NEWS: Wild horses getting the attention they deserve!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
July marked significant highs and lows for our wild horses — with wins in Congress, and tragic losses out on public lands as the BLM’s brutal roundup season continues, now in Nevada.
In the middle of all this important action, some exciting developments took place and we want to make sure you hear about them!
A historic win for wild horses
Our recent win on Capitol Hill is making the news and raising awareness in the places that matter most.
ICYMI: On July 23rd, the House of Representatives held its first vote on a wild horse issue in over a DECADE and APPROVED a protection measure, thanks to the tireless advocacy of all of us, and our wild horse champions in Congress. Specifically, the House passed an amendment that will rein in cruel and inhumane roundups by requiring the Bureau of Land Management to spend $11 million on the humane and proven safe fertility control vaccine, PZP.
Together, we kept up the pressure on Congress when it mattered — sending in more than twelve thousands of emails, making thousands of calls, and reaching hundreds of thousands of people on social media urging Congress to take action. These efforts resulted in a historic step forward for the management of wild horses and now we’re gearing up to take the fight to the Senate.
He’s right — and that’s exactly why we advocated for the passage of this amendment while continuing to prove with our innovative, minimally invasive, PZP fertility control program that humane management of wild horses is possible.
Click here to read more about this important development, including comments from our coalition partners and other lawmakers committed to making change for our wild horses and burros.
Keeping Wild Horses Wild 101
Last week, AWHC hosted the second installment of our ‘Keeping Wild Horses Wild 101’ webinar series, this time focusing on the (especially timely!) importance of the legislative process in keeping wild horses wild. You can watch, and learn more, below:
Disney Plus Picks Up Adaptation of Black Beauty
It’s official, Mackenzie Foy and Kate Winslet will star in the new Disney adaptation of Black beauty. This contemporary version of the 1877 novel will tell the story of a mustang born wild and free, who, when rounded up, is separated from her family and everything she knows — sound familiar?!
Coming 2021…
On the topic of Black Beauty, AWHC is thrilled to have been interviewed by the director of the film for an upcoming documentary Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West!
This film will explore the plight of wild horses in more depth, shining a light on the issues they face while educating the public on the ongoing efforts to keep our wild horses and burros wild and free. Take a first look at this exciting documentary below!
From the entire team at AWHC, thank you for your continued support of our iconic wild horses and burros, we hope you have a wild (and safe) weekend!
— American Wild Horse Campaign
URGENT: Hours left to speak up for wild horses
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
News & Alerts
In case you missed Grace’s update yesterday, we wanted to remind you that RIGHT NOW is your last chance to make sure your voice is heard by the Bureau of Land Management Southern Nevada District Office before today’s comment period deadline.
This summer, the BLM plans to round up and remove more than 5,000 wild horses and burros from public lands beginning on July 1st and ending September of 2020. At the same time, they’re laying the groundwork for these roundups to continue into the fall and next year. One of the large roundups still in the planning stages is in the Nevada Wild Horse Range; a more than 1 million acre Herd Management Area that is on land used by the military for warfare testing and training.
TODAY is our last chance to submit comments to the BLM’s 10-year management plan that would see over half of the wild horses in the Nevada Wild Horse Range rounded up and removed. In addition, wild burros living in the area would be completely eradicated.
It is estimated that only 800 wild horses live within the more than 1.3 million acres of public land in this area. Our wild horses, burros — and their tiny vulnerable foals — are depending on us now more than ever… and we have only hours left to speak up for them.
America’s wild horses need your help today.
The AWHC Team
Read Our Previous Message Below:
Last Saturday marked the official first day of summer, and with it, the beginning of a season that places our iconic wild horses and burros in the cross-hairs of a particularly cruel and inhumane roundup by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
This weekend, I know so many of our hearts, heads and screens are saturated with grief, fear and worry. I want you to know, however, that it’s not all bad news on the wild horse front. In fact, there’s cause for hope as we rally together like never before to protect and preserve our beloved wild horses.
I want to share a couple of these hopeful stories with you, but first to ask that you join me in getting your comments in this weekend in opposition to the BLM’s plan to round up over 400 wild horses and burros from the Nevada Wild Horse Range – the nation’s first protected habitat area for mustangs.
This summer’s assault on wild horse and burro herds will be particularly cruel and inhumane — helicopter roundups in the sweltering desert heat will involve tiny, vulnerable foals who risk being literally run to death after miles-long helicopter chases. The BLM plans to round up and remove more than 5,000 federally-protected wild horses and burros from public lands beginning July 1 and ending September of 2020.
At the same time, the BLM is laying the groundwork for the roundups to continue into the fall and next year. One of the large roundups still in the planning stages is in the Nevada Wild Horse Range, a more than 1 million acre Herd Management Area that is on land used by the military for warfare testing and training.
We have only two days left to submit comments to the BLM’s 10-year management plan that would see over half of the wild horses in this range rounded up and removed. In addition, wild burros living in the area would be completely eradicated.
So far, more than 5,700 of you have submitted comments on the BLM’s plan. Now is the time to keep up the pressure, and turn up the volume.
Will you take three minutes now to do these three things? You can take these actions from the safety of your home right now:
- If you haven’t already, TAKE ACTION now to demand that the BLM change its unsustainable, inhumane management plan for the wild mustangs of the Nevada Wild Horse Range.
- Make sure your friends take action also! Nevada’s wild burros and horses need as many voices as possible to speak up before Monday.
Or, forward this email to a friend! - Donate to our Roundup Fund: Today’s donation will keep our team in the field during roundup season, and give us the resources necessary to ensure that our legal team can challenge any attempts to block public observation:
Your generous contributions to the AWHC Rescue Fund are making this work possible, so thank you.
Thanks to your support, we’ve been able to provide volunteers in the field with life-saving emergency foal kits (see above). We’ve instituted a “red tag” system that keeps the kits stocked with critical medicine and supplies. Foals can crash rapidly, so being fully equipped with Equine IgG Seramune Oral colostrum, saline, Foal Lac milk, antibiotics, Vetericyn wound treatment and enemas often means the difference between life and death on the range. Thank you for helping us support the work of Wild Horse Connection, Least Resistance Training Concepts, LBL Equine Rescue and other local organizations by providing supplies they need to save precious foals in need!!
We are thrilled to announce that thanks to your grassroots support, AWHC was able to present local Nevada group LBL Equine Rescue, with a matching grant that helped them to meet their fundraising goal for a new foal nursery! The nursery will be fully equipped to provide round-the-clock care for foals in critical condition, and will even include sleeping quarters for volunteers working overnight shifts (young foals need to be fed every two hours).
The Least Resistance Training Concepts Large Animal Rescue Team is the busiest in the country. They’re on call 24/7 for every type of emergency, from rescuing horses stuck in cattle guards and barbed wire to coming to the aid of orphaned foals.
We were pleased to make a grant to LRTC from our Rescue Fund that supported the retrofitting of a decommissioned ambulance donated by a kind fire department. Now modified, the ambulance serves as an anchor and transport vehicle for foal rescues, a water rescue unit, support unit for complex large animal rescues and much more. We’re proud to support LRTC with this one-of-a-kind project that is setting the standard for large animal rescue worldwide!
These initiatives — made possible by you and your generous support of the Rescue Fund — have enabled AWHC and our team of volunteers to make life-saving interventions for foals, wild horses and burros.
Finally, allow me to introduce you to some of the fuzzy, thankful faces you’ve helped save this foaling season:
Rustler, Leela, Sinclair, Carte, Stitch, Goliath and all of us here at AWHC want to say a huge THANK YOU, and wish you a safe and happy weekend.
Grace Kuhn,
Communications Director
American Wild Horse Campaign
AWHC NEWS ALERT: A particularly cruel summer
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Last Saturday marked the official first day of summer, and with it, the beginning of a season that places our iconic wild horses and burros in the cross-hairs of a particularly cruel and inhumane roundup by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
This weekend, I know so many of our hearts, heads and screens are saturated with grief, fear and worry. I want you to know, however, that it’s not all bad news on the wild horse front. In fact, there’s cause for hope as we rally together like never before to protect and preserve our beloved wild horses.
I want to share a couple of these hopeful stories with you, but first to ask that you join me in getting your comments in this weekend in opposition to the BLM’s plan to round up over 400 wild horses and burros from the Nevada Wild Horse Range – the nation’s first protected habitat area for mustangs.
This summer’s assault on wild horse and burro herds will be particularly cruel and inhumane — helicopter roundups in the sweltering desert heat will involve tiny, vulnerable foals who risk being literally run to death after miles-long helicopter chases. The BLM plans to round up and remove more than 5,000 federally-protected wild horses and burros from public lands beginning July 1 and ending September of 2020.
At the same time, the BLM is laying the groundwork for the roundups to continue into the fall and next year. One of the large roundups still in the planning stages is in the Nevada Wild Horse Range, a more than 1 million acre Herd Management Area that is on land used by the military for warfare testing and training.
We have only two days left to submit comments to the BLM’s 10-year management plan that would see over half of the wild horses in this range rounded up and removed. In addition, wild burros living in the area would be completely eradicated.
So far, more than 5,700 of you have submitted comments on the BLM’s plan. Now is the time to keep up the pressure, and turn up the volume.
Will you take three minutes now to do these three things? You can take these actions from the safety of your home right now:
- If you haven’t already, TAKE ACTION now to demand that the BLM change its unsustainable, inhumane management plan for the wild mustangs of the Nevada Wild Horse Range.
- Make sure your friends take action also! Nevada’s wild burros and horses need as many voices as possible to speak up before Monday.
Or, forward this email to a friend! - Donate to our Roundup Fund: Today’s donation will keep our team in the field during roundup season, and give us the resources necessary to ensure that our legal team can challenge any attempts to block public observation:
Your generous contributions to the AWHC Rescue Fund are making this work possible, so thank you.
Thanks to your support, we’ve been able to provide volunteers in the field with life-saving emergency foal kits (see above). We’ve instituted a “red tag” system that keeps the kits stocked with critical medicine and supplies. Foals can crash rapidly, so being fully equipped with Equine IgG Seramune Oral colostrum, saline, Foal Lac milk, antibiotics, Vetericyn wound treatment and enemas often means the difference between life and death on the range. Thank you for helping us support the work of Wild Horse Connection, Least Resistance Training Concepts, LBL Equine Rescue and other local organizations by providing supplies they need to save precious foals in need!!
We are thrilled to announce that thanks to your grassroots support, AWHC was able to present local Nevada group LBL Equine Rescue, with a matching grant that helped them to meet their fundraising goal for a new foal nursery! The nursery will be fully equipped to provide round-the-clock care for foals in critical condition, and will even include sleeping quarters for volunteers working overnight shifts (young foals need to be fed every two hours).
The Least Resistance Training Concepts Large Animal Rescue Team is the busiest in the country. They’re on call 24/7 for every type of emergency, from rescuing horses stuck in cattle guards and barbed wire to coming to the aid of orphaned foals.
We were pleased to make a grant to LRTC from our Rescue Fund that supported the retrofitting of a decommissioned ambulance donated by a kind fire department. Now modified, the ambulance serves as an anchor and transport vehicle for foal rescues, a water rescue unit, support unit for complex large animal rescues and much more. We’re proud to support LRTC with this one-of-a-kind project that is setting the standard for large animal rescue worldwide!
These initiatives — made possible by you and your generous support of the Rescue Fund — have enabled AWHC and our team of volunteers to make life-saving interventions for foals, wild horses and burros.
Finally, allow me to introduce you to some of the fuzzy, thankful faces you’ve helped save this foaling season:
Rustler, Leela, Sinclair, Carte, Stitch, Goliath and all of us here at AWHC want to say a huge THANK YOU, and wish you a safe and happy weekend.
Grace Kuhn,
Communications Director
American Wild Horse Campaign
UPDATE: We’re launching a weekend of action to SAVE Wyoming’s wild horses
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
At the beginning of this week, we reached out to you about a devastating plan being proposed that represents an existential threat to Wyoming’s wild horses.
The stakes have never been higher for Wyoming’s Checkerboard wild horse herd: Over 3,000 of them could be rounded up and removed from public lands while nearly 2.5 MILLION acres of wild horse habitat could be permanently eliminated.
That’s why AWHC launched an official action center and is kicking off a weekend of action so we can do everything in our power to save these horses!
Here Are 5 Ways You Can #KeepWyomingWyld This Weekend
April 30 is the deadline to submit public comments in opposition to the Bureau of Land Management’s Wyoming Wild Horse Wipeout proposal.
That gives us less than two weeks to PROVE to the BLM that the American people oppose this devastating mustang eradication plan.
Wyoming’s tourism slogan is “Don’t Fence Me In,” and the state’s iconic wild horses symbolize that sentiment. In fact, the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop in the Checkerboard is promoted by the state’s tourism boards as “something you and your family will never forget because Sweetwater County’s cherished wild horses are living examples of a wide-open landscape and untamed frontier spirit.”
Incredibly, the BLM’s plan would eradicate every single wild horse from the viewing loop, fencing these symbols of the wide open West in dismal feedlots!
Write to Wyoming’s tourism boards here and ask them to join our efforts to prevent the destruction of the iconic Wyoming Checkerboard mustangs.
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon has the power to oppose and potentially change the course of the Wyoming Wild Horse Wipeout. In fact, his state is looking to purchase a large chunk of these lands from Occidental Petroleum and could designate the area as a recreational resource in which wild horses are protected.
Take part in AWHC’s national petition drive to demonstrate the immense public pressure in opposition to the eradication of Wyoming’s wild horses.
If we’re going to save these horses, then we need to get everyone involved, including our friends, family, and coworkers.
So many people who love wild horses aren’t aware of what’s at stake in Wyoming — And just a couple minutes of their time can make a difference.
- Add a frame to your Facebook profile picture in support of Wyoming’s wild horses here
- Change your Facebook cover photo and upload Instagram stories in support of the horses here
- Start a Tweet storm and get people talking on Twitter about this issue here
Our legal team has been heavily involved in fighting back against attempts by the BLM and the livestock industry to round up tens of thousands of wild horses, permanently remove them from public lands, and perform dangerous sterilization surgeries on mares. We’ve been fighting the attempt to eradicate the Wyoming Checkerboard horses since 2011.
Not only have we achieved a number of important legal protections but also our legal team has scored victories in fourteen separate lawsuits filed over the last nine years!
We understand that these are difficult times and that not everyone is in a position to donate. But we are relying on donations from supporters like you to power our legal team so they can defend Wyoming, and our country’s, wild horses.
Wild horses don’t have a voice, so we need to be theirs.
Thank you for getting involved and stay safe,
American Wild Horse Campaign
RIP – DANDELION. – NOW ANOTHER WILD, PREGNANT, OLDER MARE IN THE KILL PEN. YOU ARE HER LAST CHANCE! WILL YOU HELP US SAVE HER?
The following is from Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang:
With a broken heart, we had to let Dandelion go. In the midst of trying to deal with so much loss, another emergency is upon us.
Another urgent 911 call. An older, WILD & PREGNANT MUSTANG is in the kill pen, and if we don’t get her, she has no other option. She and her unborn baby do not deserve to ship to slaughter.
We need to save her now! Her time has run out and we need to raise funds for vetting, transport, etc. so we can commit to saving her life.
If we do not step up, this girl has no where to go. At this point I have not seen her, but that is not important. God put her in front of us and we need to save both of their lives. Time is of the essence and her clock is running out.
_As usual, there is never time to grieve the loss of our beautiful babies. sadly, we found out that Dandelion was born with a deadly birth defect. _
Although our beautiful Dandelion was all healed up from her coyote attack and ready to head out to her “new Moms”, she had a birth defect that ultimately was a death sentence. Thankfully she did not die a horrible death out on the range, but was surrounded by those she loved and her “mama”.,
As always, the phone rings and we received another 911. This mare and her unborn baby now have a chance, and that is YOU!. We need a “happy”. PLEASE HELP US SAVE THIS MOM AND BABY NOW!
I am honestly exhausted and my heart is in a million pieces. But that does not give me an excuse to not step up and try and save this Mama and unborn Baby. I may still need to grieve my beloved Christmas & Dandelion, but we don’t need to add more heartbreak by letting this Mama and baby ship.
On another note, the Belgian “Texas Triumph” is hanging in there. I was warned that I may go out and find he has aspirated and gotten pneumonia, or I might find him “choking” as he has what appears to be permanent damage to his throat. Both vets have warned me about the low chances he has for a long life, but we will love him and care for him as long as we can.
So we had two cases from opposite ends of the spectrum, both involving a damaged esophagus. With neither one being a candidate for surgery, it means we pray hard and keep feeding Texas Triumph his mash. At this point aside from his string halt and eating issues, he is a wonderful and very happy boy!
Zimmerman Veterinary
1 775-623-0981 and let them know it is for “Palomino – Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang”.
PLEASE LET’S “GIT ‘ER DONE” ONCE MORE and save this Mama and her unborn baby. This baby does NOT deserve to be born on the floor of a filthy slaughter truck!
Below, “Texas Triumph”, the latest edition to our Sunshine & Smiles program, (as long as he is here with us).
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
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 are saved.
Our photos of the month [check them out!]
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Our team put together some of the most striking photos from this past month – ones that made us smile, and others that remind us why we work so hard to protect these icons every day.
Mustangs in their winter coats on the Virginia Range in Nevada, where our fertility control program is in its tenth month with over 830 wild mares inoculated with the PZP vaccine. Learn more about our program here.
AWHC joined with the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group this month to advocate for construction of a wildlife overpass for the famed Salt River wild horses in AZ. Learn more here.
Friend of AWHC and photographer, Mary Hone captured a series of photos of a wild burro youngster living her best life out on our public lands in California. Check out the series here. (Credit: Mary Hone Fine Art).
Just captured wild horses from the Eagle Herd Management Area in Nevada arrive at BLM holding pens in good body condition, despite winter conditions and BLM claims of overpopulation and starvation. Read more here.
Wild horses have long been misrepresented as a non-native invasive species, but respected scientists are working to change that narrative. Learn more about wild horses as a native species here.
Thank you,
American Wild Horse Campaign
This is our chance to be on the right side of history
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
At the beginning of the 1970s, our country came together to prevent the extinction of America’s mustangs.
Congress recognized that wild horses were “fast disappearing” and at one point, the wild horse population in Nevada fell below 4,000 (for reference: Nevada is home to the majority of wild horses today).
Thanks to years of activism and public pressure, Congress unanimously (!) passed the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 to save these American icons.
But right now, in 2019, the future of America’s wild horses and burros is once again in jeopardy.
The Bureau of Land Management could remove as many as 20,000 wild horses from public lands next year. At the same time, the livestock industry and two large animal welfare groups that sold out the interests of wild horses are lobbying in favor of a plan that would bring mustang populations to near-extinction levels over the next decade.
Our passionate volunteers, skilled attorneys and lobbyists, and incredible staff are taking a monumental stand in 2020 to defend the future of wild horses and burros against this threat.
Because of you, we’re giving a fighting voice for wild horses and burros in Congress, the Courts, and states across the West.
American Wild Horse Campaign
Incredible opportunity! — All donations could be matched through the end of the year
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
We have an incredible opportunity, but it’s very time-sensitive and will require all of us working together and pitching in.
The Opportunity: A generous donor has committed to match every single donation up to $100,000 through the end of the year, but only if we meet one condition.
The Condition: We have to raise $100,000 in grassroots donations to unlock the full matching gift.
That gives us just three days to raise the funds to secure this major gift.
This year, we’ve made a lot of progress. The U.S. Forest Service is now prohibited from selling wild horses and burros for slaughter, California has enacted new horse protections, and AWHC now runs the world’s largest humane management program for mustangs — proving that there is a safe, cost-effective alternative to cruel roundups.
We also face significant challenges in 2020. Congress’ decision to fund accelerated roundups in 2020 could result in as many as 20,000 wild horses and burros being removed from public lands next year alone.
Thank you,
American Wild Horse Campaign
Meet Flurry, one of the newest additions to the Virginia Range family
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
This holiday season, we hope you’re not too saddled with work or stressful travel plans and are enjoying some quality time with friends, family and loved ones.
On the topic of family, we wanted to introduce you to one of the newest additions to the Virginia Range in Nevada: Flurry.
Flurry really loves his mom, Empress — You can find them together exploring the wide expanses of the Virginia Range side-by-side.
Flurry was born recently during one of the first snow storms of the season, and he, his mom and the rest of his herd are doing well. We’ll be keeping a close eye on them, since Flurry, Empress, and their herd are wild horses currently documented in our precedent-setting humane management program.
It’s photos and moments like these that remind us why we’re in this fight together. Empress, Flurry, and all of America’s wild horses and burros deserve to be wild and free with their families.
As we gather with our families this holiday, we want to express our heartfelt thanks to you, our loyal supporters, for all you do to make freedom a reality for wild mustangs like Flurry. Each and every day, with your support, we work to make sure that Flurry and other wild horses have a future in which they can not only survive, but also thrive.
On behalf of everyone at AWHC, we are grateful to you for being part of the AWHC family. Our very best wishes to you and your loved ones, the happiest of holidays and a healthy and joyous New Year.
With Gratitude,
Suzanne, the Board and Staff of AWHC
Believe in the Magic of the Season
The following is from All About Equine Animal Rescue:
Join us as we share 31 stories that show how you helped horses in 2019.
Remember AmazonSmile when you shop this Holiday Season!
TEXAS, BIG & RICH
Fortunately, picking up was straight forward. The fosters had set-up a round pen, and fed the horses in the roundpen to get them used to coming in. We setup a long loading chute from the roundpen to the trailer. The pick up was anything but difficult; actually, the hardest part was managing the panels with only one truck/trailer.
Fortunately, these boys were in relatively good health, except for Tex, who had foundered. There was much work yet to do!
As you can see, the time, effort, and dedication it takes to rescue is much more than a quick pick up and rehome. It takes hours upon hours of volunteer time and a lot of equipment and financial resources to accomplish just one rescue like Texas, Big and Rich. Your support makes it possible for horses like these three to have another chance for a happy, healthy life. Thank you!
New Volunteer Needs
BOOTS & BLING 2020
SPECIAL PROJECTS AROUND THE BARN
Employers Match Donations, Does Yours?
-
Intel
provides a $10 grant to a nonprofit per every volunteer hour by an employee, and matches funds dollar for dollar up to $5,000 per employee or retiree.
-
Microsoft provides a $17 grant to a nonprofit per every hour volunteered by an employee.
-
Apple provides a $25 grant to a nonprofit per every volunteer hour by an employee, and matches funds dollar for dollar up to $10,000 per employee.
-
Verizon provides a $750 grant to a nonprofit when an employee volunteers for 50+ hours.
- State Farm provides a $500 grant nonprofit when an employee volunteers for+ 40 hours.
- Others top 20 matching gift and/or volunteer grant companies include
-
- Starbucks
- CarMax
- Home Depot
- JP Morgan
- Chevron
- Soros Fund Management
- BP (British Petroleum)
- Gap Corporation
- State Street Corporation
- ExxonMobil
- Johnson & Johnson
- Boeing
- Disney
- Merck
- Aetna
- Dell
- Outerwall (CoinStar and RedBox)
- ConocoPhillips
- RealNetworks
- Time Warner and subsidiaries
- AllState
- and more
The BLM intends to remove all wild horses from the Caliente Complex — We’re fighting back
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced its decision to round up and permanently remove ALL wild horses from the Caliente Herd Area (HA) Complex in Nevada.
It should come as no surprise that the BLM did not consider reductions to domestic livestock in the same area before announcing its intention to eradicate the Caliente Complex mustangs. This comes as the Acting Director of the BLM has repeatedly sided with private livestock owners over the lives of wild horses.
But this decision is different from authorizing a standalone roundup — The BLM decision would eradicate mustangs in eight of the nine Herd Management Areas (HMAs) in the Caliente Complex.
That’s why AWHC joined with The Cloud Foundation (TCF) and Western Watersheds Project (WWP) to sue the BLM and stop them.
Under federal law, mustangs are one of two animals in our country specifically protected by an Act of Congress. The bald eagle is the other. As part of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, wild horse populations must be managed to maintain “a thriving natural ecological balance.”
1 ) By refusing to protect wild horses or give full consideration to the long term impacts of this wild horse wipeout plan, the BLM deprived the American people of the opportunity to assess and respond to the rationale underlying this major decision.
2 ) Additionally, the BLM must consider reasonable alternatives short of the outright elimination of wild horses in these HMAs. By refusing to consider a reduction in livestock grazing, the BLM is violating the National Environmental Policy Act , its mandate to protect wild horses under the 1971 Wild Horse Act.
3 ) Remember — more than 500% more BLM land is authorized for livestock than for wild horses and burros in the West, and many of these private livestock owners benefit from as much as half a billion dollars annually in taxpayer subsidies. The claims of wild horse “overpopulation” by the BLM are false, further evidenced by the fact that wild horses are not found on 88% of BLM lands.
That’s why AWHC’s legal team is suing. Our suit regarding the Caliente Complex was just fully briefed on summary judgment, meaning it is officially moving forward at a time when the threat of slaughter is once again looming large.
Our wild horses don’t have a voice. Your continued support allows us to be theirs.
Thank you,
American Wild Horse Campaign
BREAKING: BLM Director labels wild horses “existential threat” to public lands
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
News & Alerts
The Acting Bureau of Land Management Director, William Perry Pendley, just went on record to single out wild horses as the biggest “existential threat” to public lands.
No, we’re not joking:
The irony of his comments is not lost on us. Almost 90 percent of BLM land has NO wild horses on it, and mustangs have nowhere near as large an environmental footprint as commercial livestock grazing. Pendley himself championed the cause of selling off our public lands into private ownership, for profit. That position is the real, existential threat to public lands.
But there’s a reason Pendley is peddling this fiction as fact: He’s trying to make the public case for a plan that would put wild horses on the pathway to extinction.
Here’s a quick look at the real threats and dangers facing public lands, Mr. Pendley:
Thank you,
Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
P.S. — It’s difficult to overstate how significant it is for the Acting Director of the BLM to label wild horses and burros “an existential threat” in an official capacity. We have to set the record straight and expose his lies — Every donation helps us do that and defend our wild horses and burros.
We’re rising to the occasion
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
News & Alerts
It’s difficult to overstate the threat to wild horses and burros posed by the Cattlemen’s Association/HSUS/ASPCA, et. al., and their mass mustang roundup plan. If it goes into effect, up to 20,000 horses and burros each year for the next three years will be rounded up and removed from public lands.
Over the next ten years, the total number removed from the range could be as high as 130,000 wild horses and burros.
But thanks to dedicated supporters like you who have spoken out, signed petitions, and donated, this dangerous plan is drawing national attention and backlash:
Momentum is building, but we’re facing a major deadline to stop one cruel method that the plan allows — a brutal and outdated surgical procedure that BLM intends to use to remove the ovaries of wild mares. Many veterinarians have spoken out, but more are needed to convince Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to pull the plug on this inhumane surgery.
Mass Roundups & Surgical Sterilization Are Not The Answer
These wild herds are at risk of being destroyed forever. And this isn’t hyperbole — mass roundups would reduce wild horse populations to near-extinction levels. Surgical sterilization would destroy the mustangs’ natural behaviors, which make them truly wild and help them survive in the rugged West.
There are much better and far safer management options to maintain viable and healthy herds of wild free-roaming horses and burros on our public lands.
The National Academies of Sciences, in its 2013 Report to the BLM, made it crystal clear that roundups don’t work:
We’re Showing There Is A Better Way
Every single day, our darters are proving that humane management of wild horses in the wild is possible. And our PZP birth control programs are getting results.
In the span of five and a half months, our team of 14 volunteer darters in the Virginia Range in Nevada delivered more fertility control treatments to wild mares than the entire BLM, with its $80-million-a-year-budget, did in all of 2018.
Just last week in the Onaqui Mountains in Utah, AWHC’s darter worked with the BLM and the Wild Horses of American Foundation to dart 81 horses.
The fact is, PZP programs are getting results. We stand ready to work with the BLM to expand these programs so that wild horses and burros can live as nature intended — Wild and Free.
We will continue to keep you updated and thank you for your continued support,
The American Wild Horse Campaign
Keep it up. It’s working.
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
#WildHorseWeek continues, and so do your opportunities to get your Senator’s attention.
As you know, a dangerous proposal is being circulated for mustangs and burros, and we must ensure that the Senate stands strong on our side and does not include funding language in the Interior Appropriations Bill.
Today, we urge you to speak up on social media.
What you can do:
1. Send these automated tweets to our Senate targets using the links below.
2. Download this graphic and post it somewhere (even in the comments!) on the following Senator’s Facebook pages.
- Senator Udall
- Senator Merkley
- Senator Gardner
- Senator Cortez Masto
- Senator Rosen
- Senator Feinstein
- Senator Harris
- Senator Collins
- Senator Murkowski
We are hearing that offices know where we stand, we just have to keep it up. Let’s make sure they hear us loud and clear.
Thank you and post away!
– The AWHC Team
P.S. If you haven’t already, please make a call to your Senator at 202-224-3121 and tell them to OPPOSE funding for the Cattlemen’s Association/ASPCA wild horse plan and SUPPORT legislative language to prevent USFS from selling wild horses for slaughter.
Ranchers call for a roundup of wild horses on our public lands. Don’t let the cattle industry win
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Earlier this week, a federal court judge in California issued an order granting us the right to intervene in a lawsuit, filed by public lands ranchers, seeking the immediate round up and removal of 2,000 wild horses from the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory in the Modoc National Forest.
At the same time, our attorney is in San Francisco today, participating in court-ordered negotiations with the U.S. Forest Service on a separate lawsuit, filed by AWHC and the Animal Legal Defense Fund, to stop the agency from selling Devil’s Garden horses for slaughter.
The Devil’s Garden Territory is home to one of California’s largest remaining wild horse populations. Yet under pressure from local ranching interests, the Forest Service seeks to reduce the wild horse population to 200 – 402 horses, while allowing over 3,700 cows and 2,900 sheep to graze the public lands there.
The situation that has been unfolding in Devil’s Garden — from the roundups to the proposal to sell the mustangs without limitation on slaughter — represents one of the more serious attacks on wild horses by the public lands ranching industry.
Enough is enough. We’re waging two separate legal battles to defend Devil’s Garden mustangs from this existential threat.
As always, we are the last line of defense for America’s wild horses and we must keep fighting until their safety is assured.
—AWHC Team
Join us! A rally to save the Onaqui wild horses
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
On Friday, April 5, we’re holding a rally in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah at the BLM State Office to save the Onaqui wild horses. We need a huge showing to make sure the BLM hears our voices loud and clear – and we hope you’ll join us in taking a stand against the BLM’s planned roundup that could wipe out 80% of the herd.
Click here to get more information about our rally on Facebook, and confirm your attendance.
BLM Utah State Office
440 W 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1113
11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., April 5, 2019
This rally is our chance to speak up for the beloved Onaqui wild horses – one of the most famous herds in the West that draws thousands of eco-tourists to the area every year. With a great showing of support, we’ll be able to get the attention of the media and generate the national grassroots pressure on the BLM to spare this historic and unique mustang herd.
Help us generate a strong showing for the wild horses to #SaveOnaqui.
On April 5, we’ll be there… will you?
Thank you,
Suzanne
PS — For more information about the Onaqui horses and the BLM’s planned roundup of 80% of the herd, click here.
Special Home For A Special Guy?
The following is from All About Equine Animal Rescue:
It’s AAE story-time! Horses of 2018:
Waylon
Waylon was adopted in October 2017, then returned to AAE in May 2018 after being diagnosed with EPM. Waylon was treated with a three month course of Marquis, and he responded very well.
Waylon is about 15.1hh and still growing. He is current with vaccines, deworming, and hoof and dental care, and he has a microchip in place.
16 days until 2019, YOUR donation means more horses can be helped! Donate Today!
Give Now and Help a Horse this Season!
Have a great holiday season!
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(or $5000 credit toward another available itinerary)
Raffle Limited to 200 Tickets!
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Employers Match Donations, Does Yours?
-
Intel
provides a $10 grant to a nonprofit per every volunteer hour by an employee, and matches funds dollar for dollar up to $5,000 per employee or retiree.
-
Microsoft provides a $17 grant to a nonprofit per every hour volunteered by an employee.
-
Apple provides a $25 grant to a nonprofit per every volunteer hour by an employee, and matches funds dollar for dollar up to $10,000 per employee.
-
Verizon provides a $750 grant to a nonprofit when an employee volunteers for 50+ hours.
- State Farm provides a $500 grant nonprofit when an employee volunteers for+ 40 hours.
- Others top 20 matching gift and/or volunteer grant companies include
-
- Starbucks
- CarMax
- Home Depot
- JP Morgan
- Chevron
- Soros Fund Management
- BP (British Petroleum)
- Gap Corporation
- State Street Corporation
- ExxonMobil
- Johnson & Johnson
- Boeing
- Disney
- Merck
- Aetna
- Dell
- Outerwall (CoinStar and RedBox)
- ConocoPhillips
- RealNetworks
- Time Warner and subsidiaries
- AllState
- and more
BREAKING: BLM resumes selling wild horses by the truckload
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
We just received word — the BLM has scrapped a rule designed to prevent the sale of wild horses and burros for slaughter.
Can you pitch in right now to help us fight back?
Six years ago, the BLM was exposed for illegally selling almost 2,000 wild horses for to a Colorado kill buyer who sold them to slaughter plants in Mexico.
In response to the scandal, the agency adopted a rule preventing the sale of more than four horses to one individual without written approval from the Assistant Director of the BLM. The rule was a safeguard against the sale of horses for slaughter.
But now, the BLM has rolled that back — and is selling wild horses by the truckload again!
The new rule allows BLM to sell up to 25 horses without special approval, and places no restriction on the number of times an individual can purchase horses.
At $25 per horse, this creates an powerful incentive for shady sales to unscrupulous buyers. The number of mustangs entering the slaughter pipeline is bound to skyrocket!
We’re mobilizing now to fight back — working with our allies on Capitol Hill, getting the word out to the national media about BLM’s latest move and exploring legal options. Can you help fuel our rapid response?
We’ll keep you updated on all of our efforts over the next few weeks. Thanks for standing with us.
– AWHC Team
You Won’t Want to Miss this News
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
News & Alerts
Oppose Another Mass Roundup of Nevada Mustangs
Photo by Steve Paige of Triple B Mustangs in BLM Litchfield Holding Pens, May 29, 2018
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is accepting public comments on another massive helicopter roundup of Nevada mustangs — this one in the Eagle Complex on the border with Utah. The BLM allows just 145-265 wild horses to live in this 1,160-square-mile public lands area, while authorizing the annual equivalent of 4,400 cow/calf pairs to graze there. The action perpetuates the BLM’s broken cycle of roundups and removals and failure to use humane and scientifically-recommended birth control to manage wild horses and burros in the wild. Please take a stand against this waste and cruelty now by clicking below.
The Latest: Wild Horses and Capitol Hill
Photo by Linda Hay
Well, they’re back at it again—Congress has begun work on the Department of the Interior/ BLM’s budget for the Fiscal Year 2019, which starts on October 1. And again, the House of Representatives is looking for ways to harm horses on the western range. This year, the House Subcommittee on Interior and Environment Appropriations has forwarded report language that, while avoiding a direct attempt to allow outright slaughter, instructs BLM to start the process to “immediately begin designing the regulatory framework and technical protocols for an active sterilization program.” The report language also directs BLM to “analyze” an option to kill healthy horses older than 10 years — less than half the lifespan for many wild horses! Read more about this situation and what you can do by clicking below for our latest blog!
BLM Releases Summer/Fall Roundup Schedule: 6,000 Mustangs and Burros in the Crosshairs
Photo of Wyoming Checkerboard mustangs in trap at BLM 2017 roundup by Caroline Christie
This BLM is doubling down on the mass roundup and removal of wild horses from our public lands, a management practice that the National Academy of Sciences called “expensive and unproductive for the BLM and the public it serves.” In the crosshairs over the next four months: nearly 6,000 wild horses and burros, currently living peacefully on our public lands in eight Western states. Read more about the BLM’s summer/fall roundup schedule and what it means for American taxpayers and our cherished wild horses and burros by clicking below.
25 MUSTANGS SAVED FROM SLAUGHTER – 25 MINIATURE HORSES AT RISK – CAN WE SAVE THEM? CHILLY PEPPER ON STANDBY
The following is from Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang:
THE CLOCK IS TICKING on 25 new lives. – 25 Miniatures are at risk of dying, and we need your help to save them…
We came together and saved 25 more mustangs this last week. Thank You for making that possible. Out of those 25, we brought home 4 orphans and a badly injured mare and baby. Thankfully the extended network of folks came together to help.
As always, Chilly Pepper incurred ALL THE COSTS to rescue them, but once again they are OFF OUR BOOKS, and safe and sound until they find their forever homes.**
Unfortunately with those 25 we incurred some hefty vet bills. I just saw one of them this morning. This bill is $1972.85, which is pretty much going to wipe out most of the budget.
We also have another vet bill for emergency care for Valentine. Matt came home to find him in desperate need of vet care, and although the Vet did every thing she could my beautiful boy died. It is heartbreaking to be gone for so long and have a horse get sick and not make it. We saved 25, but my beautiful boy is gone.
I RECEIVED ANOTHER EMERGENCY CALL YESTERDAY – We are on standby for 25? miniature horses, similar to the ones shown above. Their lives are at risk, but unless we raise enough funds we will not be able to answer the call. We spent thousands of dollars to save the last 25, and we are simply tapped out.
We have a few days to a week or so? We are on standby for when the miniatures are all rounded up and we can pick them up. But it will not happen if we do not raise funds to cover the rescue.
The rescue work we do is very expensive, but Y’ALL ARE DIRECTLY SAVING LIVES! Matt and I are willing to keep doing the work, but as of right now the budget is tapped. We have been getting lots of kids placed, and that also makes a huge difference in the feed bill. We definitely DO NOT hoard horses, and most all of your donations go to saving more lives, as opposed to feeding “stored horses”.
PLEASE HELP if you can. We will ONLY BE ABLE TO SAVE THE MINI’S if folks open their hearts. We are ALSO STANDING BY for more babies. The roundups are happening as I type this and that means lots more orphans. As we sit right now, there are simply not enough funds to save more lives.
We are driving thousands of miles while we save and place these horses. Our rescue spent over $8000 just in fuel last year, but YOU SAVED hundreds of lives. So I am asking folks to help us keep saving more lives if you can.
Below meet our little Bear. She is a yearling, and the size of the 3 week old babies. She is one of the 25 you just saved.
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
You can go to Paypal
if you would like to help these horses.
You can donate via check at Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang, P.O. Box 190 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_
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