Source: The Cloud Foundation
No public comment period – no transparency – no opportunity for horse rescue organizations to save horses from a terrible fate.
photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO. (March 31, 2014) – On March 24, The Cloud Foundation received an anonymous tip that BLM had rounded up and removed 41 free-roaming horses from public lands in northern Wyoming. Further investigation revealed that BLM conducted a helicopter roundup of the horses and turned them over to the Wyoming Livestock Board who sold the horses directly to the Canadian Bouvry Slaughterouse. The taxpayer-funded roundup was conducted with no notice of sale after the horses were impounded, giving no one the opportunity to step in and negotiate a deal to purchase any of the horses. Even Bighorn County Sheriff, Kenneth Blackburn, was surprised that he received no notification of the roundup, which was conducted in his jurisdiction. The horses were driven to Shelby, Montana, to the Bouvry-owned feedlot, the jumping off point to their Canadian slaughterhouse, the largest slaughterhouse in Canada.
“These were colorful wild horses I spotted several years ago while driving to the Pryor Mountains,” stated Ginger Kathrens Executive Director of the Cloud Foundation. “They lived on what we’ve been told was a wild horse Herd Area southeast of the Pryors.” The small, remnant herd roamed a starkly beautiful landscape east of US 310 between Lovell and Greybull, WY. ‘”We stopped to admire them on March 10th on our way back to Colorado.” Kathrens adds. “The sight of these lovely, free-spirited animals, some with their newborn foals, against the backdrop of the snow-covered Bighorn Mountains was glorious. It’s hard to think about the horror they suffered just days later.”
On March 18, only eight days after Kathrens last spotted the horses, the BLM Field Office in Cody, WY supervised their roundup and removal. A BLM spokesperson told a Cloud Foundation representative that the horses would be held at the Worland Livestock Auction for 10 days and then sold. However, later investigation revealed that the 41 horses rounded up by Cattoor Livestock Company on March 18-19 were delivered to the Worland Livestock Auction for brand inspection. Just a few hours later, once the brand inspection was completed, 37 horses were loaded onto a truck paid for by the Wyoming Department of Agriculture and hauled to the Canadian border.
“According to Wyoming, Statute, Title 11, Chapter 24 entitled Agriculture, Livestock and Other Animals, ‘Estray horses rounded up must be held for not more than 10 days before going to auction,'” reported Paula Todd King, Communications Director for the Cloud Foundation. “These horses were rounded up and within hours they were on their way to the border. We found no notice announcing the roundup.”
The history of these horses is debatable. The BLM contends they are not wild, stating that they once belonged to an area rancher who died and his horses have only been in the area for 40 years. However, the Wild Horse and Burro Act (WHB Act) defines a wild horses as an “unclaimed, unbranded horse on federal lands in the United States.” Wyoming brand inspector, Frank Barrett, verified there were no brands of any kind on any of the animals.
Less than a mile from where Kathrens had been observing the horses is the boundary of the “zeroed out” Foster Gulch/Dry Creek Herd Area, designated for wild horse use after the passage of the WHB Act in 1971. “As they have done over a hundred times, the BLM decided not to manage wild horses in the area in 1987,” explains Kathrens. “If the horses have lived in the area for 40 years as BLM states, it is entirely possible that these horses were descendants of the herd eliminated from management in 1987.”
It is clear that these horses have survived for many years on their own, living in wild family bands, and thriving without human intervention. Conflicting reasons have been given for the timing of this BLM roundup when the horses had newborn foals. BLM indicated that private landowners in the area have complained about horses trespassing on their land. Sarah Beckwith, BLM spokesperson said that the horses were a threat to public safety – vehicles had killed two horses. However, after further investigation, TCF found that a train struck one horse 6-8 years ago, and a private vehicle struck another around 5 years ago. Jack Mononi, Supervisory Rangeland Management Specialist for Cody BLM, told Todd-King that if the Agency did not spend the federal dollars by the end of March, the funds would no longer be available.
Kathrens called the Bouvry Exports Shelby facility in an attempt to negotiate purchase of the 37 horses. The woman who answered the phone would not confirm that the horses had arrived in Shelby and told Kathrens that “these horses were rounded up and removed for slaughter and that is where they are going.” Kathrens offered to pay more than the going price and was told that this was not possible. “I was shaking when I got off the phone,” Kathrens said. “To think that this could be happening sickens me.”
Kim Michels of Red Lodge, MT, purchased all that appears to have survived of the small herd, four tiny foals born this year. “We will do all we can to see that these babies not only survive but thrive as a fitting legacy to their lost freedom and their families,” said Michels. The foals were rescued by Stacey Newby, co-owner of the Worland Livestock Auction, who fed and cared for the foals, bottle-feeding the tiniest, a 3-week-old filly. The foals are now in the care of equine veterinarian, Lisa Jacobson, in Colorado.
TCF continues to investigate the legality of what appears to be a carefully planned and executed operation at taxpayer expense. “Was it legal?” Kathrens questions. “It is clear to me that it was not moral and certainly inhumane. I do not believe that American taxpayers want their money spent to roundup and send horses to slaughter.”
Related articles
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
I thought this was the “Year of the Horse.” It’s starting out pretty crappy.
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Meeting scheduled on April 4, 2014. Go to this page and ask them why our Wild Horses were shipped to slaughter. @NRDems and https://www.facebook.com/NRDems
Hearing
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Legislative Hearing
WHAT: Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Legislative Hearing on:
H.R. ___ (Bishop), To amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to improve consistency and accountability in the collection and expenditure of Federal recreation fees, and for other purposes.
H.R. 2743 (Nugent), To make the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available at a discount to certain veterans. “Veterans Eagle Parks Pass Act”
H.R. 3976 (Ruiz), To provide for a lifetime National Recreational Pass for any veteran with a service-connected disability, and for other purposes. “Wounded Veterans Recreation Act
WHERE: 1324 Longworth House Office Building, US Capitol Complex, Washington DC
WHEN:9:00AM, Friday, April 4, 2014
Please add your twitter address for YOUR rep in this questions as well!
Please ask @NRDems @RepPeterDeFazio why Wild Horses were sent to slaughter. http://goo.gl/Dt7lvN
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Who do we call. ?
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call your Senators and Representative to complain about how BLM sent wild horses to slaughter and about the waste of taxpayer funds.
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Meeting scheduled on April 4, 2014. Go to this page and ask them why our Wild Horses were shipped to slaughter. @NRDems and https://www.facebook.com/NRDems
Hearing
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Legislative Hearing
WHAT: Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Legislative Hearing on:
H.R. ___ (Bishop), To amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to improve consistency and accountability in the collection and expenditure of Federal recreation fees, and for other purposes.
H.R. 2743 (Nugent), To make the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available at a discount to certain veterans. “Veterans Eagle Parks Pass Act”
H.R. 3976 (Ruiz), To provide for a lifetime National Recreational Pass for any veteran with a service-connected disability, and for other purposes. “Wounded Veterans Recreation Act
WHERE: 1324 Longworth House Office Building, US Capitol Complex, Washington DC
WHEN:9:00AM, Friday, April 4, 2014
Please add your twitter address for YOUR rep in this questions as well!
Please ask @NRDems @RepPeterDeFazio why Wild Horses were sent to slaughter. http://goo.gl/Dt7lvN
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People need to start going to prison for this stuff and I hope one of these days one of the helicopters falls from the sky and all on board get slaughtered……….UGH! Anger over this and I would say more but out of respect for all who care I won’t. This is just horrible, I cannot even express what I am feeling publicly without bringing notice to myself but I hope one of these days these killers pay dearly.
I am glad the sweet babies were saved at least. No more comments or I will sound insane, which is exactly how I am feeling over this right now.
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I am soooo bloody mad about this, and I reported to closest OIG office to Agent Graziano. You can do that as well! This is the official office of the Inspector General that will conduct an investigation into this crime.
Interior, Department of
Mary L. Kendall, Acting Inspector General
Main Phone Number: (202) 208-5745
Mailing Address: 1849 C Street, N.W.; Mail Stop 4428; Washington, D.C. 20240
Hotline Number: (800) 424-5081
Anyone with knowledge of fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct or mismanagement
involving the U.S. Department of the Interior should call or write the Office of Inspector General’s Hotline (please choose the method of contact which best suits you):
Telephone – OIG Hotline’s Toll Free Number: 1-800-424-5081
Fax – Complete and submit the Complaint Form to:
(703)487-5402 (Attention: Hotline Operations)
US Mail – Complete and submit the Complaint Form to:
U.S. Department of the Interior
Office of Inspector General
1849 C Street, NW
MS-4428
Washington, DC 20240
Attention: Hotline Operations
E-mail – Complete and submit the Complaint Form by pressing the submit button below:
You may also report fraudulent activities to the nearest regional OIG offices at the following locations:
Eastern Regional Office, Herndon, Virginia (703) 487-8057
Central Regional Office, Lakewood, Colorado (303) 236-8296
Western Regional Office, Sacramento, California (916) 978-5630
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In case anyone wants to send an email and you get lost…which is so easy to do with our HUGE government…I found this link. It will take you to Office of the Inspector General of DOI. Every branch of government has its own OIG.
Just trying to be helpful…
http://www.doi.gov/oig/index.cfm
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Meeting scheduled on April 4, 2014. Go to this page and ask them why our Wild Horses were shipped to slaughter. @NRDems and https://www.facebook.com/NRDems
Hearing
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Legislative Hearing
WHAT: Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Legislative Hearing on:
H.R. ___ (Bishop), To amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to improve consistency and accountability in the collection and expenditure of Federal recreation fees, and for other purposes.
H.R. 2743 (Nugent), To make the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available at a discount to certain veterans. “Veterans Eagle Parks Pass Act”
H.R. 3976 (Ruiz), To provide for a lifetime National Recreational Pass for any veteran with a service-connected disability, and for other purposes. “Wounded Veterans Recreation Act
WHERE: 1324 Longworth House Office Building, US Capitol Complex, Washington DC
WHEN:9:00AM, Friday, April 4, 2014
Please add your twitter address for YOUR rep in this questions as well!
Please ask @NRDems @RepPeterDeFazio why Wild Horses were sent to slaughter. http://goo.gl/Dt7lvN
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Reblogged this on Pass the SAFE Act! and commented:
This is a crime and must be reported and as a citizen of the United States of America and as shareholders that have a right to ask that they are protected using our tax dollars and according to this report and the investigation of the Cloud Foundation, a crime has been committed and this must be stopped!
https://www.doioig.gov/hotlinecomplaint_form.aspx
Regarding the article posted by Greybull Standard (see http://www.greybullstandard.com/?p=2364) it is clearly stated in their article that the BLM rounded up wild horses and stated that they were NOT wild, but domesticated horses.
The Wild Horse and Burro Act states;
Sec. 2. As used in this Act-
“Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior when used in connection with public lands administered by him through the Bureau of Land Management and the Secretary of Agriculture in connection with public lands administered by him through the Forest Service;
“wild free-roaming horses and burros” means all unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros on public lands of the United States;….
http://www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/92-195.htm
According to this news report, these wild horses were on public land and were rounded up and sent to slaughter according to Sara Beckwith, an employee with Cody BLM office.
This is a crime and must be reported and as a citizen of the United States of America and as shareholders using our tax dollars to keep them safe, a crime has been committed and this must be stopped!
https://www.doioig.gov/hotlinecomplaint_form.aspx
Regarding the article posted by Greybull Standard (see http://www.greybullstandard.com/?p=2364) it is clearly stated in their article that the BLM rounded up wild horses and stated that they were NOT wild, but domesticated horses.
The Wild Horse and Burro Act states;
Sec. 2. As used in this Act-
“Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior when used in connection with public lands administered by him through the Bureau of Land Management and the Secretary of Agriculture in connection with public lands administered by him through the Forest Service;
“wild free-roaming horses and burros” means all unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros on public lands of the United States;….
http://www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/92-195.htm
According to this news report, these wild horses were on public land and were rounded up and sent to slaughter according to Sara Beckwith, an employee with Cody BLM office.
This is the official office of the Inspector General that will conduct an investigation into this crime.
Interior, Department of
Mary L. Kendall, Acting Inspector General
Main Phone Number: (202) 208-5745
Mailing Address: 1849 C Street, N.W.; Mail Stop 4428; Washington, D.C. 20240
Hotline Number: (800) 424-5081
Anyone with knowledge of fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct or mismanagement
involving the U.S. Department of the Interior should call or write the Office of Inspector General’s Hotline (please choose the method of contact which best suits you):
Telephone – OIG Hotline’s Toll Free Number: 1-800-424-5081
Fax – Complete and submit the Complaint Form to:
(703)487-5402 (Attention: Hotline Operations)
US Mail – Complete and submit the Complaint Form to:
U.S. Department of the Interior
Office of Inspector General
1849 C Street, NW
MS-4428
Washington, DC 20240
Attention: Hotline Operations
E-mail – Complete and submit the Complaint Form by pressing the submit button below:
You may also report fraudulent activities to the nearest regional OIG offices at the following locations:
Eastern Regional Office, Herndon, Virginia (703) 487-8057
Central Regional Office, Lakewood, Colorado (303) 236-8296
Western Regional Office, Sacramento, California (916) 978-5630
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Too late to call today. I will try to get brave tomorrow and call.
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Epona, I just read the Greybull article you posted (thanks for doing that) and it isn’t clear to me who hired who to round up these horses. Did the BLM pay or get paid to have Cattoor’s round up these supposedly privately owned horses?
If they weren’t BLM horses why was the BLM even involved is one question.
Another is, who paid for the roundup.
And another is, who pocketed the cash for selling these horses.
And… where is the Humane Society if these are supposedly domestic horses???
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BLM worked in conjunction with the Wyoming Livestock Board, using the reasoning by that board as the impetus to round them up. If you were to look behind the curtain, so to speak, you would clearly see what rancher requested that they be removed, in order to allow more cattle to graze. It is easy to see if the contract was paid by BLM by looking through these contracts for Cattoor here under this link, http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/procurement_default at the bottom of page, look for Federal Procurement Data System (FDPS) https://www.fpds.gov/fpdsng_cms/index.php/en/ once there, in the search bar put in Cattoor, and make sure you select DOI, and you will see all contracts for Cattoor’s service. You can create a .pdf as well. I would upload what I have, but not sure how to do that. Wyoming Dept. of Livestock brand inspector Frank Barrett is the person on scene for this, and helped the BLM to commit this crime and the other complicit party is the auction house, http://www.lmaauctions.com/MarketDetails.aspx?k=%7B69FAF1FF-7E35-4DA2-A819-76B73CDA0B7E%7D. Lastly, I sent information to HSUS and told them about this, and you are right about why cruelty laws did not come into play, but then again, with the duality of horses being considered “Livestock” and per the FDA, “Companions” it makes it extremely difficult to prove abuse.or cruelty I hope this helps everyone, but more importantly, please call the Office of Inspector General and file a complaint. We need more complaints to really show solidarity that we will not tolerate this type of behavior by our government any longer.
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Here is the Info for Inspector general
Phone # 1-800-447-8477
Fax # 1-800-223-8164
Mail
US Dept of Health &Human Services
Office of Inspector General
Attn: OIG Hotline Operations
PO Box 23489
Washington , DC 20026
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Meeting scheduled on April 4, 2014. Go to this page and ask them why our Wild Horses were shipped to slaughter. @NRDems and https://www.facebook.com/NRDems
Hearing
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Legislative Hearing
WHAT: Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Legislative Hearing on:
H.R. ___ (Bishop), To amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to improve consistency and accountability in the collection and expenditure of Federal recreation fees, and for other purposes.
H.R. 2743 (Nugent), To make the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available at a discount to certain veterans. “Veterans Eagle Parks Pass Act”
H.R. 3976 (Ruiz), To provide for a lifetime National Recreational Pass for any veteran with a service-connected disability, and for other purposes. “Wounded Veterans Recreation Act
WHERE: 1324 Longworth House Office Building, US Capitol Complex, Washington DC
WHEN:9:00AM, Friday, April 4, 2014
Please add your twitter address for YOUR rep in this questions as well!
Please ask @NRDems @RepPeterDeFazio why Wild Horses were sent to slaughter. http://goo.gl/Dt7lvN
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IcySpots – did you get the brand inspector didn’t know Bouvry was in the slaughter business? Wouldn’t you think he would be aware of that? The horses had been there for 40 YEARS? How does that make them domestic? Does the BLM (or ranchers) think we ALL drink the koolaid? Guess so.
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I AM SO MAD AND SAD,CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT ABSOLUTE FER THOSE HORSES FELT…. I CAN’T ! and remember in the story above those unclaimed horses had been there some 40 years ??? why bother them now ,ooooohhh the jerks!!!!!!
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I understand that anger oh too well. One of the many, many reasons that I insist on speaking for them. Be sure to read how you can help them as well. Several avenues are available, we all just need to use them so that they understand that there really are 80% of against all of this abuse.
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Blatantly Illegal????Yes who do we call ?????? How long are we going to let this Happen????????????Cant help but think , we are responsible , we let this ATROCITY continue !!!!!!
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The Sheriff has lots of power in many incidences, If i am not mistaken, there are many things he can also do, they went over his head !!!! This will not sit well with him !!!!!
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Oh no. Whatever became of that NAS report? Just ignore it is the policy of the Interior?
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Cody, Wyomng field office: 307578-5900. Mike Stewart is the field manger!! Is there any way that these innocents can be saved!! Cruel, underhanded!!! Makes one cry and furious!!
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This is purely outrageous. I have shared in hopes more people will rise up with their own indignation. I see the comments here include names and addresses of whom we could contact. I a so angry now I’m not sure I can even get the words out. But unless this is made so much more public, what good are laws if here are monsters out there so willing to break them? I’m sorry. I just can’t believe this happened.
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If humanity isn’t careful, such actions, along with the abandonment of horse care from pleasure riding to used-up racehorses and city patrols because of rising costs in challenging economics, horses will become an endangered species … horses, whose very existence greatly altered and advanced humanity’s quality of life. Be careful people … be very careful.
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God bless those who help preserve…God damn those who choose to destroy!
Is this the test case to see just how angry the American people will get should they decide to begin the Holocaust?
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The lying POS. The BLM states they will never ship wild horses to slaughter. Caught for the 2nd time. I’m so damn mad.
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No Maggie this happened MANY times. H Alan Day talks about how BLM took 700 wild horses from him. These horses were part of the first wild horse sanctuary in South Dakota. Those horses were originally not deemed adoptable–lame, blind in one eye, not pretty etc. All of a sudden they were deemed adoptable.
Others have reported how they’ve heard stock trailers coming in and out of PVC all night long. Horses disappear. Why do you think those horses are kept in long term hlding and we arent allowed to visit?
Tom Davis sent 1700 horses to their deaths with tacit approval by BLM. And Debbie Coffey found 45 other horses sent to their deaths.
I wish I were allowed to use the words I really feel but then RT would be forced to ban me. And he’d be horrified by the language to boot!
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So very awful!!!!! I just cannot understand how terrible people can be to horses! The BLM must be held accountable and those who decided that this was the “only” way that these horses were to be handle, they should be prosecuted for violating the law!!! What a disgusting department!!!
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This is terrible news…it looks like the one in charge at the BLM wanted or needed the money and had no care as to the welfare of the wild horses ! We need to remove or replace everyone at the BLM and have people there that care for the welfare of the wild horses and burros.
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I am sick of these government leaders and ranchers who would kill their own relatives to earn money for these ranchers. Shame on them all.
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Horses must have Vet Certificates before slaughter? Is this correct?
Hust because the BLM decides to label them Estray does that mean they are?
If they are really horses turned loose by owners onto Federal Land then how can they be sure they have not received drugs not for use in animals for human consumption?
Did the missing Palomino Valley Horses go with them?
Contact VP Biden along with the DOJ about this unlawful act upon the American Public.
God save our helpless,voiceless creatures from these evil,bloodthirsty departments of our Governement.
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As usual, when they think they won’t be caught, they break the law. The horses made a tidy little bump to all their income this month. Bastards. Separating mares from their newborn foals, did they castrate the stallions and transport? What the hell kind of belly crawlers are amongst us – talking the rational “be diplomatic” line of crap, surely there is a good reason this happened. Bullshit! Hear the whispering of deceit!?!
Palomino Valley is almost clear of two pens of horses. WHERE did they go. I’ve seen “they went to adoption venues,” “TIP trainers can get up to 4.”.
BLM Advocacy in Sacramento April 14-15. Please compose and send comments. Please call your Washington rep and demand the end to horse slaughter. Of course, laws don’t matter – BLM/FS will somehow find a way to get them over the border. But with a law, we can prosecute. Please do contact the Inspector General as well, this incident MUST jerk the covers off these bastards. All of them. I can’t imagine the heartsick Ginger is going through after trying to save them. Obvously, they were rushed through, hide the dirt. Thank you to whoever tipped off the crime in progress.
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Is there no way to file a class action lawsuit against the BLM for violating the law in this situation? These *#**# morons all need to be removed from working for the BLM and replaced with people who actually care about the environment and the living beings in it. This article made me cry. Rot in hell all who work for the BLM who approve of these actions, for you are destroying God’s work on earth.
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Oh Lord let me know. I don’t have a lot of funds and I don’t care about tax deduction, but I’d be willing to chip in ten dollars. Hopefully combined with other people’s ten dollars we can a nest egg to sue the bejabbers outta these cretins.
I’d also LOVE to sue the dog that told Ginger since the horses were sold for meat that’s whats going to happen.
As for BLM the only transparent thing about them is there willingness to subvert the law. They are transparent as mud.
I’m so angry I could spit.
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Dear Margaret, I also am so upset about this , i could spit nails !!and that so called woman who answered that Phone should be tarred and feathered and run out of Canada !!!!!
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Vickie, what about getting ProPublic or DemocracyNow on this story? Dave Phillips broke the Tom Davis sleight-of-hand in CO, are there any reporters left in WY worthy of the name who would investigate this, or are they all bought off too?
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I have contacted the President, Vice President, and my representatives about this issue. I have also started a petition on Care2Causes to be sent to the Office of the Inspector General to hold the BLM accountable for the illegal sale of horses to slaughter. I have also lodged a complaint on the BLM’s own website. I urge everyone who cares about this issue to contact everyone you know, and urge them to contact everyone they know, and flood the emails and phones of all government officials protesting the actions of the BLM.
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Is this anywhere near the Powder River Basin in which BLM is illegally selling coal, below market price, for export. Wild Earth Guardians just sent an alert out.
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Rumor has it that hotshot truckers are being hired to transport horses to plants. We got word from a truck driver yesterday that he was hired to hotshot drive. We informed him its a
Illegal to transport Illinois horses knowingly to slaughter. Be aware stealth operations are being lined up daily to truck via livestock trailers pulled by private owned trucks not semis to meet up points and unknown destinations. Just a FYI. As for the BLM….when does law enforcement get to conduct a blm roundup of personnel by helicopter for animal cruelty? Just saying….
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I’m so sad for these innocents……… . America has it’s very own “Taiji Cove”, but instead of dolphins it’s wild horses. I’m so beyond mad…just want the m***** f****** responsible to pay and I want their lying murderous faces plastered on billboards.
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This needs to go viral and get picked up by the news services! Unless/ until the individuals responsible for this heinous and illegal act are charged, arrested and tried in public view this behavior will continue unrequited. The Interior Department, especially the BLM, is out of control and MUST be reined in and cleansed of its corrupt officials and employees. Sadly I believe that this once great nation is destined to continue its slide into corrupt decadence and all to soon its citizens will be the subjects of a fascist police state. As a military veteran I am outraged by this! Who/what was I defending?
~”When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross.” – Sinclair Lewis~
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wow…I have to agree with everything you said….
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Darrell, thanks for your service.
I can assure you some of who you defended were worth it but we rarely make the headlines. Be strong and be vigilant.
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Reblogged this on "OUR WORLD".
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Well “executed” is the correct word for this action.
Is this part of the $12 million let for helicopter services a few weeks ago? Surely this roundup had been planned for a while?
In Colorado they have to post notices for a certain number of days (I’d have to look up the exact figure) for any estray horses found, then there is a process for selling them to the highest bidder.
In this case it seems to have been a calculated and well-timed execution to get horses off the range just as spring growth starts up.
I hadn’t heard about the horses gone from PVC but am now thinking I saw three big stock trailers heading to NW CO on Saturday, empty. Are there any horses still in the pens in Rock Springs? Hope those rigs were hired to move livestock, not haul horses to slaughter.
Is there any legal action which can be pursued in WY? If these lost horses were estrays they should have been held for a time, if they are wild then clearly some laws were broken and somebody made money at taxpayer expense. There is also the question of Humane care… if these were domestic animals then yanking three week old foals off their screaming moms surely crossed a line? If wild, then there was no public announcement or process either, but obviously this was planned in advance. Are there any cameras at the border crossings?
How can we fire the BLM? Does anyone know if there are mechanisms to disband a corrupt and out of control department? I am serious here… we are all being played for fools by this “management” regime. The question is how can we stop it? None of my legislators will even take a philosophical position on matters concerning wild horses, I just get sugar coated sweet nothings from them.
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And the Spirit of Slaughterhouse Sue lives on in Wyoming. (I only wish that this was a cruel April fools message).
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This is just sickening.
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Monsters! Will not “like” this, ever.
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Call and email your senators and representatives…ASAP
http://www.contactingthecongress.org/
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I emailed my 2 senators & the 1 representative. Both the senators have signed the SAFE act – not the rep.
Honestly, don’t feel that contacting the BLM does any good. But I will anyway.
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Call the white house 1 202 456 1111 message center tell them what the BLM has done …in direct conflict with the laws of the wild horses, sending them to slaughter.
.
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Dear Daryl, Emailed Jane Velez Mitchell, President Obama, Rob Portman here in Ohio and Sherrod Brown, tomorrow calling the White house Comment line !!!!! I am hoping everyone here does the same in there State……………..
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Call the New York Times writer that did the expose on the abuse in the Asmussen TB barn! Let the Times sink their teeth into this one! It will certainly get a large audience – and possibly more enraged Americans taking action to stop this crap from happening. My heart is breaking that these horses weren’t even given a couple days to be rescued. Sickening!
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Joe Drape would not be interested. He’s worse than PETA cause he sold out to them.
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No surpraise, our Government cares nothing for wild life or the enviorment Money is the name of the game.
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Has anyone attempted to buy them from the Canadian slaughterhouse. Maybe they are there waiting their horrible fate. Can someone close check this out and if they are still there, would it be possible for Ms. Kathrens to purchase them as she wanted to do earlier. His is horrible. What a disgrace. These BLM people are running amuck and they need to be stopped at all costs. They are brutal murderers. To take these horses away from their babies is disgusting. They need someone to do the same to them for this disgraceful act. How can these people get away with this. This is America’s icon and we need to STOP IT NOW!
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Added comment: Can we publish all the names of the people associated with this travesty?
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so sad and so despicable that this government agency can wield its power without control and continues to have little regard for all animals and the environment…and Canada ‘s slaughterhouse needs to be shut down!
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If we are going to solve this problem, we need to address the structure that exists that appears to have both undermined and created a de facto repeal of the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act with the signing of the 1997 International Plant Protection Convention This treaty went into full force on October 2, 2005, the same fiscal year that the Senator Reid initiated Burns rider removed protections from America’s wild horses and burros. Realizing that the expectation for alien, invasive, animal species that are plant pests. Having been subjected to the scheming and demeaning of people and animals that pose a threat to his continuing ability to deliver access to America’s natural resources to those in the 1% who are willing to spend some of their blood red profits funding the tin men and women that step out of the way while Senator Reid helps these people become wealthier and wealthier.
Senator Reid can talk all he wants about Koch-a-topia, but it will not change the facts that he has been running a high stakes poker game with the public lands where our wild horses and burros were provided with the right to remain in the home lands where they and their ancestors roamed over the past 55 million years. If Senator Reid and any of his fellow funded with horse with NATIVE,wild horse blood money Senators, had a clue about science and just how big their betrayal of America is, they might think about just what it is that they are really destroying.
Got to love his obsession with Koch science, like the Koch’s could buy something that any trained 12 year old could figure out after being taught how to do research and what kind of information should be present. I suppose if you got passed all the fundamental pieces of a study or an experiment needs to be part of a valid and reliable fact based research article, including providing in text citations, footnotes, end notes, and references, and you come across a federal law based on an international treaty that has the intention to prevent, control, and eradicate our federally protected wild hrses and burros as well as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, grey wolves, dogs, and cats, but there is not a single source in the report that addresses the origin or any of these species that the FWS, TNC, and IUCN plans to eradicate on the basis of the species not originating where it is found. Now that is what I call real solid science. This is what a cartoonist used to title his strip, a non sequitar.
An international treaty is, at least in some cases, sovereign to U.S. law—which would explain why the 1971 WFRHB Act hasn’t been enforced since 2005. Under the IPPC, the Department of Agriculture is the agency of authority for alien, invasive, animal species that are pest of plants in the United States. Specifically, APHIS is assigned the listing responsibility. Based on a 2007 article produced by the USDA APHIS and Wildlife Services on the management of terrestrial vertebrates, it appears that the person that we should address is not Secretary Jewell, but Secretary Vilsack.
When the Sheldon horses were removed, a blogger was directed to the Food and Agriculture Organization located in an adjoining state. The author wrote that the FAO told her that the Sheldon Wildlife Refuge was created for purposes that did not include wild horses—the FAO is not an agency of the United States government. The FAO is the the acronym for the Food and Agriculture Organization International that rewrote the IPPC in such a way that the UN CBD Article 8 (h) would be included in it as well.
Therefore, we may want to consider petitioning Secreatary Vilsack and then Sec. Jewell as well as FWS Department Head Dan Ashe. We have tried going through Interior for the past six or seven years, and there is no doubt that the FWS and the NPS have actively partnered with those behind this for decades, but we haven’t tried the U.S.D.A. Call your Congressman or Congresswomen. It seems if we signed an international treaty in good faith only to realize that the science behind it had to be created in order to find a rationale for removing species that some Americans did not to live—even though they had been there millions of years.
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past not passed
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Compared to rest of the “$ix figure” roundups, this was pocket change.
The contract was signed on February 20, 2014 and rounded up on March 18.
There was PLENTY of time for Public Notice
The legality of this roundup should be questioned and someone should be held accountable.
http://usaspending.gov/search?form_fields=%7B%22search_term%22%3A%22cattoor%22%7D&sort_by=dollars&per_page=25&page=1
Transaction # 179 (Delivery Order)
IDVPIID/PIID/MOD: INL10PC00593 / INL14PD00134 / 0
Recipient: CATTOOR LIVESTOCK ROUNDUP INC
475 S 200 W, NEPHI, Utah
Program Source: 14-1109
Department/Agency: Department of Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Product/Service: F016: NATURAL RESOURCES/CONSERVATION- WILDHORSE/BURRO CONTROL
Description: SHEEP MOUNTAIN ESTRAY HORSE GATHER IGF::OT::IGF
Signed Date:
02-20-2014
Obligation Amount:
$31,828
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Louie, from the link you provided it looks like the Cattoors have been paid over $28,000,000 in 499 transactions with our Government.
$28 MILLION??? For a few thousand horses???? WTF????
Blood money looks like big business for somebody
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http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/offices.html
State Director: Don Simpson
Wind River/Bighorn Basin District
District Manager: Steve Dondero
E-mail: Worland_WYMail@blm.gov
101 South 23rd Street
Worland, WY 82401
Phone: 307-347-5100
Fax: 307-347-5228
Field Manager: Mike Stewart
E-mail: Cody_WYMail@blm.gov
1002 Blackburn Street
Cody, WY 82414
Phone: 307-578-5900
Fax: 307-578-5939
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You’re right, IcySpots….BLOOD MONEY
The Plight of Horses in Bouvry’s Slaughter Pipeline
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs161/1101655399670/archive/1111647580202.html
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Bar S Feedlot Shelby, MT
http://www.animalsangels.org/investigations/horses/bar-s-feedlot-shelby-mt-10-10-13
The Bar S Feedlot serves as Bouvry’s collecting station for horses purchased for him across the United States. They are kept in the feedlot for several weeks to be fattened up. The feedlot holds close to 1700 horses at any given time. Once they are deemed “ready”, they are transported across the border to Bouvry’s Alberta slaughter plant in Fort McLeod.
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Louie, does this mean the horses just rounded up may still be alive?
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Link for Inspector General oig.hhs.gov/
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This is disgusting! This is not management, this is massacre. When are the people of this country going to wake up and realize that they are destroying the entire world they live in? I love horses, but it’s not just about horses anymore. It’s about our government controlling our lives. And we pay them with our tax dollars to do it. When will it end? It’s time for a new president; someone who will fight back for the rights of the American people, and our constitutional rights. I am so glad my life is two-thirds over, but I fear for future generations to come.
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The Wyoming 37 are just the tip of the iceberg!!! ‘Tis the season for roundups on public and private grazing lands all over the West. The vast majority will go to their deaths unrecognized.
Unlike this subterfuge, a BLM employee called ME several days ago to ask if the New Mexico Estray Equine Fund could help find homes for mustangs (unprotected, free-roaming horses) they’re REQUIRED to remove from allotments when they receive complaints. He doesn’t want to see them go to slaughter.
The NM Livestock Board is REQUIRED to remove them from non-public lands. Many of them don’t want to see horses go to slaughter either.
THE FUND DOESN’T HAVE THE MONEY TO BUY THEM OR A PLACE TO PUT THEM! We’re having a real challenge getting donations for two we’ve had for a month! The purchase is just the beginning of the expense.
Robert Redford and Bill Richardson were in NM when they made some pretty bold statements against slaughter. Now they seem to be MIA. If we want to prove we can deal with a post-SAFE U.S., we don’t have the luxury of going missing.
The following are posted on the New Mexico Livestock Board website:
“NOTICE: 13 equine taken up on 3/31/2014: Bay stud, star, wht both hind; Palomino filly, star, strip, partial snip; Bay mare, no wht; Bay filly, no wht; Bay mare, no wht; Black stud, no wht; Bay filly, no wht; Red roan mare, wht face; Bay filly, no wht; Bay mare, star; Bay stud, star, strip, snip, wht both hind; Black mare, no wht; Bay filly, wht right fore, both hind. All horses impounded by US Forest Service in Otero County. All horses are unbranded. NOTICE EXPIRATION DATE: 04/05/2014”
“NOTICE: One (1) bay mare and one (1) chestnut mare picked up 3/31/14 off of 86 Camino Redondo. NOTICE EXPIRATION DATE: 04/06/2014”
After midnight on the 5th or 6th, they’ll either be run through the next auction or bought directly from wherever they’re located. Mexico is just down the road. Guess where most of them will likely end up. We can still save these horses, but they’re running out of time!!!
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Celebrities and politicians who are “Cardiac” Advocates. They “feel it in their heart” for the horses and burros but do not ACT for them. When was the last time you heard of a check from either of these boys, and I do mean boys, or saw them at a Hearing, a cattleguard, or in front of a camera making a difference?
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I got a response from BLM email I sent!
Hello Maggie,
Thank you for your email about the estray horse gather that took place March 18-19. I thought it might be helpful if I sent you some information.
The horses that were gathered were unauthorized domestic horses – the offspring of abandoned rodeo stock. They were not federally protected wild horses under the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act as they were not part of a BLM-managed herd management area. They were domestic horses that had been in trespass on public lands for many years. The original owner, although he claimed the horses as his private property, was unable to control them anymore. He passed away several years ago and the estray horses went unclaimed.
The State of Wyoming does not round up horses themselves but, under the state estray laws, after the BLM captures them the state has the responsibility to take possession of them. The public was notified that the estray horses would be removed by the Notice of Intent to Impound, which was published in the Greybull, Lovell, Cody and Powell newspapers and posted in local post offices prior to the gather. This trespass impoundment was conducted like any other trespass or unauthorized use according to the Code of Federal Regulations: 43 CF 4150.4—the same process would be followed for cattle or sheep in trespass.
After notice was published, all affected parties notified and the horses gathered, the impounded livestock were transferred to the State of Wyoming under their state estray laws. The district brand supervisor took possession of the horses at the trap site and arranged transportation to the Worland auction yard.
For questions regarding the disposition of the horses following the point that the district brand supervisor took possession of the horses, including the sale of the horses, please contact the Wyoming State Brand Commissioner at 307-777-6439.
Sarah Beckwith
Public Affairs, BLM Wyoming
Wind River/Bighorn Basin District
307.347.5207 / 307.287.3675
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Maggie, looks like you got the BLM pass the buck response that they are famous for. I have contacted both ProPublic and DemocracyNow to see if someone will get the word out about the mismanagement at the BLM. These horses fit the criteria of wild if they are unbranded and unclaimed horses that have been in that area for many years. I hope everyone will not let the BLM lie their way out of this one. Isn’t there any brave young lawyers out there who would like to make a name for themselves by tackling the mismanagement of an agency of the United States government?
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Vickie – exactly what I figured – did send her a reply! Havent heard anything back from that – nor do I expect to. This is SHAMEFUL – if they get away with it (again) it will keep happening!
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It seems to me that if these are “the offspring of abandoned rodeo stock” – how many YEARS have they been running wild in this area? There has to have been a stallion with them (rodeo stock?) or there wouldn’t have been 4 foals in the herd. Also seems odd that no advocates saw these ads that were published – since Ginger already knew of these horses – she wouldn’t have ignored these notices. Odd…
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Yep standard BLM, Bull—- lies, …………………….
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hey just wanted to let you know have written to rep.s in the state of texas , i’m still stunned over this . that n/r/d peter defazio pg. on facebook i read most of the page and when i went bk . to reread the pg. they had already deleted my comments so anyway the democretans had all this planned before jan.12 to clear the land of all OBSTICALLLLLS IT’S half way down is pg .on the right hand side collumn readying everything for the big oil boom the wolves,, bison, pumas,all taking big hits, ya”ll send me some good news
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Reblogged this on cindymendoza47 and commented:
just wrong!!!!
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IcySpots…as far as the Horses still being alive…I don’t know. All I know is that those Horses have been sent to Horse Hell and I don’t understand why the offer to purchase them was refused. It has happened before…all done with taxpayer dollars.
From PUBLIC EMPLOYEES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY (PEER)
Anatomy of a Coverup within the BLM (April 1997)
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) within the Department of Interior is the agency mandated by law “to protect and manage wild free-roaming horses…as components of the public lands.” Yet, the BLM has tolerated and in some instances facilitated the routine and illegal trafficking of wild horses to slaughter. The agency has obstructed efforts by its own law enforcement officers to expose commercial theft of wild horses, fraudulent adoption schemes and fictitious “sanctuary” herds not only to avoid embarrassment but also to maintain the flow of horses off the range.
Click to access 1997_horses_to_slaughter.pdf
(excerpt)
This report is not as much about horses as it is about human integrity. The documents in this report detail the inability of the Department of Interior to police its own misconduct. Consequently, the failings reported are not principally those of the Wild Horse & Burro program but are those of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Law Enforcement program, the Department of Interior Inspector General, the Office of the Solicitor and the Secretary of Interior, himself.
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Sounds like an immediate executive order for Complete Dismissal of the BLM by Mr, President??????
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Arlene:
I’m with you. WE need to demand that the BLM be dissolved, all employees fired and never to work for a government agency again, and replace with people that have compassion for our four legged animals and not just cattle. We need to force someone to look for the whereabouts of these animals that we taken from Wyoming and forcefully take them. Let all the people and companies handling them so far take a loss. What SOB’s we have in this nation that would do this.
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“Originally posted in response to Tainted Meat article”
I’m not suggesting something that would kill people; just something that would make them violently ill. Maybe a better idea would be to develop something that would make horse meat taste disgusting.
Another suggestion is to use a portion of all breed registrations, show fees and race purses to take care of America’s wild equines, and domestic rescues. I would be willing to have an option to donate a percentage of my tax return for this purpose. Maybe with the funds available the BLM could actually do the job that they are being paid to do with your tax dollars already, instead of wasting taxpayer dollars for rounding up, holding, and apparently selling horses to slaughter. Judging by how much the BLM has already spent on helicopter roundup and hotshot truckers, they do need some oversight on appropriate uses for tax dollars. Make significant portions of the public rangelands only to be used for the horses and burros; NO cattle or other livestock allowed. Increase the lease fees for welfare ranchers and enforce it, and significantly restrict leases for other natural resources to areas that are not sustainable to most wildlife.
There needs to be a new head of the BLM. Someone who can stand up to the special interest groups and do the job that the American Public have entrusted to them.
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Our government is evil and while not all BLM employees are heartless, it does seem the vast majority are. Vickie, love your idea! Something like bute that is safe for horses, that stays in their tissue and that makes people who eat it violently ill. It wouldn’t save the wild horses, but after enough people got sick, maybe the demand for horse meat would nose dive. I agree that a percentage of all breed registrations should go to support rescues for that breed and that a percentage of all track revenues should go to care for the TB’s and StandardBreds.
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The BLM loves to use the word Safety as their reason for pulling this herd. When researched it is usually clear that safety is just a go to for them and not a real concern. The problem lies at the top and until the paper pushers within the BLM leadership and DOI are held accountable…this will not end. The true answer is to increase public awareness which will put pressure on congress and DOI leadership to act. I thank all who watch out for our historical wild horses for they are a treasure that should be enjoyed by many generations that follow. With Drought in our future for the West, this battle is just beginning
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