BLM Wild Horse Roundups Must Stop

Simone Netherlands, founder of Respect 4 Horses, needs volunteers and participants to join her in Washington D.C. in July.

She will be at the Animal Rights Conference 2010 from July 15 through July 18 to speak about ending horse slaughter and about what we can do to protect our wild horses (from the BLM).  They will also have an information booth and t shirts. There will be over 1000 booths and many excellent speakers for organizations working to end factory farming, puppy mills, etc. Respect 4 Horses will be the ONLY organization representing horse welfare issues at the Animal Rights Conference 2010.

During the week of July 19th through July 23rd, Respect 4 Horses will lobby the Senate and House, speaking to legislators and legislators aids and they will have a strategy meeting with Senator Mary Landrieu, the original sponsor of Senate Bill S.727.

They will work to disspell misinformation and MOST IMPORTANTLY they will be asking legislators to cosponsor House of Representatives Bill H.R. 503 Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009, Cosponsor Senate Bill S.727 Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009, H.R. 305 Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2009 and S.1579 Restore Our American Mustangs Act (full text of bill).

Respect 4 Horses is looking for people to team up in groups of four (4) so that all the legislators can be contacted during the week (7/19-7/23).  Each group will consist of two (2) speakers and two (2) "nodders" (people who sit, look real serious and nod).

I whole heartedly agree with Simone that LOBBYING IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET THESE BILLS PASSED. H.R. 503 was introduced in January 2009 and S.727 was introduced in March 2009.  Yet they both are languising in subcommittee.  We MUST make our voices heard and push our legislators to cosponsor these bills and vote yes.  

Except for a few organized lobbying events per year, there is NO ONE lobbying for the bills in Washington D.C., NO ONE.

Simone personally lobbies in Washington four (4) times a year, and the Representatives and Senators say that they HAVE NOT HEARD OUR POINT of view on the issues.  We do not have enough activists calling, writing, and lobbying to make an impact, especially when we are up against agriculture and breeding associations who throw the big bucks at campaigns and hire professional lobbyists. Each time Simone goes, she gets 8 to 12 more cosponsors for the bills!  There are currently 180 cosponsors for H.R. 503 and 28 cosponsors for S.727.

It is time that it gets onto the calendar and up for a vote in the house.  Aproximately 100,000 horses per year are depending on us to save them from horrible suffering and a tragic fate.

Please help Simone make a final push for the passage of these bills.  She needs people so that someone can speak to each committee member holding up the bill.

HELP END THE SHIPMENT OF HORSES TO SLAUGHTER.  HELP GET THESE BILLS PASSED.  WITH YOUR HELP WE WILL GET IT DONE.

If you can participate, whether it is for ONE DAY or the whole week, please email Simone (simone@respect4horses.com)

Simone Netherlands is also on facebook and has started a facebook page looking for volunteers for the lobbying.

BLM Release Date:  06/02/10,   Contact:  Jared Redington , 801-561-4632

WHEN:    TOMORROW - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2010 AT 6:30 P.M.

WHERE:  2370 South 2300 West, Salt Lake City, Utah

WHY:      To discuss the use of helicopters and motorized vehicles in the management of wild horses and burros on Utah’s public lands.

BLM Utah will host a public hearing at the West Desert District Office to discuss the use of helicopters and motorized vehicles in the management of wild horses and burros on Utah’s public lands. The hearing will be held on, June 9 at 6:30 p.m., at 2370 South 2300 West, Salt Lake City, Utah. An annual public hearing for comments on this issue is required by federal regulation.  The Salt Lake City hearing will be the only one held this year in Utah.

According to the BLM: “Using helicopters and other advanced equipment is crucial in our efficiency and maintaining safety in wild horse management,” said Jared Redington, Salt Lake Wild Horse and Burro Facility Manager. “We have found the use of helicopters is the most humane method in gathering horses from the open range and remote mountain areas where they live.”

Humane??!!  Did the BLM forget the foals that had to be killed because their hooves were literally run off?

According to the BLM:  Utah’s current wild horse population is about 2,700.  Drought conditions and increased wild horse numbers cause limited forage and water availability, which reduces the number of animals that can be supported on the land.  BLM Utah gathers an average of 300-400 horses annually from public lands to help control horse populations. Horse populations can increase 15 to 25 percent every year.

BLM and its contractors plan to start gathering excess wild horses from various herd areas across the state in August.  Gather locations may change due to available funding, water and forage conditions or wildfires. Herd areas scheduled for wild horse population reduction include:  Winter Ridge (Unitah County), Confusion and Conger (Millard and Juab Counties), Sulphur (Iron and Millard Counties), North Hills (Iron and Washington Counties), and Chokecherry and Mt.Elinor (Beaver and Iron Counties).

The BLM has removed more than 14,000 wild horses and 500 burros from Utah’s rangelands since government round-ups began in 1975.  More than 6,700 of these wild horses and burros have been adopted locally, and the remainder was sent east for adoption. 

Adoptions are set for Cedar City and Spanish Fork in August.  Daily adoptions are ongoing at the Delta Wild Horse and Burro Facility and the Salt Lake Regional Wild Horse and Burro Center near Herriman. Monthly adoptions are held on the first Tuesday of each month June 1 through Sept. 7, at the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison.

For additional information about the upcoming public hearing contact Jared Redington at (801) 561-4632, or the BLM Utah State Office at (801) 539-4057.  For information on future wild horse and burro adoptions, visit www.ut.blm.gov , or contact the Delta Wild Horse and Burro Facility 435-864-4068,  600 N. 350 W., Delta, Utah, or the Salt Lake Wild Horse and Burro Center 877-224-3956, 8605 W. 12600 S., Herriman, Utah.

Update:  6/8/2010 

Proud Dreams Farm (http://prouddreamsfarm.com/) has "bailed" this mustang and picked him up yesterday (Monday).  They are a 501(c)(3) Corporation specializing in Mustang and Burro rescue and rehabilitation in the State of Delaware.  They are currently raising funds for the Mustang and, if you'd like to donate, donations can be sent via paypal to prouddreamsfarm@yahoo.com.  Proud Dreams Farm is on facebook too.  Their facebook photo album of the pickup from the kill broker lot and his safe arrival at his new home.  They are also having a name the mustang contest, so be sure and check them out.

URGENT

Despite the BLM's claims that OUR mustangs don't go to slaughter, we have one in very real danger of shipping to Canada to be slaughtered.  He is now owned by a broker that is know to ship horses weekly to Canada for slaughter.

The broker wants $700 for him or he ships out. 

Horses he owns that are not sold by 4pm Friday usually ship out Saturday, so we don't have a lot of time to save this horse. 

According to his Freezemark, he is a BLM horse that was born in 1993 and gathered from Nevada.

PLEASE LET'S SAVE THIS (ONCE) WILD HORSE.  PLEASE visit the AC4H website for additional information.  PLEASE contact them or me if you have any questions, if you want to donate or if you can offer a home.

Watch this video and you will understand why the roundups must stop!

We can't allow this to continue.