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Save the Wild Horses!
Our lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service continues. The Court has ruled that our claims against the Forest Service are barred by the statute of limitations. The Forest Service issued its Forest Plan in 1987, limiting the geographic areas of lands under its jurisdiction in which it would legally recognize the right of horses to occupy. The Forest Service claimed that since suit was not brought within 6 years of 1987, these claims cannot be heard. Besides the fact that none of the plaintiff organizations were even in existence in 1987, much less affected by the ruling then, we also argued that the Forest Service failed to recognize additional areas of wild horse historical use at the passage of the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act and that, since the agency has failed to act, the statute of limitations should not bar this suit. Our claims against the Forest Service can be reviewed on appeal, at the conclusion of the case.
What remains pending is the portion of our suit against the BLM. The government has submitted all the documents that were before the BLM when it made its decision. Included in this are charts showing exactly how each wild horse has been affected by PZP. The government and plaintiffs are submitting legal memorandum supporting their positions and referencing these documents. These will be filed by mid March.
"Managing for Extinction" at this link: http://www.awionline.org/legislation/wild_horses/managing_for_extinction.htm
As 2007 is coming to an end, we would like to thank you for your support over this past year and to give you an update on recent developments affecting America’s wild horses.
Round-up Numbers
BLM, Transparency and Public Input
We can only hope that these roadblocks will not intensify in the coming year and that the American public will be given the continued opportunity to provide input into decisions that affect our natural resources and national heritage.
71 Burros Shot by State Employees at Big Bend State Park
Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range Management Plan
The AWHPC Team wishes you the best for 2008. On behalf of America’s wild horses, thank you for your continued interest and support.
On July 7, 2006, The Cloud Foundation and Front Range Equine Rescue filed a federal lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service with regard to protecting America's most famous wild horse herd ("Cloud's herd") in the Pryor Mountains of Montana. continue reading press release...
Update: The U.S. Forest Service filed to be dismissed from the complaint. A judge has yet to hear this argument. The entire complaint has been held up in the (lack of) judicial process.
In spite of protests from wild horse advocates to preserve Cloud's head - below are excerpts from a letter, dated 6/29/06, from Sandra Brooks, Field Manager, BLM:
"In order to manage for healthy horses on healthy rangelands, I have made the decision to use fertility control vaccine on all mares 11 years of age and older (24 mares in 2006) on the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range (PMWHR). Seven mares 16 years of age and older have already been treated with the Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP) vaccine and would continue to receive annual boosters for the remainder of their lives. Thirteen mares 12-15 years of age have also been treated and would continue to receive annual boosters throughout 2010. All mares that are 11 years of age would be added to the treatment program each year. Fertility control applications are scheduled to begin no earlier then July 10th, 2006, and may continue through September 30th, 2006." continue reading excerpts...
Update: 19 horses were captured and put up for adoption through a sealed bid process. FRER was able to adopt two of the yearling colts. Five bachelor stallions, including Cloud's half brother, were unadopted. But through efforts by FRER and The Cloud Foundation, these 5 stallions have been adopted between the two groups and another individual in 2007.
Visit the Wild Horse Preservation Organization for more details.
FRER's investigator sent us photos and reported the following, from witnessing a roundup in Nevada during September - witnessed at the holding pens:
"...here you will find the frightened, traumatized horses I had just witnessed being rounded up a few hours before. They had been transported many miles from the site to Litchfield. No vet was there to care for them. continue reading report...
On Febuary 14, a woman trapper and her son came upon a grisly scene near Gerlach, NV. They had noticed a thrashing out in the sagebrush a few hundred yards from the road. Upon investigation, they found two wild horses in extreme agony and in their death throes. A white mare had aborted her foal, then died after thrashing in the sagebrush. A stallion struggled to get to his feet, but death also overtook him. The mare had been shot several times in the head, bleeding profusely. The small creek nearby ran red with the blood from the horses. Another mare had also been shot and was located hundreds of yards north of the other two. The small band of remaining horses risked their lives by not fleeing the scene; they stood nearby watching their family members die.
For a brief time a reward was offered for information on this crime. To date it remains unsolved. In 2006 and 2007, reports of wild horses being shot and left to die in Arizona and Utah have been reported.
Evidence of the slaughter - photos of the mare that aborted her foal and the stallion - these photos are graphic and disturbing - click here to view.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
For information on what you can do to help, please read our brochure.
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