Wild Mustang/Burro Campaigns

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: Yesterday was National Help a Horse Day! It’s hard to say just how important holidays like National Help a Horse Day are to the American Wild Horse Conservation team. To celebrate a national holiday specifically dedicated to protecting the animals we hold so close to our hearts means so much to all of us who spend day in and day out fighting to protect the lives and freedom of our wild herds. And we’re celebrating this Help a Horse Day weekend extra because we’ve got some amazing news to share! After a two-year-long battle, the National Parks Service (NPS) has abandoned its plan to eradicate the historic wild horses from the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP)! TRNP Wild Horses by Wild at Heart Images Sandy Sisti This is a major victory. The Teddy Roosevelt horses have roamed the badlands for centuries, and many believe they are descendants of Sitting Bull's horses and related to the rare Nokota breed. They are a significant part of the historical and natural heritage of the park, but the NPS’ plan could have reduced the population of this iconic wild horse herd to zero. AWHC fought for two years alongside a coalition of wild-horse organizations, advocates, and elected officials to stop this proposal from being implemented. We launched billboards to raise awareness about the danger facing the Teddy Roosevelt wild herd and mobilized our grassroots community to send over 20,000 letters to the NPS demanding that it abandon this disastrous plan. And it worked! The NPS could not withstand the pressure of our collective voice. This is what we are capable of when we stand together for our wild herds. But the truth is, many other wild horse and burro herds out there are still in danger. Over 20,000 animals are still going to be removed this fiscal year. They will be funneled into overburdened holding facilities and may even end up victims of the Adoption Incentive Program’s (AIP) slaughter pipeline. Our Rescue Fund is often the difference between life and death for some of these innocent animals. That’s why it’s critical that we recharge our Rescue Fund so that we stand ready to answer the call when a horse or burro needs to be rescued. In honor of National Help a Horse Day, will you contribute today to power our Rescue Fund so we can continue supporting the ...

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The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: Thanks to AWHC’s rescue fund, our team can spring into action at a moment’s notice to help rescue wild horses and burros in danger of being shipped to slaughter. Our Rescue Fund also ensures we can support local on-the-ground rescues that save mustangs and burros from entering the slaughter pipeline. Today,and over the next few days we’re going to share some heartwarming rescue stories with you – but first, Meredith, if you can, please chip in to support our Rescue Fund! We’ve set a goal to raise $25,000 to refuel the Fund so we can continue powering this vital initiative. We can’t do this work without your support. >> DONATE A few months ago, AWHC got word from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) that four wild mares from California’s Devils Garden Wild Horse Territory needed homes. These mares were considered special needs and have conditions that are not lethal but make them eligible for euthanasia under Forest Service regulations. Our team acted swiftly and reached out to our local partners to coordinate the rescue. Our friends at Montgomery Creek Ranch (MCR) were able to take two, and we were happy to support this rescue. But to everyone’s surprise, the two mares were pregnant. So what was originally a rescue mission for two mustangs turned out to be a rescue of four! The first of the babies arrived recently, a perfectly healthy bay filly with a white star!  Our friends at Equine Voices agreed to take the other two mares. AWHC supported this rescue with a grant to offset their initial care. One of the mares, Gigi, just had her little baby earlier this month named Eclipse! The work AWHC and our partners do to help mustangs like these wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for wild horse supporters like you. You help fuel our Rescue Fund and make these rescues possible. But we need your help to ensure we have the funds to support our partners and our rescues going forward. Reaching our $25,000 goal will help us bolster our Rescue Fund to save more wild horses and burros from slaughter. If you can, will you make a contribution to help us reach our $25,000 goal? DONATE Thank you, American Wild Horse Conservation ...

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: It’s National Volunteer Week — a time to celebrate people who give back. That’s why we want to (1) share a few words from our incredible Field Volunteers on Nevada’s Virginia Range who work tirelessly to help us prove to the world that fertility control is a sustainable, effective alternative to ensure the conservation of our wild horses and burros, and (2) ask you to sign a thank you card for their tireless service! Michele Einarson Michele started out as a documenter on the Virginia Range. She continued to get more involved, and now, as a herd lead, she assists with managing our scientific database! “I chose to live on the Virginia Range just for the horses. I love watching them and learning about their herd behavior. Volunteering with AWHC is my best way to support the preservation and protection of the wild ones.”  SIGN OUR THANK YOU CARD Karen Roemmich We wouldn’t be where we are today without Karen’s tireless work on the Virginia Range. She is a long-term darter and herd lead, helping out immensely with training new volunteers. “I’ll be the first to admit that I bought property in the Virginia Highlands, near Virginia City, in northern Nevada, after a group of horses, including several beautiful pintos, crossed my path while I was looking at the property. I was enchanted! I knew that I needed to live here where the wild horses roam! It has been a unique and enriching experience, satisfying my enormous passion for the wild horses, by working as a volunteer documenter and darter for the past seven years. It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of the innovative and successful AWHC Fertility Control Program!” SIGN OUR THANK YOU CARD Margaret Dziolek Through Margaret’s volunteer work with AWHC and other organizations, she has developed invaluable knowledge of the wild herds of the Virginia Range! “I have seen them birth, I have watched them grieve, I have cried many tears over them. I have watched stallions brutally battle other stallions and return to the band and gently nudge a sleeping foal. I have watched foals bound and leap with the pure joy of living. I have found my peace with them, and through them, I have found my strength, as well.” SIGN OUR THANK YOU CARD We cannot thank our volunteers enough — ...

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: Happy Earth Day, friend! Every day is Earth Day for our team at American Wild Horse Conservation, BUT that doesn’t mean we won’t take the opportunity to celebrate a little extra on this special day Today, we invite you to join us in focusing on the conservation of our beautiful planet and all of the amazing creatures who inhabit it — and we can think of no better way than doubling down on our commitment to our cherished wild horses and burros!  Here are 3 ways you can take action for our herds today: 1) For the last two fiscal years, Congress has allocated up to $11 million in funding to implement fertility control initiatives in wild herds managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Despite this, the BLM continually fails to implement robust fertility control programs, instead relying on its cruel and costly roundup and stockpile system. Thankfully, Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and David Schweikert (R-AZ) are taking a stand. Please ask your representative to sign on to their letter calling for pro-wild horse language in the FY 2025 Interior appropriations legislation! TAKE ACTION 2) Each year, millions of donkeys are brutally slaughtered for the production of ejiao (eh-gee-yow), medicinal gelatin that is made from boiling the skins of these animals. The donkey skin trade is now decimating global donkey populations as well as harming the global communities that rely on them for survival. That’s why U.S. House Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) has reintroduced the ​​Ejiao Act (H.R. 6021), which would ban the knowing sale or transportation of ejiao made with donkey skin, or products containing ejiao made with  donkey skin, in interstate or foreign commerce. Please take a moment to tell your U.S. Representative to cosponsor the Ejiao Act! TAKE ACTION 3) When people hear about what’s happening to wild horses, they care. We need you to help educate your friends and family about the plight of wild horses and burros today! Take a second to download and share the below graphic on your social media pages with the hashtags #KeepWildHorsesWild and #FreeWildBurros to show your support for wild horse and burro conservation this Earth Day! Thank you for standing with our wild herds. Happy Earth Day! – Team AWHC ...

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign: Recently we asked you to take action and ask your representative to support pro-wild language in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations legislation. Our records indicate that your representative supported wild horses last year, but has not joined this year in calling for reforms to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program. Take Action Right now, Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and David Schweikert (R-AZ) are circulating a bipartisan sign-on letter to the Appropriations Committee urging it to support pro-wild horse language in Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations legislation. This language would hold the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) accountable for the implementation of robust, in-the-wild conservation through the use of fertility control, ultimately reducing helicopter roundups. But we need your help. Can you take a moment to urge your representatives to support wild horse and burro conservation in the FY25 appropriations legislation? This language will require the BLM to: - Allocate no less than 10% of the agency’s budget for the implementation of humane fertility control programs in at least five additional Herd Management Areas (HMAs) - If the BLM fails to do this 120 days after the passage of this bill, it will incur a $100,000 fine per day until it implements acceptable fertility control programs. - Ensure no funds are used for ovariectomy procedures - Study humane alternatives to the use of helicopters and manned fixed-wing aircraft - Stop cash incentive payments for adoptions - Identify HMAs and Herd Areas that could be redesignated for relocating horses as an alternative to off-range holding - Continue to prohibit the sale or adoption of healthy wild horses and burros that results in their destruction. Last year your representative supported pro-wild horse language in the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bill but they have not signed on again this year. Will you please take a moment to thank them for their past support and urge them to support this year's Fiscal Year 2025 language? Thank you for your advocacy, Team AWHC ...