Portland, OR (August 18, 2010)—The Stinkingwater wild horse herd of Southeastern Oregon is slated for a near complete removal in a summer helicopter roundup scheduled to begin today. Concerned citizens in Oregon and across the country have been calling for a stop to this unnecessary and costly action.
We have spent so much time addressing the inequities, injustices and cruelties surrounding the roundups, we sometimes forget to notice there is a beauty within all this ugliness, the reasons why we fight the fight.
Babies screaming for their mothers, lame horses, horses down and this is all for the good of the wild horses?!?!?
Arriving at the Litchfield Holding Facility at around 6:00 a.m., just before dawn, we were briefed by ‘Jeff’, a uniformed BLM representative on the rules of conduct. Most pointed: Disruptions or jeopardizing of safety would discontinue regular observation day. This was punctuated by 3 armed Law Enforcement officers; one, wore a Kevlar vest.
California doesn’t have many wild horses and very few wild burros left but that, along with a public outcry, has not stopped the Bureau of Land Management from rounding up thousands more of California’s wild equids. The BLM, responsible for managing most of the remaining wild horses and burros in ten Western States, are now running horses ten miles or more over rough volcanic terrain with helicopters. Horses bleeding from their noses in the thick dust, very young foals separated from their mothers, a mare with a broken leg and a colicking mare have been observed by a dedicated team of advocates observing the Twin Peaks roundup.
Park rangers say using helicopters to round up wild horses in California is humane and necessary. But animal rights activists tell Channel 4 News’s Sarah Smith the practice is barbaric.
Photo’s Submitted by Leslie Peeples during first Days of Stampede (Slide Show Updated) Related articles by Zemanta BLM Helicopter Stampede to put 50% of California’s Wild Horses and Burros behind Bars Forever (rtfitch.wordpress.com) Warning: Graphic Images — Dead Foal Found in Twin Peaks (humaneobserver.blogspot.com) Twin Peaks Roundup Starts […]
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undeniable, with liberty and freedom for all.” ~R.T. Fitch
Sacramento, CA (August 13, 2010)—The body of a wild horse foal was found near the site of the Twin Peaks roundup Wednesday by Craig Downer, wildlife ecologist and Cloud Foundation Board member, and Christy Davis, wild horse advocate. Davis, an experienced horse woman, examined the foal for any broken bones. What she found was an apparent rope burn on a rear leg as well as a gunshot wound.
A lawyer at the center of several legal challenges to wild horse roundups has written to the United States Attorney General asking him to ensure that the federal agency behind the roundups meets its legal obligations.
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