The general condition of the horses in the holding corral. Most are pregnant mares. Half of their colts wouldn't survive 30 days on the range.
Posted on 11/26/2004 5:37:54 PM PST by mommadooo3
Congress Approves Mustang Slaughter
PLEASE HELP, PLEASE PASS ON.......................
Stealthily tucked within a much larger appropriations bill (HR 4818) while no one was watching, Congress approved measures this weekend to end 33 years of Federal protection for an America Treasure, our "Living Legends" - wild free-roaming horses and burros on public lands. This bill seems to have broadsided everyone, including many BLM personnel, who had drafted their own plans to handle the problem, and thought their plan would work. Since both House and Senate have already passed it, the only hope left is to get Bush not to sign it - which he will do tomorrow, unless enough public outcry can be generated within the next less-than-24 hours.
The Wild Horse & Burro Act was signed into law in 1971, after a long campaign led by Velma Johnson, "Wild Horse Annie" and thousands of school children. Congress received more mail about wild horses than about Viet Nam. In today's crisis-weary world, is this the end for America's wild horses?
LINK to bill: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/Z?r108:H19NO4-0085:e758617:247850 The BLM part is about 1/3 of the way down the page.
I would suggest to EVERYONE you can get hold of, through phone calls, e-mails, chat rooms, equestrian sites, etc, anything......get them to call the president's comment line, fax letters to the fax number, and to e-mail both the president and vice president IMMEDIATELY. Please pass on to everyone for immediate action. Currently there are over 23,000 wild horses in holding facilities within BLM and their contract sanctuaries. 1100 new horses are being gathered from the Calico Mountains this month and next. If this passes, ALL, could potentially be sold to slaughter.
President Bush president@whitehouse.gov
VP Cheney vice.president@whitehouse.gov
202-456-1111 phone 202-456-2461 fax
Calico mountains horses slated to be gathered this month. Will they go to slaughter?
Tuesday, November 23, 2004 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Congress passes less-restrictive wild horse bill
Measure sparks concern among animal activists who say it opens door to killing
By SAMANTHA YOUNG STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Aging wild horses and those that cannot be auctioned off as pets could be sold for slaughter under a bill that Congress passed over the weekend.
The legislation immediately sparked concern among wild horse advocates who said it could lead to the killing of thousands of healthy horses as the government drives to reduce herds on public lands.
Wild horses older than 10 or those that have unsuccessfully been put up for adoption three times may be sold "without limitations," at local sale yards or livestock facilities, according to the bill.
"If someone under this program can now buy 300 horses and ship them to a slaughter house people will start making money," said Howard Crystal, attorney for the Fund for Animals. "I would expect under this law we're going to have far higher numbers of horses going to slaughter."
The bill strips from federal law a clause that no wild free-roaming horse or burro can be sold or transferred for processing into commercial products.
The provision was tucked into a 3,000-page year-end spending bill that lawmakers largely completed on Saturday.
Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds the Bureau of Land Management, placed the measure into the bill after consulting with Sense. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Harry Reid, D-Nev., Burns spokeswoman Jennifer O'Shea said.
"We've got to get the number of animals down to appropriate management levels and keep them there, but do it in a way that doesn't bankrupt us," Burns said in a statement. "This language is a step in the right direction. It gives BLM another tool to help get this under control."
Lawmakers have grown increasingly frustrated with the BLM's handling of the wild horse program, whose costs have skyrocketed as more and more horses have been taken off the range and placed into government-run holding fa- cilities.
Giving the BLM the authority to sell those horses could solve the agency's long-standing budget problems while allowing the agency to continue gathering thousands of wild horses from the public lands, a Senate aide said.
For each horse that is placed in a long-term holding facility, the BLM spends about $465 annually, or about $6.8 million a year.
The agency estimates there are about 36,000 horses in the wild, roughly 7,000 more than the government contends the land can sustain.
BLM spokeswoman Celia Boddington declined to comment on the congressional action.
"We've not yet reviewed the language," she said.
Unlike the adoption program, in which buyers are limited to four horses and must sign an affidavit promising not sell the horse to slaughter, the new sales would not have such restrictions, Senate aides said.
BLM officials long have contended that adopters don't want to buy older horses, forcing the government to place them at the long-term holding facilities at taxpayer expense.
In fiscal 2004, the BLM adopted out 6,650 horses out of the 9,900 horses it gathered from the range. The rest were sent to long-term sanctuaries in the Midwest.
Crystal said the new law would empower the BLM to round up herds of horses for adoption, knowing that many could later be sold for profit.
"You could have an adoption of year-old horses on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with no advertising, and then sell to people at a yard sale," Crystal said.
Chris Heyed, a policy analyst with the Society for Animal Protective Legislation, called Congress' latest move "a systematic attack on wild horses."
"There is no other real other intent of dumping them into the market and slaughter is the only outlet," Heyed said.
In addition, the bill makes clear that it is no longer a crime to sell an aging or horse for slaughter, Crystal said.
Thanks for a short, elegantly simple summation of the issue and the situation on the ground.
The general condition of the horses in the holding corral. Most are pregnant mares. Half of their colts wouldn't survive 30 days on the range.
But ALPO won't bid on illegal aliens, and have you ever tried to ride one of those things? ;<)
Most mustangs are not sold as 'riding' horses. Mustang buyers are ALSO aware of that fact. Mustang buyers are ALSO aware of the facts that there are not many minor problems, such as 'stable fees'(they HATE being cooped up); such as shoeing(mustangs have MUCH healthier feet than a SHOD horse); such as tack(all the tack you need for a mustang is your ass/legs/heart); such as feed(a mustang's feed is wherever it lowers its head, anything OVER that will likely lead to founder/laminitis/colic/being 'hot')
A mustang is the CHEAPEST EASIEST keeper ANYONE can own in the animal world.
Anyway,I'm not wealthy either. I have my horses that I ride. Some day in the near future I plan to have my own place and I'm going to foster horses that are not beautiful at first and find them homes. I don't need to ride them to keep them though.
Wolves and big cats?
I think we'd all agree that holding corral is overgrazed and has more horses in it than the corral can support.
Um.... yes.
How sad. What is it you do for these horses?
Chorus heard in background "Feed Mo Frogs! Feed Mo Frogs!"
Any time we can sell surplus horses to Europeans (the French are fond of horse) we are increasing cash flow to Americans. Sounds OK to me.
Gee, I guess that makes you a non-native invasive species as well. We'll be coming for you right after we take care of the Mustangs.
I wouldn't even sell France our rats.
These horses descend from those brought here by the Conquistadors, and are what remains of the original horses ridden by the Indians, cavalry, and cowboys. It is an inspiring sight to see them running wild on the range. They can do without water for much longer than any other horse. Truly amazing, and a national treasure.
Be nice to be able to bring them back to do the job right, but they probably won't mess with horses as long as there's a fat, slow cow to be had.
That's nice. If I could afford it, I would too. There aren't many people who can. Most of those who are willing to put out the money to keep a horse, will only do so if they can get something in return.
True enough. I wish it weren't so, but the attempts to bring wolves back now will end badly for livestock and wolf alike.
If wild horses were disappearing, you might have a point. The fact that we have a wild horse disposal problem is proof that wild horses are both adaptable and most unlikely to disappear.
We do, after all, have dominion over the earth - with having reached the top of the food chain goes the responsibility to manage wisely.
I've got cats here in the valley. They would take some of the herd, injury and old age take some. Like I said, there is no easy answer but the BLM is definately lying about the numbers on the range, and the destruction that they cause.
AW, that's what I'm trying to say. To bring a frightened, animal home and nourish and get them back to health and trusting people is a return. If you can get your money back, great but if you can't you still got something back IMO.
I've spent some time around racetracks.There is an ugly side to this sport most outsiders are unaware of. Here's a story that might make you feel better
http://espn.go.com/horse/columns/finley_bill/1293037.html
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