Don’t Forget the Popcorn: Salt River Hand Wringing Is Theater!

The advocates know that most of the mares are nonviable, a condition they caused, and the herd is toast.

No big deal if their contract isn’t renewed, they can go elsewhere and ruin another herd or find jobs with the legacy contractors.

The group claiming that the state’s new plan will destroy the herd is, in fact, destroying the herd.

The group that says any other contractor hired by the state will eradicate the herd is, in fact, eradicating the herd.

The group that says the herd will become extinct if they aren’t allowed to manage it is, in fact, driving it to extinction.

RELATED: As the Noose Tightens Around SRWHDG, Will CAAWH Hang Them Out to Dry?

BLM Issues Bullfrog Final Planning Documents

The Decision Record authorizes the Proposed Action, discussed in Section 2.4 of the Final EA.

A new HMAP was also approved.  Refer to Appendix D.

Section 2.3.2.2 refers to outdated registrations for GonaCon-Equine.

The project folder includes a summary of public comments.

The news release said there are currently more than 1,000 wild burros in and around the HMA.

RELATED: Bullfrog EA Out for Review.

As the Noose Tightens Around SRWHDG, Will CAAWH Hang Them Out to Dry?

Why didn’t the reporter ask Netherlands how many of the mares have been ruined by PZP?

Those who want the horses gone will likely get their wish because the advocates have pushed the birth rate below the death rate with little hope for recovery.

The Salt River Wild Horse Darting Group receives support from the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, a leader in nonmotorized removal, fierce opponent of principal use and servant of the public-lands ranchers.

As the truth leaks out in Arizona, look for CAAWH to distance itself from SRWHDG, disavowing any knowledge of their actions.

RELATED: Salt River RFP Cancelled.

Foal-Free Friday, Devil in the Details Edition

In a 2020 management plan summary, the Arizona Department of Agriculture noted that the Salt River herd consisted of approximately 450 horses, with a recommendation to reduce it to 100 to 200 horses by the use of birth control and natural attrition.

A third party with a no-cost contract would work to achieve the goal within ten years.

The Salt River Wild Horse Darting Group, an affiliate of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, was recruited for the job.

The weapon of choice was PZP.

The effectiveness of the effort would be assessed in five years and that process has been started.

What the advocates did not tell the bureaucrats, apparently, is that most of the mares would be ruined after five years of treatment and that the herd would not reach the target range but pass through it in irreversible decline.

It’s hard to believe that they would lie about anything, especially EPA-registered pesticides, which they refer to as vaccines.

With few exceptions, their nonprofits revolve around the use of these products, and they’re now trying to position themselves as a humane alternative to motorized removal.

RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Synonyms for Sterilization Edition.

AIP Op-Ed Misleads Readers, Gives Cover to Ranchers

A good way to hide a problem is to omit it from the discussion and that’s what the writer does in a May 19 column about wild horses published by The Hill.

From the first paragraph: “With few natural predators and virtually no population control, these animals have multiplied far beyond the landscape’s carrying capacity — leading to degraded rangeland wildlife habitat, brutal horse starvations and mounting taxpayer costs.”

If accuracy was the goal—and it is not—the intro would read “With few exceptions, areas identified for wild horses are overlapped by grazing allotments, and management plans developed by the government favor ranching interests, not wild horses.”

That would explain the symptoms in the opening remarks:

  • Lack of predators
  • Degraded habitats
  • Inadequate food
  • Increasing costs

If the writer was honest, he’d tell you that the bureaucrats assign about 80% of the forage in the lawful homes of with horses to ranchers.

Carrying capacities are much higher than the government admits and the off-range corrals are flooded with wild horses because the government manages the land primarily for livestock.

Curiously, the nonprofit that won the case, halting the adoption incentive, wants the horses gone as much as the ranchers.

But they want it done with pesticides not helicopters.

RELATED: Why Are There So Many Wild Horses in Off-Range Holding?

Rewilding Advocate to Lead Colorado Land Board

The term was defined in a May 16 article by The Fence Post as purchasing agricultural lands and converting them to wildlife refuges.

The Public Lands Council, a ranching trumpet, opposes the concept and hiring decision.

If a proposed refuge for wild horses does not include public lands and does not displace livestock therefrom, it’s not worthy of your support.

RELATED: Key Indicators for New Wild Horse Preserves.

America’s Public Lands Dominated by a Failed Industry

Pick a random acre.

Is it subject to drilling or mining?  Probably not.

How about logging?  Maybe.

Permitted grazing?  Almost certainly.

Does it stand on its own two feet?  Pull its own weight?  No.

The ranchers pay almost nothing for the resources they consume and the services rendered on their behalf by the government and its partners.

  • Promotion and propaganda
  • Access to forage for pennies on the dollar
  • Removal of competing animals
  • Control of predators
  • Wildfire recovery
  • Cheatgrass mitigation
  • Fuels reduction
  • Range improvements
  • Administrative and clerical

The grazing fee would have to be raised to $15 per AUM just to pay for the wild horse and burro program.

10,000,000 AUMs sold per year × $15 per AUM = $150,000,000 per year

The current fee is $1.35 per AUM.

The advocates portray drillers and miners as the bad guys while giving the ranchers a pass.

Makes you wonder whose side they’re on.

Pesticide Caucus Serves Ranchers Not Wild Horses

Like the NGOs behind it, the membership will not advocate for principal use and management at the minimum feasible level.

Instead, it will support the goal of ranching superiority in the lawful homes of wild horses, sometimes referred to as achieving and maintaining AMLs, but the weapon of choice will be pesticide-laced darts, not low-flying helicopters.

Moreover, they’ll argue that it’s not removal, even though the numbers go down just like they do in roundups.

The major difference is that the herds don’t bounce back.

RELATED: Congress Rides to the Rescue with Wild Horse Caucus?

Third Foal of Year Spotted in Currituck Herd

A story by The Virginian-Pilot says the advocates will not be sharing the names of foals and will use more discretion when sharing the names of the adults, another indication they are worried about the viability of the herd, a problem they caused.

A herd of approximately 100 should produce around 15 foals per year, more than enough to overcome the loss of five to six adults to natural causes.

The low number of foals suggests the herd is shrinking, perhaps irreversibly.

You will never hear the advocates criticize PZP darting programs because their livelihoods as NGOs depends on them.

If the pesticide was taken off the market they’d have nothing, no reason to exist.

The herd has survived on its own for hundreds of years, as stated in the report, but it cannot survive the advocates and their stupid ideas.

RELATED: Too Late to Save Currituck Herd?

Blue Wing HMAP Shows Advocates Ill-Informed About Wild Horses

Remember last year at the Save Our Wild Horses Conference when they were higher than a kite on HMAPs?

The first item in their recommendations was to create these plans for every HMA and enforce strict adherence to them.

Consider these features of the new plan for the Blue Wing Complex:

  • Removal of excess animals to low AML
  • Application of fertility control pesticides
  • Sterilizing up to one fourth of the herd
  • Skewing the sex ratio in favor of males

The underlying belief of those involved is that that the horses and burros are pests and that the land should be managed primarily for livestock.

The advocates, facing great embarrassment, will switch to another brand of snake oil rather than admit their errors.

It is not possible to overestimate the stupidity and naivety of the wild horse advocates, with the exception of those colluding with the bureaucrats and ranchers.

In those cases, it’s easy to underestimate the depths they will plumb to deceive their supporters and the population at large.

RELATED: Pancake HMAP Proves Advocates Ill-Informed About Wild Horses.

Trump Administration Unveils Deportation Incentive Program

The government will pay $1,000 to illegal aliens that leave the country voluntarily according to a report by AP News.

The story did not indicate if the migrants would receive $500 when they crossed the border and $500 if they stayed out for a year.

The status of compliance inspections is unknown.

Unlike the Adoption Incentive Program, payments are made in lieu of capture and are not available to those who would take the detainees from the government and escort them to Canada or Mexico.

The program is an important step in keeping Democrats away from the levers of power.

CAWP Too Far Downstream to Help Wild Horses

Look at the photos in this BLM blog post.

Is that what you want for America’s wild horses?

The Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program applies to horses that are off the range or nearly so.

In effect, it ensures that burn victims receive the best possible care instead of figuring out how to have fewer fires.

It guarantees the removals will continue because it does not address their causes.

The advocates believe the problems can be avoided by not having any horses or not having them in sufficient numbers to protect herd health and genetic viability.