Information supplied by Dewey County Sheriff’s Department
“The States Attorney has approved for the adoption applications that have been approved by ISPMB to continue to be loaded out for the next week or so…”
As of 530 PM 12-01-16 the Counties have not been repaid and no monies have been shown for the ISPMB 18 month plan. Therefore an auction for the horses is being setup.
The States Attorney has approved for the adoption applications that have been approved by ISPMB to continue to be loaded out for the next week or so. The end date has not been set for this at this time due to weather, etc.
However there is a limit for the number of horses that can be adopted out from the ISPMB. The stipulation states that no more than 1/3 of the horses could be adopted out or (based on 810 horses) 270 horses. Also no more than 20 per person without prior consent of the counties.
If you have been approved and get the horses loaded out in the next week, now would be the time to get it done. Weather is suppose to improve through the weekend, and then turn colder again next week.
There are some other options still being looked at, but there is little time and hope left at this point.
Our best guess for the date on the sale will be around the 19th of Dec at Phillip Livestock in Phillip SD. However this has not been set yet and when it does become available I will post it here.
If you do not get your horses from the ISPMB then the next best option would be to buy them at the sale and save them there.
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Why only 1/3 are up for adoption – why is that a stipulation? I apologize ahead of time I may have missed it somewhere. Thanks for your time.
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The authorities want to make sure that there are enough funds from the auction to recover what has been spent on hay by the Dewey County Sheriff Dept.
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WHY COULD ONLY 1/3 BE ADOPTED OUT????? SAD SO VERY SAD…..
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Good question Rita….I was curious about that too, why only 1/3? Also, I wonder what will become of the horses that were stated to be “blind”?
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Why can’t the sheriffs adopt out ALL the horses since it seems Karen is not ?
What caused so much blindness ?
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Because Karen owes the county money for their care. They state that two thirds at meat prices will cover their costs. This is heartbreaking.
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Why cant ALL adoptions possible take place by the end of this month and then pay the county the money that remains? Wouldn’t this be a more acceptable way for all if they could just wait a couple weeks more !!!!
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Rita, where would the money come from? Hay costs for hundreds of horses per day are high, and the adoption “fees” are either free or $1 for nearly all adoptable horses. There is no path in this situation to repay the citizens of SD for the costs already expended due to no fault of their own, nor for any ongoing costs.
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My comment to a post with photo’s from a reputable hauler that was there TRYING to get adopted wild horses loaded: Power for the course that Karen Sussman was the idiot hindering progress, not even having a decent chute set up to help load the WILD horses and obviously not knowing how to handle them to get them loaded. It’s cold, snowing and people are freezing, icy, dangerous and then having to idle all their gas away while they wait to load ADOPTED horses. She’s a frickin’ control freak and I understand she is under a lot of stress, but really, let the people help to get the horses safe as the deadline was DEC 1, 2016 or the rest go to auction. She is in denial. It’s over. Her terrible experiments with the horses, starving, blind and she let it all happen under the guise of science (what like Hitler did with the Jews?). She is DONE, OUT and shouldn’t ever be allowed to have even one domestic horse in her possession. This is why I fight to #KeepWildHorsesWild and as far away from humans as possible. KS is an egomaniac that has totally lost her mind and her original passion. Now she is simply trying to hang on to what she had, but she blew it, so it’s gone. Terrible news about the county keeping 2/3 of the wild horses to pay back the county with their lives???? WTF? What about the Wild Horse Protection ACT?? WTF FFFFFFF is wrong with this??? EVERYTHING. I cannot stand by and not shout off the roof tops to the public that the county is planning to murder 2/3’s of this “special” wild horse herd. And it’s ALL Karen Sussman’s fault. https://www.facebook.com/traci.rainbolt/posts/10208203940677182?pnref=story
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I realize it’s perhaps a little late for this….but is there anyway we (the horse advocates) could raise the funds to pay off the county? AND have Karen relinquish any further control over these horses?
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The state’s attorney maybe can stop it ????
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The taxpayer money squandered on any of the roundups would go a long ways to repaying Dewey County/South Dakota. This is just a drop in the bucket compared to the entire budget spent on the BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program:
https://www.usaspending.gov/Pages/Default.aspx
Transaction # 1 (Delivery Order)
IDVPIID/PIID/MOD: INL10PC00593 / INL14PD00691 / 0
Recipient: CATTOOR LIVESTOCK ROUNDUP INC
475 S 200 W, NEPHI, Utah
Program Source: 14-1109
Department/Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Product/Service: F016: NATURAL RESOURCES/CONSERVATION- WILDHORSE/BURRO CONTROL
Description: CHECKERBOARD HORSE GATHER IGF::OT::IGF
Signed Date:
07-14-2014
Obligation Amount:
$396,776
PLUS
Transaction # 9 (Delivery Order)
IDVPIID/PIID/MOD: INL10PC00593 / INL14PD00691 / 1
Recipient: CATTOOR LIVESTOCK ROUNDUP INC
475 S 200 W, NEPHI, Utah
Reason for Modification: CHANGE ORDER
Program Source: 14-1109
Department/Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Product/Service: F016: NATURAL RESOURCES/CONSERVATION- WILDHORSE/BURRO CONTROL
Description: CHECKERBOARD HORSE GATHER IGF::OT::IGF
Signed Date:
07-28-2014
Obligation Amount:
$111,538
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Louie, I thought you posted numerous times on another thread that none of the horses at ISPMB were removed by BLM? At any rate, most were born at ISPMB and are private property now. This just can’t be blamed on the BLM and the taxpayer funds which support their programs. The problems at ISPMB are theirs to shoulder, not unwilling taxpayers.
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IcySpots, it was still the federal livestock contractor that removed them. Not all were removed by BLM..that’s true, but taxpayers did get the bill for their capture and removal.
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Yep – federal livestock contractors are paid by U.S. taxpayers, therefore the feds should be involved in this huge horse transfer to reliable rescues – not be sold at auction to highest bidder. I read that at least one big rescue cannot help because their lawyers say these horses are under SD jurisdiction — this is not all cut and dry as they see it.
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The Catnip Herd (or what’s left of it)
From AMERICAN HERDS/2010
SHELDON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
Public awareness of the Sheldon wild horses and burros sky rocketed after American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) released an explicit and shocking undercover pictorial report of a June 2006 round up titled “The Reality of Round Ups: Attempt At A Cover Up”.
Included were graphic photos of dead foals found littered across the landscape, hog-tied foals, dead and injured horses in the holding pens and a veterinarian report citing the extreme trauma documented to foals as a result of the gather; some of whom survived and some whom did not.
In 2006, the Service went back for more with over 330 horses being captured and removed. This round up became the source of AWHPC’s “Attempt At A Cover-Up”, a story that first broke by a Special Research Group who uncovered a slew of disturbing information, some of which included:
(Photos have since disappeared from AWHPC web page)
16 to 18 mares were found in the pens showing signs of recently giving birth but had no foals with them. Despite USFWS requiring the public to stay at least two miles away from the gather operations, it is estimated at least nine foals died or were aborted in the pens and about fifteen foals were probably left to die a slow death in the high desert. Three of these foals survived days of abandonment, and one foal that arrived with the adults survived trampling in the pens.
Questions also exploded around the methods used by long-time BLM contractor Dave Cattoor of Cattoor Livestock Inc., to drive wild horses and burros to the traps and again evoked controversy as to whether helicopter driving could ever be considered humane or safe considering it was outlawed before due to its known detrimental results. (Editor’s Note: Despite criminal charges filed against Dave Cattoor in 1990 for “conspiracy and use of aircraft to capture wild horses and aiding and abetting….”, which led to the “said wild, unbranded horses to be sold and shipped by truck to Great Western Meats in Morton, Texas, to be slaughtered and processed”, BLM has continued to insist he does excellent work for them and excuses AWHPC’s shocking Sheldon report by citing it didn’t happen during a BLM gather…)
o Photo of hog-tied Foal (referenced in the article). It used to be on AWHPC website.
Photojournalist-Journalist
Bureau of Land Management Abuse of Animals, Taxpayer Money, and Information
https://prophoto7journal.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/bureau-of-land-management-abuse-of-animals-taxpayer-money-and-information/
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IcySpots, I’m going back to core of the problem. Those Horses should never have been removed in the first place, while those who caused the problem get off “scott free”. As time goes by, people either don’t know or forget.
US Fish and Wildlife Service Appears Poised to Ship Sheldon
Range Wild Horses to Slaughter at Taxpayer Expense!
6 June, 2006
By: Susan Pohlman, Valerie James-Patton and John Holland
While many Americans have watched in anguish as the BLM has systematically reduced herd after herd of Spanish Mustangs to genetically dangerous numbers, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&W) has been quietly engineering a plan to eradicate their (actually the American public’s) Sheldon range wild horses in Nevada. It is a plan so arbitrary, deceptive, and arguably illegal that it makes the BLM actions look like positively responsible husbandry!
The newly announced plan starts by making it impossible for rescues and individuals to directly adopt small numbers of the Sheldon horses as has been done in the past. In what amounts to having agents launder horses to certain slaughter, the “more efficient” new plan allows for only “mass adoptions” of the horses, and lists three “carefully screened” agents. More astoundingly, the plan pays the agents $300 per horse to take them by the truck load. While the agreements to pay these “adoption agents” clearly constitute federal contracts for services aggregating in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the agent selection process appears to have involved no public bidding or disclosure and may well violate Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).
The mass adoption program appears to have had its test flight with a mom and pop
“mustang rescue” run by Flora and Francis Steffan, and ironically named Forever Free Mustangs, (FFM). In conversations with potential adopters, Flora stated that FFM had placed 680 Sheldon horses last year, but when asked by Mr. Holland to confirm the number of horses and the timing, she became vague.
In the minutes of a “kick off” meeting with FFM (3/7/06), David Johnson, Deputy Project Leader at Sheldon-Hart Mountain Wildlife Refuge Complex, speaks of eliminating the wild horses completely from the sanctuary and of establishing a “Hollywood herd” on the FFM property.
But the 800 acre dream refuge, like so many things about FFM, is shrouded in contradictions.
Click to access Sheldon%20Range%20Mustangs.pdf
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Maybe the county hasn’t been repaid all their money, but they did get some from Karen and all those who contributed to the county. The sheriff should have his accountant show their records instead of setting up the auction date as pushed by the horse slaughter people.
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Chris, good suggestion. Is there a legal way to have a third party like HSUS oversee what happens next so there is a full accounting and no horses are sold at auction that needn’t be? Also to ensure ISPMB no longer possesses any horses as their organization is examined and audited. The sheer flurry of adoptions and related income from various fees will be a financial mess for quite a while. It should also be clear that income from any horses sold at auction is not considered tax deductible.
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Probably Elaine is close to Karen and knows who the lawyers are who could set up a 3rd party — the HSUS would be a mistake. Karen is trying to raise enough money to repay the county and to have enough for hay, the farriers and necessary
care for the horses for 18 months. The sheriff is pressing Karen and advocates to keep the situation moving, along with Maleficent making surprise posts.
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Karen has paid the county, and it seems they want to make money on the horses:
“Authorities put at roughly $100,000 the cost of caring for the 810 horses since they were impounded. Aberle said a grant and donations have brought down the amount to $76,000. The sanctuary’s president, Karen Sussman, was given a Thursday deadline to repay local authorities the $46,000 still owed after paying $30,000.” http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/authorities-would-consider-proposals-in-wild-horses-case/article_f9ac9e6b-4da9-5afe-a98e-1a852781c913.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share
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Chris, I don’t understand your point here since the county hasn’t even yet been repaid their already-spent costs? They are not seeking profits, only repayment for their costs with any excess sale “profits” being returned to ISPMB… except they have not proven they can sustain any horses for the next 18 months, triggering the auctioning of all the remaining horses.
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Icy – are you saying the referenced article is inaccurate?
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So between a grant & the donations people have sent that totaled about $25,000.00, and donations to Karen & ISPMB amounted to $30,000.00 the balance owed is $46,000.00? Seems to me that its possible by the time of this sale – the amount could be lower if people continue to send donations! I hope & pray somehow there is a better solution than loading these horses & sending them to a sale barn – putting them in so much danger from that plus any kind of disease at an auction barn. Their immune systems cant be that strong – after all they’ve gone thru.
‘
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Chris, nope. Just that the sheriffs have not been repaid in full, and are still accruing costs they will have to recover.
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So sick of the Roundups, Not neccesary….Staes Now taking over Roundups?
Save these majestic, Iconic Wild Horses. They DO NOT Deserve this !!!
ADOPT WILD HORSES !!!
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AUCTION DATE SET
Found this Sunday morning, Dec. 4, 2016:
Dewey County Sheriff’s Office
UPDATE
SALE DATE 12-20-16
The sale had been set with Phillip Livestock in Phillip SD on Dec. 20th, 2016. It had not been determined the exact date that the horses will be loaded out to go to the sale at this time. The sale barn and the wrangler we have hired will arrange that date depending on weather and foreseen problems.
Also we got word that the road had not been cleared and a loader from the Ziebach County Highway Dept will be over at about 0700 tomorrow morning to clear the road for access to the property.
Also I plan on making a trip to the property tomorrow to see what else is needed as we near the end of the adoptions and transition to the sale. Please keep in mind that this is a very large impoundment with many complicated issues and we are all doing the best we can to get through this. If there is a problem we can fix, we will, but some things we just cannot help or fix.
Also I have seen some injuries that have occurred at the ranch and I remind everyone that safety is first and that you must think safety as we work to get through this.
https://www.facebook.com/Dewey-County-Sheriffs-Office-114345905250174/?fref=nf
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This is disgusting and the sheriff is in cahoots with those horse slaughter people who wanted the wild mares spayed at Oregon State. There is a better way than to slaughter innocent wild horses.
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Chris, do you have proof of this? If so, please link.
The horses will be sold at auction to the highest bidder, which can be ANYONE It is not automatically an auction for slaughter if people show up and can outbid the meat price, which was around 30-35 cents/lb. last week in Colorado. Most of the foals and yearlings will hardly be worth the price of a tank of gas to a kill buyer so those at least could be easily kept from slaughter if compassionate people show up. Buyers for ISPMB are apparently excluded, though, by law.
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You had a conversation with Susan Humphrey on 10-10-16 on RT’s blog where she said she was going to the ranch at the request of the sheriff and vet to help sort horses, etc. https://rtfitchauthor.com/2016/10/08/if-you-starve-an-animal-to-death-you-are-a-criminal/ About 3 days ago she again appeared on RT’s blog and said “they” got a date for the auction. I can’t find that conversation, but I believe she said the date is 12-20 and invited animal advocates to come and bid on the horses. In other places she called us animal “activists” because we didn’t take responsibility for wild horse reproduction and they cost taxpayers money. She’s known in Australia as a hater. She wants all horses who aren’t adopted to be put down. You can read some of the horrid things about her on the same blog or on her FB page Susan Humphrey South Dakota.
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Chris – I’ve wondered right along how this pro-slaughter commenter (!) is claiming to be “in the know” about whats going on. Why in the world would she be allowed to be involved in the process (as she claims to be!) Every time I have seen her comments on any article involving horses – wild or otherwise – shes been quite upfront about her feelings – PRO SLAUGHTER!
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Susan H comments are pro-slaughter, and I often wondered if she just wants to stir things up. But she has signed documents showing that she’s in the slaughter business. United Horsemen’s agenda has come out of the shadows, and even the BLM advisory group voted for slaughter. Ben Masters was invited to the Great Escape Sanctuary fund raiser. Some of the wild horse photographers of SWB recommend which horses to bait and trap. In the meantime, congress silently approves.
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Heber Wild Horses shared Dewey County Sheriff’s Office’s post.
9 hrs ·
The auction date has been set for the ISPMB horses that were not adopted. Auction means sale to the highest bidders without limitation. There will be many bidders there who will be bidding to save the horses from going to kill buyers who will truck them to slaughterhouses in Canada or Mexico. Such a sad ending to the ISPMB. 😥 Dewey County Sheriff’s Office says there will be 540 or more horses at auction. Keep in mind that the ISPMB was required to hold at least two thirds of the horses for auction meaning they were not allowed to adopt more than one third of their horses.
Dewey County Sheriff’s Office
10 hrs ·
UPDATE
SALE DATE 12-20-16
The sale had been set with Phillip Livestock in Phillip SD on Dec. 20th, 2016. It had not been determined the exact date that the horses will be loaded out to go to the sale at this time. The sale barn and the wrangler we have hired will arrange that date depending on weather and foreseen problems.
So according to this Karen was only allowed to adopt out 1/3 of the horses ! The sheriffs ciould have allowed the 2/3 to be adopted instead of taking them to an auction ! Anything for money.
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Barbara (and others) if you were a taxpayer in SD whose meager allocated resources were being spent to feed hundreds of horses someone else neglected, you would no doubt be angry about it. I think the sheriffs are to be commended for stepping in when more horses would surely have starved without their intervention. Seeking refunds of their unbudgeted expenses is simply fair. It is unfair, in my opinion, for folks here to be railing against the citizens of SD, who are also innocent of any crimes against these horses. Why should these people have to pay for Karen’s management mistakes? The first duty of law enforcement is to the citizens they represent, not to ISPMB. Since most adoptions were free or $1, the only logical way to ensure the recurring costs of feeding horses could be reimbursed was to hold some back and hope for a reasonable return at a public auction.
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I agree with this. I have no problem with the Sheriff’s office stepping in which really was the only option to stop this crazy thing…….
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May be a ray of hope in this from Dewey County on 12/4:
” There are some other options still being looked at, but there is little time and hope left at this point.”
This means there is hope…….I am hoping that what is RIGHT will be done……I am hoping to hear what is going on with the other options……I believe that everyone wants to do right. So I am waiting to hear and do whatever I can. Maybe they won’t be able to clear the road……….
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Icy Spots – Susan’s statement about putting down horses that are not adopted appeared in: Mesquite Local News: http://mesquitelocalnews.com/2015/11/someone-needs-to-commit-to-realistic-wild-horse-population-control/
Susan Humphrey’s response – scroll down to Nov. 19, 2015.
“The older horses could be evaluated by professionals (I’m a professional horse trainer) to see if they are likely to be trained or not. If they aren’t… put notices out that the horses are going to be destroyed if they aren’t adopted…then do it. As long as there is plenty of notice to the public that the horses need to find private homes, the public has the responsibility to decide if they want to finance the horses…or not. I don’t want to so I won’t be doing it.”
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Chris, got it. Is this the same Susan Humphrey’s who is on the sheriff’s FB page repeatedly advocating adoptions? Does she have any authority over what the sheriffs say or do? Wonder if she’s adopted any herself?
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I believe it’s the same Susan Humphrey aka susanmeanslily who always talks abt adopting wild horses as a “practically” ignoring that some are protected by congressional mandate. She doesn’t have any authority over Les Mayer, Sheriff, but she wrote him and the States Atty frequently urging action against ISPMB as indicated on her FB page Susan Humphrey South Dakota. Perhaps the County Commissioners have some authority over the sheriff, as the sheriff is an elected person. Here are phone numbers: http://ujs.sd.gov/County_Information/Dewey.aspx Humphrey is proud of her name being mentioned in the Wild Horse Journal also on her FB page. I’m not sure if she’s from SD as she was in Madison, WI indicating that she’s off on an adventure to SD and has a contract as a nurse — from her FB page.
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Icy – Susan says she has 2 horses one being a “sale authority” horse.
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Here’s a bright idea from Susan on mobile processing going to sale barns from Dec. 2013. Can she get any more vile, except that she strongly supports spaying mares?
Roswell horse slaughter plant set to open
Logan Hawkes
Dec 26, 2013
http://m.southwestfarmpress.com/livestock/roswell-horse-slaughter-plant-set-open
susanmeanslily
on Dec 28, 2013
I hope the plants will finally get opened and hopefully there will be several plants throughout the states to lesson transportation stress. I think it would be a good idea if Mobile Processing units could travel to sale barns and keep the horses from having to travel to the slaughter plant when the slaughter plant can be brought to them. It would cut out a lot of “middle men” so that the sellers get a better price.
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Chris, thanks. That’s some mixed information for sure.
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IS – have you been out to the site where they are loading this week? Can you tell us what you see and what the weather is like? I saw on the Dewey County FB page an accounting of the money situation. I also saw a post from someone who made an offer to take a lot of the weanlings and yearlings and they say that Karen refused – all on Dewey county FB page.
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Rita, nope, I don’t live close enough, but our weather is heading that way, and is evidently making blizzard conditions there now per the news.
I will check out the sheriffs site now, very alarming if an offer to take the young stock was refused in order to ship them to the auction.
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yes – do check it out on FB – you may know who that person/org is……but in a flash to check the new news this morning I saw a blurb that the original agreement is now void because of non-compliance – so now maybe she has no say in this matter and perhaps this adoption could be processed…..thanks so much for your kind reply.
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Excerpts from the Rapid City Journal Seth Tupper article this morning:
PS I think that ultimately she will have to forfeit all of the horses which is the right thing to do. She will never raise that amount of money and I dont know if the land is good enough for 400 horses – not sure. I also agree with the State’s attorney in his comments for a last minute deal but he needs to be able to make her accept the deal? Is there a way to work with this scenario before the auction?
The society and its president, Karen Sussman, were given various deadlines and extensions to pay back the impounding costs and to raise enough money or obtain feed for 18 months of operations. A county official said the society has paid $52,000 toward the estimated $100,000 cost of the impounding (and the counties have independently received $24,000 in grants and donations), but the society has produced no evidence of feed or funding sufficient for 18 months of operations. That’s what triggered the decision to schedule the auction.
Howard Paley, an Arizona-based fundraiser working for the society, called the Journal on Sussman’s behalf Monday. He has helped the organization raise more than $300,000 since September, he said, although much of that has been absorbed by outstanding hay bills.
Paley said authorities are insisting that the society have $480,000 in the bank for 18 months of operations to get at least 400 horses returned.
“That’s unreasonable,” Paley said. “It’s unachievable.”
Paley urged local authorities to reconsider their position or risk a public relations nightmare if the horses are sold to buyers for foreign slaughter plants. There are no horse-slaughter plants in the United States, but plants that process horses for human consumption do exist elsewhere.
Dewey County State’s Attorney Steven Aberle said wild-horse advocates could work a last-minute deal with Sussman to adopt or buy the society’s horses before the auction. But any deal would have to reimburse the counties, he added, and any further extensions of time would put too much financial burden on local taxpayers.
“What the ISPMB is asking for is local taxpayers in Dewey and Ziebach counties to financially bail out their organization for a management shortfall,” Aberle said, “and I believe that imposing that type of financial hardship on the taxpayers and residents of Dewey and Ziebach counties would have more serious consequences.”
If the horses are auctioned, the proceeds will first be applied to the impounding costs borne by the counties, which share a border straddled by the society’s ranch. Any remaining proceeds after that may be distributed to the society.
Contact Seth Tupper at seth.tupper@rapidcityjournal.com
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The first paragraph are my comments…………….
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Wow. Karen signed the agreement with the sheriffs, so Paley is really reaching to blame them for the fallout from Karen’s ongoing decisions:
“Paley said authorities are insisting that the society have $480,000 in the bank for 18 months of operations to get at least 400 horses returned.
“That’s unreasonable,” Paley said. “It’s unachievable.”
Paley urged local authorities to reconsider their position or risk a public relations nightmare if the horses are sold to buyers for foreign slaughter plants.”
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Where did you read that Karen signed a new agreement with the sheriffs regarding the money needed in the bank for 18 months? She’s not in a position to say no. Secondly, $76K was paid off from the original $100K Dewey Cty impoundment bill. Third – if the cost estimates still stand that Karen signed off on, the sheriff’s requirement that ISPMB have $480K in the bank implies she can have 406 horses on her property (does not include fixed ranch operation costs). If there were actually 810 horses of which 200 were adopted, there are still 210 horses that need to go to auction. The big rescues need to step up before Dec. 20. They need to stop blaming Karen whose heart was big enough to take in the Sheldon horses that no one wanted some of which went to slaughter because the Fish & Wildlife Dis-Service wanted to get rid of them.
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Chris, I was not referencing a new agreement, just the one published on this site which she signed but which is now void. As I understand it all the remaining horses are impounded and will be removed from ISPMB since neither a full repayment or the required 18 months of operating capital has been produced by ISPMB. Evidently the sheriffs have also prohibited ISPMB or its agents from buying horses at the auction and returning them to the same ranch.
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Unless a miracle happens, the horses will be removed and sold to the highest bidder. In the meantime, check out the ISPMB page and see how many herds from the Gila, West Douglas, Sheldon/Catnip and others Karen saved.
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Wild Horses and the type of Ignorance Fought to save them
https://prophoto7journal.wordpress.com/
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There is plenty of food for thought in this article by John Cox.
Here are just some nuggets: “The saddest part of all, is the fact those that could have stood up and resolve the situation much better, without the sacrifice of the horses, did not do so. And this “truth”, simply overwhelms all other facts that have become twisted within this menagerie of chaotic contempt toward one individual.”
“Yes, so we are also seeing,…the sacrifice of the horses so the non-profits, under their own words when supposedly refusing to assist any longer simply could care less about the horses because they are too large of a non-profit to actually worry about such trivial matters,…. but oh, such a small endeavor when considering a tad-bit more of cash for hay, could have done so much more, and actually saved all of the horses.”
The organization talked about here is easy to figure out. I posit that hay and feed was only available if their entire package was accepted. Their package was taken for a while until the repercussions became so evident that it could no longer be continued. Then “group hate” set in.
I still hope for a miracle for the Gila herd whom the BLM assisted in rounding up from Arizona; the West Douglas herd from Colorado (BLM); the Catnip herd, Virginia Range and White Sands herds.
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I am very concerned for the volunteers and the horses they’re trying to save from ISPMB with the weather as treacherous as it is in SD. Just wrote the sheriff that the deadline for adopted horse removal should be extended because of hazards.
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I haven’t seen any new news for a while …….. will call Dewey County to see if I can get any news when I donate for hay today – I am assuming Dewey County is feeding the horses still………….I am very concerned about the people on the ground as well.
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Dewey Cty and the other one is charging the horses for hay which they’ll have to pay for with their lives. I’m writing the gov and Steve Aberle to postpone the auction to get more adoptions on board and to give time for horses to be picked up by adopters. This is only fair. The weather is treacherous for everyone including the 4 legged ones.
Governor Dennis Daugaard http://sd.gov/governor/contact/default.aspx
States Atty, Steven Aberle,
Dewey County
PO Box 236
Timber Lake, SD 57656
(605) 865-3528
(605) 865-3808 (fax)
steveaberle2001@yahoo.com
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I’ve heard that the balance of $23k due the sheriff out of the original $100k may be covered by donations. Hope that’s true.
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Here is my ltr to Gov Dugaard:
Dear Governor:
You are aware that over 500 horses of the ISPMB sanctuary will be auctioned on or near Dec. 20, 2016, as per Steve Aberle, States Attorney, to repay Dewey and Ziebach Counties for the hay eaten by them.
Please have the date of the auction postponed, since it has only been a little over 2 months that the counties took over feeding them, and more funds could be raised to offset costs given a little more time.
The weather has been treacherous for all those brave volunteers and the 4 legged ones who are adopted by good-hearted folks. It is very hard for more people to help and to fund raise which they very much want to do to benefit the horses.
Please ask Attorney Aberle to postpone the auction date, so these horses do not have to pay for their sustenance with their lives.
Thank you, and hope to hear from you soon regarding this important matter for the good of the horses.
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