As the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) prepares to enter a Reno, NV courtroom to answer charges on First Amendment rights violations and Contempt of Court charges, yet another instance of discriminatory press and public access took place.
Since March, we have been working with the State of New Mexico and the Federal government on developing a horse park and preserve for the Santa Fe area.
This winter BLM plans to roundup 9107 wild horses and burros and remove 6,244 of them. After that they plan to roundup 5,548 wild horses in the summer and remove 4,502 of them- total of 14,655 rounded up and 10,746 removed for fiscal year 2010.
Research indicates the long-term horse contraceptive, porcine zona pellucida (PZP), extends the breeding season in wild horses, raising concerns over the social consequences of the drug on herds.
On October 27th the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a press release stating that it would hold a “media day” at two of its mid-western wild horse long term holding facilities November 9th and within minutes Horseback Magazine (HB) editor Steven Long responded to the BLM’s Washington D.C. public affairs officer, Tom Gorey, that HB correspondent Laura Leigh and chief HB photographer Terry Fitch would be in attendance.
While the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sends mixed signals over the state of New Mexico’s attempt to establish a state run Wild Horse sanctuary Governor Bill Richardson stands firm in his conviction that the wild horses need proper protection.
The BLM’s comment period for the Augusta Mountains HMA Preliminary EA for a Wild Horse Gather closes on 11/6. Please take the time to email your comments to Jerome Fox at AugustaMts_HMA_PrelimEA@blm.gov (mailing address and fax are in the letter). This plan is to capture 344 horses, including 50 outside the HMA. Mares captured within the HMA are to be treated with the contraceptive PZP-22 and released, the 50 horses outside the HMA are to be removed to adoption facilities.
It didn’t take long; only several weeks ago New Mexico announced plans to purchase 12,000 acres of private land with the intent to turn a portion of the property into a wild horse sanctuary and already the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is attempting to interject itself squarly into the middle of the state’s proposal.
This Sunday we will be talking about the BLM and saving our wild horse herds with the author of Straight from the Horse’s Heart, R.T. Fitch!
It’s been a tough month for Wild Horse Advocates, even tougher for the horses. Months of legal planning had been mapped out by the HfH Advisory Council in an effort to stop four, specifically targeted BLM roundups from occurring. Two of those were postponed by a year, one directly due to our efforts. But the other two went forward, one struggle even made it to court. Did we make any progress? Were the horses helped in anyway? To put it mildly; “You bet ya!”
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