Report by Carol Walker ~ Wild Horse Freedom Federation Advisory Board Forward by R.T. Fitch ~ co-founder/president Wild Horse Freedom Federation “It’s over, the BLM’s war on wild horses in Wyoming has concluded with a total of 668 horses ripped from their families and freedom. The BLM walks […]
This past weekend the public was not allowed to witness nor audit the controversial BLM helicopter wild horse stampede and roundup in the Red Desert of Wyoming. This subversive action on the part of the federal agency so infuriated the Board and Officers of Wild Horse Freedom Federation that Advisory Board Member and noted photographer Carol Walker put our cares and concerns for the weather aside and traveled to the area in question to be the eyes and ears for WHFF and the wild horse and burro advocacy. Below is her report along with her photographs which will be added to her stunning collection of wild equine photography at http://www.wildhoofbeats.com upon her return home. Carol will cover the release of the PZPed mares and final operations before heading back, stay tuned.
Source: Carol Walker’s Wild Hoofbeats.com “I realized that this was a foal, and he looked miserable, head down, standing next to a post” On Sunday, I was driving in Salt Wells Creek Herd Management Area in the Red Desert of Wyoming. This area is over 1 million acres […]
By DAN FROSCH of the New York Times Carol Walker: “Seeing these horses out in the wild and then seeing them in a holding pen, it will break your heart,” “FYI, we do not agree with the numbers or BLM propaganda that appears here but we hope that […]
Eyewitness report by Carol Walker as published on Wild Hoofbeats “The boys ran in front of my car along the road…” “Our good friend Carol Walker, noted wild horse photographer, is kind enough to share with us a “Feel Good Sunday” wild horse story of reunion and togetherness. […]
The priority at that point was to get the foal out and back to his family. It was a holiday weekend, the BLM office was closed, and there was no cell service in the area anyway, so it was up to us to help him. With no access to water or to his mother, the foal would most likely die. We moved very quietly and slowly, not wanting to panic him and cause him to run into the barbed wire, and injure himself. At this point he was bright eyed and active, and watched us as we worked.
Renowned photographer, author and Wild Horse Freedom Federation Advisory Board member, Carol Walker has just returned from witnessing a rerun, less the helicopter, of the BLM’s 2009 attack and assault upon Cloud’s herd in the Pryor Mountains. Yup, you have it right, the over inflated egos that run the BLM field office in Billings, MT just aren’t happy unless they are chasing wild horses around and keeping their numbers so low that the hope of future genetic viability is nothing more than smoke in the wind.
*The Herd area is 110,000 acres. Currently the population of wild horses in the Herd Area is 167, including foals.
*The BLM wants to bring the herd down to 100 horses, which is below the level needed to sustain genetic viability (150 adults). Bringing the numbers of horses down to 100 will seriously jeopardize the genetic viability of the herd.
*FOAL, Friends of a Legacy, a group in Cody has been working in partnership with the BLM to improve the range and also on using birth control to control the numbers in this herd. Currently there are only 7 foals born in 2012, so the birth control is working. They have darted the mares with PZP again this summer – let all their hard work pay off and leave the herd alone, let the birth control work.
*There are livestock lessors who run cattle on the range. If the BLM wants to improve the conditions on the range, they should curtail use by livestock. This is a herd management area and as such the horses should be treated as the primary species in the herd area.
*The range is suffering from drought conditions this year. This is a natural cycle, and part of managing wild horses is dealing with these conditions. It is still cheaper to haul water to the horses than to remove them and put them into holding facilities where they will face an uncertain future.
America’s wild horse herds are in peril of extinction, but award-winning equine photographer Carol Walker is ready with viable solutions in her new book, Galloping to Freedom: Saving America’s Wild Horses. Through a campaign at web-based fund-raising platform Kickstarter, Walker invites wild horse supporters to be “part of the solution” by helping her print and distribute this important guide to ensuring the future of our legacy animals.
Report by Carol Walker, WHFF advisory board member, as posted on Wild Hoofbeats “There was absolutely no mention of cattle or sheep on the range, who vastly outnumber wild horses” On Saturday morning, I drove to the Walmart in El Dorado, Kansas to go on the tour provided […]
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