Dear Ms. Stull,
I attended the workshop in Reno. I was told by the HSUS that you are preparing a much anticipated "comprehensive animal welfare program" for BLM horses in holding. This was said to be released in October.
As some advocates have visited PVC, I got reports that there are a few small structures over sick pens. That is a good start. The media is inquiring on the welfare standards, and I am wondering where we stand with that.
Winter is coming. Still, the majority of horses in the pens have no provision of any form of shelter. While you recommend this very element in your Code of Standards for horses in CA, the lack of shelter or giving the former free roaming animals at least a choice thereof, as they have in the wild and seek out when able - is concerning. I remember the photos of past years' brutal winter storms affecting young and older horses in holding, they were not pretty.
Any creature seeks comfort. In the wild they do. This has been observed. We need not depend on "studies" to dispute logic but apply common sense and what is humane and doable. To deprive all horses in holding but sick ones of any form of protection, whether it is wind, snow drifts, icy blizzards or hot sun, is cruel. It is not reflecting 21st century values. While we all strive for a more humane on the range management with a management approach other than permanent ovariectomies - those trapped in holding deserve better.
Coming from a country where standards are very high, I would think America can set a standard that mirrors not political correctness, but humane handling/management. The current circumstances are not that. Horses need to choose what is good for them. When given that opportunity, they seek it out. It is their nature. To deprive them of this inborn need, is the human force that embeds their existence into suffering and boredom. PVC is prime example.
I hope you can develop a recommendation that includes the above thought process. The animals deserve care that fits their needs. To having been stripped from their range, put in barren feed lot pens and being deprived from their freedom and families, is enough punishment. To further deprive them from any sort of protection/stimulation is shameful and inhumane.
Until I learned the truth, I always thought highly of equine affairs in this country. It is ugly and at the same time alienating. A country boasting with high intellectual commitments... yet lacking up to date innovation conforming to the needs of those they oversee with our tax funds; is insultingly ironic.
I can imagine BLM put the reins on you. I know how these selective partnerships work. Yet, I am asking you to do your best to enable these horses a life that is endurable beyond bare survival. The life they lead now is misery, boredom, loneliness and agony. We as humans have a duty to engage not only to further our own agendas and deeds... but to engage and give our time and ability to those who suffer at our hands, and improve their existence.
The horses in holding suffer. To claim otherwise is inexcusably denying the truth and their perspective, the real understanding of their nature and needs, riding down the usual minimalist path, influenced by agendas.
I ask that you please do your part to improve their lives. And please update me on your welfare program progress - I would appreciate it, and hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Monika Courtney
