Madeleine Pickens Wild Horse Sanctuary » News

The New York Times- Horse Advocates Pull for Underdog in Roundups

Madeleine — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:42:52 +0000

Dear Friends,

This was an article in the National section of The New York Times. There is a lot left out as to what really goes on during the round ups. However, getting press for our beautiful mustangs is good regardless, because we are educating the public that they are being rounded up. That in it of itself should be reason enough for people to get involved in this plight! If this article’s contents don’t satisfy you, then write to the NY Times and let them know the truth. Remember, we are the voice for these horses!

Sincerely,

Saving America’s Mustangs Foundation

By Jesse McKinley

Published: September 5, 2010

OUTSIDE RAVENDALE, Calif. — It is horse versus helicopter here in the high desert.

The New York Times

The current roundup in northeastern California and neighboring Nevada has been going on for a month.

On one side are nearly 40,000 horses spread over 10 states, whose presence on the range is a last vestige of the Old West. On the other is a group of crusty cowboys whose chosen method of roundup involves rotors more than wrangling, using high-tech helicopters to drive galloping mustangs into low-tech traps.

“When they get in here, they know something’s going on,” said Dave Cattoor, 68, a straight-talking roundup expert who has been herding horses since he was 12. “The chips are down.”

Over the last month, Mr. Cattoor and his feral quarry have been doing battle under the dry, horizon-to-horizon skies of northeastern California and a neighboring Nevada county, with humans the inevitable victor.

More than 1,200 horses have been captured during the current roundup, much to the chagrin of people like Simone Netherlands, an animal rights advocate who says that the roundups — part of a nationwide push to take some 12,000 horses off public lands — are cruel, expensive and unnecessary.

“They’re running at full speed for miles and miles for hours, with babies, little babies, and they don’t let up on them,” Ms. Netherlands said. “They’re stressing them out to the max.”

The Bureau of Land Management, which is overseeing the roundup, disputes that, saying that the roundups are humane and that it must reduce the wild horse population to more sustainable levels, both for their health and for that of the other animals that live in this harsh terrain.

“Some advocate groups would like us to leave the horses out there and let nature take its course,” said Bob Abbey, director of the bureau. “We don’t believe that’s a sound option.”

The debate over roundups dates back decades, to the passage of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, a federal law that protected what was then a faltering wild horse population and made it illegal for cowboys like Mr. Cattoor to round up horses on their own for sport or profit.

“A cowboy really wasn’t a cowboy if you didn’t rope a wild horse,” Mr. Cattoor said. “But they stopped that. They stopped the maintenance, which costs nothing, and turned it into a multimillion-dollar deal. It’s crazy.”

Questions about the roundups have intensified in recent years as costs have mounted, both in dollars and in dead horses. Seven horses have died in the current operation, and last winter, a roundup in Nevada resulted in over 100 horse deaths, prompting more than 50 members of Congress to ask Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to look for independent analysis of the bureau’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. Late last month, the bureau did just that, asking the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a technical review of the program.

Horses that are captured are offered for adoption, but with demand for horses low and the cost of feed high, the government often ends up quartering them on large private ranches, primarily in Kansas and Oklahoma. In 2009, about 70 percent of the entire program’s $40.6 million budget was spent holding 34,500 horses and burros, a system that the Government Accountability Office has concluded will “overwhelm the program” if not controlled.

“They are a symbol of the American West,” said Nathaniel Messer, a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Missouri and a former member of the federal Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Committee. “But do we need 35,000 symbols of the American West?”

For critics like Deniz Bolbol, the pattern of roundup, removal and stockpiling is an example of the bureau’s catering to private interests on public lands, namely by favoring livestock ranchers — who pay the government for the right to graze and who can sell their animals — over wild horses, which cannot be sold for slaughter.

“We remove wild horses from the public lands so private livestock can graze, and then we ship the wild horses to private ranchers in the Midwest where we stockpile them and pay private ranchers,” said Ms. Bolbol, a spokeswoman for the group In Defense of Animals, which has sued to stop the roundups. “This is what you call a racket.”

And while Mr. Cattoor calls Ms. Bolbol and other protesters “fanatics,” he does not think the government’s reliance on big, periodic roundups makes much sense either, saying the bureau needs more steady maintenance of the wild herds, which can double in size every four years.

Perhaps the only other thing the two sides can agree on is that the horses — whose estimated populations range from about 120 in New Mexico to more than 17,000 in Nevada — are magnificent. Art DiGrazia, the operations chief for one of the bureau’s wild horse and burro offices in California, said that some of the mustangs on the range were descended from Army cavalry horses, which were bred for size, speed and strength and left here or given to ranchers.

“They have the intelligence and endurance to work out in this country,” said Mr. DiGrazia, a bearded New Jersey native who speaks in a hoarse whisper. “They’ll know before you know that there’s something out there going on.”

The method of capture is simple: horses are located from helicopters, which have been used in roundups since the mid-1970s, and pushed toward the trap site, essentially a funnel shaped by two netted walls that lead into a temporary corral. Once the herd runs into the funnel, Mr. Cattoor lets loose a so-called Judas horse, which is trained to lead the rest into the trap, where — uncombed, unshod and often stomping and biting — they slowly settle into their new lives as kept animals.

Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Dave Cattoor says the current method of rounding up wild horses is “the best we can do.”

Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Animal advocates like Denise Constantinide think the roundups are cruel, expensive and unnecessary.

Jim Wilson/The New York Times

The aim of the roundups is to reduce the horse population to more sustainable levels.

All of which is more humane than the old days, said Mr. Cattoor, who recalls cowboys using rope and brawn to bring in a herd, often injuring horses and horsemen alike.

“You have to really put the pound on them,” he said. “You’d have to get them sore footed and tired, and there’s a lot of problems with getting them really tired. Today, at this point, this is the best we can do.”

One recent morning, Mr. Cattoor and his team conducted several successful runs — 10 horses in one, a handful in another — before a small herd of four horses, their black manes and wild tails flying, came running full-tilt across the desert. The helicopter was close on their heels, whipping up curlicues of dust in the horses’ wake.

They were headed straight for the trap, when suddenly the herd broke, with three horses escaping across a field, while a single stallion — the leader — galloped in another direction. The pilot, perhaps 50 feet up, chose to follow the larger group, but horse sense had its way; the three headed into a patch of trees, where helicopters cannot pursue. The stallion, meanwhile, disappeared up a ridge and back into the wild.

Mr. Cattoor watched it all, standing near his Judas horse with a resigned smile, as roundup opponents watched happily from a public viewing station several hundred feet away.

“These wild horse advocates love it when the horse beats the helicopter,” Mr. Cattoor said. “And they do sometimes win.”

SOURCE

Controversy on the Range

Wild Horse Roundups Spark Activists’ Anger

Madeleine Pickens’ Plan- Straight from the Source

Madeleine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:40:35 +0000

January 20, 2010
This morning, I was able to hear about Madeleine Pickens’ plan straight from the source at a press conference at the New York Union League Club. Mrs. Pickens, a businesswoman and philanthropist and the wife of American financier T. Boone Pickens, is working towards building a sanctuary for the over 33,000 wild horses and burros that are currently in holding facilities by the BLM. Madeleine’s working to buy a million acres where these horses could live out their lives. The ranch would also have an eco-tourism element, so tourists could come to see the horses.

“The foundation is being created to protect and care for the wild horses and to allow citizens from around the world to come to the ranch to see thousands of free roaming wild horses. To achieve these goals, the Foundation will be active in the community promoting eco-tourism, hire within the local area, and be a good neighbor with the adjoining ranches to ensure strong fences are maintained and horses are contained to their own million acre ranch.”

Mrs. Pickens was articulate and passionate as she spoke about this controversial issue. You may read more about the plan and take action on her website SavingAmericasMustangs.org, including a FAQ section.

By: Darley Newman

I-Team: More Roundups Planned Despite Pleas from Congress

Madeleine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:51:33 +0000

LAS VEGAS — Government contractors have fired up their helicopters for yet another roundup of Nevada wild horses. The latest gather targets a remote area north of Ely, Nevada.

Four more roundup operations are on the schedule in our state this year. They will not only thin the herds, but wipe them out altogether.

2010 already ranks as one of the most aggressive in the history of Bureau of Land Management horse roundups, with a lot more to come. Operations which proved deadly for the herds have already scooped up thousands of mustangs from public ranges, but with no commensurate reduction in the number of private cattle allowed to stay.

The next round seems are designed to wipe out the horses altogether.

The Moriah Herd area near Ely will result in the removal of every one of the 72 horses living on thousands of acres. Two other Nevada herd management areas will be completely zeroed out of horses, and two others will see more than 90-percent of the mustangs taken away, even though federal law set aside those ranges as places where horses could roam forever.

Critics of the program say it looks as if BLM is in a race to grab every horse it can get before the program gets shut down, which is exactly what is needed according to a letter sent to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and signed by 54 members of Congress, including Nevadans Shelley Berkley and Dina Titus.

The letter harshly criticizes the roundups, calls for an immediate moratorium, and seeks an outside study of the science behind the gathers, or lack thereof, by the National Academy of Sciences.

BLM says it will cooperate with such a study, but Director Bob Abbey told Congress he has no intention of stopping the roundups.

“We signed the letter because we need to stop the roundups and the slaughter so we can study the policy. It hasn’t worked and they know it, we know it, the horses know it. We asked that they allow for a study but they won’t stop and I worry because these studies can take years,” said Rep. Titus.

Titus worries that by the time the study is complete, more herd areas could be wiped out by BLM. The roundups themselves can be deadly to horses.

“You see these pictures of them running to death and the colts and it breaks your heart,” she said.

A separate review of the horse program is already underway. The inspector general of the Interior Department is actively soliciting information from the public, including horse advocates, about all that’s wrong with its implementation — a review that can’t be seen as good news within BLM.

On another front, philanthropist Madeleine Pickens is hoping to move forward with her plans to build a sprawling horse sanctuary in northern Nevada. Pickens has already put millions of her own money into buying a large ranch near Elko and now has an agreement to buy a second property as well.

She will need the cooperation of BLM if she wants to put captured mustangs on the land so she can open an eco-tourism attraction, although BLM has said in the past it does not wants the horses to remain in Nevada, even in a sanctuary.

Director Abbey has agreed to meet with Pickens this month to talk about her plan but has made no promises.

Titus says she has already introduced legislation to force BLM to use options other than roundups, such as more adoptions, birth control, and a program to encourage ranchers to allow horses to graze on private range. But BLM continues to use roundups as the primary focus of the program.

Here’s a list of recent gathers:

Herd Area	# of Horses	# Removed
Moriah	72	72
Montezuma	139	139
Paymaster	45	45
Reveille	250	198
Silver King	600	545

SOURCE

Video from Twin Peaks Gather by Elyse Gardner of the Humane Observer

Madeleine Talks to WBKO About Horse Slaughter

Madeleine — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:36:44 +0000


Updated: 4:05 PM Aug 30, 2010 Horse Slaughter: The Front Lines

Reporter: Dale Parker
ot too long ago, there was a 15 year old girl working her first job. She was saving every penny to buy something she had long dreamed of: her first horse.

Jennifer Turner of Lynchburg, Virginia retells the story like it was yesterday.

“I was taking riding lessons at the time, and I saw the horse in a field, grazing under a tree at sunset. It was beautiful.”

Jennifer approached the owner, and could only think of one thing to say.

“How much?”

The lady replied that Jennifer didn’t want that horse. It had been abused.

So every day for six months, Jennifer went to the horse with a bucket of grain, a little hope, and a lot of determination.

“Finally, she came to me,” said Jennifer, “I was the only one she ever let ride her.”

The pride in her voice is fresh as she relives the moment in her mind.

And so began a lifelong love of horses, and more importantly, rescuing them.

Jennifer Turner currently has 5 rescued horses, ranging from 9 months old to 7 years.

When she got the 9 month old, it was in poor health.

“It had full pneumonia, worms, and was severely malnourished. It took around $2,000 to bring back to health.”

And that’s just the tip of a very large iceberg.

Turner says that people get in over their head and can’t take care of the horses they own, resulting in them selling to a “kill buyer”.

And unless they are rescued, their fate can be dim.

100,000 to 120,000 horses are slaughtered every year that don’t get rescued.

Instead, they are transported to Canada or Mexico to be processed into food.

Of course, one could ask why it isn’t a problem to slaughter cows, or other “traditional” American food providing animals.

The answer isn’t really simple.

Some horse rescue advocates see horses as being closer to a dog, which of course is “man’s best friend.”

Others would be ok with it if the horses were just not treated so inhumanely during transport and the slaughtering process itself.

And one thing they all agree on is there are some extremely inhumane conditions that many of these horses face.

There are many stories, pictures, and videos on the web documenting these cases of abuse, and if you are inclined to look these things up, be prepared to have your heart broken.

There are reports of transporters who don’t give the horses food, no matter how long the trip is, which has resulted in dead horses upon arrival at their final destination.

Mix in with that the fact that current regulations don’t oversee the horse grouping (meaning that horses of all sizes and dispositions can be mixed together), dangerous double-decker trailers can be used, inadequate floor space and ramping, USDA budgetary restraints and understaffing for inspections and numerous other unenforceable guidelines or easily falsified certificates, and you begin to see a larger issue.

And then there is the slaughtering process itself.

Many slaughterhouses use the “captive bolt” method of slaughter, which is a method designed for cows that have a much shorter neck.

Horses are guided into a small stall area where a captive bolt pistol is placed to their head and discharged either by air or blank round.

The bolt then strikes the animal and, if done correctly, stuns them so there is no pain during the process of butchering.

Due to a horse having a more “gangly”, long neck, sometimes the bolt is not effective as the animal swings its head to and fro.

Chemicals can’t be used to euthanize because that is prohibited when dealing with animals to be consumed as food.

Lisa Draharod is the event coordinator for “Another Chance for Horses”, a non-profit horse brokerage in Marlton, New Jersey, and says that the whole process is unnecessary.

“One of the big myths about stopping horse slaughter is ‘Where would all the unwanted horses go?’ The truth is only 1% of the U.S. horse population is slaughtered each year. If we cut back on horse breeding, the problem would go away by attrition,” said Draharod.

Until then, she is trying to save as many horses as she can.

A Chance for Horses, along with a network of other rescues including Forever Morgans, Save Your Ass Rescue, Curly Horse Rescue, New England Equine Rescue, the thoroughbred tracks that have zero tolerance policies in effect, and Voice for Horses, save on average 40 horses per week.

She says they have shipped horses all around the country to the individuals who purchased through them, and even shipped one to Germany.

When asked how anyone can get started in rescuing horses, she hesitates.

“First, you need to educate yourself,” she says. “It’s a 24 hour, 7 day a week job. There is no reward other than the satisfaction.”

She also mentioned frustration, which is something Jennifer Turner had mentioned as well. Frustration at the lack of donations, frustration at the time it takes to heal some of these horses, both physically and mentally, and frustration that so many horses are needlessly slaughtered.

“90% of horses slaughtered are in good condition. 80% are under 10 years of age. 74% are perfectly sound, no lameness or crippling issues,” says Draharod.

And when you juxtapose those kinds of numbers against a poll conducted by Madeleine Pickens which revealed that 76% of Americans are against horse slaughter, you have to ask why this is still an issue at all.

“It’s alarming how many people don’t care,” says Pickens. “The funny thing about human nature is that the general public tends to shut down when confronted with the graphic video and pictures.”

Pickens, along with her husband Boone, has been instrumental in getting the message out and getting reform accomplished, her work leading to the closing of the last horse slaughterhouse in the U.S.

But that doesn’t stop kill buyers from shipping across the border, so it must still be profitable.

To get a sense of the money involved, I asked Pickens for some numbers.

And the example she gave was very interesting.

She had gotten a chance to view some tax records from one of the last slaughterhouses to operate in America.

Total taxes paid for the year of 2004?

$4.

“If you had a company that only had to pay $4 in taxes, your company must not be doing very well, wouldn’t you think?”

I had to agree, until she followed it up with the fact that they took in $12 million in horses, then shipped them overseas to another branch of their company which in turn sold the horses for $60 million.

The math is obvious.

Still, there is progress being made.

H.R. 6598, which is a bill co-sponsored by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), has recently been re-introduced after failing to be passed into law previously.

It would “amend(s) the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to three years for possessing, shipping, transporting, purchasing, selling, delivering, or receiving: (1) any horse (i.e., member of the family Equidae) with the intent that it be slaughtered for human consumption; or (2) any horse flesh or carcass with the intent that it be used for human consumption.”

Also, Madeleine Pickens has purchased land in Nevada to be the site of a wild horse sanctuary, preventing many from roundups that would lead them to a food processing plant.

She hopes it becomes a tourist destination just like our National Parks, where people can witness their beauty.

Pickens urges people to get involved.

“Go to my website and sign up. Send letters. Join the Pony Express. We are going to deliver your letters while riding horses in person to Washington, ” says Pickens.

Just researching this article, I ran across numerous places that give information on the horse slaughter issue and ways to help and participate in horse rescue.

There are many, many people of all religious and political backgrounds involved on the front lines of this issue.

People like Jennifer Turner.

It’s a rainy Tuesday afternoon back in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Through a window Turner is watching “Gotta Lotta Soul”, a rescued horse who happens to be the 4th Great Grandson of Secretariat, the legendary racehorse who won a Triple Crown while setting records in two of the races.

He seems to be enjoying himself in the drizzle, shaking his head and fanning his tail, living up to his name.

“It’s on a day like this that I wish I didn’t have horses at all!”, she laughs, referring to the need to go out into the rain to feed.

Through the phone I hear a big smile, and I suspect that couldn’t be further from the truth.

SOURCE

Madeleine Pickens Gives Pony Express Update

Madeleine — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:41:14 +0000

As of 9/2/10, we have a total of 30,421 letters and emails that we have received!!! Way to go everyone!! xoxo

-Madeleine Pickens

Judge Denies BLM Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit to Preserve World Famous Wild Horse Herd

Madeleine — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:30:07 +0000

For Immediate Release

Media Contacts:

Makendra Silverman
Makendra@TheCloudFoundation.org
Tel: 719-351-8187

Anne Novak
Anne@TheCloudFoundation.org
Tel: 415-531-8454

Judge Denies BLM Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit to Preserve World Famous Wild Horse Herd

Court Declares Challenge to BLM Mismanagement to be “Ripe for Review”

Washington D.C. (August 27, 2010)— On August 25th United States District Judge, James S. Gwin, granted a legal request by The Cloud Foundation, Front Range Equine Rescue and photographer/author Carol Walker, to file a Second Amended Complaint against the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) actions in the mismanagement of the Pryor Mountain Wild Horses. The ruling allows addition of the United States Forest Service (USFS) to the suit. The Custer National Forest is presently moving forward with building a restrictive boundary fence to prevent the wild horses from accessing crucial current and historical summer grazing lands. Judge Gwin ruled that the Plaintiffs’ claim against the fence is not moot as the fence could be removed or further fence building activities stopped should subsequent legal decisions rule in the Plaintiffs’ favor. Judge Gwin ordered the BLM and USFS to answer the Second Amended Complaint within 30 days.

“BLM’s tactic of completing removals of wild horses and burros from the range in whirlwind fashion and avoiding legal challenges to its underlying management of these animals did not work in this case,” explained Valerie J. Stanley. Attorneys Valerie J. Stanley and Bruce A. Wagman represent the Plaintiffs in this action.

In his decision, Judge Gwin wrote that “[the] government is also incorrect that the Plaintiffs’ claim challenging the 1987 Custer National Forest Plan is time-barred” and found the Cloud Foundation’s legal challenge to BLM’s use of a Categorical Exclusion that BLM uses to avoid analyzing the environmental impacts of the processing of wild horses and burros removed from the range to be “ripe for review because it is a purely legal question fit for judicial review.”

The ruling represents a significant step forward in the Cloud Foundation, Front Range Equine Rescue and Carol Walker’s legal attempts to protect the beloved and historically significant Pryor wild horses. Commonly known as “Cloud’s herd”, the horses are descendents of the horses of the Spanish Conquistadors, the Lewis and Clark expedition and Crow War Ponies.

“We will never give up fighting to preserve this unique herd,” explains Cloud Foundation Director and Emmy award-winning producer, Ginger Kathrens, who has been documenting the Pryor Wild Horses for over 16 years. “They have a right to live free on lands we know they have continuously roamed for centuries. Attempting to fence them out of their home is unconscionable.”

Kathrens journey with the wild stallion she named Cloud began when he was just hours old. It represents the only on-going documentation of a wild animal from birth in our hemisphere.

Thank you Wayne Pacelle, HSUS, and Huffington Post for Getting Onboard With the Pony Express

Madeleine — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:51:29 +0000

A HUGE THANK YOU to Wayne Pacelle,President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States and the Huffington Post for posting about our Pony Express Delivery to Washington, DC! We really appreciate this!!

I also want to thank other animal organizations that have added us to their websites and blogs, including PETA and ASPCA!! Way to go everyone on uniting on this great cause for our beautiful wild mustangs!

xo Madeleine Pickens

Speak Up for Wild Horses; Send a Letter via Pony Express

Posted: August 26, 2010 01:46 PM

Over the past few weeks, tens of thousands of you have contacted the federal Bureau of Land Management, encouraging the agency to impose an immediate moratorium on the senseless wild horse gathers being conducted on our public lands. BLM seems resolved to continue toward its goal of removing 12,000 horses from the range before next fall — roundup levels to match those of the Bush Administration.

The round up of these horses — on top of the roundups that have left more than 30,000 horses in BLM short-term and long-term holding facilities — will produce suffering for horses, swamp the adoption program, and result in the stockpiling of more animals, digging a deeper financial hole for the agency and ultimately for American taxpayers. This sort of mismanagement is all the more glaring since BLM has the know-how to implement a far more aggressive contraception program, keeping horses on the range, but slowly bringing under control the reproduction of the already diminished herds.

To draw attention to the BLM’s stubborn refusal to turn around this program, Madeleine Pickens, the founder of Saving America’s Mustangs and a strong ally of The Humane Society of the United States, has launched the Pony Express campaign. Between now and Sept. 1, Madeleine is asking advocates to sign a letter urging President Obama, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and BLM Director Robert Abbey to stop rounding up wild horses and warehousing them in costly federal holding facilities.

Then, with the help of her adopted wild mustang “Pony Express,” Madeleine will personally deliver these letters to Washington, D.C. She’s aiming to bring along 20,000 letters; please help her meet this goal by adding your voice.

Also, if you haven’t already done so, before Sept. 3 be sure to submit comments on the BLM’s new policy proposal for wild horse management, which the agency will use to develop a long-term plan. We’ve made it easy for you to tell the BLM to make good on the change it has promised in the past — to steer the program in a new, sustainable, more humane direction using effective, cost-beneficial methods such as fertility control to stabilize and manage wild horse populations.

This post originally appeared on Pacelle’s blog, A Humane Nation.

Huffington Post Article

Congratulations to SMU Mustangs and June Jones!

Madeleine — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:33:31 +0000

Congratulations to June Jones and the SMU Mustangs! Here’s to wishing you a successful season and we will be rooting for you! – Saving America’s Mustangs

Join Madeleine’s Pony Express TODAY!

Madeleine — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 19:10:31 +0000

Fact: The Bureau of Land Management is currently rounding up your horses; horses that belong to the American people.
Fact: Low-flying helicopters contracted by the BLM taunt and scare these wild mustangs into tiny pens, where they are trucked off to more permanent holding facilities.
Fact: American taxpayers are paying nearly $40 million this year for the government roundups and the care of thousands of horses in cramped, federal holding pens.
Fact: Next year, it could be upwards of $80 million if nothing changes.
Fact: Madeleine Pickens has a solution to develop a wild horse eco-sanctuary with her own funds for the horses that have been rounded up.
If you are a proud American and you want to protect our American mustangs to ensure future generations will be able to visit and see them roaming in their natural habitat, before they are rounded up to extinction, then please join us in the Pony Express!!

Madeleine Pickens is personally delivering your letters to Washington, via the Pony Express (atop a beautiful American mustang). Goal is 20,000 letters by September 1st. Please take a minute to email a letter showing that you care about protecting our national treasures.

www.savingamericasmustangs.org

Please visit the website for more information on the eco-sanctuary plan and instructions on how to email your letter for the Pony Express.

Please Click the button below to Get on Board the Pony Express!!!

Follow Madeleine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mpickens
Become Madeleine Pickens’ Friend on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/madeleine.pickens
Visit her websites for up to the minute information: www.savingamericasmustangs.org or www.madeleinepickens.com

Two-Week-Old Wild Horse Shot and Killed Before California Roundup

Madeleine — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:25:40 +0000

Dear Friends,

Please take some time to read up on this disturbing story of a two-week old foal being brutally shot to death near where the latest gather, Twin Peaks (California), by the Bureau of Land Management is taking place. Please note the photos below are actual photos and are very alarming.

Sincerely,

Madeleine Pickens

Sacramento, CA (August 13, 2010)—The body of a wild horse foal was found near the site of the Twin Peaks roundup Wednesday by Craig Downer, wildlife ecologist and Cloud Foundation Board member, and Christy Davis, wild horse advocate. Davis, an experienced horse woman, examined the foal for any broken bones. What she found was an apparent rope burn on a rear leg as well as a gunshot wound.

“It seems as though the foal was shot in the gut,” Davis states. “It looked as though the foal was abused, lassoed around the hind legs and dragged.”

The foal, approximately 2 weeks old, was killed prior to the start of the controversial Twin Peaks Herd Management Area roundup in Northern California. When Davis told BLM officials about finding the gunshot foal, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employee, Carman Prisco, told Davis she must be confused and the dead animal was an antelope. Photos taken by Downer confirmed that this is indeed a wild horse foal.

Photographs taken at the capture site, set on sharp lava rock, reveal blood stains within the trap.

Mustang advocates ask BLM law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation into the abuse and death of the federally protected wild horse—killed before independent contractor, Cattoor Livestock, began rounding up wild horses with helicopters.

Field reports from those on the ground noted a severely injured white stallion that suffered head trauma supposedly from fighting with other stallions in tightly packed transport vehicles. Even though the injury was serious, the BLM contractor was quoted as saying a vet “might need” to be called. The whereabouts of that stallion are currently unknown. Another stallion was off loaded into a pen with eight mules that attacked him, causing traumatic injuries. This incident was also brought to the attention of the BLM by public observers.

Advocates were told yesterday that there were no injuries, yet when they went to look at the horses in holding, the area was blocked off. They were told that they could not access the area because the “injured horses” needed to rest.

Injuries are not uncommon in roundups and underscore the need for public access, says Ginger Kathrens, Director of the Cloud Foundation and EMMY Award-winning producer.

“Access is absolutely essential and is granted by the Constitution,” says Kathrens. “The ‘acceptable’ suffering of these horses is simply not acceptable to the caring public.”

Laura Leigh, Cloud Foundation Herd Watch coordinator, agrees.

“If this is what we see when the BLM actually allows us in, what happens when they black out their actions to the press and public?” asks Leigh, plaintiff for the Owyhee round-up that ended July 20 in Nevada, “The time for real Congressional intervention is long overdue.”

The recent round-up in Tuscarora, Nevada—also run by Cattoor Livestock—resulted in the deaths of thirty-six wild horses.

SOURCE

Twin Peaks Gather Information