Tag Archives: Viggo Mortensen

Jun 21 2011

Congressman to Host Wild Horse Documentary Screening

Press Release from Moving Cloud Productions

“Wild horses are living things who have a right to coexist in what is a vast landscape, which is the American West. Let’s do something about this.” –Viggo Mortensen

Moving Cloud Productions & Congressmen Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
announce a special showing of the ground-breaking film
Wild Horses & Renegades
Acclaimed documentary screens at 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 7, 2011 on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. at the Capitol Visitor Center Orientation Theater South.

Producer/Director James Kleinert

June 21, 2011 (Santa Fe, NM) … Viggo Mortensen, Daryl Hannah, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Raoul Trujillo. “Dances with Wolves” author Michael Blake, Pulitzer Prize-winning Native American author and scholar N. Scott Momaday, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. All have something deeply in common besides celebrity and talent – a passion for the plight of the American wild horse.

These noble animals, one of the last living symbols of the power and romance of the West, are currently under siege by brutal Bureau of Land Management roundups and general range mismanagement – a dire situation fueled by a growing corporate push to resume uranium mining and expand oil and gas production on currently protected land.

BLM’s own estimate puts the number of wild horses in holding pens at more than 40,000, at a taxpayer cost of $120,000 per day. A few are adopted, some die in the pens, and many are sold over the border into Mexico for slaughter for human consumption. Their only chance for survival, let alone increasing their numbers, lies in public awareness and action.

Santa Fe filmmaker James Anaquad-Kleinert has powerfully highlighted the animal’s plight in his documentary Wild Horses and Renegades (75 minutes, Moving Cloud Productions). The film has its Washington D.C. premiere at 5 pm Thursday, July 7, at The Capitol Hill Visitor Center Orientation Theater South (East Capitol St. North East, 20515). This screening supports proposed legislation that will reinstate protection of America’s Wild Horses and out Public Lands. Moving Cloud also has produced a six-minute call-to-action video that sets gorgeous footage of wild horses with U2’s hit song, Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses. 

US Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), energy consultant Randy Udall, and former Bureau of Land Management Director Jim Baca are also interviewed in the film. Baca bleakly notes, “Our public lands are run by the oil, mining and livestock industries and it’s their way or the highway.” Hannah adds, “Wild Horses & Renegades  explains why we are seeing massive wild horse and burro roundups and why these majestic, beautiful, iconic creatures are being threatened and facing possible slaughter.”

Beautiful, poignant, and compelling Wild Horses and Renegades screened at the International Wild Life Film Festival on May 12, in Missoula Montana, where it won Honorable Mention in Cinematography, Investigative Journalism, and Music Editing/Sound Track.

In addition to its screenings, the film is the subject of a major story in the May 2011 issue of Horseback magazine. Outside magazine will highlight the documentary, in its July 2011 issue.

“If the public could view what’s being done to wild horses, the public would stand up and take action. This is just not a film about America’s wild horses; this is a film about what is happening to America itself!” states Blake.

In addition to Wild Horses and Renegades, Kleinert has produced winter sports films and in-depth environmental films with a strong Native American element, including The Edge of Telluride and Spirit Riders, an award-winning documentary that showed in part on HBO.com (www.spiritridersmovie.com). He is a former World Cup competitor in aerial freestyle skiing.

For an interview with the director or to request a review copy of Wild Horses & Renegades, email jameskleinert@mac.com. To view the U2 music video and other powerful clips, visit www.theamericanwildhorse.com. Photos and other press materials are available on request.

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Mar 9 2011

Showing the Truth about Wild Horse Roundups

film by James Kleinert

Courtesy of Saving the American Wild Horse

Wild Horse Round Ups, Showing the Truth features Peter Coyote, Michael Blake (Author of Dances With Wolves) and Ginger Kathrens telling of the tragedy facing America’s Wild Horses & Burros from the Bureau Of Land Management.
Managing to Extinction is what is happening to our cherished symbol of Freedom, the American Wild Horse.

With the American mustang crisis in the news worldwide, award-winning filmmaker, James Anaquad-Kleinert brings his star- studded environmental film, Wild Horses & Renegades, featuring Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Viggo Mortensen, Daryl Hannah Governor Richardson, Congressmen Grijalva, Pulitzer Prize winning American Indian Author Scott Momaday and Raoul Trujillo to Santa Fe.

“If the public could view what’s being done to wild horses, the public would stand up and take action, this is just not a film about America’s Wild Horses this is a film about what is happening to America itself!” states Michael Blake, author of Dances with Wolves.

Anaquad-Kleinert’s documentary examines the Bureau of Land Management‘s (BLM) controversial policies on public lands, while investigating the elimination of America’s wild horses and burros. Recently, 90 wild horses died and more than 40 mares aborted their late term foals as a result of the Calico Roundup in Nevada. The BLM called the Calico roundup a success. Many more roundups are scheduled for 2011. Since 2001, the BLM has removed more than 90,000 wild horses off their federally protected land. More than 24 million acres have been withdrawn from wild horse and burro use despite the 1971 Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act. 40,000 wild horses are currently in government holding facilities instead of roaming on the land designated for their use. The BLM’s roundup and removal policy is leading to the extinction of wild horses and burros in the West. This costs the American taxpayer: $120,000. Per day

“I adopted a wild horse named Voodoo, who had been rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management and adopted out to a killer buyer. The man like many or most killer buyers, played a cruel game of acquiring horses and betting that he could sell them to slaughter before he has to feed them. But the problem did not begin with the killer buyer. It began with the Bureau of Land Management,” said Willie Nelson.

Shot in high definition, Wild Horses & Renegades, centers around dramatic footage of heart- wrenching wild horse roundups and interviews with Jim Baca, (former Director of the BLM), Michael Blake (writer of Dances With Wolves), Sheryl Crow, Viggo Mortensen, Willie Nelson, Daryl Hannah, Congressmen Raul M. Grijalva, Pulitzer Prize winning American Indian Author Scott Momaday, Ginger Kathrens, American Indian actor’/advocates Raoul Trijullo and Tokala Clifford Black Elk, energy consultant Randy Udall, and scientific experts, as well as animal rights and environmental activists. The documentary examines the effects of gutting the historic 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act with the 2004 Burns Amendment—removing protections for tens of thousands of wild horses, many of whom have ended up in foreign slaughter plants. Wild Horses & Renegades documents the struggle of the West’s legendary wild horses. The film focuses on the stallion named ‘Traveler’ and the activism to release him to the wild after the roundup. Wild horses have long symbolized freedom, individualism and the free spirit of America. The documentary delves into the reasons behind the roundups and current impacts on western public lands by oil, gas, mining and corporate cattle grazing.

How are the wild horses roaming free in the way of corporate oil, gas, water, solar, wind and mineral extraction? Before a big corporation begins extraction on public land, (leased out by the BLM), an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is made. If wild horses are in the area; advocates will want to protect the wild horse environment. This would be problematic for the extractive industry land acquisition. If wild horses remain on the range then the public will want to visit the area. Energy and mineral industries don’t want the public to see any violations of safety and environmental codes, especially when they want to green wash their industries. Since America’s wild mustangs cannot speak for themselves we’re getting the word out. His short film, Wild Horse Spirit, was a pivotal part of the 2007 Emmy award- winning PBS series Natural Hero’s. Now, in Wild Horses & Renegades, the filmmaker explores how the “New Energy Frontier” public land shift is forcing the mustangs out. Big corporate oil/gas and mining companies are overtaking the vast majority of public lands in the American West. Wild Horses & Renegades explores the corruption within the Department of the Interiors Mineral Management Service. Since the tragic Gulf of Mexico oil spill the media and public are beginning to realize how deep the corruption is within the department of the Interior. As Jim Baca states in Wild Horses & Renegades: “Our Public Lands are run by the oil, mining and livestock industries and it’s their way or the highway”.

Always ready to tackle challenges, James Anaquad-Kleinert, the former World Cup competitor in aerial freestyle skiing has been hailed for both his high action winter sports films and his in-depth environmental films with a strong Native American element. “Killing wild horses, running brutal roundups and shipping them out the back door to slaughter has been going on for years. I’m grateful for people like Sheryl, Willie, Viggo, Daryl, Congressmen Grijalva and Governor Richardson for their support of my film,” says James Adaquad-Kleinert adding, “Wild Horses & Renegades” shows how wild horses are problematic for the “New Energy Frontier” —the public land grab going on right now.
“Wild horses are living things who have a right to coexist in what is a vast landscape, which is the American West,” states Viggo Mortensen in Adaquad-Kleinert’s film adding, “Let’s do something about this.”

“Wild Horses & Renegades” explains why we are seeing massive wild horse and burro roundups and why these majestic, beautiful, iconic creatures are being threatened and facing possible slaughter,” says Daryl Hannah.

To learn more and view the Trailer for Wild Horses & Renegades please visit: theamericanwildhorse.com

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Jun 7 2010

Filmmaker Hailed as the Jane Goodall for the American Wild Mustang

Ginger Kathrens filming "Cloud" in the Arrowhead Mts. - Photo by R.T. Fitch

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and Director of The Cloud Foundation, Ginger Kathrens, is working hard to save wild horses in their native Western states, including California. She will speak at the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento June 11-13th.

“Ginger Kathrens is the Jane Goodall for the American wild mustang. She is a naturalist, witness, advocate, educator and filmmaker,” says Sheryl Crow, GRAMMY® award-winning singer/songwriter.

Kathrens will share her adventures with wild horses and speak about the current International movement to save the American mustangs, backed by celebrities such as Sheryl Crow, Michael Blake and Viggo Mortensen. Kathrens has studied and filmed the mustangs in their natural environment for more than 15 years—creating the popular Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies programs for PBS’s Nature series shown in the U.S.A and abroad. Her documentaries represent the only known long-term documentation, in our hemisphere, of a wild animal from birth.

Audience members will learn why it’s important to stop the Bureau of Land Management‘s (BLM) proposed roundup and removal of 1800 wild California mustangs and 200 wild California burros. The roundup, if allowed to proceed this summer, will remove the last stronghold of wild horses in California currently living in the Twin Peaks herd area near Susanville in Northern California.

Kathrens will speak at the Horse Expo’s Trail Symposium pavilion on June 11 from 10:00-10:30 a.m., June 12 from 4:00- 4:30 p.m. and June 13 from 3:00- 3:30 p.m. For more information on the Horse Expo visit http://www.horsexpo.com.

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May 4 2010

Mother’s Day for Captive Wild Horse Mares

Press Release from The Cloud Foundation

Stop the Roundups and Respect our Native Wild Mothers

Photo by Elyse Gardner - the Humane Observer

WASHINGTON D.C. (May 4, 2010) ―The American wild horse crisis is filled with issues of animal cruelty and the world looks on and asks, “Why?”. Currently the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is holding over 1800 captured Calico mustangs at a privately owned, feedlot-style facility in Fallon, Nevada. The manure-strewn pens have become a makeshift nursery for captured mares now giving birth without cover or protection from the elements.  In honor of America’s wild horse mares and their foals, International Fund for Horses and The Cloud Foundation launch a letter writing campaign First Lady Michelle Obama this Mother’s Day, requesting a moratorium on roundups in the American West.

“The American public is no longer buying the false claims by the BLM that wild horses are starving and must be removed from the range,” states Vivian Grant, President of the Int’l Fund for Horses. “Time after time we see healthy wild horses being rounded up by the BLM and tragically it is the mares and their newborn or unborn foals who pay the highest price.” More than 40 late term abortions and 87 adult horse deaths have occurred as a result of the stressful helicopter roundup in northwestern Nevada in the dead of winter.

While the Calico mustang mothers and their newborns continue to be held in the dusty corrals, their sons are being castrated without proper pain medication or medical oversight. Complications that often arise with domestic horses such as hemorrhage, evisceration (protrusion on the intestine through the scrotum), inflammation, swelling in the cavity and lasting damage to the penis go untreated.

“Prompt recognition of post-castration complications and expedited application of appropriate treatment is essential in all cases” according to Liberty M. Getman, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, from the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center. Dr. Getman went on to explain that “approximately one-third of all castrations develop some form of post-surgical complication, and these complications constitute the number one reason of malpractice claims against North American veterinarians.” The 1800-plus mustangs in Fallon are under the watch of only one veterinarian and castrated males, in obvious pain with swollen scrotums, receive no pain medication or post-surgical care. Humane observers are denied access except for a two hour staged public tour once a week.

Celebrities such as Sheryl Crow and Viggo Mortensen as well as scientists and more than 160 international organizations, have signed a unified moratorium letter calling for a freeze of BLM roundups until a truly sustainable plan is in effect. Currently BLM spends roughly half their $64 million budget rounding up mustangs and the remainder feeding captured mustangs in government holding millions. This poor management policy is leading to the destruction of the last of our western wild herds.

The two foundations ask the First Lady for help to end the cruelty, stop the wild horse round ups, and call for an investigation of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro program. “Tell our First Lady how you really feel about what is happening to our wild horses and burros,” urges Ginger Kathrens, Cloud filmmaker and Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation. “The BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program is a fiscal train wreck for the American taxpayers and an on-going nightmare for the Calico horses. Adding more wild horses and burros into holding facilities while the ranges are emptied of the last of our iconic mustangs makes absolutely no sense.

“Now the public of all ages is invited to write to: First Lady Michelle Obama, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20500, fax her at (202) 456-2461, call her office at (202) 456-1414 or email her online at www.emailthepresident.com/first-lady

“What do we need to do to get a response from this Administration? Put holding pens on the White House lawn?” asks Hilary Wood, President and Founder of Front Range Equine Rescue in Larkspur, Colorado. In the meantime, the BLM is revving up the helicopters for the next invasion of wild horses and burro ranges slated to begin in June. “We’d like to keep mothers and their foals living free, in the wild, as Congress intended in the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act,” adds Wood.

Links of interest:

Fallon Facility Daily Reports http://bit.ly/aSaeVc
Photos of Fallon mares, foals and castrated males http://bit.ly/aE1hg9
Roundup Schedule- updated February 2010 http://bit.ly/bOhwdk
Wild Horses: Management or Stampede to Extinction? Reno Gazette Sunday Special by Frank X. Mullen. http://bit.ly/9rGFwV
American Herds – “What’s Left?” http://americanherds.blogspot.com/2009/12/whats-left.html
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/

Disappointment Valley… A Modern Day Western Trailer- excellent sample of interviews regarding the issues http://bit.ly/awFbwm

The Int’l Fund for Horses is the most influential equine advocacy organization of its kind. Headquartered in the United States, the Int’l Fund for Horses works for the passage and enforcement of horse protection laws and act as industry watchdogs intervening on behalf of horses in health, safety and welfare matters. Learn more at www.fund4horses.org or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fund4horses.

The Cloud Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to the preservation and protection of wild horses and burros on our Western public lands with a focus on protecting Cloud’s herd in the Pryor Mountains of Montana.

Learn more at www.thecloudfoundation.org. Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Photos, video and interviews available from The Cloud Foundation

makendra@thecloudfoundation.org ~ 719-633-3842

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Mar 11 2010

Star-Studded Wild Horse Documentary Screens in DC

Press Release from The Cloud Foundation

Sheryl Crow, Viggo Mortensen and Ginger Kathrens Speak Out to Save The American Mustang in Kleinert’s New Film

Filmmaker James Kleinert

Washington, DC (March 10, 2010)—International award-winning filmmaker, James Kleinert, screens his latest star-studded film, Disappointment Valley … A Modern Day Western, featuring Sheryl Crow, Viggo Mortensen and Darryl Hannah, on Wednesday, March 24 in Washington DC. Kleinert’s documentary examines the politics behind the Bureau of Land Management‘s (BLM) controversial policies on public lands while questioning the fate of America’s wild horses and burros. The screening begins at 6:00pm at Busboys and Poets, 14th and V, Washington, DC.  The film will be followed by a Q&A with Kleinert and Emmy-Award Winning filmmaker and wild horse advocate, Ginger Kathrens, who also appears in the film. The screening will be followed by the “March for Mustangs” rally on March 25th in Lafayette Park from 1:00pm- 3:00pm to stop the destruction of America’s wild horse and burro herds. Actress Wendie Malick will join speakers Kathrens, Kleinert and more for a 1:30pm press conference.

“Wild horses are living things who have a right to coexist in what is a vast landscape, which is the American west.”- Viggo Mortensen, Actor/Advocate

Disappointment Valley centers around dramatic footage of heart-wrenching wild horse roundups and interviews with Jim Baca, (former Director of the Bureau of Land Management), Michael Blake, (Writer, Dances With Wolves), Sheryl Crow, Viggo Mortensen, Daryl Hannah, Congressmen Raul M. Grijalva, American Indian Actor and advocate Raoul Trijullo, energy consultant Randy Udall, scientific experts, animal rights and environmental activists. Probing deeply into the issue, the documentary examines the effects of the 2004 legislation that cleared the way for the removal and slaughter of America’s wild horses.

“The BLM is not just trying to destroy wild horse herds, they’re really challenging the system of democracy in the US and this is a very, very dangerous path they’ve gone down” –Ginger Kathrens, filmmaker of the popular PBS Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies programs and Director of The Cloud Foundation.

Disappointment Valley documents the struggle of the legendary mustangs who have long symbolized freedom, individualism and the wild spirit in America. However, greed and corruption take center stage, exposing deceit within the BLM.  The film delves into the current impacts on western public lands by oil, gas, mining and corporate cattle grazing.

“I hope this film will not only educate viewers about the disturbing, massive removals of our wild horses but inspire change to protect these precious animals in the West,” explains Kleinert. A former World Cup competitor in freestyle skiing aerials, and a top action, environmental and Native American filmmaker, Kleinert’s short film Wild Horse Spirit was pivotal in the 2007 Emmy award-winning PBS series Natural Hero’s.

“As remarkable as a distant sight of wild horses can be, it remains the tip of a glorious iceberg. The actual lives of wild horses reveal to humanity the privilege of having a life on the planet earth and how vital it is to respect the privilege.”- Michael Blake, Author Dances with Wolves and Twelve the King.

James Kleinert works closely with the Spirit Riders Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit (www.spiritridersfoundation.org). The Spirit Riders Foundation produces multimedia state of the art audio-visual programming to educate, enlighten, entertain and to create positive understanding, hope and action among people and cultures. These materials are designed to foster harmony and understanding by empowering the human spirit, mind and body.

Reservations for the screening are recommended but not required, please contact: Elizabeth Slagsvol at BSlagsvol@mac.com or Makendra Silverman, makendra@thecloudfoundation.org, 719-351-8187

Venue capacity: 80 people

Links of interest:

Disappointment Valley Trailer & Information www.theamericanwildhorse.com

James Kleinert, filmmaker Moving Cloud Productions http://www.movingcloud.com/bio.html

PSA by Moving Cloud Productions on mustangs in danger http://bit.ly/af74jm

March for Mustangs- March 25th, DC Rally: http://bit.ly/d8GqEY

Hosted by Friends of Animals and co-sponsored by a group of organizations

Spirit Riders Foundation: www.spiritridersfoundation.org

News Story on Calico, rising death toll & skewed numbers from George Knapp (KLAS- Las Vegas): http://bit.ly/9f1DYb

BLM Daily Reports from Calico Roundup/Fallon Holding: http://bit.ly/aSaeVc

American Herds – “What’s Left?” http://americanherds.blogspot.com/2009/12/whats-left.html

Humane Observer blog http://humaneobserver.blogspot.com/

Straight from the Horse’s Heart blog:  www.sfthh.com

“A Cruel Waste” – explanatory youtube video: http://wild-horse-burro.org/

Rebuttal to Salazar’s plan in LA Times: http://bit.ly/a3T6GJ

The Cloud Foundation position paper on Salazar plan—Oct. 2009: http://bit.ly/cpKnum

Good Morning America at Calico http://bit.ly/bXtwd5

New York Times “Horses Die in Roundup” http://nyti.ms/atZqF5

After campaigning for Obama, Sheryl Crow at odds over his administration’s wild-horse plan (Associated Press) http://bit.ly/6UQleO

Mestengo. Mustang. Misfit.  America’s Disappearing Wild Horses – A History

http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/resources/wild.html

Frequently Asked Questions on Wild Horses

(http://www.wildmustangcoalition.org/id44.html)

Stampede to Oblivion: An Investigate Report from Las Vegas Now (http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11285225)

Unified Moratorium letter and signatories  http://bit.ly/6ck87L

Roundup Schedule- updated January 11, 2010  http://bit.ly/5AmMLm

Photos, video and interviews available from:

The Cloud Foundation

719-633-3842

The Cloud Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to the preservation and protection of wild horses and burros on our Western public lands with a focus on protecting Cloud’s herd in the Pryor Mountains of Montana.

107 S. 7th St. – Colorado Springs, CO 80905. www.thecloudfoundation.org


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Jan 17 2010

Willie Nelson Tired of all the Horses Asses

by R.T. Fitch 

In a recent People.pets article legendary country performer Willie Nelson was quoted  as asking, “Why are there more horses asses than there are horses?”  The celebrity’s frustration is echoed across the country as the federal government’s Bureau of Land Management are rounding up the last remaining wild horses and burros from public land and placing them in holding pens by the thousands.

The ill advised roundup of 2,600 wild horses in Nevada’s Calico mountains  began last month against the advice of a US Federal Judge.  The BLM plans on rounding up, at taxpayers expense, 12,000 additional horses and add them to the pens holding 33,000 horses at this time.  This places more horses in detainment than are free by the BLM’s own accounting.  70 percent of the agency’s $40.6 million budget goes towards holding wild horses in a state of permanent imprisonment.

Some 68 horses call Willie Nelson’s ranch home, over 30 were rescued from slaughter and adopted from Habitat for Horses where Willie sits on the Board of Directors.  Adding to Willie’s voice, in behalf of the horses, are  Willie’s daughter Amy, singer Sheryl Crow, actors Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, Bo Derrick as well as the famed Playboy models Shane and Sia Barbi.  All have raised their voices in asking the President for a moratorium on the roundups and written Congress on behalf of the horses.

Equine advocacy groups such as the Equine Welfare Alliance, Habitat for Horses and the Cloud Foundation are outraged that the Calico Roundup is taking place in the dead of winter, a time when wild horses are trying to conserve their energy.  “It is inconceivable that the BLM would consider chasing wild horses down frozen mountain sides with a helicopter in the winter,” stated Habitat for Horses Rep. Terry Fitch before a BLM Advisory meeting last month “It is short of nothing but cruel.”

Emmy award winning cinematographer, Ginger Kathrens of the Cloud foundation is of the opinion that there are other forces at work that are driving the BLM to strip wild horses from public lands, in the case of the Calico herd it may be the Ruby Pipeline natural gas project that coincidently will snake it’s way through the same area that the horses are currently being removed.  Kathren s has brought the issue and plight of our wild horses to many through her PBS Nature series: Cloud, Wild Stallion of the Rockies.

“The bottom line is that this agency (BLM) has got to come clean” Kathrens says. “They have to be made accountable at Congressional hearings.  I think we’re just being hoodwinked while losing something so precious and spectacular.”

Many others agree, The Equine Welfare Alliance and the Cloud Foundation have circulated a petition with tens of thousands of signatures asking the President to put a stop to the roundups while an independent agency attempts to make sense of the BLM’s ever changing numbers.

To date the White House has remained silent on the subject while Willie’s question still goes begging, “Why are there more horses asses than horses.”

 

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Dec 30 2009

Wild Horse Emergency: Sheryl Crow and Viggo Mortensen’s Cry to STOP the Roundups

Sheryl Crow & Viggo Mortensen take a stand for saving the last few remaining Wild Horses and Burros in America! This PSA/Short film tells the viewer how to take positive action in contacting our elected officials in Washington D.C. helping to create positive change. The Time Is Now!

Wednesday is Call in Day for the Wild Horses, Call President Obama NOW!

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Dec 10 2009

The Managed Extinction of an Icon?

Documentary ‘Disappointment Valley’ explores the plight of wild horses

by SABINA DANA PLASSE

Wild Horse Advocate and Emmy Award winning film maker James Kleinert

The American West’s wild horse saga will not end without a good fight from lovers of the land and the animals.

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker James Kleinert has been documenting the struggle of the wild horse and its disappearance from the West for the last six years. Kleinert has been gathering footage and commentary from wild horse lovers and at roundups.

“The wild horse will be annihilated as an American symbol,” Kleinert said. “The Bureau of Land Management is pitting horse advocates against ranchers, but there is a greater issue.”

The larger issue is the mining of public land, he said.

“In southwest Colorado, uranium mining is on the comeback and nuclear energy is also on the rise, especially in the Four Corners area,” Kleinert said. “We are looking at the end of an era in the American West. Change is coming. Public lands will be shut down and wild horses taken away. We must take a stand and go forward with alternative energy sources.”

Through interviews with scientific experts, ranchers, historians, wild horse owners, animal rights activists, environmentalists, movie stars, uranium prospectors and other colorful characters, Kleinert examines the origins and effects of recent legislation clearing the way for the roundup and auctioning of wild horses in America.

The film interviews Jim Baca, BLM director under the Clinton administration; Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., and chairman of the National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee; Michael Blake, writer of “Dances With Wolves” and wild horse advocate; Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow; actor Viggo Mortensen; and actress Daryl Hannah.

Kleinert’s film includes discusses wild horses being removed for oil, gas, mining and corporate cattle grazing. The film also explores the vast exploitation of public lands to meet what is presented as a failed energy policy and offers alternatives.

Kleinert said he does not oppose the management of horses, just the reasoning for and degree to which it is done.

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Dec 3 2009

BLM Forges Forward With Nevada Calico Complex Roundup

BLM ignores the public, again, and is out of control

The fate of far too many wild horses forced to extinction by the BLM

CHICAGO, (EWA) – Wild horse advocates from around the US reacted with dismay and outrage Wednesday as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that the Calico Complex round-up of over 2,700 wild horses will proceed on December 28 as planned. Despite receiving over 10,000 public comments on the impending round-up, the BLM turned a tin ear to the public outcry and indicated it will sign a “No Impact” decision. A no impact decision means that the public comments sent to the BLM had absolutely no impact on their decision to move forward with the round-up.

This egregious decision further perpetuates the perception that the BLM is managing the wild herds to extinction. John Holland, EWA President said of the decision:

“The BLM is operating in direct opposition to the very law that they are charged with enforcing (the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act). This outrageous decision makes a mockery of the whole public comment process.”

The decision comes during a perfect storm of public outrage calling for a moratorium on wild horse and burro round-ups. During the past week, the number of organizations and dignitaries supporting the moratorium has grown to 180. Among the recent dignitaries joining the call were, Bill Maher of HBOs hit series, Real Time with Bill Maher, author of Dances with Wolves, Michael Blake, Genesis Award winner of the movie Blinders, Donny Moss, John Paul DeJoria, CEO & Co-Founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems, Jorja Fox, from the hit series CSI, Neal Schon, Multi Platinum Recording Artist and founding member of the rock band Journey, and comedienne Lily Tomlin.

Actor and Social activist, Mariana Tosca, said today “With no oversight and no independent assessment, the Bureau of Land Management is running roughshod over the rights these horses were guaranteed by the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971, reducing herds without any statutory authority to do so.“ Ms. Tosca and Viggo Mortensen were early proponents for the unified call for a moratorium.

Wednesday also marked the deadline for the public to submit comments for the BLM Advisory Board meeting that will be held on Monday, December 7.

The bureau turned a deaf ear to public comment during their last meeting in Washington D.C., cutting short many prominent wild horse advocates as they attempted to address the board. Many of those trying to comment today online reported they were unable to do so because the BLM mailbox was full and not accepting new email.

“We are encouraging the public to attend the meeting and voice their opinion on the blatant mismanagement our wild herds”, said Vicki Tobin, vice president of the EWA.

The only remaining chance for the Calico Complex horses to remain free is a lawsuit filed on behalf of the Calico Complex herds by In Defense of Animals and EWA advisor Craig Downer. The case is scheduled to be heard on December 16th. The EWA is optimistic that the court will find the BLM in violation of the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act as a Colorado court has done previously.

www.equinewelfarealliance.org

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Nov 24 2009

Mariana Tosca, Viggo Mortensen and Kevin Nealon join the unified call for an immediate moratorium on wild horse and burro round-ups

Without a single dissenting vote, the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed by Congress guaranteeing these animals protection from “capture, branding, harassment and death.” – Mariana Tosca

Viggo Mortensen - famous for roles in Lord of the Rings, Hidalgo and Appaloosa

CHICAGO, (EWA) – Acclaimed Actors Mariana Tosca, Christmas in the Clouds, Viggo Mortensen, Lord of the Rings, Appaloosa and Hidalgo and Kevin Nealon, Weeds have added their voice to a growing 150 organizations and dignitaries from America, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Africa asking President Obama and Secretary Salazar to halt the round-ups of America’s wild horses and burros.

The assault on America’s wild horses and burros must be halted until range studies can be performed and a solid plan is established for the management of these magnificent animals that represent our American heritage.

Actor and Social Activist, Mariana Tosca, joined the unified call with the following statement issued to John Holland, President of the Equine Welfare Alliance.

“With virtually no oversight, the BLM’s maneuvers are methodically cleansing the land of these animals who have become an inconvenience and impediment to the goals of the ranching, gas and oil industries.

Mariana Tosca - Actress and equine welfare advocate

It is the action of arrogance and the lowest instincts of man to place greed above the rights of others and to shape policy to fit private agendas. Millions of head of cattle are grazing on public ranges – public ranges that were designated for these wild horses and burros on land that belongs to American taxpayers, not to private entities.

These horses are connected to this land; their ancestors roamed unfettered on it over a million years ago. They represent the basic principal that our nation was founded on: FREEDOM. These animals are the physical embodiment of all that we as people and as a nation aspire to… liberty and self-determination. And at some level that resonates with each and every one of us. With every BLM round up that is allowed to happen, our heritage is under siege.”

Viggo Mortensen adds, “Thanks to all who have contacted their government representatives on behalf of mustangs, those unique animals that are living symbols of the nation’s heritage and character. Your efforts have paid off, prompting Congress to strengthen the protections afforded to wild horses and burros in the United States of America [with the passage of HR 1018].

Mariana Tosca continues, “We have to stop eroding the law that ensures their protection, simply to cater to and placate private entities. America faces a very real risk that the wild horse will go the way of the buffalo, wiped out by a zealous hunt to make room for commercial interests.

Kevin Nealon - Star of Weeds

Since the BLM is a government agency, with perceived mismanagement and conflict of interest issues, the public has a right to call for an independent audit of the horses in BLM managed short and long term holding facilities, as well as an independent count of the horses remaining on the ranges. The management of our remaining wild horses should be moved to another agency.”

A lawsuit was filed by IDA (In Defense of Animals) on November 23 aimed at halting the removal of over 2,700 horses in the Nevada Calico Complex which is scheduled to start on December 1.

Additional information on the unified call for a moratorium is available on the Equine Welfare Alliance and The Cloud Foundation websites.


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