RENO, Nev.—Wild horse protection advocates are accusing the federal Bureau of Land Management of stacking a public advisory board with friends of cattle ranchers at the expense of mustangs, and warning that the panel is increasingly sympathetic to the idea of slaughtering excess animals in overpopulated herds on U.S. lands in the West.
COLO. SPRINGS, CO (Feb. 8, 2012) – The Cloud Foundation strongly protests the appointment of another pro-slaughter member to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. On February 5, 2012, Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, named Callie Hendrickson of Grand Junction, Colorado as the newest member of the Board. Hendrickson will fill the General Public position, replacing Janet Jankura of Ohio who applied to serve another term but was denied.
Words matter in life. And the case of the the wild donkeys of West Texas is no exception.
If you call them “Wild Burros” you could be inclined to see them as scrappy survivors, emblems of the Old West. If you call them “Feral Donkeys,” well, then they sound like pests that need to be exterminated.
In Texas, what we have here is a failure to communicate.
At a Statehouse dominated by elephants, the donkey got some love in a short parade in downtown Austin on Wednesday.
The occasion was a protest of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s shoot-to-kill policy concerning feral burros in Big Bend Ranch State Park. Marjorie Farabee , founder of the Wild Burro Protection League and director at the Wild Horse Freedom Federation, had a helper drop some 103,000 petitions against shooting the burros at Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s office.
“Because Gov. Perry’s office refused authorization of delivery,” Farabee said. “Be sure you write that.”
Tomorrow, 1/18/2011,the Wild Burro Protection League and Red Horse Nation will be herding burros to Austin to deliver more than 100,000 signatures to Governor Rick Perry.
The signatures are part of a Change.org petition demanding that the Presidential hopeful stop his administration’s wild burro slaughter in Texas’ Big Bend Ranch State Park.
“In early November of 2011 a three person Parole Board, in rural Nebraska, met with convicted Wild Horse Killer, Jason Meduna, and discussed setting him free; very, very early. If you are not familiar with this convicted animal abuser and his heinous crimes please click (HERE) as the record is long and to retell the gory details is beyond me at this point. But his former neighbor, the one who was forced to bear his abuse and accused of poisoning his horses as he let them die of starvation and no water, took the time to order the CD of his hearing and transcribe it for your review. We offer no commentary, at this point, but simply the recorded conversation that went back and forth between four individuals who, obviously, have no love for the gift of life and the beauty of equines but instead only see the narrow-minded path that best serves their individual needs. May God have mercy on their souls.” ~ R.T.
The use of public land for cattle grazing is a political hot potato and one that can easily burn the federal Bureau of Land Management. But the BLM can’t rightfully avoid dealing with the practice, no matter how unpleasant, because grazing can ruin riparian areas, dirty public waters and damage wildlife habitat.
And the agency’s mission is to balance multiple uses of public lands so that one doesn’t preclude the others.
Grazing is one of the West’s traditional industries and one that conservative lawmakers in Utah staunchly defend. But science now provides better data on its impacts. The BLM should follow its own policy, which prohibits political interference with, or manipulation of, scientific work.
London Olympic Stadium holds 80,000 people. This blog was viewed about 600,000 times in 2011. If it were competing at London Olympic Stadium, it would take about 8 sold-out events for that many people to see it.
Christmas Commentary by R.T. Fitch ~ President Wild Horse Freedom Federation The Horses Thank All of You for Who and What You Are For the safety and security of my wife, Terry, and our ranch I rarely divulge my location, travel plans or activities. But being that it […]
Forty years ago this week, the American people spoke with one voice on an issue that clearly touched the heart of the nation. The Wild Horse and Burro Act was signed into law, over the objections of the powerful cattle industry. Congress was flooded with more letters and telegrams about wild mustangs than for any other issue save the Vietnam War. They insisted that wild horses must be preserved on public lands. That demand became law.
Click-on book cover to learn more
Terry & R.T. Fitch Featured
Follow R.T. on Facebook
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Most Recent Comments