Update from Laura Allen of Animal Law Coalition
Elected Officials Screw Wild Horses and Burros, AGAIN!
Update Dec. 10, 2010: The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a continuing resolution that will keep the government running through the end of the year.
Well, actually, it does more than that. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was handed its requested budget increase for FY 2011, more than $12 million.
As BLM described in the Wild Horse and Burros Program, FY 2011 Budget Justifications: “In 2011 this measure includes an increase of $12,000,000 which will result in … an additional 9 Herd Management Areas achieving appropriate management levels. The 2011 increase allows the Wild Horse & Burro program to gather and hold additional horses“….”[A]chieving appropriate management levels” is BLM speak for rounding up wild horses and burros and placing them in holding facilities.
BLM also said “The 2011 BLM budget request includes a program increase of $12.0 million in the Wild Horse and Burro Management program to support implementation of [Interior] Secretary[ Ken Salazar’s] plan“. The plan as announced in 2009 would allow removal of wild horses and burros to “preserves”, also called “pastures” and “feedlots” in the Midwest and East where they would live in non-reproducing “herds”. Many have called this a plan for extinction. For more on Secy. Salazar’s “plan”…..
Under the Continuing Resolution BLM has been authorized “to enter into multiyear cooperative agreements with nonprofit organizations and other appropriate entities… for the long-term care and maintenance of excess wild free-roaming horses and burros by such organizations or entities on private land.” The contracts could now be up to 10 years rather than the current 5. Still pending is a BLM request for $42 million for the purchase of land in the Midwest or East for the first of Secy. Salazar’s “preserves” – or “pastures” or “feedlots”.
This support for an already bloated program, the sole focus of which, contrary to the law, has become to drive wild horses and burros off public lands, is astonishing given tight budget constraints.
Read the Equine Welfare Alliance and Animal Law Coalition report below for more on a report submitted to Congress just recently on BLM’s questionable numbers, unsubstantiated data and lack of accountability that has prompted many including Animal Law Coalition to call on Congress to de-fund the wild horses and burro roundups pending completion of a study and possible removal of the operation of the wild horses and burros program to another, preferably independent agency.
So far Congress does not appear to be listening – or reading…..
Click (HERE) for Roll Call Article
Click (HERE) to Take ACTION!
Related Articles
- Stop Cash Flow to Bloody BLM Wild Horse Stampedes (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- BLM Blows Off EWA’s Research on Board Member (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- BLM Issues Biased Report to Intentionally Mislead Congress and Public on Wild Horse Issue (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Although this news sounds terrible, it isn’t new. The bottom line is that we need to work closer with the legislators who make the decisions. Maybe with more education, we can change an important mind, or two.
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O it is news, very bad news.
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But you are right about legislators being uneducated. They are just really so busy that they dont have time to pay attention to half the stuff they vote on. I wonder how many of them actually read the great awesome document that is on their desk right now, proving clearly all the reasons why the BLM program needs to be DE funded.
We need to come together more and do more lobbying of our legislators in person. This is the only way that we have noticed real changes in many of them.
They are uneducated and misinformed, it is up to US to educate them, and when you do this in person, with a lobbying group or allone, trust me, it works wonders.
Sadly we haven’t gotten anywhere because we haven’t educated enough of our legislators. Legislation is the only ticket home for both our slaughtered horses and our wild horses.
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We need someone in DC. Last fall this was what Ginger Kathrens wanted us to do… keep people there to talk and educate. There are hostels there where people can room very inexpensively… this is another front that needs to be covered. If this is something you can deal with eastern Advocates, please, get together and send someone or a series of people, to DC and Talk and Show and get them to listen….
This is for real and and an opportunity for you to back action that must be taken… East Coast and Southern and Midwestern Advocates, unite and send one of you to DC! I am sure Simone and others who have been there will help you with materials and info! mar
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In trying to educate those in power, I wrote a letter to Diane Feinstein, in her capacity as Chief of the Senate Appropriations committee. I got a very polite, but curt letter saying that since I wasn’t a CA resident, she didn’t have time to read my letter. Letters were sent to CT’s senators, and my out-going House Rep, who was pro wild horse, but not on the appropriations committee.
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I take the term “nonprofit organizations” to mean Sue Wallis’ and friends’ horse slaughter front op.
There’s only one way to stop the tyranny.
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Please call Dianne Feinsteins office, she is the one handing it to Salazar without even a meeting being called about it!!! Its ludicrious the power that she has.
This is a major disaster. Working on getting as much press as possible on this.
Please send out press releases as well. Major desaster. As if we werent racing against the clock already, now we really are.
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Crap
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We need to find out which Congressmen voted to approve this budget increase and if they are the same Congressmen that have voted to give continued tax breaks to the upper 2% of taxpayers.
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If I cuss I will not be posted… but we saw it coming… no matter it is all wrong or there is a growing army of advocates to object. The Broken WH&B Program should be shelved! This is an outrage to the goals and the law behind the ’71 Act.
This is such madness over energy and the DOI is screwing up our water and our public lands out here which will not recover in our lifetimes.
Please, ALL of you; Search for lands to lease in the West… or even lands to buy with water and good range… we need lands to put our removed family bands on as soon as we can get them from BLM.
We need LAND for mustangs to live free! If we can get together this winter or Spring we can form a strong active group to save wild ones from LTH and sale authority by using adoption and sale authority to acquire the families legally and protecting them and their heritage and future on Private lands!
We have an enormous challenge to do this but we can and we will…. mar
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I don’t know if these people are any good, but we might find something.
http://www.landwatch.com/Land_For_Sale
Remember, whatever we find MUST have adequate Water Rights and be put to some kind of beneficial use to retain them!
My husband and 11 other people formed an investment group and bought some land many years ago. Could we band together and do the same?
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Most of us have small groups of folks we are in touch with all the time- on and off the blog… if any of you have the gumption to look and seriously consider pooling funds to get land for horses pulled off the range… they are coming off now and there will be a steady stream who need to be picked out and spoken for as soon as they are corralled.
Sometimes we must take a chance to do something right and work out the details on the run as there is no time to waste! mar
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And in the press release, make public ALL Congressman who have voted in favor of this budgetary increase at time when we should be “cutting the fat” out of government spending.
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Congressmen need to now return to their home offices, face their constituents and do some explaining.
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Incredible!! No one seems to be listening to us nor reading petitions. Law suits don’t seem to do any good either. What is there left to do?? Wikileaks I say!!! By the time the general population has been educated (and a lot of people don’t care) it will be too late. Drastic measures are needed!! Suggestions?
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The most outrageous thing about it is that there was no vote, not that we can tell. Dianne Feinstein approved it all on her own. That has got to be unconstitutional in it self. She has been giving Salazar whatever he wants for years, sounds like they are in bed together, perhaps literally but I dont want to speculate.
Her office needs to have heck come down on them, whoever is in CA you need to go visit the offices, stage a protest outside her local office etc.
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Jeez Simone, your speculation conjured up a mental image that has the potential to render most American males impotent for months…arrrgghhhhh!!!!
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You know, RT, that’s a good point. The hat, those thumbs up, ughhhhh!
What we really need is a talented editorial cartoonist to sketch this out for us. Then it would be considered commentary on current events and fair play as editorial fodder (no chance of being misconstrued as libelous). Would be great to publish far and wide! I wish Steven Benson of the AZ Republic could do it – he’s really good!
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/benson/bensondex.html
http://www.creators.com/editorialcartoons/steve-benson-about.html
http://www.cagle.com/politicalcartoons/PCcartoons/benson.asp
Anyone friends with a working political cartoonist?
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There is a lady we all like her cartoony drawings on FB… mar
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Here is info on cartoons, http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=152133618132810
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Please help these animals
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Yes we need to have another protest at her SF office!
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Congress either isn’t listening or is hard of hearing. We need to turn up the music.
LET’S PARTY
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I would love to give them all an enema and ship them home in a shoe box with a big red bow!!
One at a time into the squeeze chute!
LOL, Marge
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I just called and voiced my outrage to Feinstein’s Los Angeles office. If anyone wants to meet me on Monday, I’ll be there with protest signs and my 2 little girls to let her know how we feel. The address is: 11111 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 915
Los Angeles, CA 90025; Phone: (310) 914-7300. I feel so betrayed, I have personally received letters from Senator Feinstein regarding the wild ones. Please join me for the lunch hour traffic. I’ll be there at high noon, protest signs ablazing…
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This was the House of Representatives, that voted to approve the budget–is that correct? It is the Representatives that need to hear about this.
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Simone Netherlands – In Sept. 2009 I spoke with Senator Feinstein’s Los Angeles rep trying to get the Senator to stand by the words in her 2005 letter to then DOI Secretary Gale Norton. In that letter Senator Feinstein emphatically stated that she wanted viable wild burro herds to remain in the Mojave National Preserve because they are an important part of CA’s Gold Rush heritge. The Senator did NOTHING and the wild burros were removed. On Jan 6, 2010 CA advocates staged a 200-strong rally in front of the Senator Feinstein’s Los Angeles headquarters protesting cruel BLM roundups, the mismanagement of BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, the BLM’s repeated violations of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and the squandering of millions of taxpayer dollars. After the rally, a contingent representing Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue, The Cloud Foundation, Return to Freedom Wild Horse Sanctuary and In Defense of Animals met with another Feinstein rep but again, the Senator did NOTHING. On March 25, 2010, CA advocates held another Wild Horse/Burro welfare rally in front of the Los Angeles Federal Bldg. and a third rally took place last month in front of CNN’s Los Angeles headquarters. CA advocates have also met with Senator Feinstein’s San Francisco and San Deigo headquarters’ reps asking that the Senator address the wild horse/burro issue. Senator Feinstein is not only remiss in failing to do what is ethical regarding the wild horse and burro plight, she neglects her constiuents’ repeated requests to be heard.
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Exactly right, she doesnt care. However that doesnt mean we let up. It means we increase the pressure. If we dont get outraged now, then when?
Good job Karen, if you give me your email address I will send a couple people with you.
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Hi Simone,
The more the merrier. I will be there about 11:30, and I plan to hand deliver a letter to her office aides, along with a poem by my 9 year old and a report on the roundups by my 11 year old. My husband will be their to hand out million dollar bills like Feinstein, (fake, but fun and we hope and effective visual aide). I don’t know where to put my email address or cell phone # without posting on this blog.
Thanks and God Bless.
Karen
P.S. I’ll be wearing a wild horse costume, so I’ll be easy to recognize.
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We need verification of Senator Feinstein’s vote–does anyone have that on file?
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She is head of the appropriations committee, there was no vote.
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Simone, The protest front needs to get into gear and Stay there. It will do most when it keeps going and stays on high. Then the wild ones need their front to witness these continued removals and get the details out to the public… Laura Leigh is working on this now with the promise of live streaming.
Pick your stand and work hard to back the projects of your choice but please renew your commitment to the wild ones, now, during the Holiday Season. Fight on advocates!! Take this to the brink and make change happen! mar
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Is there a reason no wild horse or anti-slaughter advocates are attending the Summit of the Horse?
We need people inside and outside.
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This is covered… plans for live streaming are underway. There will be people inside and out… mar
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Annie, in my humble opinion this travesty does not warrant the attention, to do so gives it credibility and validates the “Scummit” as a legitimate threat to our advocacy and it is not. It is a sick joke built on a perverse lie. Personally I will not waste any of my resources, time or money, on something that is so uncreditable and unjustifiable.
Now granted, we have and will give the issue internet face-time as we want to help educate good folks who are sucked into the vortex of lies but by no means do I intend to recognize that this is a bonified gathering of any credibility, it is simply a very sick and twisted meeting of souls who have no moral compass.
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I don’t think many will go, I think advocates should only go to hand out info to alert others that these are horses slaughters and wild horse killers having the slaughter fest,
and info to debunk the slaughters lies.and give them info on real horses advocates that they should join with.
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Keep sending & using above link and calling and ALL the other ways we are using to fight for wild horses, burros, horses. Something of historic proportions is happening, I am truly seeing an army rise up thanx to the internet and awareness that can be given to people to discover, share and join together when they find out about the genocide of wild horses and the brutal lying murdering, corrupt horse killers-BLM. Upon learning the truth many have made a pledge to devout their lives to this fight. Also the fight for animal rights is the most important, widespread, energetic and has emerged as the only movement now with of historic proportions happening in the world. LOOK THE &%%^&^$ OUT BLM we are not going away !
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“When the majestic Mustangs no longer roam their land,we wonder what Congress will say when asked, why didn’t you do something?” Equine Welfare Alliance
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I also wrote Diane Fienstein. She said that she prefers to answer the letters of those who wrote in from her state, not out of state people. Unfricken believable. Let the lunacy prevail. The BLM and the Government are allowing special interest groups to rule our country. They are hell bent on destroying these horses at any cost. Stupidity and corruption rules.
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Senator Feinstein has not been elected to the Senate for life. She may need to be put out to pasture during the next election cycle. Sounds like she is developing heart failure in addition to becoming deaf and mute.
I agree with those of you who have said that we need to educate our legislators. My representative admitted that he was not familiar with all the issues surrounding wild horses and burros although he has voted in favor of legislation that would be benefiticial to wild horses. He seemed receptive to learning more about the issues, but truthfully, I think we have to recognize that although protecting the lives of these wild horses are front and center to us, our law makers have been going from national crisis to national crisis. They are dependent on staffers to get them information, and most will focus on issues that affect their home states and committee assignments.
We may or may not be able to have someone go to Washington, but our Senators and Representatives go home for breaks. Anyone of us has the right to ask for an appointment with our elected representatives about our concerns. How soon, if, or when we get to talk with them will depend on different factors. I think that we might actually have a better chance to exchange information when our legislatures are back in their districts without the distractions in Washington.
Personally, I feel like meeting face to face with someone is always more effective than than just writing and phoning. Make some flyers or a PowerPoint Presentation. I know Madeleine Pickens will be taking mustangs to the Rose Bowl Parade. That is terrific publicity. People line up in sleeping bags four and five people thick the night before. That might be a good time and place to have a rally if the Pasedena police would permit it or at the Equifest. The Parade is a wonderful event with a national audience.
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Christie, you are right on target. NONE of the senators have been elected for life.
THIS is where the protests need to be launched.
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Karen: Where in Southern Califormia do you live? Want to help at the sanctuary where I help out.
Christie: If you know how to get in touch with Madeleine Pickens, I would love to help her. I lived for many years in the Pasadena area and would love to help her in her endeavors to get more lands for our wild horses to live if we cannot win over the Congress debuctle.
These people run for office for continued wealth in their own pockets. Those that can give “favors” will get laws passed, example cattle industry. We need more people to fund the land for these horses to live on. I for one would love to oversee one of these rescue areas if someone could help me acquire the land. We are not rich in monies, but my energies would be there for the horses.
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Madeleine Pickens has a Facebook Page and she does respond to some individual comments. She haa her own web site at http://saveamericasmustangs.org. You may also find somethng through Madeleine’s Mustangs. I signed up to get emails from her web site, but enjoy communicating through Facebook.
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Forgot to leave my e-mail for Karen and Christie. You can contact me at my e-mail: bcco1@sbcglobal.net
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