The BLM is finally held accountable for violating Federal law by capturing the very wild horses they are pledged to protect
(CN) – The Bureau of Land Management violated federal law when it decided to remove wild horses from an area in northwestern Colorado, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled.
There is a chance that the law will finally be followed
The Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Coalition, along with three other horse protection groups and an equine veterinarian, sued the U.S Department of the Interior and Secretary Ken Salazar for alleged violations of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
The Act makes it a federal crime to kill or harass a roaming horse or burro, and calls the animals “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.”
The court found that the BLM’s decision “exceeds the scope of authority” granted to it by Congress, because the BLM itself has not determined that the area is overpopulated with wild horses under the Wild Horse Act.
The BLM argued that removing the wild horses is necessary to manage animals on public lands, saying it would transfer them into adoption or long-term care.
However, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that placing the horses in private hands fundamentally goes against the BLM’s job to keep let the animals roam free on public lands.
If the herd is removed, groups will no longer be able to observe the horses, which qualifies as a sufficient injury, the court ruled. The plaintiffs voiced concerns that wild horse removal would hurt horseback trips organized around viewing the animals in their natural surroundings.
The BLM first called for wild horse removal in 1980 for the area, which lies on 120,000 acres west of Douglas Creek, as energy exploration pushed horses into surrounding, non-protected areas. The horses remained, however, after a removal attempt was unsuccessful “for reasons not fully explained,” the ruling states. The BLM again called for removal in 1997, but then stepped back to reconsider.
Collyer’s ruling was in response to the BLM’s July 2008 decision to remove the horses by helicopter drive trapping, helicopter assisted roping, water trapping or bait trapping.
According to census data, the West Douglas Herd Area had nine wild horses in 1974 and has close to 150 today
By AVERY FELLOW
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Categories: Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
This is the holocaust all over again!! Have we learned nothing?? This is not just a matter of being a horse lover.
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You are correct, Lari. The abusive round-ups, capture, detention and eventual slaughter of our indigenous wild horses has been nothing short of a holocaust for the herds.
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Thanks you for putting together a video I can send out to my non horsey friends. If-they cannot place them, put them back in the wild. As a matter of fact, don’t even take them out. I just rescued a mustang, not BLM marked. I have never felt such a heart connection as I have with this horse. So confused, yet yearning for love and trust. How simple, yet the handling he received in his early life had to be horrific.
Most folks are never afforded the privilege of getting to know the beauty and unconditional love of a horse. We must all find a way to spread this word, and to protect these animals the same way we are fighting to save the whales.
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Click Here to visit The Cloud Foundations YouTube page.
Famous Wild Horse Herd Granted Two-Day Reprieve from Massive Roundup Monday, 31 August 2009 21:06
Press Release
BILLINGS, MONTANA- AUGUST 31, 2009: The Pryor Mountain Wild Horses, perhaps best known from the popular Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies PBS Nature series, have two more days of freedom before an unprecedented round up could begin. The Pryors roundup has been delayed for two days to allow Judge Sullivan of the Federal District Court to hear the case brought against the BLM by The Cloud Foundation and Front Range Equine Rescue.
The Bureau of Land Management, responsible for managing wild horses on public lands in the United States, plans to round up all the horses in Montana’s only remaining wild herd and remove 70 horses plus four or more foals. This will leave a non-viable herd of only 120 horses according to respected equine geneticist, Gus Cothran, Ph.D., of Texas A&M University. The Pryor Mountain wild horses are a unique Spanish herd renowned for their primitive markings, historical connections, and spectacular habitat.
BLM is dispatching National Wild Horse and Burro Program staff for this round up, perhaps because they expect trouble from humane advocates who are currently being prevented from observing this roundup. “Never before in my experience have plans been so vague and operations so secret in the Pryors,” says Ginger Kathrens, Volunteer Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation.” The BLM will be closing down roads to the mountain top where the majority of the herd spends their days grazing peacefully in their subalpine meadows. Young foals, only days old will be driven by helicopters and are in serious danger of being hurt or killed. Billings BLM Field Manager Jim Sparks told one advocate that they would expect a loss of 2% or six horses as a result of this operation.
The BLM has always had signs posted at the entrances to the horse range that tell the public to ‘report violations of harassment, death or removals.’ “Why are they above the law?” Asks Crow Tribe Historian and Elder, Howard Boggess. “Everything that is against the law for me they are planning to do to these horses. This is a very sad thing as far as I’m concerned. The horses have lived here for over 200 years. Even under the harassment of the BLM they’ve survived since 1971.”
The BLM claims that it is necessary to remove 70 horses in order to “maintain a thriving ecological balance.” However, the range is still green in late August following three years of above average precipitation after a multi-year drought. The horses are fat, preparing to go into winter. “Why are they removing nearly half the horses after the drought is over? I’ve told them [the BLM] if you take these 70 horses you’ve destroyed the bloodline, the gene pool will no longer be there,” continues Boggess. “Their whole goal is to get rid of the horses.”
“What they are proposing to do is criminal— people locally and all across the Nation worked so hard to save these horses from eradication in 1968,” explains Kathrens. “This range was specially designated for wild horses, the first of its kind in the nation. This is their refuge and it is about to be invaded.”
The BLM plans to remove 17 horses over ten years old and by BLM’s Standard Operating Procedures, “old, sick or lame horses shall be destroyed.” “When they take out the old horses they remove the ones that know the way to the water, the good grass, the way around the canyon – they’re taking out all of the knowledge of the herd,” Boggess explains. “It is really sad to sit there and look at the horses and think that in the next ten days they’ll be taken off this range and they’ll never see it again.”
This case is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, September 2nd, and thousands of people around the United States and the world await the decision of Judge Sullivan which will decide the fate of the unique and beloved Pryor Wild Horse Herd.
Please Keep Calling! Wednesday, 26 August 2009 13:46
WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE! KEEP CALLING
We’ve just been told that BLM Director Bob Abbey is meeting with other officials regarding this round up due to the number of calls and e-mails they are receiving. KEEP IT UP- KEEP CALLING, FAXING AND E-MAILING.
These are our wild horses living on our public lands!
HALT THE PRYORS ROUND UP and all others across the west.
BLM Director Bob Abbey
Call: 202-208-3801 or 866-468-7826
Fax: 202-208-5242
Robert_Abbey@blm.gov This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Help us keep you updated– join Cloud on Facebook and Twitter now! 11th Hour for Cloud’s Herd – Act Now!!! Wednesday, 26 August 2009 13:11
Please act now to stop this unnecessary and cruel round up— the BLM still plans to move forward on September 1st
The Bureau of Land Management is rounding up and eliminating 12 herds (650 horses) off 1.4 million acres in Nevada right now– next they plan to destroy Cloud’s herd with a massive removal of 70 horses that would include OLDER HORSES and YOUNG FOALS.
Many of the horses you have come to love in the Cloud shows and will meet in the new Cloud show on October 25th will lose their families and their freedom next week. By zeroing out whole herds and reducing others to below genetic viability, the BLM is circumventing the will of Congress. The House just passed the Restoring of American Mustangs (ROAM) act and the Senate will review this bill (now S.1579) when they return from recess in September. Is BLM just trying to do as much irrevocable damage to America’s wild horses as they can before Congress can act?
This round up will start on September 1st unless we can stop it. Removing 70 horses will destroy this unique little Spanish herd, leaving them well below the bare minimum for genetic viability. The range is in great condition and the horses are healthy. This removal should be stopped. Please do all you can to help! Listen to Ginger Kathrens on Endangered Stream Live– a special edition show “Angels for Cloud”
National Call in Day for Cloud is Friday, August 28th — SPREAD THE WORD! Have your kids call in and write too– These horses need to be preserved for future generations and we must act NOW
1. Call/write/fax President Obama as often as you can—this herd is a national treasure and should not be wiped out by a government agency. Please flood the phone lines with calls! Phone: 202-456-1111 or 202-456-9000 Fax: 202-456-2461
E-mail Obama
2. Ask Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar to stop this round up
Call: 202-208-3100
Write: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
3. BLM Director Bob Abbey, tell him to halt this round up– he must reconsider his agency’s actions
Call: 202-208-3801 or 866-468-7826
Fax: 202-208-5242
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
4. Call and write your own Senators and Congress people- tell them that Montana is allowing the destruction of Cloud’s unique and historical wild horse herd. Politely express your outrage and ask them to help stop this round up. Find your state offices here
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