Just $30 helps save a wild horse
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
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PZP program
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.
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 > |
After roundups, the horror continues. But we can do something about it >>
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Far from prying eyes, nearly 64,000 wild horses and burros are being held in Bureau of Land Management (BLM) holding pens across America. After being rounded up, forcefully separated from their families, and removed from the public lands they call home, it is in these facilities that wild horses and burros face further mistreatment.
In many cases, they don’t receive critical vaccines in a timely manner. Some don’t have constant access to food and water. Too many are in poor body condition. The facilities are not maintained in working order. And this takes a toll: Just this year, hundreds of wild horses contracted fatal and preventable diseases and many tragically passed away in these facilities.
The answer to this growing crisis — which the BLM aims to only accelerate in the coming years — is to stop the problem before it starts. Fertility control allows us to humanely and safely manage populations of wild horses and burros in the wild, shielding them from BLM roundups.
Our PZP program on Nevada’s Virginia Range is doing just that — proving with science, that the best, safest, and most cost-effective way to manage these cherished animals is in the wild where they belong.
| DONATE |
Thanks.
Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign
Show wild burros some love as we finish out our Help A Horse Day festivities!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
So far this week we’ve shared stories with you that highlight just how critical our PZP Program and our Legal Funds are to protecting the freedom and the lives of America’s wild horses. Today, as we close out our National Help A Horse Day festivities, we wanted to show our cherished wild burros some love, too!
Over the next several months, approximately 2,500 wild burros will be targeted for removal by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Around 2,300 of these innocent animals will be sent to holding facilities, where many could be funneled into the slaughter pipeline via the BLM’s disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP).
Meredith: Our Rescue Fund has helped us save over 100 wild horses and burros from the slaughter pipeline including the Oklahoma 12:
Last year, our investigative team documented these 12 burros sitting in an Oklahoma kill pen ready to ship to slaughter at any minute. We used our Rescue Fund to assist our rescue partner Evanescent Mustang Rescue and Sanctuary to pay the bail for each of these 12 burros so they could quickly get out of this kill pen and into foster care.
After these animals were safe, we obtained their title paperwork. And Meredith, as we guessed — all 12 burros were adopted through the BLM’s AIP. Even worse, they were all adopted by one family who as soon as they got their incentive payments, flipped the 12 burros to slaughter.
Even though the Oklahoma 12 are now safe and in loving care, the BLM’s unprecedented attack on burro populations means an increasing number of BLM burros will be moving through the AIP and are at risk of entering the slaughter pipeline.
| FUEL OUR RESCUE FUND → |
Thanks,
— AWHC Team
The countdown to National Help a Horse Day starts NOW!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Tomorrow, April 26, marks National Help A Horse Day — a day dedicated to bringing horse advocates like yourself together to protect America’s beloved equines and to spread awareness about the threats many of these cherished animals face. Help us celebrate with a donation today! >>
Here at the American Wild Horse Campaign, we’re kicking off this important day early, because there is just so much to cover when it comes to protecting America’s wild herds! We never stop fighting to preserve the freedom of mustangs and burros, so this week we wanted to share exactly how we are protecting these innocent animals and highlight some heartwarming stories from along the way!
Allow us to introduce you to Saddle Shoe.
| HELP MORE HORSES LIKE SADDLE SHOE |
Saddle Shoe is a 10-year-old pinto mare that lives on Nevada’s Virginia Range, a 300,000-acre habitat in the greater Reno area where we operate the world’s largest wild horse fertility control program! Through our documentation of the wild horses who call this area home, we have discovered that Saddle Shoe is the mother of at least 4 other mustangs who live wild and free!
The lands surrounding the Virginia Range are slowly being swallowed up by encroaching urbanization as commercial companies build offices and housing throughout their habitat. We started our PZP program on Nevada’s Virginia Range because we wanted to ensure horses like Saddle Shoe and her babies maintain their freedom on the lands they’ve called home for centuries.
Our work on the Virginia Range provides scientific evidence to the public and lawmakers that there is a humane way to manage wild horses that doesn’t require mass roundups, crowded holding pens, or dangerous sterilization surgeries.
One of the biggest wins from this groundbreaking program? The wild horses of the Virginia Range, like Saddle Shoe, get to stay together with their families, and in the wild just like they’re meant to be!
| FUEL OUR PZP PROGRAM → |
Thanks for your support,
– American Wild Horse Campaign
We’re changing the wild horse narrative
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Wild horses and burros get a bad rap in the media. These American icons are all too often labeled “invasive” and scapegoated as the cause of land degradation in the West.
We both know that’s not true. So we’re working to change the narrative from this:
To THIS:
To THIS:
| FUEL OUR WORK |
The plight faced by our cherished wild horses and burros is fueled by misinformation. These innocent animals are blamed for environmental damage across the West when they only inhabit a tiny fraction of our public lands. In fact, research implicates commercial livestock grazing, not wild horses, as the primary cause of land degradation.
The livestock industry has lobbied Congress for decades, blaming wild horses and burros with flawed statistics to try and get its way — well, we won’t have it.
As our organization and supporter base rapidly grows, so does our influence on Capitol Hill. We’ve built relationships with wild horse champions at the local, state, and federal levels and will continue to be the legislative voice of our cherished wild herds.
We’re demonstrating through our PZP program on the Virginia Range in Nevada that humane, in-the-wild management works. And we’re meticulously tracking and reporting on the successes of this program to show Congress and the media that there is a better way to manage wild horses and burros than costly and deadly helicopter roundups.
| DONATE |
Thanks for your support,
The AWHC Team
LAST CHANCE!! Renew Your 2022 AWHC Support TODAY >>
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
We have big plans for 2022!
We’re continuing our fight in the courts, in the field, and on the Hill to protect America’s wild horses and burros in 2022 and for years to come.
We’re so grateful to have you alongside us in the fight to protect our wild herds. If you haven’t already, will you renew your support as an AWHC member to help fuel our fight for wild horses and burros in 2022? Tomorrow marks the end of the month, so renew your support now, before it’s too late!
| RENEW YOUR 2022 SUPPORT |
Thanks for standing with us,
— AWHC Team
You voted, so here it is (!!)
Introducing our OFFICIAL 2022 American Wild Horse Campaign Member Card:
We have so much in store for 2022. Not only are we continuing our fight on the Hill, in the courts, and in the field — we’re also working on a number of groundbreaking new initiatives — all in the name of keeping wild horses and burros in the wild where they belong.
We’re laser-focused on the fight to preserve the freedom of our wild mustangs and burros. That means in 2022, we are … proving through our PZP program on Nevada’s Virginia Range that humane in the wild management works … expanding our investigative team to uncover abuse and hold the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) accountable … continuing our lawsuit against the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program that’s sending horses and burros to slaughter … working with a prestigious university to make roundup violations enforceable by law … and so much more!!
But to have the means necessary to protect our cherished wild horses and burros for generations to come, we need your help. Will you renew your support as an AWHC member today to help fuel our fight in 2022?
| RENEW YOUR 2022 SUPPORT |
Thank you for your support of our wild herds.
— American Wild Horse Campaign
Introducing our OFFICIAL 2022 American Wild Horse Campaign Member Card (!!)
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
You voted, so here it is (!!)
Introducing our OFFICIAL 2022 American Wild Horse Campaign Member Card:
We have so much in store for 2022. Not only are we continuing our fight on the Hill, in courts, and in the field — we’re also working on a number of groundbreaking new initiatives — all in the name of keeping wild horses and burros in the wild where they belong.
We’re laser-focused on the fight to preserve the freedom of our wild mustangs and burros. That means in 2022, we are … proving through our PZP program on Nevada’s Virginia Range that humane in the wild management works … expanding our investigative team to uncover abuse and hold the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) accountable … continuing our lawsuit against the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program that’s sending horses and burros to slaughter … working with a prestigious university to make roundup violations enforceable by law … and so much more!!
But to have the means necessary to protect our cherished wild horses and burros for generations to come, we need your help. Will you renew your support as an AWHC member today to help fuel our fight in 2022?
| RENEW YOUR 2022 SUPPORT |
Thank you for your support of our wild herds.
— American Wild Horse Campaign
Your $30 gift today will help us save a wild mare
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Did you know the price of a single mare’s annual PZP vaccine is just $30?
We’re asking: today — on May 30th, will you make a $30 gift to fund our PZP program and help us manage wild horse populations using tried and true fertility control measures?
| DONATE $30 NOW |
We’re fighting back against the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) massive herd removals in court and on Capitol Hill — and the success of our PZP program in Nevada has been critical in our fight to protect wild horses.
In roughly a month, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is scheduled to resume helicopter roundups. And over the next 5 years, the BLM is planning to round up an estimated 90,000 wild horses and burros!
| DONATE $30 NOW |
Tens of thousands of wild horses and burros will lose their families and freedom because of these roundups, and because the BLM doesn’t have the capacity to store all of the horses they capture, it’s already leading to slaughter for too many of these cherished animals.
| $30.00 >> HELPS 1 HORSE |
| $60.00 >> HELPS 2 HORSES |
| $150.00 >> HELPS 5 HORSES |
| $300.00 >> HELPS 10 HORSES |
| DONATE OTHER >> |
AWHC Team
It’s Time to Speak up for Wild Burros
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Wild horses & burros need your help!
Guest Blog: It’s Time to Speak up for Wild Burros
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the US Forest Service, and the National Park Service have long treated these long-eared equids with disregard and deliberate misinformation campaigns. Cattle grazing, road-building, big game hunting, gold and lithium mining and other commercial uses erode their habitat and damage their access to water.
With Deb Haaland as Secretary of Interior, there’s a chance to change this harmful pattern. But it may not save their skins unless awareness leads to concerted action — and pronto.
In the spirit of Burro Awareness Month, we would like to share with you a guest blog about these incredible animals written by advocate and burro-extraordinaire, Charlotte Roe. After you read it, follow the link at the bottom to support America’s burros.
| READ THE BLOG |
Speak Up for the Sand Wash Basin Herd
You may be familiar with the Sand Wash Basin Herd Management Area (HMA) in Colorado because of the world famous stallion, Picasso who called this 157,000-acre public lands habitat home, and who died wild and free on this very land. Unfortunately, the surviving members of his herd may not be so lucky.
The BLM is currently planning to roundup and remove over 80% of the Sand Wash wild mustangs, leaving only a population 163 — about 1 horse per every 980 acres!
Adding insult to injury, the local organization, Sand Wash Advocate Team (SWAT) has worked tirelessly to implement a PZP program to humanely manage the Sand Wash mustangs — and it’s working. Instead of a costly and cruel helicopter roundup, the BLM should invest more time and resources to support SWAT’s efforts and expand the PZP program in the HMA. This would be more humane for the horses and more cost-effective for the American taxpayers.
| TAKE ACTION |
The Calico Complex is on the Chopping Block — Speak Out!
Photo: Mike Lorden
It’s unfortunately more bad news for the wild horses and burros that reside within the Calico Complex in Nevada. The BLM is targeting the estimated 1,700 wild horses and 70 wild burros for removal in this nearly 600,000-acre area.
The agency is also considering extreme manipulation of the wild horse and burro population remaining on the range by implementing unproven IUDs over scientifically proven PZP fertility control, unnaturally skewing the sex ratio in favor of males, and managing a fourth of the population as non-reproducing, including by castrating stallions.
| TAKE ACTION |
Wild Horses in NV, WY, CO and CA need YOUR help!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
This week there are four important Action Alert deadlines for comments on mass roundup plans targeting wild horses and burros in Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado and California!
So, please take a moment to weigh in for meaningful change for wild horses and burros by taking the actions below:
Lake Mead Burros
Comments due Friday, 4/30!
Burros are incredible animals and evolving science is documenting the important role they play in the desert ecosystem. But a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plan for wild burros in the Lake Mead Complex outside Las Vegas would zero out wild burros from two of three habitat areas, and leave behind a minuscule number of burros in the third. For good measure, the BLM also wants to capture and remove every wild horse living in the area. Take action to oppose this by Friday.
| TAKE ACTION |
The Sand Wash Basin Wild Horses of Colorado
Comments due Saturday, 5/1!
Photo credit: Kimerlee Curyl Photography
The BLM is targeting the famed Sand Wash Basin wild horses in Colorado for mass roundup and removals. The HMA covers roughly 157,700 acres of public land and is currently home to an estimated 935 wild horses. The BLM’s proposed plan calls for the removal of 772 wild horses, leaving a mere 163 horses in this HMA!
The Sand Wash Advocate Team (SWAT) has worked tirelessly to implement a PZP program in this HMA, yet these horses are still targeted for mass removal. The BLM’s current plan calls for continued use of PZP, but would also allow for the use of unstudied IUDs as an alternative form of population control. Submit your comments by Saturday and oppose the BLM’s plan!
| TAKE ACTION |
Devil’s Garden Wild Horses
Comments due Friday, 4/30!
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) wants taxpayers to spend as much as $18 million to fund 6-8 years of wild horse helicopter roundups in the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory in the northeast corner of California. The USFS wants to reduce the wild horse population to a fraction of its current size in order to maximize commercial livestock grazing on public lands where the horses live.
Worse, even though they’re asking you to pay for it, the Forest Service doesn’t want your comments on the plan! However, as one of a handful of designated “stakeholders,” AWHC is committed to making your voice heard in this process. Sign our petition by Friday.
| TAKE ACTION |
Comments due Friday, 4/30!
Photo by Living Images Carol Walker
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is again targeting the wild horses of the Wyoming Checkerboard for a massive helicopter roundup that will remove a shocking 3,500 wild horses — or 40% of the state’s wild horse population — from 3.5 million acres of habitat in the southern part of the state.
The plan calls for drastically reducing the population to just 1,550 wild horses roaming free. Under this proposal, the BLM plans to treat and release 290 mares with PZP and use unproven IUDs. The BLM is also considering an alternative plan that calls for the surgical sterilization of 100 mares, the castratation of 100 stallions, and would skew the sex ratio of the population to 60% stallions and 40% mares. Submit your comments by Friday to oppose the BLM’s plan!
| TAKE ACTION |
—The AWHC Team
Join us in celebrating 2 years of our PZP Program!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Today marks 2 years since we relaunched our PZP fertility control program in the Virginia Range in Nevada. We can’t believe it’s been 2 years already!
Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP) is a scientifically-proven fertility control vaccine given to female horses on the range through an injection via remote darting with an air rifle. It’s administered in a two shot process — the first is a primer, which is then followed by a booster approximately two weeks later. The vaccine prevents fertilization and pregnancy via an immune response that does not affect the horse’s hormonal system.
The result is a humane and cost efficient way to control wild horse populations, rather than subjecting wild horses to brutal helicopter roundups!
Johnny, an AWHC volunteer darting a mare.
We signed our Virginia Range Fertility Control Cooperative Agreement with the Nevada Department of Agriculture 2 years ago, today, with support from Nevada Assemblyman Jim Wheeler, Blockchains CEO Jeff Berns and Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak. And Erica, we’re happy to report that we’ve celebrated some pretty big successes since then!
Take a look below at some of our PZP program’s successes to date:
Right now, we are early into foaling season, Erica, but so far we are trending with 62% fewer foals born on the Range compared to this time last year. Even better, the current numbers reflect a zero population growth, which is fantastic given our goal of humane population reduction in this herd whose habitat has been dramatically reduced by development! These numbers will continue to fluctuate and change as we get further into foaling season, but it is a very promising start.
| DONATE |
Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Campaign
The BLM is trying to remove hundreds of Utah’s Onaqui wild horses
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
Here is your latest news on all things wild horses and burros!
Action: Forest Service to Cull Small Arizona Herd
The Heber wild horses of the Sitgreaves National Forest in eastern Arizona have been through enough. Since 2018, the bodies of 28 horses from this small herd have been found shot to death in the Forest and not a single person has been brought to justice.
Now, the Forest Service has just released a Territory Management Plan that continues this assault — in a different way. The agency wants to reduce the population of these mustangs to as few as 50 animals on nearly 20,000-acres of public land.
Why? You might ask — well, taking a look at who else resides in the Forest might be a good place to find answers. At the same time that the Forest Service wants to drastically reduce the population of the herds, it permits nearly 500 cow/calf pairs to graze within the horses’ habitat.
We cannot let this stand. Please take one moment to speak up for Arizona’s Heber wild horses.
| TAKE ACTION |
The wild horses in the Onaqui Herd Management Area (HMA) of Dugway, Utah are arguably the most visited and cherished mustang population in the country. The herd’s accessibility provides a unique experience for visitors and photographers who, in turn, share their photographs and stories of these iconic animals with an international audience. Not only that, but there is a successful PZP program, spearheaded by volunteers, to stabilize the population numbers.
But none of that seems to matter to the BLM, which recently announced that it will be targeting hundreds of the Onaqui wild horses for removal as early as July 2021. When we heard the news, we sprung into action and are currently developing a plan to fight back. We will give you more details on that soon, but for now, please read our most recent oped in the Salt Lake Tribune about this situation.
| READ THE LATEST |
The BLM released an Environmental Assessment this week outlining a plan to continue its nearly decade-long assault on the iconic wild horses of the Wyoming Checkerboard. Under the proposal, the BLM would use helicopters to permanently remove 3,500 wild horses — or nearly 40% of the wild horse population in the state.
The BLM continues to cater to the interests of the Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA), whose members view wild horses as competition for cheap, taxpayer-subsidized livestock grazing on public lands. Since 2011, AWHC has been involved in litigation against the RSGA and the BLM to defend the wild horses in this area and has amassed numerous court victories, including at the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. We intend to continue legal action to defend Wyoming wild horses and to rally public opposition to this plan — but more on that soon.
Check out our latest news release on the situation and stay tuned for more ways to take action in the coming weeks.
| READ THE LATEST |
—The AWHC Team
First 100 Day Wild Horse Agenda
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
A new year, a new administration, and wild-horse friendly leadership at the Interior Department and on the House Natural Resources Committee. This is our moment to make real change for wild horses and burros this year — the 50th Anniversary of the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
We have an ambitious action plan to make 2021 the best for wild horses yet… and we have the team in place to accomplish it! Watch this video message to hear the plan we delivered to the new administration, and then sign our First 100 Days Agenda Petition:
Our 100 Day Wild Horse Agenda Includes:
- Urging the government to declare our nation’s wild horses and burros as historic and cultural resources, prioritize humane fertility control over roundups and prohibit cruel mare surgical sterilization as a management tool.
- Continuing to demonstrate through boots-on-the ground work that humane management of wild horses is not just possible; it can be done. We’ll do this by working to expand our groundbreaking PZP program in the Virginia Range to other herds in the West.
- Putting science at the forefront of wild horse management — we will be launching exciting new initiatives that analyze our PZP program data and create an economic report to highlight the missteps of the current mismanagement path and the cost-savings of an alternative approach.
- Continuing to amplify our work and your voice on Capitol Hill while pursuing legislation to finally give our wild horses and burros the protection they deserve.
This is an ambitious agenda, but this is our year to fight hard for the change we want to see in the world. It will take every one of us stepping up however we’re able — whether it’s lending your voice, time, or money.
This is our time to prioritize, protect and elevate America’s iconic wild horses and burros and the public lands they call home. I’m so excited to see what we accomplish together in 2021. Thank you for standing with us – we can’t do this work without you!
Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
AWHC
