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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. 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.
TAKE ACTION: 3 steps you can take NOW to help wild horses and burros in 2023
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: In an unprecedented move, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) still has not announced any new roundups for Fiscal Year 2023. This is good news! At the same time, that doesn’t mean wild horses and burros are out of harm’s way — helicopter roundups still may be scheduled for this summer, and many of the animals who have already been removed are in danger. Once these animals are captured, they become part of a government holding system where more than 60,000 wild horses and burros are confined — a system that's at its breaking point. In 2022, the BLM conducted assessments of some of its facilities, and the results were shocking. These assessments showed widespread animal welfare violations, including inadequate access to food and water, lack of basic care, and poorly maintained facilities that put animals at a higher risk for injury and disease. AWHC is taking action to address this crisis and proactively ensure that wild horses and burros are treated humanely, both in holding and in the wild. But we cannot do it alone! Here are three actions you can take NOW to help support the safety and freedom of our cherished wild horses and burros in 2023.
- Urge Congress to Support Wild Horse and Burro Protection Contact your member of Congress today and urge them to support humane, common-sense, and fiscally responsible reforms that would stop the endless cycle of removals and keep our magnificent mustangs and burros in the wild where they belong.
- Call on Congress to Mandate Camera Installations at Wild Horse and Burro Capture Operations In order to ensure transparency and accountability during wild horse and burro roundups, we must urge legislators to mandate cameras on helicopters and at trap sites. Ensuring cameras are installed at roundup operations to record and document potential violations will provide a record of activities most Americans never see.
- Tell DOI and BLM to Address Holding Facility Conditions The BLM’s holding system cannot safely hold the thousands of additional wild horses that the agency intends to capture over the next few years. We must demand change today. Please contact Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning and ask them to ensure the humane care of wild horses and burros in these facilities.
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.
An update on Colorado’s horse slaughter bill
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: Yesterday, the Colorado Senate Agriculture Committee narrowly passed an amended version of Senate Bill 23-038-007 concerning the Unlawful Transportation of Equines for Human Consumption. Bill 23-038, led by Colorado Voters for Animals, was originallydrafted to Prohibit Equine Slaughter for Human Consumption but was weakened to meet the approval of the Senate Agriculture Committee and is now limited to addressing conditions of transportation to slaughter for human consumption. The bill title was also narrowed and constrained to the topic of transport. Unfortunately, once the scope of a bill title has been narrowed, it cannot be widened and amendments must comport with the bill title. Next, the bill moves to the full Senate for a vote. If it passes, it will move to the House for a committee hearing, most likely in the House Transportation Committee. We will continue to monitor the bill as further amendments are introduced. You can read the full text of SB23-038-007 here. Thank you for caring about wild horses, The AWHC Team ...
Tell the BLM: End the Cash Incentives for Wild Horse and Burro Adoption!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: We've got a lot to share with you in this week's eNews, including: an inside look at a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) adoption event, an opportunity to take action against the diastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), and the latest update on our groundbreaking fertility control program on Nevada's Virginia Range. Read on to learn more and speak up for our cherished wild herds! >> Help End the Cash Incentives for Wild Horse and Burro Adoption AWHC’s investigative team is continuing to monitor and track the consequences of the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), which pays individuals $1,000 to adopt a wild, unhandled horse or burro. In fact, since the start of February, we have identified over 30 BLM-branded wild horses and burros in slaughter auctions across the country. Unfortunately, we know that this is just the tip of the iceberg and many more are shipping directly across the border for slaughter. It’s time to end the cash incentives that are sending hundreds, if not thousands of our beloved wild mustangs and burros into the slaughter pipeline. ACT NOW Eyewitness Report: BLM Adoption Event in Florida Last weekend, AWHC volunteer Gail Clifton traveled to Okeechobee, Florida to attend and document a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) adoption event. As part of our ongoing investigation into the agency’s Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) that is sending droves of mustangs and burros into the slaughter pipeline, we are ensuring the documentation of these events. Read more here → READ MORE Humane Wild Horse Management in the News The collaborative effort on Nevada’s Virginia Range for a cherished herd of mustangs is making headlines! At the beginning of the month, AWHC held a press conference to unveil the latest data from our volunteer-run fertility control program that is helping to stabilize the horses’ population as their habitat continues to be swallowed by development. Read about those results below! READ MORE Thanks for reading. And thank you for continuing to stand up for our cherished wild horses and burros! — AWHC Team ...
