Captured by BLM: Wild Horses Continue to Die

written by Maureen Harmonay

Stressed Wild Horses are Dying in the bleak Feedlot conditions supplied by the BLM

Terrorized and Frozen, the Horses of the Calico BLM Roundup - Photo by Kurt Golgart/Bureau of Land Management

Even though the Calico Mountain Complex roundups were concluded by the BLM on Friday, February 5th, wild horses who are now being held in the Indian Lakes Road facility near Fallon, Nevada, are continuing to perish at an alarming rate.

In just the last three days, four more horses have died, and another mare suffered a miscarriage.  The unofficial tally of wild horses lost now stands at 43 (the BLM says it is 37), with the number of spontaneous abortions estimated to be around 30.  Two live foals were born on Saturday, and according to the BLM, they are “doing well.”

The latest fatalities include three stallions:  one was a six-year-old “in poor condition,” who was listed as having “died.”  We don’t know how, but it’s likely that this horse’s “poor condition,” like that of the other horses in similar straits, was the result of having been mercilessly chased by helicopters for miles and miles over unforgiving terrain, beyond the limits of strength and stamina.

Two other stallions and one mare were “euthanized” (read: “shot”) because they were deemed to be suffering from “hyperlipemia,” which, according to The Merck Veterinary Manual, is the result of “poor feed quality or decrease in feed intake, particularly during a period of high-energy requirement. . .hyperlipemia is usually a primary disease process associated with obesity, pregnancy, lactation, stress, or transportation.”  In other words, the extreme stress of the helicopter chase, combined with an enforced radical change of diet, is putting these formerly healthy horses into metabolic failure.  Left to their own devices, out on their native range, they would have continued to thrive.

Death by Helicopter: BLM Vet Releases Report on Calico Foal’s Death

By Steven Long, publisher/editor of “Horseback Magazine“

A Horseback Exclusive

Dying Foal in BLM Pen - Photo by Laura Leigh

HOUSTON, (Horseback) – The federal Bureau of Land Management has released a veterinary report to Horseback Magazine that was requested by several individuals and advocacy groups. The report provides sketchy details on the final days of a foal filmed by photo journalist and videographer Laura Leigh on assignment for Horseback during a Nevada “gather” of wild horses.

In the report, BLM veterinarian Richard Sanford wrote that “The gather most likely caused the hoof trauma in this case…” He went on to state that “poor body condition and weakness was most likely present before the gather.”

The vet report states in its entirety:

February 6, 2010

History and Report on Sloughed Hoof Colt

An eight month old colt arrived at the Indian Lakes Facility on about 1/20/2010 and was in very poor body condition and had sore feet. It was placed in the sick pen area where treatment could be administered. Over the next ten days, the colt was treated with phenylbutazone (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), penicillin (an antibiotic) and foot bandages (one front foot and both hind feet) on three occasions before it was euthanized on 1/30/2010.

The colt alternately improved and regressed. The colt would be standing while eating and drinking one day and not on the next day. The colt never was able to actually gain weight, improve body condition or show increased energy. Lameness improved with treatment but eventually the colt became too weak to stand. Hoof wall separation occurred on the front foot and one hind foot. The colt was euthanized for humane reasons.

The gather most likely caused the hoof trauma in this case. However, the poor body condition and weakness was most likely present before the gather.

Richard Sanford, DVM
NV # 565

The roundup was held in the Calico Mountains. Wild horse advocates claim that horses were stampeded as much as 15 miles before being driven into pens. One horse, dubbed “Freedom” by advocates escaped and was photographed in dramatic still shots.

The treatment of horses by BLM has sparked protests from coast to coast. On Sunday, another planned roundup was abruptly postponed by the agency.

Video: Foal Aggressively Attacked by BLM/Cattoor Helicopter during Calico Wild Horse Round-up

by R.T. Fitch, author of “Straight from the Horse’s Heart“

A Picture is worth a Thousand Words

Cattor chopper hunting for our Wild Horses - Photo by Terry Fitch

Acclaimed artist and videotographer Laura Leigh has released a devastating video of a young foal aggressively and dangerously “pushed” and attacked by a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) contractor’s helicopter during the much contested Calico Wild Horse round-up. 

After a terrifying 15 mile chase over volcanic rock, ice and snow the small foal had difficulty keeping up with it’s family and was continually terrorized by the Cattoor’s helicopter at an alarmingly close and dangerous range.  

Additional footage shows one foal limping in the BLM pens while another, which is on the ground, was reported to have died due to having it’s young “hooves run off” by the Cattoor helicopters.  

This is documented evidence of the out of control and deadly behavior of the Obama administration’s Bureau of Land Management.  

Please forward  this video to the President, the First Lady, the Vice President and every single one of your elected representatives.  Our “animal friendly” administration needs to be held fully accountable for supporting known animal abusers within it’s organization.  

Warning if you understand, love and/or care about animals you will find this footage to be extremely unsettling.

Use the “SHARE” button below to broadcast this video!

Horse Meat may be off the Menu in Italy

By Nick Pisa in Rome

Horse meat, one of Italy’s most popular culinary delicacies, is under threat from a cross party proposal to ban its sale

Italy is the largest consumer of horsemeat in Europe with more than 48,000 metric tonnes eaten every year and it is a common dish among youngsters because of its high iron content.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation 213,000 horses are slaughtered in Italy every year but now politicians from all parties are considering banning its slaughter and sale.

Francesca Martini, a minster with the Italian health ministry and a member of the ruling Right-wing coalition, has put forward the bill, arguing that the “dignity of horses should be respected”.

The motion is already on the desk of the Italian parliament’s culture commission and has won considerably cross party support with opposition centre-Left MPs also backing it.

Among those leading the call for a ban is Italy’s agriculture minister Luca Zaia who says horses should not be eaten and instead “considered just like cats and dogs”.

Mr Zaia said:”I have always been against the slaughter and consumption of horse meat. Horses are fine animals and should be treated as such, they should not be eaten.”

His support has angered people who live in his home region of Veneto, which covers Venice and Verona, where horse meat is a culinary delicacy and features in several dishes.

Horse meat is used in a stew called pastissada (typical of Verona), served as horse or colt steaks, as carpaccio, or made into bresaola.

Horse fat is used in recipes such as “pezzetti di cavallo” (pieces of horsemeat) and another favourite dish is horse in a bed of rocket, dressed with olive oil and fresh lemon juice.

Also in Veneto, horsemeat sausages called “salsiccia di equino” or salami, and thin strips of horse meat called “sfilacci” are sold and it has 8 per cent of the country’s national consumption.

According to figures from the Italian health department the average national consumption is around a kilo of horsemeat per year per person.

Italian newspaper websites carrying the report were flooded with comments from angry readers in areas such as Veneto where horsemeat is popular.

One person in Venice wrote: “Why is the government trying to abolish something that is buried in the roots of Italian culture? If it is banned it will just be driven underground and there will be a thriving black market.”

While another in Verona said: “Horse meat is part of the culinary culture of my city. Politicians are always talking about the loss of traditions but they are quite happy to get rid of this one when it suits them.”

However the proposal was welcomed by the Italian federation for equine sports and animal cruelty charities who said it was “legislation that had been long overdue”.

Horse meat has been a delicacy in Italy since the Roman times although during the Middle Ages Pope Gregory III did describe its consumption as “abominable” but his calls for it to be shunned were ignored by hungry peasants.

In 1928 a law was introduced by Benito Mussolini’s Fascist government that only specialist horse butchers could sell equine meat and they could not stock other cuts.

In order to meet the high demand for horse meat in Italy more than 20,000 horses are imported from Poland and Eastern Europe every year.

One Wild Horse Round-up Canceled, another Scheduled

by R.T. Fitch

I swear, there’s just no winning for losing.  Only hours after we heard that the BLM had postponed the highly controversial Eagle round-up we learn that another assault is being planned at the Twin Peaks Management area in southeastern California.  Same bad numbers, same junk science and twisted interpretation of the law.  The release is inserted in it’s entirety, below.

BLM Seeks Public Input on Proposed Horse Gather

Feb. 5, 2010 – The Bureau of Land Management’s Eagle Lake Field Office is seeking public input on a proposed gather and removal of an overpopulation of wild horses and burros from the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area (HMA), northeast of Susanville, Calif. The gather, involving an estimated 1,800 wild horses and 180 burros, is tentatively planned for August and September 2010.

A 30-day public scoping period begins February 5 and ends March 5, 2010. The public is asked to identify issues to be addressed in an environmental assessment (EA) to be prepared as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The EA and proposed decision will be released about May 1 for public review and comment.

The purpose of the gather is to return the population of horses and burros to its appropriate management level (AML), or population range, established through the Eagle Lake Resource Management Plan, developed with full public involvement in 2008. The AML, which determines the number of animals the range can sustain, is set at between 448-758 horses and 72-116 burros. The current population is estimated at about 2,300 horses and 250 burros, resulting in ongoing resource damage that will be analyzed in the environmental assessment.

The proposed gather would remove sufficient horses and burros to bring the population within the AML. Under the proposal, most mares left on the range would be treated with a birth control drug effective for one to two years. The wild herd would be structured with more males than females. Both actions are intended to slow the growth rate of the herds.

The proposed action would restore a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple use relationship in the area consistent with the provisions of Section 3(b) (2) of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.

Comments can be sent to Eagle Lake Field Office, Attn: Twin Peaks Wild Horse Gather, 2950 Riverside Dr., Susanville, CA 96130. Comments may also be sent via email to twinpeaks@ca.blm.gov.