eating meat and helping the welfare cattle industry.
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Sue Perrin I always have to laugh when i hear apologists for Obama spouting that “It did not start with this administration”. Reminds me of fights with my brothers in the back seat of the car on the way to grandma’s: “He started it” “No he did” “No he did” What does that have to do with anything?
Obama is turning the west into a wasteland. He’s in his second term. He is intelecctuallly lazy and in the pocket of wallstreet, a republican with balck skin , even ACA is flawed…..but we can fix that. We can’t fix the west once its ruined.
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Too bad you had to throw race into it. And to bad you don’t use spell check!
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sorry for my rant…my comment should be deleted, as it does not serve to be constructive.
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