Update on Fort Polk’s Move to Eliminate More Free Roaming Wild Horses
For Immediate Press Release
Fort Polk, Louisiana
Despite public outcry and a lawsuit through Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, the U.S. Army at Fort Polk is continuing to allow removal of the free roaming horses (many generationally wild ) from the areas at Fort Polk, where they have lived (along with other wildlife) for many years. Recently, at least 18 more wild horses were captured.
Click below for a detailed explanation of U.S. Army’s Course of Action 7: U.S. Army’s Removal Plan Designed to Benefit the Kill Buyer COA 7
The Army at Fort Polk can build elaborate corral systems and call folks from their “list” to haul these free roaming horses to the unknown, (some to auction stockyards and sold for meat price for purposes of slaughter in Mexico). The U.S. Army at Fort Polk can and should do the right thing and have them relocated to a safer area on adjacent lands that have nothing to do with the Army or training area or protected from removal.
The Army’s plan to “eliminate” these horses must be stopped until a solution can be put into place that considers the long term welfare of Louisiana’s Heritage Horses. There are close to 400,000 plus acres that are not owned or managed by the army, on USFS managed lands, that these migratory heritage animals could be relocated to and protected from exploitation.
Click here to read more about The Historical Importance of The Wild and Free Roaming Horses of Fort Polk…
Read more about the lawsuit here: Lawsuit filed to protect Louisiana’s Wild Horses
Historically, wild or un-handled horses in the hands of the public (including some 501c3’s) equal disaster. A 501c3 designation does not mean anti-slaughter and it does not guarantee the horses safety nor their well-being, nor does “non-discriminatory give-away” of horses to the “interested public”. Also these 501c3’s may not have the sustainable ability nor intent to feed and care for wild or un-handled horses long term. Non profits depend on donated money to function and 501c3 designation does not necessarily mean they have the resources and expertise required to safely house, handle, and safely adopt/sell un-handled/wild horses to the general public.
Because of this, there are both animal and social welfare/safety implications with the Army’s chosen and intentional actions. This is arguably evidenced by a previous 501c3’s inability to disclose their whereabouts or to safely handle and adopt out at least some of the horses removed last year.
Read more about the implications of wild horses in the hands of 501c3’s and the general public here: PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES of Pegasus Equine Guardian Association
Read more about horse slaughter here: For Horse Lovers Everywhere: The Truth About Horse Slaughter
Contact information for the Ft. Polk Public Affairs Office is:
7073 Radio Rd, Fort Polk, LA 71459
Phone: (337) 531-1418
Fax: (337) 531-6014
eMail: usarmy.polk.imcom.mbx.pao-public-response@mail.mil
**For Record, we ask that any communication sent to Fort Polk, regarding these horses, also be sent to: kisatchiehorses@gmail.com
Also please reach out to our Congress people to express your personal concern regarding the welfare of these horses.
1.) Billy Nungesser , As Lt Governor, State Parks and Tourism fall under his rule.
FB page: https://www.facebook.com/BillyNungesserPage/
Email: ltgov@crt.la.gov
Twitter: @BillyNungesser
Phone: (225) 342-1949
2.) Mike Strain – LA Ag Commissioner, USFS , USDA
Email: commissioner@ldaf.state.la.us
FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DoctorStrain/
https://m.facebook.com/DoctorMikeStrain
Phone: 225.922.1234
3.) John Bel Edwards, Louisiana Governor
Twitter @JohnBelForLA
EMAIL: edwardsj@legis.la.gov
https://m.facebook.com/pages/John-Bel-Edwards-for-Louisiana/497483806955179
(985)748-2245
4.) LA-5 Ralph Abraham 202-225-8490
https://abraham.house.gov/contact
5.) LA-4 John Fleming 202-225-2777
https://fleming.house.gov/contact/contactform.htm
VIEW THE LAWSUIT HERE.
Contact Information
Amy Hanchey, President
Pegasus Equine Guardian Association
PO Box 82564
Lafayette, La 70598
Phone: (337) 739-0036
Email: admin@pegasusequine.org
Machelle Lee Hall, La. Bar 31498
6329 Freret Street
New Orleans, LA 70118-6321
Phone: (504) 862-8819
Fax: (504) 862-8721
Email: mhall@tulane.edu
Counsel for Pegasus Equine Guardian Association
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Fort Polk Horses of Kisatchie
https://www.facebook.com/FortPolkHorsesPEGA/
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PEASON RIDGE TOUR OF 2017 (excerpt)
BY RICKEY ROBERTSON
Peason Ridge is a land filled with history and a land filled with the heritage of the brave men and women who settled these lands beginning is 1818 and who lived on their beloved farms until 1941 when the U.S. government used imminent domain to force all these 29 homestead families and 35 sharecropper families off their beloved lands. Located on Peason Ridge are Native American sites, historical locations of home sites, other sites where historical events took place, turpentine and logging camps, cemeteries, creeks, roads used by the stagecoaches and even the Confederate Army, and the last vestige of our heritage, the wild horses of Peason Ridge. A wonderful place to tour and to visit. Each year the JRTC and Fort Polk partner with the Cultural Resources Section at Fort Polk to allow Heritage Families and visitors to attend a free tour of this historic area. And every year we have a large group who attends the tour.
http://www.sfasu.edu/heritagecenter/9870.asp
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Advocates Oppose Wild Horse Removal Program
[Ft. Polk, Louisiana] Pictures Below
The U.S. Army is in the process of removing wild horses from ranges and pine forests that the horses have inhabited for many generations.
One young woman, who lives on the main post, summarizes the feeling of many locals:
“I feel upset about them being removed. They are so beautiful! They don’t harm anyone, and they were here before us. They bring joy to a lot of folks here. It’s what Fork Polk is known for!”
Horse advocates would like for the Army to establish protected sanctuaries for the horses where the number of horses could be ethically and humanely managed. This would keep the horses safe from going to slaughter, which many, with good reason, believe would be their fate otherwise. Any such operation could be funded and run by non-government organizations, sparing the Army an added expense which they say they cannot afford. If necessary, those organizations could manage and carefully oversee adoption of horses to reduce the population.
Neda DeMayo [nationally known wild horse expert: President, Return to Freedom (Wild Horse Preservation, Education & Sanctuary); and Founder, American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, a coalition of organizations dealing with current wild horse crisis issues] advises:
“In light of the thousands of wild horses and burros that the federal government wants to remove from the range in Nevada and elsewhere, it would be irresponsible for the Department of Defense to move forward without a long-term, humane management plan for the Ft. Polk horses. We respectfully urge the Army to partner with local organizations to create and implement a humane management plan, using safe, proven fertility control, to reduce the number of horses over time.”
Ft. Polk has recently acquired 45,000 acres between the Ft. Polk main post and Peason Ridge. A Ft. Polk ranking officer said the Army will need to use all the land, and the training units will be larger. However, a sizable tract within the acquired land is to be held in reserve for ten years when the timber will be harvested. And the size of training units have been becoming smaller, not larger.
http://humaneheart.org/horses/
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