The News as We See It ~ R.T. Fitch, Wild Horse Freedom Federation
Same Ole Stats but with a few Perls Included
“This report was quietly leaked out into the press by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on the exact same day that a Federal Judge responded to plaintiff Laura Leigh‘s, of Wild Horse Freedom Federation, request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) was granted against the BLM’s stampede contractor for allegedly operating in an inhumane manner. This was an obvious knee-jerk, self-preservation move on the part of the BLM and the report fell flat as it was performed by “hired guns” of the federal agency. The only reason that this particular piece is presented, here, is because it DOES acknowledge our legal action and it DOES acknowledge potential flaws on the issue of “appropriate care” which is exactly what Ms. Leigh’s ongoing legal action is all about. Consider the fact that an agency that is in cahoots with another and that very agency then brings up potential problems, doesn’t that speak to just how serious said issues could be? Me thinks so.
Likewise, this information is crucial for the advocate community to be aware of for a more informed stance against the BLM’s policy of managing our wild horses and burros to extinction.” ~ R.T.
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Photo by Laura Leigh
The Bureau of Land Management has enlisted veterinarians and scientists to help guide how to proceed with its Wild Horse and Burro Management Program.
The agency takes inventory of the animals on public ranges and can remove excess animals on overpopulated ranges and relocate them to holding facilities, where some might be sold or put up for adoption.
Horse activists have steadfastly opposed the government roundups as cruel and sometimes deadly. More recently, they have taken the agency to court for perceived abuses to the horses.
In August, a federal judge sided with the Wild Horse Freedom Federation by finding that a government helicopter came “dangerously or unreasonably close” to a horse during a Nevada roundup.
“Appropriate” care
To obtain an objective analysis of its program, the BLM requested external reviews by the American Association of Equine Practitioners and the National Research Council (see following page).
The AAEP BLM Task Force completed its review at the end of August after sending a task force of 10 member veterinarians from private practice, universities, and industry to observe BLM gathers; most had no experience with the BLM program.
Teams of three to four members observed three gathers in southwest Wyoming, west-central Nevada, and northeast Nevada. The trips to observe the gathers also included visits to four short?term holding facilities in Wyoming, Nevada, and Utah. Two long?term holding pastures were visited in Oklahoma. All this was done during a six?month period between October 2010 and March 2011.
The task force concluded that the BLM maintained “appropriate” care, handling, and management practices for its population of horses that generally support the safety, health status, and welfare of the animals.
“(BLM employees) have real strong feeling for these herds of horses and manage them as if they’re their own. They take a lot of pride in their herd and caring for them,” said Dr. John S. Mitchell, chair of the task force and AAEP president-elect.
Room for improvement
At the same time, the task force noted in its 35-page report a handful of areas that could use improvement.
The AAEP found fault with the BLM for having too many horses to manage, because more remain in captivity than run wild on the range. In 2011, the BLM managed about 33,014 horses and 5,483 burros on the range. Meanwhile, the number of horses reported in BLM short-term holding facilities was 10,607 and the number in long-term holding facilities was 29,341, for a total of 39,948. A related concern noted by the task force: Many wild horses now live out their lives at government?supported long?term holding facilities.
The task force also pointed out that, while a substantial number of wild horses have found homes through the BLM’s innovative adoption and placement programs, statistics show a marked decline in the past five years. From 2006-2010, the number of horses adopted decreased by 55 percent, from 6,644 to 2,960.
A decade ago, the adoption program seemed viable, with a substantial number of horses being captured and adopted, Dr. Mitchell said. Current components include regional BLM-supported adoption events, Extreme Mustang Makeover training programs and competitions sponsored by the Mustang Heritage Foundation, and state prison projects.
The BLM spends a substantial amount of its budget on these programs. Between 2004 and 2010, spending on the program went from $36.7 million to $66.1 million.
Yet, the reality is today that adoptions have plummeted because of the inability of more potential horse owners to afford horse care and a competing glut of unwanted healthy, domestic horses available for adoption, according to the report.
Future strategy
A central issue for all discussions involving the care and management of the wild horse population is controlling their reproductive rate on the range, according to the report. The AAEP encourages the BLM to prioritize research into and application of effective fertility control methods to reduce the foaling rate in wild herds.
The BLM’s existing method for managing herd number is to keep a smaller ratio of females. The bureau also works with the PZP injectable birth control vaccine.
Dr. Mitchell said research on reproductive control methods is an area where the AAEP can provide expertise. This could be through the agency consulting with association members who are equine reproduction specialists. Or, the association could develop methods to control the foaling rate in herds without having to capture horses so often, which reduces stress on horses, eliminates danger for employees, and saves the BLM money, he said.
The other criticisms from the task force had more to do with isolated incidents members observed that could have been handled better with more consistent rules and expectations. Examples would be a pilot who flew a little too close for comfort or a veterinarian who could have better adhered to basic anesthetic medical protocols.
“Any time a large organization like this deals with a lot of private contractors, it’s important for there to be templates, protocols, standards of care so that it’s being done consistently for the entire operation,” Dr. Mitchell said.
The BLM said in a statement that it appreciates the thorough, objective report prepared by the AAEP and will review its recommendations. Much of the AAEP’s findings mirror the BLM’s “Proposed Strategy: Details of the BLM’s Proposed Strategy for Future Management of America’s Wild Horses and Burros,” which it sent out last year for comment.
Under the proposed new strategy, the BLM would place greater emphasis on using fertility control, including “catch, treat, and release” gathers; boosting adoptions; and establishing a comprehensive animal welfare program. The agency will likely wait, however, to make any changes until the NRC committee completes its work in mid-2013.
In the meantime, the BLM just finished the process of seeking nominations for its Scientific Advisory Board on the Wild Horse and Burro Management Program.
The thoughts and comments presented in the above article do not necessarily reflect those of SFTHH or the Wild Horse Freedom Federation
Story by Melinda Larkin
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- BLM Releases Wild Horse Vet Report On Same Day of Judicial Spanking (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- BLM Impotently Attempts to Dilute Judges Order (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Inhumane case Update: (artandhorseslauraleigh.wordpress.com)
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Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Rantings of an Agency that confirms its need for dismantling immediately !!!!
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What the AAEP failed to observe is the inaccurate census and lack of good range management. I doubt that there are any Wildlife specialists among these veterinarians.
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I’d like to point out that the AAEP may have considerable experience with domestic equines but that you simply can’t apply the same logic & protocols for domestic equines as for wild.
Domestic equine’s behaviors mimic those of wild, not the other way around. And these are, without question, wild animals. Their reactions to stress are magnified; Dr. Nock, likewise an equine specialist, has written stacks of papers on how wild equines almost literally wilt in captivity, no matter how pleasant or beneficial the enclosures are. Some adapt well; many never recover.
And the expertise of the ‘handlers’? Did anyone see the video of a freshly-caught mare, ‘handler’ flapping a whip stick in her face to get her to move forward? When the mare refused (to move TOWARD the object of her fear), the ‘handler’ then poked the mare in the butt with a hot-shot.
I’d buy some of this if any acknowledgement was given to these animals as wild and not just untrained. And given the financial benefits to any group who stipulates the Bureau is doing a ‘good job’, it further devalues the AAEP’s ‘opinions’.
Get me an independent review, done by vets, handlers and scientists NOT being paid by the BLM. (Can’t WAIT to see the nominations for their Scientific Advisory Board…)
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The Wild Burro Protection League is forming Wild Burro Herd Task Forces – land based within 200 miles of a herd with a virtual support Task Force attached. Our idea is that this arrangement will allow us to track the herd, and all the planning, proposals, gathers and also the mining or land use plans and many factors that affect their numbers. This is a grass-roots approach instead of top-down. BLM is huge, and has many field offices, many actions in the works, being implemented or buried in other program areas. I strongly urge your readers to recognize that the BLM like all agencies is in a state of flux, they respond to court decisions, acts of the legislature and the pressure of the public. They are not independent or all powerful but they do have expertise. They may not “manage” the wild burros and horses the way that we would, but there are channels of all kinds with which we can affect and influence their policies and procedures! The problem for wild burro and horse activists is to be EFFECTIVE in influencing those policies. The other lobbies against the wild burros and horses are highly unified, and highly effective. I would dearly love to hear more acknowledgement of the resource issues that may exist and offers to mitigate any concerns. Adopt a herd, know the herd, know the members, know their range, their behaviors, the threats to them. The bighorn lovers build guzzlers, well build some for the burros and the horses. They say the amphibians are harmed or the riparian zone, well get a small crew together and temporarily fence off that area for the spring… get the local people to recognize what a treasure they have. Work together.
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“For this population of horses” are the key words here. This qualifier in the report says to me, “We sure wouldn’t treat our Thoroghbreds, Quarter Horses, or Hanovarians this way, but for this group of Heinz 57’s it’s OK.”
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I used to work at a board/training ranch. Horses would get longed in a round corral or on a line, then an hour with the trainer at a walk/trot/canter,then I’d cool walk them and hose them off while the trainer worked another These horses would sweat and lather, but received after-care. These were not our horses – they belonged to paying clients – so every precaution was taken. Sometimes, however, despite our best efforts, colic, bloody noses or heat exhaustion would follow, and the vet was called.
I guess this is why seeing these animals forced to run for their lives over rough terrain for an hour, then forced into tiny holding corrals to stand dripping in their own sweat & adrenalin really pisses me off. They are extreme athletes, capable of incredible physical exertion but like any athlete, there is a limit and price to be paid for it. That a veterinarian could say that these procedures are within acceptable perameters? That isn’t a vet I want looking at my animals.
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Lisa;
I agree that I would not have any vet that found this type of abuse to be ‘okay’.
I have been a horse person for 40+ years. Sweating lightly is plenty of a work out… drenching wet has crossed the line, and working a horse into a lather has put that horse in jeopardy…by sweating profusely they’ve already lost hydration. What’s in that lather is minerals, electrolites, etc…and that poor horse is exhausted.
No doubt if a so called ‘trainer’ worked my horse into a lather, it would be the last time, and I wouldn’t be paying the last months training bill either!
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By the time 2013 gets here, the BLM will have captured more and more wild horses, to be placed in holding pens. Yes, adoptions are down due to the current ecconomy. The should adjust their roundups accordingly. Overload in the system and wasting tax dollars. They should cancel all future roundups until a accurate, fair and through review of their current management practices can be done. Don’t hold your breath on this one though.
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Yes, get the people together and reconize what a treasure they have with the HMS’s in their states. Good point Karen, this is what I would try to focus on. Stand up for your State’s environment issues and preserve what we are losing because of various reasons.
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I totally agree with Karen. However, although we all don’t live in the Western states, I consider that the responsibility for taking care of the Wild Horses and Burros belongs to all of us. I would dearly love to sit on my back porch and watch them frolic in the distance or take a walk along a ridge some where and watch the interaction among the heard. The point is this arm of the government has been allowed to operate however they see fit with no accountability to anyone including our Congressional representatives. What ever creditability they had is long gone and is clear by their actions. A smart BLM would interact and welcome public opinion, volunterism and other actions which lean towards positive interaction for both people, horses and burros.
Instead they keep up the fight where they are spending our tax dollars rounding up, keeping them in various adoption centers, private ranches and what ever. No one benefits when money is the issue. It is clear it is the money and the politics that keeps them from allowing any kind of transparency. What a shame both the horses, burros and humans would benefit from the exchange. I totally agree that some pine away and cannot adopt to the new live style that they have been forced to live in. I guess a broken spirit is the worse case of all!
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Think I’m gonna go hurl. I appreciate vets really I do. They for the most part work hard to help our legged friends. They also do a fair amount of parent counseling when that time comes.
But why if you are going to take an HONEST look at something a Federal Agency is asking you to perform–why wouldn’t you ask the “opposition” some relevant questions. Like what are our MAJOR gripes? And why? I mean get into the nitty gritty. The nuts and bolts of why advocates are complaining about lack of care.
As Laura said “it isn’t rocket science”. It doesn’t a college degree in animal husbandry to know animals need food, water and shelter.
And oh by the way BLM MADE A LONG DISTANCE CALL TO ME LAST SUMMER TO TELL ME OF THE PLANS FOR THE WY HORSES. THEY LIED TO ME. Just thought one and all would like to know where YOUR tax dollars are going.
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Margaret, glad to see you back! Are you feeling OK?
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How many committees does it take to destroy the last herds of wild horses? We’ve got BLM/NAS/AAEP/QRS and XYZ. By the time they all make a decision, every last horse will be on a truck to some big pasture in Kansas. But BLM told the truth–they are the Bureau of Land Management–not horse sitters–and true to their word they are getting those vermin off the land–closing out more HMAs and singing cattle and fracking songs all the way to the bank. Did any of them read the Cloud Foundations “10 Steps to Restore America’s Wild Horse and Burro Herds”? Of course not–and it’s free and on-line–and like the wild horses wild it would cost the tax payers $0. Am I swallowing any of the above report? No–it simply makes me gag. Am I “negative”? You betcha.
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Although most vets really do care about animals, vets can be “bought” just like other members of our society who “advise” us.
Another thing … next time (OMG) a helicopter hits me or knocks me over till I fall to my knees or are pushed and roll along the ground (like the burro) I will have to tell myself that perhaps the helicopter “flew a little too close for comfort”!
I can’t even believe that this kind of stuff is written.
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Remember that helicopter would have to knock you over AFTER you run non- stop over rocks in high heat for miles and miles and miles.
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Or in frigid cold!
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“Any time a large organization like this deals with a lot of private contractors, it’s important for there to be templates, protocols, standards of care so that it’s being done consistently for the entire operation,” Dr. Mitchell said. Amen.
Might wanna start with helicopter protocols–the most important protocols to have in a helicopter round up of wild animals. But private contractors are concerned about one thing–profit.
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Protocols, while important are the tail end of the problem…the science (or lack there of) to remove is the bigger issue.
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How the h*ll many more reports will this agency cause to be written? This many reports and its still business as usual? That there are constant rubber-stamped investigations and fantasy reports written is by itself an indication that something is wrong. And yet there have been virtually no meaningful changes whatsoever. The program is a waste of taxpayer money and so is all these reports and investigations. Why don’t they just announce they have ceded from the Union and are a new government run by themselves?
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“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results”….unless of course, the goal of DOI/DOA is to exterminate the wild equines.
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You are all entitled to write to the producers of this report. This report was paid by your taxed income. Come on! The subterfuge works…
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Absolutely absurd that these people (vets) would make recommendations on BLM propaganda.
“The agency takes inventory of the animals on public ranges and can remove excess animals on overpopulated ranges and relocate them to holding facilities, where some might be sold or put up for adoption.”
1. BLM does NOT conduct actual census, they only guess at numbers and we all know that those numbers are nothing but fairy tales to get funding from congress.
2. There are no “overpopulated ranges”. there are far more zero’d out ranges – over 150 in the course of the last 5 years.
3. They should be relocating those horses NOT TO holding pens but to zero’d out HMA’s.
4. While catch treat and release sounds like a good solution, I’d be all for it if they weren’t using PZP, which is far too detrimental to a horses health, or when it wears off, foals born out of season. They need to find something better.
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