Western Horse Watchers Association
Exposing the Hypocrisy, Lies and Incompetence of the Wild Horse Advocates
The rescue that took in over 70 wild horses from a sanctuary near Placitas, NM that was forced to close has lost its special use permit and must relocate. Refer to this report by KRQE News of Albequerque. Includes video.
RELATED: Placitas Wild Horses Find New Home at Mustang Camp.
Forty five wild horses will be released later this month in three separate areas, according to a news release posted today. One of the releases will be open to public observation.
The Hardtrigger HMA was damaged by the Soda Fire of 2015, which also affected the nearby Sands Basin HMA.
The announcement did not say if the mares will be treated with contraceptives or if the land is subject to permitted livestock grazing.
RELATED: BLM Returning Horses to Sands Basin HMA.
UPDATE: Added video by KTVB News of Boise, ID. Pay attention to the remarks from 0:15 to 0:17.
She has photos and videos of the incident but the Forest Service is not interested in them, according to a report posted yesterday by ABC15 News in Phoenix.
RELATED: Photographer Disputes Report on Heber Shooting Incident.
A news release by the Animal Welfare Institute yesterday said the BLM is rebooting its plans to sterilize wild horses, at the behest of a group funded by Lucas Oil Products.
Hacks at the off-range corrals in Hines, OR will cut the ovaries out of mares gathered from the Warm Springs HMA last year. Complications and fatalities related to the procedures will likely be high but are of no concern to these people.
Some of the survivors will be returned to the range to form non-reproducing herds, a dream-come-true for the public-lands ranchers. Others may end up in the demonic Wild Spayed Filly Futurity.
Critics say wild horse populations should be controlled by contraceptives, which can lead to sterilization. In both cases the result is the same—fewer horses on the range.
There is no meaningful opposition here, only a debate on methods and timing.
The ranchers want the horses gone quickly, the wild horse ‘advocates’ want them to decline slowly.
Refer to this story, published yesterday by Yahoo Finance.
The problem is public-lands ranching, yet these so-called advocates agree in principle with their opponents, differing only in methodology.
Why aren’t they challenging the constitutionality of FLPMA, which gave the federal government control over vast amounts of western rangelands and preferential treatment to the ranchers?
Why aren’t they pushing for an increase in grazing fees to $60 per AUM, in line with the cost of feeding wild horses in long-term pastures?
Why aren’t they demanding labels on beef, so consumers would know if the item was produced at the expense of America’s wild horses and burros?
RELATED: Co-Signers of WHB Management Plan Try to Save Face.
The change in venue was well received by those attending the event according to a story by KCRA News in Sacramento. Organizers of the show, one of the nation’s largest, say it will be held at the new location in the future.
RELATED: Western States Horse Expo Starts Next Week.
On the Virginia Range and Pine Nut Mountains HMA with Jeff Parr.
Refer to this opinion piece posted today in The Hill. They’re trying to justify a massive tactical error. Shills for the public-lands ranchers, every one of them.
First-hand account by Josh Saverse.
In Defense of Animals, an animal protection group based in San Rafael, CA, released a statement yesterday condemning the wild horse management plan pushed by beef producers and cheerleader groups for the public-lands ranchers.
The proposal would reduce wild horse and burro populations on public lands in the western U.S. by 70%.
Not one wild horse advocate with significant knowledge of the wild horse on-range management issues was asked for input on the proposal, according to the statement.
RELATED: More Criticism of Proposed Wild Horse Management Plan?
The case has been closed by the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office but a witness to the event says the report does not match her experience. Refer to this story, posted yesterday by AZ Family, the CBS affiliate in Phoenix. Includes video.
RELATED: Photographer Claims Man Was Shooting at Heber Wild Horses.
UPDATE: Added video.
A story posted yesterday by The Daily Caller said Utah Senators Mitt Romney and Mike Lee sent a letter dated May 3 to the Senate Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies urging the removal of a rider that prohibits euthanasia and slaughter of wild horses and burros gathered from public lands in the western U.S.
The rider has been attached to appropriations bills for the Department of the Interior since 2011.
These animals are “devastating the land, negatively impacting other species living in the area and prohibiting an effective multiple-use management of the land,” according to the letter.
What are the odds that it was drafted by one or more special interest groups or was influenced by such groups? That the senators don’t have a clue about issues affecting western rangelands?
The story did not indicate what the other species were, but the reference in the letter to multiple use almost certainly means privately owned cattle and sheep.
RELATED: Wild Horse Overpopulation?
At the AWHC booth on Day 2 of the Western States Horse Expo, 05/10/19.
Animal protection groups urged a federal judge yesterday to block the sale (without limitation) of wild horses removed last year from the Devil’s Garden Plateau WHT, which was set to begin on May 13.
Plaintiffs believe the animals could be sold for human consumption. That they might end up in pet food or other products apparently was not a concern.
A public-lands rancher attending the hearing said the horses drain resources that cattle and other wild animals need to survive.
The report did not say if any oil or mining companies had intervened in the case.
RELATED: Horses at Double Devil Corrals Now ‘Three Strikers’, Devil’s Garden Horses Get Short End of Stick.
Near the town of Cloudcroft, NM with Rocky Mountain Hobo. Not a WHT.
The Nevada DMV has stopped producing the ‘Horse Power’ specialty license plate and ended the transfer of funds it generated to Horse Power, a non-profit organization that rescues injured wild horses. The action was prompted by the group’s spending habits, according to a report dated 05/03/19 by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The organization’s web site is down for scheduled maintenance as of 6:45 PM PDT.
The BLM announced today that wild horses and burros gathered from public lands in Wyoming would be available for adoption May 17 – 18 at the Wyoming Honor Farm in Riverton. Gentling techniques will be demonstrated on the first day.
The announcement noted that placing excess animals into private care will keep western rangelands healthy and productive.
Given that the animals serve no useful purpose and bring in no economic return, why would they be worried about productivity?
Because those lands host other animals—the paying kind—such as privately owned cattle and sheep. Never mind that they were set aside for wild horses and burros, that was a long time ago.
The Park Superintendent said news coverage would not be allowed, consistent with the wishes of personnel doing the work, according to a report dated 04/30/19 by the Pine River Times of Durango, CO.
Public observation is often refused when bait-traps are used to gather the horses, but critics say access to government activities such as wild horse roundups is protected under the First Amendment.
RELATED: Wild Horses to Be Removed from Mesa Verde National Park.
A woman says she saw a man shooting directly at the horses on 05/02/19, according to a report posted today by the White Mountain Independent of Show Low, AZ. The incident was reported to the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office and a deputy arrived on scene. The man said he was only shooting at a tree stump and was allowed to leave.
A guest column dated 05/02/19 in Drovers, a publication for the beef industry, says the plan should be rejected for several reasons, and any path going forward should have contraception as its centerpiece.
How exactly does that qualify as opposition? It doesn’t. It’s resignation to the ranching agenda, acceptance of the overpopulation narrative.
The proposal will reduce wild horse and burro numbers by 70% on lands set aside for the horses and burros, so they can be replaced by privately owned cattle and sheep.
It’s absurd, but nobody wants to talk about it. What are they afraid of?
RELATED: Private Sanctuaries: End-Game of Wild Horse Management Plan.
Western Horse Watchers Association 