Wild horses win in Colorado!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
We have exciting news!
This week, the Colorado General Assembly passed SB23-275, also known as the Colorado Wild Horse Project, and sent it to Governor Polis’ desk for his signature.
This bill, supported by AWHC and other wild horse protection and environmental groups, invests in a humane and cost-effective alternative to the cruel roundups that have reduced Colorado’s wild horse herds over the past several years.
SB23-275 is a significant step forward in the long term conservation of Colorado’s wild horses, dedicating $1.5 million in state resources to support the work of existing – but traditionally underfunded – local wild horse volunteer groups focused on sustaining wild horse populations through robust fertility control and habitat stewardship programs.
The bill creates a broad stakeholder working group to make recommendations for responsible placement options for wild horses who have been removed from the range, and is a model for positive and collaborative state involvement to improve the humane management of these federally-protected animals across the West.
The Wild Horse Project is an outgrowth of public opposition to the last two years of government helicopter roundups in Colorado, which removed 1,800 wild horses from their habitats and led to the preventable deaths of 149 of these state icons in overcrowded holding pens.
Colorado’s political leaders – representing broad constituencies that include wild horse advocates, environmentalists, and ranching interests – came together in response. We are thankful to Governor Polis, First Gentleman Marlon Reis, House Majority Leader Monica Duran, House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, Senator Joann Ginal, and Senator Perry Will, for working on a bipartisan basis toward a better way to care for and protect Colorado’s majestic wild horse herds.
We believe that Majority Leader Monica Duran said it best when she testified for the bill:
“… In Colorado, we love our horses. They are central to our state’s history and culture…after the two helicopter roundups that occurred in our state, there was an outcry. And this bill is an answer to that outcry.”
Please help us spread the word about this important step forward for our cause! Here are two ways you can help us get the news out:
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Thank you to all the citizens and organizations who took action to support this game changing legislation – this win would not have been possible without your support. Our collective herd of advocates is strong, and when we all band together, we succeed!
Thank you for standing with our wild herds in the fight for their future.
– American Wild Horse Campaign
Chilly Pepper – A different kind of 911. Urgent help needed for these babies and more nursery space. Please help now!
The following is from Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang:
Hi,
This is a bit of a different fundraiser. We always need help for feed, vetting and saving lives; however, there is an extremely urgent need to get more nursery space to keep our babies safe and provide what they need.
This is Tika after one of her “episodes”. Thankfully they seem to be slowing down. (She needs a big enough space so she can be safe inside and have enough room with the door closed to prevent this).
_I have attached pictures of DaBubbles when he was attacked by a mountain lion. Folks say it won’t happen, but they obviously have no idea what they are talking about. It absolutely did. He is now 100%, but it was a brutal and painful 3 months to get him back to health.
We know there are big cats nearby, as our neighbors have seen them, and they go through the property. We have seen some mighty big prints. I need enough room to put the babies safely inside at night or if I have to leave for a short time.
(It also doesn’t help that I can no longer sleep in the bunk above the babies. I have been staying in a chair while I am taking care of the babies, as I simply am in too much pain and physically unable to climb up into the bed.) We need to add more space!!
It is especially important to be able to monitor babies like Tika 24/7. It is literally life and death for her. She is struggling greatly, but definitely has not stopped fighting. She will ultimately decide if it’s time to help her. They always let you know. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR HER!
(A big thank you for making it possible to get all 3 of the babies, the mare and her baby and the pregnant mare saved.)
Cassie is the newest and seems to be holding her own.
Wildfire is rocking his world .
I NEED SERIOUS HELP WITH THE NEW NURSERY, Please ! lol . (it will be combined with the existing one.) In order to get the sales price, I once again acted purely on FAITH, and put in the order for it. (It is simply a necessity, especially with having big kitties seen around our place.)
We desperately need more nursery space. Tika was crashing and hitting the walls due to the lack of space, and we simply need to do it now.
Neighbors have are seeing big kitties around and I need to keep ALL the babies safely inside at night. I cannot do this without adding the necessary space.
THANK YOU, ALL OF YOU, FOR BEING SO AMAZING FOR THESE PRECIOUS SOULS! YOU are the reason so many lives are saved!
I will keep fighting the good fight as long as I can afford to. I so appreciate all of you and so do the critters.
If you want to help with the Vet Bill, call Goldendale Veterinary at 509-773-0369.
I appreciate every single one of our Chilly Pepper Family. God has truly blessed this rescue!
Have a safe, blessed and life saving 2023!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
-<You can go to gofundme<-
You can go to Paypal<-
PLEASE NOTE – Paypal shows Wild Horses in Need, as we are dba- Chilly Pepper
if you would like to help these horses.
->You can donate via check at: (PLEASE NOTE NEW PO BOX #)
Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang,
PO Box # 233
Golconda, NV 89414
You can also donate via credit card by calling Palomino at 530-339-1458.
NO MATTER HOW BIG OR HOW SMALL – WE SAVE THEM ALL!
SAVING GOD’S CRITTERS – FOUR FEET AT A TIME
Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang, WIN Project – Rescue & Rehab
We are now part of the WIN Organization
WIN (WILD HORSES IN NEED) is a 501c3 IRS EIN 55-0882407_
If there are ever funds left over from the cost of the rescue itself, the monies are used to feed, vet, care for and provide shelter and proper fencing for the animals once they
ICYMI: The BLM has finally released its 2023 roundup schedule
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
We’ve got a lot to share with you in this week’s edition of eNews, including the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) recently released 2023 roundup schedule, an inside look at a BLM adoption event in New Hampshire, and an open call to all burro lovers!
Read on to learn more! >>
Bureau of Land Management Releases 2023 Roundup Schedule and On-Range Population Numbers
Photo: Tandin Chapman
It’s officially here. After a several month delay, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finally released its 2023 roundup schedule for wild horse and burros last week. While the target number is a marked departure from the initial planned number of 20,000, when all is said and done, more than 5,800 wild horses and burros will be added to the already overburdened holding corrals. In addition to the release of this schedule, the BLM is asserting that there is a slight increase in the on-range population, but we have questions. Check out our latest on this development below.
| LEARN MORE |
Eyewitness Report: BLM Adoption Event in New Hampshire
Photo: Mary Koncel
Last weekend, AWHC program specialist, Mary Koncel, traveled to Vermont to attend and document a BLM wild horse and burro adoption event at the Cheshire Fairgrounds in Swanzey, New Hampshire. This was the first of several adoption/sales events that will be held in the Northeastern States District of the BLM. Click the link below to read more.
| READ MORE |
Calling All Burro Fans! Submit Your Content to be Featured
Photo: Tara Arrowood/MCR
Wild burros have the same rich history and are just as culturally significant as wild horses, but they receive far less attention. In 2012, AWHC started Burro Awareness Month to promote awareness and appreciation for these amazing and unique residents of the American Southwest. Do you have photos of wild burros that you would like to share? A story about an experience you had on the range? Please submit your content to grace@americanwildhorsecampaign.org to be featured during the month of May on AWHC’s social media!
| SUBMIT YOUR CONTENT! |
Thanks for reading. And thank you for continuing to stand up for our cherished wild horses and burros!
— AWHC Team
YOUR advocacy is making wins like this possible
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Thanks in large part to your advocacy on behalf of America’s cherished wild herds, your member of Congress just took huge steps to ensure wild horses and burros are protected in the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations bill.
First, we want to say thank you. Your continued action gives wild horses and burros a voice so that we can ensure their freedom and livelihood is always protected. Thanks to your work, Representative Joe Neguse just signed on to an important letter urging members of the House Interior Appropriations subcommittee to pass legislation in the FY24 Appropriations bill that would:
- Implement a substantial humane reversible immunocontraceptive fertility control vaccine program to manage wild horse and burro populations in the wild, including $11 million for these reversible fertility control vaccines.
- Prioritize partnerships with non-profit organizations, including working with military veterans and wild horse organizations.
- Evaluate relocating wild horses and burros to other Herd Management Areas (HMAs) to keep these animals on the range and out of off-range holding facilities.
- Consider humane alternatives to the use of helicopters.
- Maintain the ban that is intended to protect wild horses and burros from slaughter.
- Defund the cash incentive in the BLM’s “Adoption Incentive Program” and replace it with veterinary vouchers to help the BLM achieve its goal of increasing adoption rates, while also ensuring more humane outcomes for these animals.
| SEND A THANK YOU NOTE! |
Thanks for your help. We know with advocates like you by our side, more legislative wins for wild mustangs and burros are possible in 2024.
— AWHC Team
Why I hike 5-10 miles a day for wild horses
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Allow me to introduce myself — I’m Tandin, AWHC’s Utah Conservation Operations Manager. For the last nine months, I have spent most of my time living on public lands in my travel-trailer, tracking and documenting a remote herd of wild horses that needed our help in Utah’s Cedar Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA).
This is a very special population of wild horses that was subjected to a large helicopter roundup last year. They live in an area where water availability has been an issue and the horses are very wild, difficult to find amongst mountainous terrain, and unaccustomed to human presence.
© Tandin Chapman
DONATE NOW TO KEEP OUR FIELD PROGRAMS RUNNING!
Prior to the roundup, I had come to know many of the bands that make up this beautiful herd, and it was heartbreaking to watch so many of them lose their freedom. However, it fueled my commitment to work toward a better way to protect the horses who remained on the range. And so, when the capture operation was over, I returned to the field.
AWHC is committed to the boots-on-the-ground work necessary to shift wild horse management from reactive solutions (like roundups) to proactive solutions that keep wild horses wild. Will you continue powering their work with a donation today? As the group that operates the world’s largest fertility control program for wild horses in Nevada, we know firsthand how important fieldwork is to successful conservation programs.
Each time I go out, I hike between 5-10 miles to locate horses to identify and enter into our database. So far, I have documented and identified approximately 500 individuals. (Post-roundup, about 390 wild horses remain in the HMA.)
- I’ve documented 65 bands with an average of 5.98 in each. The largest band I’ve found has 13 members.
- Bachelor stallions make up 16.3% of the population.
- 30.3% of the horses are Pintos, 15.5% are Buckskins, and 14.2% are Bays — making this one of the most colorful herds in the West.
I have also identified every water source in the HMA and have been working with stakeholders in the area to come up with solutions to ensure water continues to flow.
This job is very personal to me. It’s been an opportunity of a lifetime to get to know and spend time with these amazing horses — watch the bands tend to their young, the bachelors spar, and the lead mares tell everyone what to do.
© Tandin Chapman
DONATE NOW TO KEEP OUR FIELD PROGRAMS RUNNING!
All of AWHC efforts in the field — from assessing the condition of wild herds and their habitat, to documenting any violations during roundup and capture operations, to implementing humane fertility control programs — helps us further our work to end the traumatic roundup and warehousing of wild horses and burros in holding facilities.
I’m proud to be part of AWHC’s work to shift wild horse and burro management in a humane and sustainable direction that keeps these animals in the wild with their families where they belong. Will you make a donation today to continue AWHC’s field work in our fight to keep wild horses and burros wild and free?
With your support, we can ensure these magnificent mustangs that I have come to know and love remain wild.
Thank you.
Tandin Chapman
Utah Conservation Operations Manager
American Wild Horse Campaign
Behind the Scenes: How supporters like you power our lifesaving programs →
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
The donations supporters like you make to our organization power the important work that we are doing day in and day out. We often tell you in these emails that we’re working in the field, in court, and on the Hill to protect wild horses and burros. And we are. Every dollar you donate to the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) is critical to powering our work in each of these areas.
So today, we wanted to share a little insight with you about just how critical every single dollar donated really is to each of our lifesaving programs. For every $1 dollar donated to AWHC, 80 cents goes directly to powering the programs we operate to preserve the freedom of America’s wild herds:
- In-the-Wild Management: Not only do we currently operate the world’s largest fertility control program for wild horses, but this year we are on track to jumpstart several other programs for at-risk herds across the West.
- Government Relations: Your contributions fuel lobbying for the passage of the SAFE Act to stop slaughter, securing funding for humane management to divert funds away from brutal roundups, and working with members of Congress to introduce legislation to secure meaningful protections for wild horses and burros.
- Investigations: Thanks to you, we have been able to bring to light the atrocities occurring as a result of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) and dive into our investigation into holding facility conditions.
- Advocacy: We are bringing the issue of wild horse and burro protection into the mainstream by launching awareness campaigns through billboards, television and digital media, our celebrity ambassador program, and traditional media.
- Rescue: Your generosity allows us to grant funding to rescue organizations in need of support to get mustangs and burros out of kill pens, transport animals to safety, and cover costs of care and treatment.
- And so much more.
And the other 20 cents? That money is invested in the operations that allow us to continue these very programs. Check it out:
Being this transparent doesn’t scare us – it’s exactly why we have a 100% rating from Charity Navigator, are a 5-star Top Nonprofit by Great Nonprofits, and have received the Guidestar Gold Transparency rating. We’re proud of our status as a strong, vibrant, and effective non-profit.
None of this would be possible without our staff, our volunteers, our advocates, and without supporters like you. You make this work possible and we’re proud to fight alongside you to keep our wild horses and burros wild.
Every time you donate, you help our team prove to the BLM, Congress, and the American public that there is a better way to manage our wild horses and burros – whether it be in the field, in court, or on the Hill.
Thank you so much for your support,
Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign
ICYMI: Our 5th Annual Stay Wild event was a HUGE success!!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
December 9 was a night to remember for AWHC thanks to the success of our 5th Annual Stay Wild event in Denver! Colorado Governor Jared Polis and First Gentleman Marlon Reis headlined the VIP guest list, which also included other state political leaders and leaders in the wild horse advocacy and business communities.
The event was held at Scott Wilson’s Gallery 6 in Denver’s art district. Scott is an award-winning wildlife and landscape photographer and our very own Director of Strategy and Marketing.
Governor Jared Polis gives formal remarks to guests at the event.
The event provided a platform to announce an exciting political development: A bill to be introduced by State Senator Joann Ginal and State Representative Monica Duran to designate the wild mustang as the official state horse of Colorado!
The night was filled with great conversation about how we can work to protect these magnificent animals, Scott’s powerful photography featuring some of Colorado’s very own wild mustangs, an amazing film preview, and moving speeches.
“I care for these wild, untamed beauties … and believe that to see wild horses as a problem to be solved is wrong. We need to work toward creative solutions to give wild horses the dignity and respect they deserve.”
— Colorado First Gentleman Marlon Reis
The governor – a longtime advocate for wild horse protection – highlighted his belief that Colorado is well positioned to be a leader in wild horse management and a model for the West.
| WATCH NOW → |
From left to right: AWHC Executive Director Suzanne Roy, First Gentleman Marlon Reis, Governor Jared Polis, Scott Wilson, and AWHC Board President Ellie Phipps Price.
We’re grateful to Governor Polis and First Gentleman Reis, whose compassionate leadership is moving the ball forward toward better protection of Colorado’s wild horses and wild lands.
You can watch their full remarks at the button below!
| WATCH NOW → |
– American Wild Horse Campaign
BREAKING: Major wild horse legislation was just introduced in Congress >>
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
BREAKING: Today, a bipartisan group of wild horse champions in Congress, Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and Dina Titus (D-NV) introduced major reform legislation.
The bill introduced, the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Protection Act of 2022, is a monumental step forward in protecting wild horses and burros from federal mismanagement. Help us pass it by urging your member of Congress to cosponsor the bill now. →
This bill calls for MAJOR reform to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) Wild Horse and Burro Programs including:
As the Fiscal Year 2023 roundup targets will be announced any day now, it’s clear that we need to pass this bill and FAST as more and more horses face uncertain futures in holding facilities, or worse, are killed during a helicopter capture operation. We need your help to do this. Act now by sending a message to your U.S. Representative and ask them to cosponsor this important piece of legislation. →
Since its passage in 1971, the original Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act has been weakened by amendments meant to benefit private interests. It’s time to take back control of the legislative agenda for wild horses and pass a bill that addresses the most pressing crises facing wild horses and burros right now.
Thanks! — AWHC Team |
Closing out Animal Remembrance Month by remembering Oriana
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Our fertility control program on Nevada’s Virginia Range is proving that there is a humane way to manage wild horses without removing a single animal from their home on western lands. It costs just $30 to dart a mare with the PZP fertility control vaccine — today, on the 30th, will you donate $30 or more to fuel our lifesaving and historic PZP program?
| POWER OUR PZP PROGRAM |
On this last day of World Animal Remembrance Month, we could think of no better way to close things out than by sharing the story of a Nevada mare all of us at the American Wild Horse Campaign fondly remember, Oriana — or who we liked to call: the Queen of the Virginia Range.
Oriana was a mare that embodied everything we continue to fight for. She lived truly wild. Wary of humans, she was quick to move away from those who would approach. She was fast, strong, and incredibly beautiful — her long blonde mane a testament to her majestic nature.
Photo by Deb Sutherland
While we were devastated when Oriana passed in 2020, we took solace in knowing she died free, never to experience a lifetime of holding facilities — or worse.
| DONATE $30 → KEEP WILD HORSES WILD |
For over 3 years, we’ve managed our PZP program on the Virginia Range. This program is the first of its kind, and in those 3 years, it’s helped us reduce foaling rates by 62% — proving to the public, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Congress that there is a more humane AND more cost-effective way to manage wild horses than brutal helicopter roundups and removals.
Wild horses like Oriana thrive in their natural habitats where they can run wild as they’re meant to. And our fertility control program makes that possible. As we pay homage to Oriana’s memory, let us also remember that there are nearly 64,000 wild horses and burros stuck in confinement at BLM holding facilities right now — more than ever before — and thousands more are targeted for removal this upcoming year. There’s a better way to manage wild horses than this cruel cycle, and Meredith, our work in Nevada is proving just that.
The success of our PZP program is critical to the future of our cherished wild herds, and in fact, we’re working to expand our lifesaving program to other herd areas across the West right now.
We owe it to these innocent animals to keep fighting to ensure that they can live out their lives wild and free like Oriana did. A donation towards our PZP Program helps us build and grow these future programs and continue to protect the horses who like Oriana, call the Virginia Range home. So, Meredith, today on the 30th, will you make a donation of $30 or more to power the continued success and expansion of our PZP program so that we can keep wild horses and burros living wild and free where they belong?
| $30.00 >> HELPS 1 HORSE |
| $60.00 >> HELPS 2 HORSES |
| $150.00 >> HELPS 5 HORSES |
| $300.00 >> HELPS 10 HORSES |
| DONATE OTHER > |
What happens to wild horses after they have been captured?
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Helicopter roundups are dangerous and expensive operations that result in horses being traumatized, separated from their families, and injured or killed. But the cruelty doesn’t end with helicopter roundups — once captured, wild horses are corralled in overburdened Bureau of Land Management (BLM) holding facilities, where they face even more inhumane treatment.
| ACT NOW TO PROTECT THEM |
The BLM has guidelines for holding facilities that are part of its Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP). These guidelines include ensuring captured animals receive basic care such as access to food and water, vaccinations, and well-constructed facilities to minimize injuries.
Our Investigations Team has long had concerns about the BLM’s care of wild horses and burros in these holding pens, and unfortunately, our concerns were validated when the BLM finally began to evaluate its facilities using CAWP standards this year.
Here’s what it found: Vaccinations were not given in a timely manner, facilities were understaffed, not all animals had simultaneous access to food and water, facility maintenance and upkeep had fallen by the wayside, horses were found in poor body condition, and little attention was paid to proper biosecurity measures.
These findings are incredibly concerning with nearly 64,000 animals confined in facilities across the country. Even worse, 2022 saw the deadliest disease outbreak in BLM history in its Cañon City holding pens, which claimed the lives of nearly 150 unvaccinated wild horses who had been in the “care” of the agency for 9 months.
This system is at a breaking point, which is why we’re calling on you to take action and demand that the Department of the Interior address these CAWP violations and commit to keeping captured wild horses and burros safe. Will you take action now, and speak up for these innocent animals?
| DEMAND ACTION |
Thousands of wild horses and burros are locked up in these overburdened and unsafe facilities right now → and American taxpayers are footing the bill. This is an outdated and expensive cycle that desperately needs enhanced accountability measures and stronger enforcement from the BLM.
As the roundups continue, more and more wild horses and burros are going to be piled into this network of overcrowded and under-resourced holding facilities. It’s a crisis that’s only going to worsen as time goes on — unless we choose to act here and now and demand that the BLM rigorously and consistently enforce its own CAWP standards.
| TAKE ACTION NOW |
Thanks for acting on behalf of wild horses and burros, Meredith.
— AWHC Team
September is World Animal Remembrance Month, and this is how we’re commemorating >>
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
September is World Animal Remembrance Month – a time dedicated to honoring the memory of animals who are no longer with us.
In that spirit, we here at the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) would like to commemorate all of the wild horses and burros who have lost their lives or their freedom this year as a result of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) cruel and inhumane helicopter roundups.
| SIGN ON |
In 2022, over 15,000 wild horses and burros have been captured through BLM helicopter roundups so far. Stripped of their freedom and crammed into overcrowded holding pens, these innocent animals have been subjected to injuries, diseases, and even death.
Our investigation team also discovered that hundreds of the captured wild horses and burros have been funneled to kill pens through the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program (AIP). While the AIP, which pays adopters $1,000 per adopted BLM horse or burro, is meant to give these animals a permanent home, the sad reality is that the program is being abused by individuals scheming to make a quick buck off our beloved wild horses and burros.
These sweet animals don’t deserve to endure the mistreatment and abuse they suffer thanks to the BLM’s cruel mismanagement. Our mission at AWHC is to keep them in the wild where they can live safely and freely – where they belong. We fight every day towards that goal, but we need you in this fight with us.
| SIGN ON |
Thank you,
AWHC Team
An update on the Bureau of Land Management’s 2022 plans for you
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Hi, it’s Suzanne.
By now you may have seen the news about the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) announcement of its intent to round up at least 22,000 wild horses and burros from national public lands this year and permanently remove 19,000 of them from their homes on the range.
These formerly free-roaming animals will join the 58,000 other wild horses and burros confined in off-range government holding facilities, putting 2022 on track to become the year that the United States of America holds more wild mustangs – our national symbols of freedom – in captivity than remain free in the wild.
It’s part of the BLM’s plan to reduce wild horse populations to just 17,000 – 27,000 animals on 27 million acres of land. That’s fewer animals than were left in the West in 1971 when Congress passed a law to protect them because they were “fast disappearing.”
This is wrong on so many levels – it counters the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences, is fiscally reckless and unconscionably inhumane.
The BLM claims these devastating roundups are necessary to protect the environment. But wild horses and burros are present on just 12% of the land that the BLM manages, and they are greatly outnumbered by commercial livestock — a major cause of land degradation and a contributor to climate change. Spending hundreds of millions of dollars to round up and warehouse wild horses in captivity actually harms the environment by diverting funds away from actual programs to address land health, habitat restoration, and climate change.
I understand if you are angry at this injustice. I know I am. But I don’t want you to despair or give up. I’m not, because I see the real progress we’ve made together in the last year alone:
We worked with Congress to direct one-third of the funding earmarked for roundups to the implementation of humane fertility control instead.
We combatted roundups in the Sand Wash Basin (Colorado) and Onaqui (Utah) Herd Management Areas (HMAs) — and thanks to public outcry and the support of political leaders like Governor Jared Polis, we succeeded in keeping more horses in the wild than originally intended. We also got the commitment of the BLM in both states to work to make these the last helicopter roundups that ever occur in the HMAs by ensuring the PZP fertility control programs there succeed.
We joined forces with a growing chorus of prominent environmental groups to oppose the BLM’s scapegoating of wild horses while giving commercial livestock a pass. The 7 million-member Sierra Club even wrote to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland calling for the removal of all commercial livestock from wild horse and burro habitat areas!
We added nearly 200,000 new supporters to our grassroots army fighting to keep wild horses wild, and our videos, photographs, and reports documenting the cruelty of the roundups were seen by millions nationwide.
The fight to save our wild horses and burros is a marathon, not a sprint, and we are making progress. In fact, we are stronger and larger than ever.
We have an impactful agenda this year to continue the fight on the Hill, in the courts, and in the field. But the backbone of the fight is you.
So please, stay positive. Stay passionate. And stay ready.
We’ll be in touch!
Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign
Thinking of all our AWHC supporters this Thanksgiving
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
On this Thanksgiving holiday — from all of us here at the American Wild Horse Campaign — I want to send my heartfelt thanks to you for your support and dedication to protecting America’s wild horses and burros.
You have helped us accomplish some pretty amazing things this year, and for that, we are so grateful.
Supporters like you helped us expose the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) as a pipeline to slaughter for “truckloads” of wild horses and burros. Our investigation led to a front-page New York Times exposé, which elevated this devastating issue to the national level.
Your support provided our field team with the resources and equipment necessary to successfully implement the world’s largest PZP fertility control program for wild horses on Nevada’s Virginia Range. This groundbreaking program is proving that there is a better way to manage wild horses and burros besides brutally rounding them up with helicopters.
And guess what? It’s working. This year, we reduced the foaling rate by more than 40% as compared to 2020. These incredible results armed our Government Relations team with the statistics and evidence necessary to secure $11 million in funding towards a comprehensive, humane fertility control vaccine program as part of the BLM’s 2022 Fiscal Year budget.
Your efforts helped us defeat SJR3 — a resolution that called for the removal of close to 40,000 wild horses and burros from their homes in Nevada. And your generosity helped us support the rescues of innocent foals on the Virginia Range, like Hazel, and victims of the AIP including 12 BLM-branded burros from an Oklahoma kill pen and 10 unhandled mustangs from a kill pen in Colorado.
As 2021 comes to a close, we are grateful for your advocacy, your financial support, and your passion and dedication to protecting the wild horses and burros we all cherish. Many battles lie before us in the new year as we work toward a better future for these magnificent animals, but with you on our side, we know we will prevail.
All of us at AWHC wish you and your loved ones (human and non-human) a very happy and restful Thanksgiving holiday.
Warmly,
Suzanne
Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign
P.S. Giving Tuesday is less than 1 week away! If you’d like to help kickstart our #GivingTuesday efforts, every gift made now through Tuesday will be matched up to $40,000! You can donate here to double your impact for wild horses and burros in 2022!
What a night!!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
To everyone who attended our annual Stay Wild virtual fundraiser last night, I wanted to say thank you so much for your generosity and compassion. The support we received will surely help us continue to save the lives of America’s wild horses and burros.
We set a goal to raise $180,000 through last night’s event, and I’m excited to share that so far, we have raised a total of $150,016. While this is a major achievement, we still have a few areas where your support is greatly needed! Can you help us hit our $180,000 goal before midnight tonight?
We set a goal last night to raise $11,000 towards our Field Programs. $11,000 helps us administer 367 doses of the PZP fertility control vaccine to wild mares in Nevada and keeps our field team supplied for two months on the Virginia Range!
| DONATE TO OUR FIELD PROGRAMS |
We also set a goal to raise $10,000 for our Legal Fund. $10,000 provides us the necessary resources to fuel our next lawsuit — and we have a few in the pipeline!
Just this year, we’ve filed suit against the disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), stopped the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from performing dangerous surgical sterilization procedures on wild mares, and we’re working on a rulemaking petition with a prestigious university to strengthen and make the BLM’s Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program enforceable!
| DONATE TO OUR LEGAL FUND |
We also set a very important goal to raise $25,000 towards our Rescue Fund, and while we have successfully secured $11,910 towards our rescue efforts, we still have a ways to go if we want to hit our goal!
This may seem like a big goal, but every $8,000 helps us bail approximately 10 wild horses and burros from kill pens and every $500 helps us provide the necessary medical supplies to care for and treat orphaned and injured foals on Nevada’s Virginia Range. Will you help us hit our $25,000 goal so we can fuel our rescue efforts?
| DONATE TO OUR RESCUE FUND |
Last night’s journey through the history of America’s wild horse and burro protection movement was truly something to remember. From Wild Horse Annie’s fight to protect these cherished icons in the ‘70s to the work we’re doing today — we’re so grateful to have you along for the ride with us.
From musical guest performances to sobering behind-the-scenes footage of the atrocities of the AIP and our fight to terminate it, I won’t be forgetting last night anytime soon.
To our sponsors and silent auction participants, to our staff and board, to the amazing talent and our wonderful host committee: thank you … we couldn’t have done it without you! THANK YOU also to everyone who attended and donated — you made this year’s Stay Wild one for the books!
Now let’s keep the good work going!!
Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign
P.S. Our Silent Auction is still live until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. If you haven’t yet had a chance to bid on one of these very special items, you can do so at the link here!
Soooooooo close to Stay Wild!!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
**On our way to grab tickets to this year’s Stay Wild before they sell out**
There’s only TWO MORE DAYS until our annual Stay Wild event on November 4! We’re gathering up an amazing bunch of celebrities, philanthropists, and conservationists to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Relax and relive the history of AWHC’s epic fight to keep these iconic animals wild.
| GET LAST-MINUTE TICKETS TODAY! |
We don’t have events like this often — in fact, this is our only big-ticket event of the year (!!) — which means we’re pulling out all the stops for this year’s Stay Wild fundraiser. It’s going to be an engaging and exciting evening, and we’d be thrilled if you joined us.
We’re lucky we caught you: Tickets are going fast and the event is in just two days! Grab your tickets now because you won’t want to miss this year’s Stay Wild event!
| GRAB YOUR TICKETS NOW >> |
See you there!
— AWHC Team
A big win for wild horses in Congress
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Earlier this week we shared an exciting win with you. On Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee released their fiscal year 2022 bill for the Department of the Interior.
In this bill, $11 million was reallocated away from the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) roundup funds towards implementing “a robust and humane fertility control strategy of reversible immunocontraceptive vaccines” for America’s wild horses.
While we have some other objections to the bill’s allocated funding for the BLM, this is a big step in the right direction for America’s wild horses and burros.
We’re grateful for the help of AWHC supporters who contacted their members of Congress and advocated on the behalf of wild horses and burros. Your help provided our Government Relations team with the necessary support to work with Congress to get a meaningful funding provision passed.
Meredith, your help up to this point has been critical. Will you stand with us once again today and make a donation to fuel our Government Relations efforts?
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This $11 million in funding is crucial in furthering protections for America’s wild horses and burros. The Senate Appropriations Committee took a historic step towards reforming the Wild Horse and Burro Program by including this language. While there is still more work to do, this provision will help keep wild horses in the wild, where they belong!
Our team is working around the clock to make sure this fertility control language is included in the final spending bill. Will you make a donation today to fuel our Government Relations work so that we can continue to create meaningful change for America’s wild horses in Congress?
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Thanks for your support,
AWHC Team
BREAKING: The Wyoming Checkerboard Roundup has begun. Here’s what we’re doing >>
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
The largest roundup in history has officially begun. The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) helicopters have descended on five Herd Management Areas (HMAs) in the Wyoming Checkerboard, and are targeting 4,000 wild horses for capture.
The roundup is SO massive that it is scheduled to continue through February of 2022. Approximately 3,555 wild horses will be permanently removed from 3.4 million acres of land. Given the mortality rate associated with roundups, at least 50 horses are expected to die as a result of the months-long helicopter stampede.
The survivors — wild animals who roam 10-20 miles a day — will be confined in feedlot pens that provide just 700 square feet of space per horse. Many will be adopted through the BLM’s cash incentive program that’s sending “truckloads” of wild horses into the slaughter pipeline, according to the New York Times. The “lucky ones” who escape this grim fate will never experience freedom or family again.
All for what? Livestock special interests have lobbied for decades for the removal of these wild horses so that their cattle can graze on our public lands. Now, the lives of thousands of Wyoming’s wild horses hang in the balance as the BLM begins this devastating roundup that will cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
We’re fighting back against the BLM’s efforts. That’s why we just launched our campaign, Keep WY Wyld. Earlier this week, we started a national petition in partnership with the Animal Welfare Institute to demand a halt to these roundups. Now, we’re announcing the next steps of our campaign >>
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This roundup is just a precursor to the pending BLM plan to eradicate horses entirely from most of the HMAs in this area. If successful, this action would result in the loss of 52% of the state’s wild horse habitat.
We refuse to allow that to happen. So we’re using every resource at our disposal to fight for the rights of Wyoming’s wild horses. The livestock industry is well-funded and we expect them to fight back.
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Thanks for your support,
— AWHC Team
#KeepWYWyld
Please read: FY 2021 Roundup Season in Review
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
In just a few short days, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 roundup season will come to a close and the FY 2022 season will begin. Since last September, 17,917 wild horses and burros have been brutally chased by helicopters and most have been shipped to overburdened holding facilities.
The BLM’s aggressive roundup schedule will result in the highest number of wild horses and burros ever maintained in the BLM’s holding facilities.
We mourn for all of the wild horses and burros who have lost their freedom and their families. The silver lining to this upsetting news, however, is that public opposition to this cruel and costly program has never been greater.
Just this month, Colorado Governor Jared Polis spoke up passionately against a BLM roundup in his state, the National Sierra Club called on Interior Secretary Haaland to remove livestock from wild horse habitats, and the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) sent a letter to Secretary Haaland demanding that the BLM stop scapegoating wild horses for environmental damage caused by private livestock grazing.
Together, we are stronger than ever — and we promise to continue our work to protect the rights and freedom of America’s wild horses and burros.
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Your contributions make our advocacy for humane and scientific management practices possible. Your funding also allows AWHC to continue to hold the BLM accountable for the animal welfare abuses committed during helicopter roundups.
Earlier this month, we asked for your help to fight back against an especially brutal roundup in the Sand Wash Basin in Colorado, where tiny foals were being stampeded with helicopters and several were left alone to fend for themselves in the wild after their mothers were captured. And you stepped up.
In just 24 hours, supporters like you generated over 10,000 emails and calls demanding a halt to the roundup. The public pressure and the Governor’s intervention worked. The roundup was halted early and 150 wild horses who were targeted for removal remained free!
Change will happen, if we continue to work together.
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Thank you for your support,
Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign
What we’re doing to protect wild horses and burros
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Because of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) use of outdated and unproductive wild horse and burro “management” practices, nearly 60,000 wild horses and burros will be stockpiled in government holding pens and pastures before the end of this fiscal year (Sept. 30). This is the highest number of wild horses and burros ever maintained in the BLM’s holding facilities.
There’s only one place the BLM’s roundup and stockpile system of managing wild horses is heading — it’s the mass slaughter of these cherished animals. Here at AWHC, we are doing everything possible to keep wild horses and burros wild and prevent this horrific outcome. Can you make a donation to the American Wild Horse Campaign today to help us continue our fight in the field, in courts, and on the Hill to protect wild horses and burros?
In the Field
We are not just demanding change, we’re proving that a better way is possible. AWHC’s highly successful fertility control program on the Virginia Range in Nevada has reduced the foaling rate in this historic mustang herd by over 50% in just over two years. The program is proving that humane fertility control is a viable alternative to costly and cruel helicopter roundups and removals — even in large wild horse populations in a large habitat area.
Meanwhile, we continue to send observers to document most helicopter roundups taking place so that the public knows what is happening to our wild horses and burros in these remote areas of the West. We also hold the BLM accountable for the animal welfare violations we commonly see, such as stampeding horses in extreme temperatures, chasing horses in a manner that causes foals to be left behind (then roped and brought in), and capturing too many horses at once in too-small of pens, resulting in traumatic injuries such as broken legs and necks.
Our field work is building a powerful case for change that’s being noticed at the highest levels of Congress and the Administration.
In Court
Our legal team works around the clock to defend wild horses and burros from government actions that violate federal laws and harm these cherished animals. Just this year, we filed suit against the BLM for the continued operation of the failed Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) that is sending far too many of our cherished wild horses and burros into the slaughter pipeline.
Currently, the BLM’s AIP program is an end-run around the Congressional ban on slaughtering wild horses and burros. We’ve documented scores of cases in which adopters are pocketing the $1,000 incentive payments then flipping horses or burros to kill pens as soon as the money clears their bank accounts. Our work even led to an explosive, front-page New York Times report on the program! Yet to date, the BLM has failed to conduct an independent investigation of the AIP or take meaningful steps to address the problem. So, we filed suit against the agency to ensure that this tax-subsidized slaughter program is shut down.
On the Hill
Our Government Relations (GR) team works in collaboration with other advocacy groups and members of Congress to ensure further legislative protections for wild horses and burros. Right now, our team is working to secure language in the Senate Interior Appropriations bill that would allocate $11 million of the BLM’s budget to implement a humane, reversible fertility control program to manage wild horses and burros in the wild.
We’re also urging Congress to direct the BLM to implement on-range management strategies, such as relocating wild horses and burros to other suitable Herd Management Areas (HMAs) to reduce removals and keep these animals on the range where they belong. Earlier this year, we worked with members of the House of Representatives to get similar language passed in the House Interior Appropriations bill, and if this language is secured on the Senate side, it will be a historic legislative win for wild horses and burros! We also advocated hard for a provision in the INVEST Act to ban the transportation of equines to slaughter.
But it’s not just our GR team who is putting in the work! Part of our legislative fight is mobilizing AWHC’s grassroots army to contact the BLM, Forest Service, and Congress when wild horses and burros need help the most. It is because of your support that we are able to achieve significant wins, such as the $11 million for fertility control funding in the U.S. House!
There is so much at stake for wild horses and burros. That’s why we’re fighting back in every way possible to protect the rights and lives of these cherished animals.
| DONATE |
Thank you,
AWHC Team
ACTION NEEDED: Tell your U.S. Rep to vote YES on the Carter-Fitzpatrick Amendment to the INVEST Act!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
In the last week, there has been some important wild horse news that we wanted to make sure you didn’t miss!
Urgent: Contact Your Rep to Stop Horse Slaughter
Right now, in the House of Representatives, we have an opportunity to stop horse slaughter through the INVEST Act. This Act is a large government infrastructure bill that may also give us an opportunity to stop the transport of horses and burros across the border to slaughter. It goes up for a vote next week!
We need you to contact your Representative right now and tell them to vote YES on the Carter-Fitzpatrick Amendment!
| TAKE ACTION |
We’re Challenging the BLM’s Wild Burro Eradication Plan
Last week, AWHC attorneys filed a legal challenge to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) burro eradication plan, which calls for the roundup and removal of all of the burros in three California Herd Areas (HAs).
In it, we charge that the agency violated federal law by not considering the newly-published science that documented the key benefits of these very burros to their ecosystems, which includes well digging in the arid desert. The new science even went so far as to call wild burros “ecosystem engineers!”
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Sierra Club Adopts Friendly Wild Horse Policy
The Sierra Club, the nation’s leading environmental organization, recently updated its wild horse and burro policy. This policy had not been changed in 40 years and it called for the elimination of wild horses and burros from key habitats.
Now, the new policy calls for scientific and humane in-the-wild management, including removal of livestock before horses, predator protection, and the use of fertility control! We are so excited to work with the organization to protect wild horses and burros on public lands in the future.
| LEARN MORE |
Lawmakers, Advocates Push to End BLM Wild Horse Adoption Incentives
Recently, AWHC’s Executive Director, Suzanne Roy, and wild horse champion, U.S. Representative Dina Titus were interviewed on a Las Vegas NPR affiliate, KNPR, about the BLM’s failed Adoption Incentive Program (AIP).
In this 25 minute segment, they cover what the AIP is, it’s disatorious effects, how lawmakers are calling for its end, and what a better solution is for our wild horses and burros! The riveting interview is not one you want to miss!
| LISTEN NOW |
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