Did BLM’s inept management of wild horses cause another 70 deaths? The BLM’s press release states 57 horses died, but then, an additional 13 mares that had to be euthanized. 57 + 13 = 70. Why is the contractor only being informed of the proper feed AFTER so many horses died?
These were most likely the wild horses that the BLM recently shipped from Teterville Long Term Holding in Kansas to the feedlot-like facility Scott City, Kansas. 57 horses (with another 13 in such bad shape that they needed to be euthanized, are a lot of horses to die in a short period of time. Another BLM “investigation?” There is very little accountability to the public. BLM’s Press Release is below this article. The BLM is having a one day tour for CREDENTIALED MEDIA, but apparently, nobody from any wild horse advocacy groups has been invited. We request an immediate public tour of this temporary short term holding facility. Tax dollars pay for this.
Mares look at the public on a BLM tour of Long Term Holding pastures in Kansas. (photo by Carol Walker)
BLM Investigated Wild Horse Deaths
SCOTT CITY, Kan.(WIBW)– The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is investigating the cause of death for 57 wild horses that had been transferred to a corral in Scott City.
The BLM manages over 49,000 wild horses and burros on range land and 47,000 in open pastures and corrals.
In March an contractor in Kansas notified the BLM would continue a contract for care, but for fewer animals.
On August 5th, the group that had received almost 1,500 mares notified the BLM that 57 of the transferred mares had died.
BLM personnel and a USDA Veterinarian began investigating the deaths and the facility.
Preliminary results indicate the deaths were due to the age of the animals and stress related to relocation and no infections or contagious diseases were involved.
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HERE’S THE PRESS RELEASE THAT THE BLM ISSUED:
| Release Date: 08/15/14 | ||||||
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BLM Investigates Wild Horse Deaths at Kansas Corral |
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| Scott City, Kan.—The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has launched an investigation into the cause of death for 57 wild horses that were recently transferred to a corral in Scott City, Kan. The BLM, which manages 49,200 wild horses and burros on the range and 47,300 in open pastures and corrals, strives to ensure that herd sizes on the range remain in a healthy balance with other public rangeland resources and uses and places a priority on the well-being of the animals in its care.After removal from the range, the BLM aims to place animals that are not adopted onto open pastures, often in the Midwest. | ||||||
In March 2014, an open-pasture contractor in Kansas informed the BLM that he would renew his existing five-year contract but for a significantly reduced number of horses, requiring the BLM to remove about 1,900 animals (1,500 mares and 400 geldings) by June 1, 2014.
Due to concerns about the older age of many of the animals and the stress associated with being moved, the BLM worked to find an appropriate facility as close as possible to the open pasture. The BLM located an in-state facility that could accommodate the animals and began moving 1,493 mares to the Scott City corral.
The transfers were completed on June 22.On Aug. 5, the contractor informed the BLM that a number of the transferred mares died between June 22 and Aug. 5; as of Aug. 15, a total of 57 transferred mares had died.
On Aug. 12, a team of BLM personnel and a veterinarian from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service arrived on site. The team is investigating the situation; determining the causes of death; evaluating the facility, the corral feed and feeding practices; and taking actions to support the short- and long-term needs of the horses. After arrival, the team euthanized an additional 13 mares that were determined to have little to no chance for survival due to health issues.Preliminary findings from the team’s USDA large animal veterinarian indicate that the animals died as a result of their age combined with stress from the recent relocation, the shift from pasture to corral environment and the change from pasture feed to processed hay feed.
There is no indication of infectious or contagious diseases being the cause.“Our team is working closely with the corral operator to make adjustments to the care of the animals,” said USDA veterinarian Dr. Al Kane, who is on the investigation team. “The horses have been fed three times a day since the beginning. In addition to increasing the amount of feed being offered during feedings, we’ve worked with the onsite veterinarian and the operator to increase the energy density of the horses’ feed by increasing the ratio of alfalfa to grass in the hay mix. This helps support the horses’ nutritional needs during the transition from open-pasture to the corral environment,” he added.
Once the investigation is concluded, the team will complete a report that will be made publicly available.
Credentialed media are invited to attend a facility tour on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014. Interested members of the press should contact Paul McGuire at (405) 826-3036 or pmcguire@blm.gov for additional information and details.
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Categories: Horse Health, Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
A little late in the game for this question but I really want to know:
WHY are older horses removed from the range in the first place?
The Bureau is ALWAYS looking for ways to curtail on-the-range populations. Does it never EVER occur to them that the Elderly have a limited time left, and removing them along with everything else they take does nothing but improve the per-head bounty for the contractor.
Man; I miss the days of ‘selective’ removals, when they didn’t take more than adoption would allow.
Also – really gotta issue with this:
“The BLM, which manages 49,200 wild horses and burros on the range…”
Where the hell do they get these numbers from???
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Lisa, I agree with you 100%. The BLM has NO PROOF that 49,000 wild horses and burros are on the range.
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Lisa, Long term holding, like this ranch the horses were on at Tetersville, is a ranch. the owners decide if they want or can have the horses on the pastures. Contrary to the media info ” the wild horses have a home forever” is not right. The BLM pays the ranchers to keep the horses there on their ranch. When the owners can no longer keep the wild horses, it causes the horses to be uprooted. BLM does not decide, the ranchers created this move. We seriously need some wealthy people to buy pasture land for these horses so they dont have to keep moving.
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Nona – one issue is that land in the Midwest – where these horses have been shipped – is expensive: 700 undeveloped acres averages about $500,000.
In Nevada, you can pick up 640 acres for about $69,000, depending on which county you prefer. And it makes more sense to keep them in the West, where they’ve evolved.
But yeah; we need us a Sugar Daddy.
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i would like to know that, too ,lisa. it just shows you how they have lie upon lie . you know when i say my prayers at night before i go to i know for a fact my mind is free from any faulty stories and i always say i’m sorry when i am wrong but these are just the stupidest fools to be running this dept. every day i am just in shock at s..t these people pull . i don’t know if i will get a response but i just now e-mailed this article to diane sawyer and abc news .she of all the newscasters has had the most to say about this debockle of an american tragedy. let me know if you would like me to send to more news outlets or if i even did the right thing .
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IN this case, one rancher selling, there was not a lot of time to find a place for the horses. would be cheaper to have the govt buy land for the horses since they cant leave them where they are suppose to be. I am sure the emergency ? situation created a hefty price; BUT hey, the horses deserve to have a place, just not sure this dive is worth it. Those at BlM are so trained to talk to us in the manner they do, because they are guilty of what has happened to these horses at their hands. I need to post my info on trying to get to see the horses and have tried since I found out they were removed; and were back at the west end of Kansas, moved when very hot here. They have no shade, no nothing. 😦
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What we all must remember is that in the FIRST PLACE THERE IS NO NEED FOR ANY REMOVELS !!!!!!This is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE SOMEBODY FIRE THESE MORONS !!!!! HOLY CRAP PEOPLE HOW LONG ARE WE GOING PUT UP WITH < THIS bunch of STUPID MORONS…….
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I totally agree with everyone here! Lies upon lies…. but our government has other priorities obviously here…. I just watched a program on AXS TV with Dan Rather about the situation with the Native Americans & the buffalo. It was amazing! Similar issues as with the wild horses & burros… If anyone gets a chance, please watch this doc & comment on it…Dan Rather is an incredible one to do interviews for the people who care about animals, such as Jane Velez!!
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Lies, lies and more lies from the human debris known as the BLM. What better way to destroy these horses then to ship them out, and unfortunately they die as a result of “who knows what” There will be no investigation, just BS stories. This is beyond cruel and disgusting considering how many horses are out there with no protection.. What does one do when the powers that be don’t gives a damn.
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Yes, this way, by insuring a very low level of care, if horses die they can just throw up their hands and say, ‘We didn’t know’ or ‘an unfortunate accident’ or my favorite ‘a learning opportunity’ all the while deliberately killing them indirectly. The BLM have a very poor reputation, and now they are getting involved in predator killing contests. I do not trust them.
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When I first heard of these removals I knew something was going to happen to these horses. The large number of removals did not make sense, it was done too quickly. I have zero trust in these miscreants. BLM wants to zero out these herds. I truly believe that they are on a mission to cut the cost they pay these ranchers to house them on their ranches, it is expensive, the only way to do that is to eliminate large numbers as quickly as they can. I’m sure the ranchers have been very happy taking the money, not likely they wanted to cut their profit.
BLM knows they are being watched and do not want to be caught selling direct to kill buyers, they have got away with it before, but things have changed.
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Yvon, we can’t even be sure they were delivered to that site once loaded, either, can we? Will the media be able to see the carcasses or burial pit containing such a large number of horses (basically two semi trailer loads, curiously).
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WTF? 57 horses died and of these, 13 euthanized because of age and “stress?” And their diets were altered after investigation… indicating they were not obtaining enough nutrition from what was already being provided… in the open air pasture – oh, wait, the corral – and there is no disease component???
If any US citizen did this they would be in jail for cruel and inhumane treatment leading to the death of 57 horses. How do 13 healthy horses suddenly become so hopeless they are euthanized for undefined “health issues?”
Without a confirmed disease epidemic, and with three months to establish a new place and move horses, the death of so many in just two weeks points to either poisoning or starvation, both instances in which the HSUS should step in. This works out to almost 4 horses per DAY dropping… why isn’t this place being quarantined and investigated? Perhaps there were beetles in the hay?
Outraged at this abomination, made worse by obscuring the truth when people were trying to find where those horses had gone. Without photos, do we even know if they died on site or were sent elsewhere to be “euthanized?” and perhaps rendered??? Transparent as mud.
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Another possible cause of such “stress” related health issues – WATER. Did they have any, enough, or was it contaminated? We need the press to investigate bigtime, and find the carcasses for testing. If you had horses nearby wouldn’t you be worrying about a mysterious epidemic?
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Hmm. One more idea. If these poor mares were indeed put into a “feedlot-like” facility, perhaps it was a cow feedlot prior. There are feed additives fed to feedlot cattle which are deadly poisons to horses, Rumensin being one. Will this investigation include sampling feed areas for toxins? The horse’s owners want to know.
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Sorry, I’m steamed! Is it time to demand contractors provide webcams on all LTH facilities now? Surely someone would have/could have/should have noticed before 57 horses were near death !?!
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The horses moved the very end of June. and into July. The counts will show up on the site in the July numbers. So I am told. We all know of the wild horses dying after a roundup or large move. it sounds like the people at the feed lot may have given them alfalfa and not slowly changed them from pasture to part alfalfa and gradually change the feed. I can not believe this was not addressed WHEN the horses arrived at the lot. This is a private owned feed lot, maybe they are paid to feed the horses and it is not blm staff. Shame on usda/ blm and whomever for not knowing better. If they have had cattle there at the feed lot, who knows, they may not know horses from pigs.
Wild horses stress over just being in pens, add to that the time of year, it was hot here. They die in the hundreds after roundups in the cold temps. The Ranchers that gave the horses a home, change their lives. The BLM did not go take them off the pasture. The fate of the wild horses depend on the owners of the Ranch land they are on. In this case 2 ranchers lives forced a change in the wild horses that have been on their property. Sadly older mares that enjoyed the lush pasture did not fare too good. Have you seen the pictures of the Teterville facility, I am sorry for horses having to move, but the land owners created this situation for the horses. 😦
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Nona, respectfully I disagree here. The landowners did not sign on for the last drop of their own lives, and people do divorce or die and property gets sold or used differently.
Putting the public’s horses into private hands is what created this deadly situation for the horses, and for all of us who pay for this “management.”
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the press release says
After arrival, the team euthanized an additional 13 mares that were determined to have little to no chance for survival due to health issues. So the total that died one way or another because of the stress of being in BLM captivity and then being moved… was SEVENTY. This is way beyond totally unacceptable.
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I have never thought that the BLM had the best interest at heart for the wild horses and burros, they are more interested in the grazing land for the large farm industries. Though I agree we need cattle and other farm products I don’t believe that our wild horses and burros should be the ones to lose! If they keep this up our grandchildren’s children will only know of the wild in books, this is a sad day when people are in it for the money and not for our national treasures. LEAVE THEM ALONE, the old and sick and the weak have always taken care of themselves we are taking their land not the other way around so BACK OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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These people are sociopaths as are many CEO and politicians. I no longer wonder why things are done to or not done to the wild horses and burros.
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The fact that the BLM organization is a proven group of LIARS makes me seriously consider the possibility that these horses were sent to slaughter…just like the other 41 or so that they snuck up to Montana and then to slaughter across the border. They succeeded in that endeavor and I’m sure they feel even more powerful because they did. I wouldn’t put anything past them, they have gotten away with nearly EVERY ugly inhumane thing that they’ve done to our wild ones. They NEED to be disbanded. They are as corrupt as hell.
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Gosh that’s a lot of horses
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I wish someone would have followed through on that Tom Davis investigation. And I’m sure there are plenty more like him doing the BLM’s dirty work.
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Ida, people tried but as I understand it they ran the clock out and he was never held accountable. Maybe he and Stan Palmer are having a beer someplace together, paid for with blood and tax money, ugh.
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I have to agree—-back door to the slaughter pipeline—the BLM are corrupte and out of control—and do what they do because they can—this video by the BLM is what they show the public, a propaganda video of the way it is supposed to work in a perfect world for our horses and burros- but we do not live in that perfect world-watch and see the way it is supposed to be even they admit it – then remember what our boots on the ground show us – if you are like me you will enjoy and be sick and sad at the same time – because it could be this way so very easy
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We need someone from OUR side to witness everything BLM does with the wild horses. Someone who can see if things are being done as promised. The BLM is so shady about this whole situation. It’s quite plausable that the horses that “died” or so they say, were put directly on two semi’s and taken by kill buyers. Nobody got to witness it but BLM. If they were above board then they’d let a committee for righteous transfer & safety, or whatever you want to call it go along with the horses. If they wanted to be sneaky and get rid of the 57….they sure had ample time and opportunity. Let’s make a petition so that we have someone or a group of overseers go with any horse transfers. That would make everybody happy….if the BLM is being honest…no problem. It won’t happen like this again. Why not???
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I am beyond Mad , we have got to deal with these unacceptable people, they are dropping our Mustangs like flies before our eyes, with absolutely no acceptable causes or reasons, these poor examples of feeling caring sub humans have got to go……………………………..somebody fire these imbicilles…………………………..
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These horses were on the Teterville property, which many of us visited 2 yrs. ago. the lush pastures were heaven to the mares, mostly the elder mares. Just like the roundups that occur in the cold, the horses then move into the holding pens, and boom, they start dying due to the change in feed, change in their habitat. Horses are not meant to be standing in pens like cattle. google the Teterville tour that was done in 2012. All it takes is a long move and change in feed to upset a horses digestion. I am more worried about why there are no contracts in the works or anyone in line to take the horses to a LTH facility. These people that sign a contract do eventually decide to sell their land, which means the horses move too. We need Horse people to provide a LOT of acres of land to be a Long Term Holding facility OR this will go on and on. Horses will move when a contact is not renewed. Some of these mares that moved are in the upper 20’s, and the trip from Teterville facility or the Ranch of these owners, is from just east of Wichita, to almost the western border of Kansas. We need serious property where these horses will be able to stay and NEVER move, Land someone can pretty much GIVE to the mustangs. THE MEDIA stories use the words,: wild horses have a home forever on the range in Kansas or whatever, FALSE, No lands where there is short term or long term contracts are forever. This land belongs to someone else.!! People get old, they die, and the horses have to move. Contracts end, for whatever reason. They are not forever… Until someone finds land FOREVER our horses will have to move. and die either in the move or after due to the stress. Everything about being in captivity is stressful to a wild horse. We need land for these horses, land that will never have to be sold. Who has land for these horses? Suggestions?
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Nona, I have a suggestion. There are millions of acres of public lands which once legally held wild horses in what was by law intended to be that “forever” home for them.
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THis is what I have mentioned to my reps when I go to see them about the wild horses. Now I live in Ks. and will be seeing my rep, but I may as well talk to the wall. animals seem to come last in this area of the country. how many geldings died, no one is saying any thing about maybe more have died? why just the mares.? I understand an owner in Ok. is selling soon, so there will be more moved.
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Nona, without legitimate reporting we are all groping in the dark about what happened, and why. One answer to “why mares” could be they were shipped to Canada, where ovaries are routinely harvested to use for embyro transplants in high value privately-owned mares. If we all lay down and accept the whitewash we are being handed by the media we are all complicit in these deaths, and those that will follow.
Does anyone have information on what “credentialed media” are being allowed to tour the facility tomorrow?
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I wanted to be able to go visit them while they are here, as the BLM are trying to get contracts to get them back in long term holding on private lands. BUT one source in Reno told me the NEW contract person has not been doing so well and allegedly has upset some people. ( no further info on that.) I would go out every 2 weeks if they would let me. My Senator office blew it as they called Debbie and said I wanted to visit, and told Debbie to call me. HELLO! Senator Moran, how did that help? No one makes them accountable. yet they know the BLM are not transparent. like that is news.. Paul McGuire states we wont get to visit because they will be moving by January. Like he does not know that. I believe I was told the mares went to Scott City as it was the closest? Anyone know locations of the geldings??
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Poor Contracting Practices at BLM
https://rtfitchauthor.com/2013/11/08/poor-contracting-practices-at-blm/
SOURCE: fiercegovernment.com By Zach Rausnitz
A government employee who stepped into a contractor’s role is among the targets of a report criticizing contracting practices at the Bureau of Land Management
The audit stemmed from the OIG’s prior discovery that BLM had made payments for costs that exceeded the amount agreed to in a contract and also for costs that the contractor incurred outside the period of performance.
Auditors found contract files that lacked evidence of market research, price analyses, and whether invoices were reviewed before payments went out. In response, BLM says contracts are now subject to random reviews to check for completeness.
READ THE FULL OIG REPORT HERE
Click to access C-EV-BLM-0007-2011Public.pdf
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As always the OIG “commends the BLM for improving practices”! They undergo training to improve things – but apparently no one EVER gets fired!!! So theres no incentive to do things in an open moral way! Right? Kind of makes you grit your teeth – among other things.
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Yes, Annie, the total was 70 killed. We will probably never know exactly what happened. It will all be covered up by one of the most corrupt agencies ever in our government.
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There are very detailed weather reports available for that area for that range of dates. And yes, it was hot and humid, 19 of those days with rain, 13 of those days with thunderstorms. And call it what they want, a ‘corral environment’ is a feedlot, nothing short of it. Again, no shade, no shelter, extreme stress. And yes, these are definitely cattle feedlots they were moved onto.
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Cathy C, thanks for that information. Is there any information about whether the facilities were decontaminated before dumping horses into them? Even if this was done, the chemicals used to do this could have poisoned these horses. Even a mass herbicide cover just before they arrived could have led to their (evidently horrible) deaths.
Simple stress should have been treatable in some form… the fact that vets euthanized so many, believing they had no chance at survival points at an environmental toxin. Is anyone taking soil samples, feed and feeder samples, or even doing necropsies on the dead horses? If not, then why not? If they already know what killed them then one would expect no testing… and full disclosure of same.
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I had asked Paul McGuire what methods were used to de contaminate the feed lots that have had cattle and what diseases they had had while here. Paul was quite surprised and said NO, there is no need to do this. * Another flag,, ** oh we do care about the horses. **
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Are there any credentialed media who can investigate “where the bodies are buried” if they are really there, and determine what actually killed them? We need accountability which evidently will not be available without a lot of pressure.
It is beyond belief so many otherwise healthy animals would be dropping dead and others so impaired they would be euthanized… at the rate of almost four horses PER DAY. If they were colicking from a hay change many can be treated, if they were being starved they can also be rehabilitated but it is a long and costly road. If they were poisoned… then it makes sense they would be dying and others euthanized. If they were really shipped to slaughter it makes sense there will be no necropsies done or carcasses found. Where is the truth? Any investigative journalists reading this who still have integrity, please honor the truth and go find out for us, or this will continue to happen.
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Is there a way to appoint a team of experts in the areas of concern!!! To moniter what is going on ??? is this fisable idea?????
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Webcams at all holding facilities would be an achievable goal, with 24/7 online public accessibility. Period.
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Lets do this, how do we start
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If the blm won’t even allow the simplest shelter or windbreak for the wild ones I don’t believe that they will allow webcams….and they most certainly would not want the public to see what they do. Its all smoke and mirrors and lies with the blm. The blm needs to be disbanded….they are absolutely corrupt and they seem to believe that they need answer to no one.
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Dear Elaine, Disband these fricken liars, form agency with exoerts on hand in all areas where the Blm are, web cams??? i m thinking EponaSpirit has a awesome Idea that would work, I am sure we can do this !!!! I think it has a really good potencial , its out of the darn box we have been in , that has proven to have no effect !!!! Our mustangs are that important to us to put this in motion……………….. This has to have an all out participation, everyone here can help………………………….Lets do this !!!!!
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Elaine, it seems to me we could take a portion of the $1.35 paid per AUM by grazing livestock owners and use those funds to place live cameras on all the wild horse and burro facilities. It is only fair – think of all the money they are “saving” by removing horses from the public lands to benefit private businesses. The costs of adequate care and monitoring of displaced animals seems a minor enough demand.
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This report is a “must read” for everyone involved with Wild Horses and Burros:
WILD HORSES — THE STRESS OF CAPTIVITY
Bruce Nock, PhDWashington University School of Medicine, Departments of Psychiatry and of Anatomy and Neurobiology, St. Louis, MO 63110, USALiberated HorsemanshipLiberatedHorsemanship.com
Click to access Wild%20Horse%20Stress.pdf
So let me tell you what happens to a wild horse’s physiology when he/she suffers the severe stress, trauma, of being chased and sequestered into captivity. Then, I’ll tell you what some of the consequences are. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say, as gathers are routinely done in the USA, if a wild horse doesn’t die straight off from the immediate devastation and commotion, it compromises him/her physically and mentally, putting him on a path of accelerated deterioration
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Louie
I think I’ve heard of Bruce Nock – will go on the website & look at more.
Thanks
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Scott City very sparse article needs some FB comments, they declare they are open to lively discussions:
http://www.kansas.com/news/state/article1238757.html#/tabPane=tabs-1ab3de20-1
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I commented. It now has only 2.
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Sorry tried everything face book keeps telling me my password is wrong , they say they will email to reset but they never do, had a great comment to Darn !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Reblogged this on Pass the SAFE Act! and commented:
We need an independent advisory board to keep track of all horses, where they are at and last but not least, to complete their own, independent assessment of how many horses are on the land. Just unconscionable that they will more than likely get away with this, as with all other “incidents.”
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Yes EponaSpirit , this is what is needed here ………………..right here we have the Experts to head this Agency !!!!!!! What the Heck is stopping us ????????????????????
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Nothing. If we all would work together instead of in separate groups, we could get this accomplished easily. We are strong, dedicated, well trained individuals with strong skills in every sector in America. These folks could start a group such as this easily. Start by recruiting advocates at the State level, determine their whereabouts and then assign them so many counties to recruit in. Use a Nationally Known advocacy group as the model to start recruiting those advocates to start chapters in their area. Set up regional directors, then national directors. Grants to start will be very helpful, so advocates that have grant writing skills would be necessary. Then once that is going, consider buying up lands using either grants or donations to set aside conservation lands for the wild horses/burros now in holding in each State in order to move them to those visitor centers, with families intact, excess foals could be adopted. Funds from visitors would then help with keeping tabs on the oh so very little herds that are still out on Public Lands now. It can be done, and if there are at least 35,000 people sending in comments to the BLM, just 1% of those people in key positions could get this done. Assign groups to work in key legislator’s districts to inform them of the real truth of how horrible slaughter is and to get them to support any legislation that will stop the transport and slaughter of our domestic and wild ones. It can be done.
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Come on People LETS DO THIS !!!!!!!!
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EponaSpirit, Love your Idea , what a giant step for the Mustangs , At the very least we are doing somethjing beneifical finally, awesome I am in Ohio…. but can do anything to help get this of the ground running !!!!!!I feel so inspired !!!!! Nothing we do helps so far, this is out of the box , and sure to make a Huge Difference , When and how can we get this going???
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It would take someone with super organizational skills, and that person would be taking on a hellva lot of responsibility. I know that AARP has lots of folks that are retired willing to help. Also SCORE (http://www.score.org/) might help? It needs to be someone that is willing to devote all free time to get everyone on board, someone that is willing and able to unite all the separate groups into one United Front. Not sure who that would be honestly, since so many are generally independent in order to get donations to spread awareness. Social Media will great help to start getting something going, but not sure which SM program would put everyone on the same page.
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As far as SM, maybe diaspora project? https://diasporafoundation.org/about#host
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Your Idea is awesome, we need a way to impliment it , and set it in place !!!!!!!!!!!
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This should be double for wild horses—Web cams–from wild life news
http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2014/01/25/regional-web-cams
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Most Web cams update about every 20 seconds and anyone with a computer can access them.
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Concrete actions that could help:
1. Call, write, or email your Senators to ask them to support the Corolla Wild Horse Protection Act, H. R. 126. The likelihood that the bill will get a hearing in the Senate after the disastrous for FWS’s side is nil and next to nil as long as Senator Reid is in charge unless he experiences a conversion similar to that of Saul of Tarsus is nil and next to nil. However, since the bill does not require the use of federal funds, requires no change to FWS employee assignments, since the horses are managed by the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, regular order should not be necessary. Essentially, the bill requests permission to introduce three or four mares from the Shackleford Banks herd in order to maintain the Spanish Colonial Mustang genetics shared by both herds and to allow the herd to grow to 110. FWS opposes this because it claims the horses are not native and that they are merely feral even though genetic tests dispute this since they carry the rare Spanish Mustang traits.
There is no defensible reason for the Senate not to pass this legislation. There is no reason to believe that Senator Reid considers this too small an issue to spend time on because he has spent most of his time as Senate Speaker protecting his caucus. He could usher this bill through the Senate in abbreviated order.
2.Support amendments to the Endangered Species Act by requiring that listing agencies supply the identifies of their experts, their publications, relative data that led to their decision that a species is endangered. A second bill requires that groups that sue the federal government to list species be listed as well as the amount that the group is awarded if the case is settled or the plaintiff prevails. There are legitimate reasons that some groups may find themselves suing to protect species more than others, but this suits and the decision to use private or public land to recover specie. But the ESA and the taking provision that is part of it gives the government incredible power to seize land that belongs to individuals and has been in some families for generations. The ESA is an important law. None of these amendments affect the intention of the law, but they should prevent the corruption and incompetence in applying it.
Petition USDA Secretary Vilsack and FWS Director Dan Ashe to remove the horse from lists that classify the horse as an alien, invasive, potential threat to plants and plant products per the UN CBD Article 8 (h) and the 1997 Update of the International Plant Protection Convention as E.O. 13112, the Invasive Species Act directed. Use Dr. Kirkpatrick and Dr. Fazio’s paper “Wild Horse as Native North American Wildlife” and details from the sources used to complete this paper as the basis of your petition. There are other articles as well, but if you use the Kirkpatrick and Fazio paper, you’ll begin to discover who the international experts are and use these names to help you decide what to look for. There are articles that you can find on Pub Med, PLOS, PNAS, and many others. Imagine, in 1880 O.W. Marsh, the U.S. paleontologist that un-convered tens of thousands of horse fossils in the West, presented his evidence to Thomas Huxley. Marsh concluded that the horse could not have originated in Europe because the horse did not survive in Europe beyond a few different stages with long periods before other horse species originating in North America returned to replace them. Huxley agreed that it was obvious that the horse had to be North American in origin.
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Damn fine ideas!
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What we need to ask ourselves is , can I live with myself if i dont do everything humanly possible to save the Mustangs????????????
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another thing is when I am asked in the Future, what did I do to Save the Mustangs, I dont want to say i talked about it, i wanna say , I was part of an Awesome Group who put their heads together and came up with the answer…………………….on how to give back Freedom to the Mustangs !!!!! And EponaSpirit gave us the idea on how to impliment it !!!!!! A Great Plan we took it to the limit !!!!!!
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What is the BLM investigating? They remove the horses from the range, warehouse them, hire truckers, move the animals around—so what’s to be investigated? BLM has killed 70 more federally protected citizen owned wild horses. Will they blame themselves? Not while they are receiving pay checks to wipe out these “pests”. We sure do need an emergency plan to save the endangered wild horses of the USA.
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The authorless WIBW source article appears to have been removed. Why?
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Here’s another short (and slightly different) article from a Kansas news source (which apparently credits AP as the copyright holder):
57 Wild Horses Die After Transfer To Scott City
08/17/2014
Federal investigators say 57 wild horses that died after being transferred to a corral in Kansas likely succumbed to stress, age and changes caused by the move.
A preliminary report says federal investigators found no signs of infectious or contagious disease in the horses. The report says the shift from pasture to corral environment, and the change from pasture feed to processed hay feed also were factors in the deaths.
The horses were among 1,493 mares transferred to Scott City in June by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The move came after a Kansas contractor told the agency he would renew an existing contract but wanted a smaller herd.
A veterinarian had to euthanize an additional 13 animals at the Scott City corral.
© AP
http://www.kscbnews.net/news/index.cfm?nk=39862
I am very curious about how the euthanasias were handled… were these wild and stressed animals herded into chutes and injected, or were they so pitifully weak and near death they could be easily approached, haltered, and injected? Maybe they were roped and thrown??? What about any that weren’t quite sick enough to kill off, are they in some sort of intensive care situation now, and where?
Some actual facts would be very welcome here.
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We all suspect the same answer they were euthanizing everything in site !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Reblogged this on hocuspocus13 and commented:
jinxx xoxo
This is why we need to speak up for our Wild American Horses
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So if I have it right, the credentialed media were to be allowed in today, Tuesday. Any news anyplace or do I have the wrong Tuesday?
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I think it was today.
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Have you found any reports or Information on who attended?
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Found this, with clarification it was at least 70 horses who died, and one photo of some very thin horses which is identified as being taken at those facilities, of those horses recently shopped.They are sharing this living situation with penned Bison, which somehow seems appropriate.
Where is the HSUS when we see photos of horses this emaciated while we are paying for their care and denied access rights? If this photo is as described there can be no excuse for not insisting on webcams every place our professional managers have confined horses and/or burros.
http://www.scottcountyrecord.com/news/blm-investigates-horse-deaths-at-temporary-site-in-scott-co
BLM investigates horse deaths at temporary site in Scott Co.
A few of the more than 1,400 horses under supervision of the BLM which are being held in pens at a Scott County feedlot.
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By Rod Haxton, editor
The deaths of 57 horses being held at a Scott County feedlot are under investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Representatives of the BLM were at the feedlot most of last week after being informed of the loss of horses which had been relocated to Scott County earlier this summer from a long-term holding pasture near El Dorado. The landowner had informed BLM he would not be renewing his five-year contract and the agency had to find temporary facilities.
According to Paul McGuire, a public affairs specialist with the BLM’s Oklahoma Field Office, these are wild horses that were removed from the Western U.S.
Between June 14 and June 22, 1,493 mares were relocated from central Kansas to Scott County. On Aug. 5, the contractor informed the BLM that a number of the transferred mares had died.
On Aug. 12, a team of BLM personnel and a veterinarian from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service arrived on site.
“As of this morning (August 15), 70 have died on their own or had to be put down,” says McGuire.
That total includes 57 which had died and another 13 which were euthanized after it was determined they had “little to no chance for survival due to health issues.”
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Notice also this is a “temporary” holding facility… so these horses will be shuffled around again. When, where or how is not known.
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From Paula King
75 Horses have now died in Scott City, Kansas. These are horses transferred from long term holding to a feedlot. This is something that should also be discussed at the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting.
http://www.gctelegram.com/news/wild-horses-deaths-now-up-to-corral-managers-deny-wrongdoing/article_39bc13ef-1767-5292-9bde-45a29467d425.html
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Thanks, Barbara. The photos show some very thin horses, in flat pipe corrals with no shade or shelter, and the article is glossing over this as an “old horse” problem despite the fact these were healthy horses when shipped. If they weren’t they would probably have been euthanized beforehand. Figuring the death rate at around 4 per day (as the article insinuates to be normal in such aged horses) one is forced to ask for the background “drop dead” rate when they lived on pasture for years up until two months ago. Is there any way to gather this mortality rate information from their former LTH pasture?
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This one is a call to my soul, the one the Mustangs have been making to each and every one of us !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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August 19 the update on my request to see the mares in Scott City: Hi again. OK, I finally connected with our COR that is on-site and he will get back to me asap. He was in enroute yesterday from NE so we didn’t connect until today. Since this is a new contract he’s going to see what is in the specs to determine a course of action and get back to me. Thank you.
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Aug. 18th still wondering.
On Monday, August 18, 2014 9:56 AM,
Hi Nona. Sorry, it has been pretty hectic, as you can now see. I’m working to see if we can get you a visit. So, stay tuned. Thank you for your patience.
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Sept. 4th update 80 mares now dead. Blm looking for pasture for the * remaining* http://kmuw.org/post/80-mustangs-die-after-move-scott-city
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