BLM's Transparency is Depressing

Posted directly from Terri Farley's blog. When the BLM is finally transparent, it shows just how awful captivity can be for our wild horses.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 WILD FOAL WATCH all photos by Karen Hopple Dear Readers, Visitors to the Bureau of Land Management's Palomino Valley hoped to see spring foals. They did, and here's how one described the wild horse corrals, "...filthy, with standing water from the storm that smelled like cesspools. The horses were a mess, covered with mud and feces...The strangles is spreading... heard coughs in every area of the center." Disheartened by the condition of the captive horses, the visitors drove out of town to see how mustangs on their own had weathered the high desert storms. The free-roaming horses were doing just fine. Foals nursed, studied the two-legged newcomers and hopped like bunnies over sage brush. Back at Palomino Valley, the captive foals huddled low in the mud, trying to stay alive. WHY? Free-roaming mustangs sought natural shelter and higher ground away from rain run-off. The only shelter at Palomino Valley covers hay bales and a work area where stallions are castrated. In the corrals, there is no shelter and BLM failed to use on-site trucks and bulldozers to cover even the muddiest areas, so that newborns could nap on dry dirt. I've been accused of cruelty because I favor mustangs running free -- searching out their own food, shelter and safety. Take a look at these photos and judge for yourself which horses are happier. Next, take action. Use this simple form to tell BLM this is not the way you want millions of tax dollars spent. It's easy, just : click here to say LET 'EM RUN! all photos by Karen Hopple Permalink to this blog post

ONWARD

Reposting this directly from Laura Leigh's blog 3/13/2011

Phoenix, Forward

What can I say? It was another Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting. I went. Not because I feel that the board has any meaning except to act as an illusion of public participation in process. The Board sleeps half the time and has no real legal authority… and NOTHING REAL every comes out of the meetings… from the Board. However I did attend as another voice and “warm body” to represent our herds.

Many other wonderful people were there. I am not going to start naming because I will miss someone and end up editing this entry for days. I do not have time to create a slideshow or edit video but I am posting a few pics to share.

Do not, for one second, believe there is no funding for summer. Do not, for one second, believe this is “time off.”

Funding will be pulled from another agency or program. The “balls to the wall” pace of the last year will continue. The agenda has not changed no matter what words are printed, spoken or drawn in the sand. The actions on the range, in holding, hidden in closed facilities remains unchanged.

There is no “New Direction” until the train is a hundred miles down track no one has even laid yet.

I’m back out… and the pace will pick up not slack off. This IS NOT “time off.” It is time to reload…

WE need a Congressional investigation into this program… no NAS study with parameters given to them by BLM, no internal investigation into contractor actions, no “observers” provided by a 501 that may very well be illegally operated and a conflict of interest for an Advisory Board Member… no more.

We need something tangible from Abbey now.

For starters let’s try transparency of actions… OPEN closed facilities to the public, approve sanctuaries that give something back to the tax payer, start making lease holders actually pay for the cost of their leases and stop running an entitlement program on public land… AND adhere to the most basic premise of the act and start treating these animals in a humane fashion according to today’s standards and NOT some 1800′s cowboy mentality.

Am I really asking too much in a supposedly civilized nation?

RT, Ginger, Madeleine at Press Conference

Protest outside

Elyse taping press conference

Maureen VanDerStad streaming the vigil to home viewers...

Vigil

the "Bored" meeting

another "Bored" member

protest outside

Outside the meeting

AMEN!

"good" cookies!

"family" gathering... and an adult beverage

New Life... March 13, 2011: Nevada

Back to work….

---

USDA says no horse meat transport across state lines

Good news from USDA and tie-in to the debate

While writing his next statement for the debate, John came across this article that was just published. Bottom line is that even if individual states pass legislation to inspect horse meat the USDA stated they still can't transport across state lines. Didn't we tell them that??? What is priceless in this article, is Larson's comments. Just like many of our radical opponents, you give them the facts and they still dismiss it and continue with their propaganda. The sponsor of the Nebraska bill (LB305), Sen. Tyson Larson of O'Neill, and the Legislature's Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Carlson of Holdrege aren't buying it. Larson said Monday he'd like to see the section of federal law or the 2008 Farm Bill that specifically bars state-inspected horse meat from leaving the state. "From everything I've seen, I would have to disagree (with the USDA)," he said. Federal law would not allow horse meat to be shipped out of state http://journalstar.com/news/unicameral/article_5e4075de-9c26-5609-8e78-3cd61d47c4aa.html Debate Update: We have heard that Duquette has issued an alert (not on facebook but through another channel) asking his minions to post comments on the debate. I'm sure you'll see more incoherent posts shortly! BTW-I know everyone is frustrated with the amount of time it is taking to post comments but please hang in there and continue to show your support. If you haven't followed the debate here is a snapshot. John has posted two clear, concise statements with facts and supporting documentation. Stenholm posted a biography and a rant against HSUS and PETA. You can access the debate issues in the right hand column on this page -http://www.nptelegraph.com/horse_sense/

And this is what they do when we're watching?

Can you imagine what they would do if we weren't?

Look at the face of the Sun J contractor employee as he pinches

the mare's nose in the latch.

She tells him he is hurting her.

In the next pictures

he closes the gate on her face.

Is that a smile on his face?

All she did was reach up to touch the metal

and she got punished.

The rest is from Laura Leigh's blog 2/26

Working…

26022011

Working on photos and video… and an “end of roundup wrap-up” report.

Just came across this sequence and thought I’d share it… and explain a bit why I love these horses so much.

I am an American. My forefathers experienced great oppression… as did so many of the people of this world. They came to a new land of hardship to find freedom from that oppression and continued to experience it. So they wrote the “Declaration of Independance” and followed it with the Constitution of the United States.

The ideals of a free society of expression and thought… of a place where survival was not based on “pedigree” or station… but in theory everyone by his own will could build a life of their making. In practice it hasn’t worked as well as it could… but the premises are alive and well and as Americans (in theory) we defend those premises with our lives around this globe.

The spirit of the mustang… not based on pedigree, but on a tenacity and flexibility almost unrivaled by human or animal… an ability to adapt… a spirit of… well…

I’m an American… “Don’t tread on me”…. and if you do…. “Have a nice day.” (My fellow Jersians will understand that reference… for the rest of you it has a four letter word involved).

This mare was captured by violent stampede (just what it is), has had family ripped away, is in absolute unfamiliar ground surrounded by beings that are predatory and … I’ll leave the rest of my opinion out.

She stands in line to be branded and treated with a drug that will screw with her hormonal cycle for the next two years as she is pushed and prodded by these predators. She is curious and scared. She touched the metal… only to have her nose squeezed hard (look at the face of the human)…. but watch her reaction.

She could pay with her life in an instant by those that hold the powerful position… and then the (caring experienced horseman… where?… has to use the gate to control the wild horse) man squeezes her behind the door… wonder what would happen if cameras were not present? Just asking….?

I LOVE THESE HORSES!

2/.26

ouch!

let go!

so ya' wanna play?

you hurt me

you need to understand

Don't hurt me!

Then she gets her face squished for it

treated and released today

If that isn’t a “living symbol of the pioneer spirit of the west” what is? Hopefully soon she will begin to live with the respect and honor she should have had after Congress passed the 1971 legislation… maybe this program can evolve into this century?

I will have the full report as soon as I get through pics and notes…

We have a very busy four months coming up. We will have outlines and updates soon onGrassroots Horse. We need you to keep the legal battle and the ground work going… without you we have no wings.

Re-posting from Mesquite, Nevada Local News

No Horse On American Menus

Posting Date: 02-23-2011

By John L. Smith

Court is in session.

The court of public opinion, that is.

While the legal battle for the future of Nevada’s wild horses gallops on, both sides attempt to try their case in the court of public opinion with the beleaguered Bureau of Land Management lost in a political dust cloud.

For the self-appointed protectors of the horses, a generally liberal group, the forced removal of the animals has been documented as inhumane. The horses’ survival hinges on stopping the roundups.

For the representatives of the cattle and sheep ranching community, a conservative bunch if ever there was one, the roundups are essential to preserve delicate grazing lands. The future of their ranching lifestyle depends on it.

Lost in the increasing volume of the ongoing arguments is a simple question I’ll wager most Nevadans will relate to these days.
Are the state’s wild horses really such a clear and present danger to Nevada’s open range that the federal government can justify spending millions each year trying to round up the animals?
When we talk about BLM roundups, we’re not talking about a handful of cowboys with lassos. We’re talking about an all-out assault on the poor beasts with helicopters. If the government pursued Osama Bin Laden with half as much zeal as it chases those anvil-headed horses, he might have been in custody years ago.
There’s plenty of emotion to go around on this issue. Horse lovers who don’t live here claim to have the animals’ best interests at heart. Ranchers who have exploited public lands for generations are angry that wild horses share the range but claim to have a soft spot in their hearts for the critters.
But no one can reasonably argue that in the current economic crisis that it makes any sense to spend millions of taxpayer dollars chasing wild horses around the state’s great outback. That’s just plain dumb.
In 2009, the Calico Complex roundup cost $900,000 to catch and transfer 2,700 horses. Whether it did any appreciable good to the environment, or merely played havoc with the horses, is debatable.
As a public service, which of course means it’s unlikely to ever happen, the BLM should prominently post every dollar of taxpayer money it spends to roundup those horses.
It’s hardly surprising the horse huggers win in the media. Their 30-second commercial spots would be filled with mustangs running free across the desert. “We love horses,” the narrator reports. “We want to save them from being injured or killed. Please help us.”
And the contributions pour in.
On the other side, you have the BLM and their friends the ranchers and the horse slaughter crowd. (For some reason, the ranchers haven’t figured out that it’s not in their best interests to be embraced by the horse slaughter crowd.)
Their 30-second spot would look somewhat different than their opponent’s commercial. The narrator would say something like, “We love horses. They’re delicious.” Cut to the meat in a butcher case.
One of my favorite false arguments the horse slaughterers make is that Americans shouldn’t be so squeamish about equine flesh because it’s regularly consumed in France and parts of Asia. Who are they kidding?
At the risk of being downright provincial, the French eat snails on purpose. In some parts of Asia, dogs and cats are regularly consumed. Monkey brains are on the menu. And large bugs are available to the eclectic palate. (Just remember to ask for dipping sauce.)
Those who desire to move wild horses from Nevada’s open range will never win their argument by riding with the equine meat slaughter crowd. Until they figure a new strategy, this side of Paris, cattle and sheep ranchers will continue to lose their argument with the public.


John L. Smith writes a weekly column on rural Nevada which appears on MesquiteLocalNews.com every Wednesday and in the print edition every Thursday. His Las Vegas Review-Journal column appears four times a week. You can reach him at jlsmith@reviewjournal.com.


Commentary
Posted Date: 02/23/2011
Exactly. It's ridiculous that the government is out there like a bunch of militants assaulting innocent wild horses AND wasting our precious dollars doing it. We need to stop this nonsense. Americans are compasionate to animals just in case Obama didn't know. Just stop it.
By: Lucille Matte

National Billboard Campaign Picks Up Steam

Reposting from Laura Leigh's blog

I had to post this .. the pens crammed full of horses, the wranglers smoking next to the hay, and the one horse throwing itself over the fence to get away and be able to return to its family.

All this yet observers are kept a mile and a half away in the interest of "safety." It blows my mind that they can do this with a straight face and continue to get away with it.

Another day.... Laura Leigh | February 18, 2011 at 12:57 am | Categories: Antelope, Wild Horses | URL: http://wp.me/pOAos-w6

Sent out reports and loaded video.

Will edit when time allows.

Snow fencing down all day at holding until BLM media and lead PR show up... then up it goes for "safety" by a contractor smoking a cigarette by the hay bales....

Safety? (photo by E. Buzan)

A horse fought so hard to stay with family that he literally flung himself over the fence... video when I can find time to edit... later (most likely same horse) vaulted cleanly over.

Threw himself over (E.Buzan)

Gorgeous stallion that I believe came in two days ago could be photographed and has evidence of a wound on his face....

Facial wound (Leigh)

Pens are literally packed as roads were too bad to travel this am.

Another storm coming over weekend....

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