Wild Horse Round up Day 1 at Triple B Complex in Nevada – July 20, 2011

There is a lot of information here. Please follow and spread the word. Although there is some good news here about the improvements in the way the horses are being treated, it's still true that the DOI/BLM are exterminating our wild horses an ever increasing pace.


Please! Help us stop them before it's too late!

Amplify’d from blog.grassrootshorse.com

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Wild Horse Round up Day 1 at Triple B Complex in Nevada – July 20, 2011

Editor’s Note: The following report and 22 photographs and captions are by Arla M. Ruggles who has been out on the range for us and attended Day 1 of the Triple B wild horse roundup in Nevada. This page will be continually updated. And we are waiting for video and photographs from Day 2.  ~

“In our role as advocates for better treatment of our wild herds, it often seems like only the mistakes and abuses are talked about. The worst aspects of wild horse management operations do need to be brought to light, AND we should be just as quick to recognize improvements as they occur.

Today, it must be said that Sun J and BLM did an excellent job in all aspects of their gather operations, and every part of the process was carried out with professionalism and skill.

Sun J pilot, Josh Hellyer, showed marked improvement from his earlier performances at the Antelope Complex gather, early this past winter.

Throughout the day, Josh held back from the running herds, and at one point, even fell back and allowed them to rest and regroup before continuing into the jute enclosure. None of the horses entering the trap appeared unduly stressed, and no lather appeared. Read more at blog.grassrootshorse.com

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The Winter of Our Discontent

I know my title is not particularly original, but it's such a perfect fit I had to use it anyway. What are we discontented about you ask. Or, maybe you should not have asked....

By far, the most important problem this winter was Ami. She somehow bruised her feet worse than she ever has which apparently led to her first case of active laminitis since her original episode in 1996. Talk about scary! Given that she's always had thin soles and rotation from that first episode, more rotation was the last thing she needed.

We immediately put in an emergency call to Dr. Conley's new clinic with Dr. Koontz, and it was Dr. Koontz who came out. This was the first meeting for all of us including Dr. K and Ami. She was well behaved for him, and he immediately diagnosed the active laminitis. The first thing he did was tape some large Styrofoam-like pads to both front feet, and she immediately went sound in her deeply bedded stall with a stall mat underneath. Dr. K was very happy with our set-up and recommended keeping her in the stall for a couple of weeks, and of course, try to get some weight off.

HELP! I'm being held captive here!

Dr. Koontz coming back next week to do spring shots and check her out. Looks like all is going to be well, thank goodness!

Another problem with this winter is that it doesn't want to go away. We sprang forward just like we are supposed to .....

Spring Forward! THIS otta do it!

but it didn't seem to help. Temps have stubbornly remained in the 40s and 50s, and even when it's relatively mild, the wind is howling at 25 mph and/or it's pouring rain. I haven't even had a chance to see what riding is going to be like with my new hip and my legs being the same length for the first time in my life. Should be interesting and I'm getting frustrated with this rotten weather.

The most depressing thing during this winter though was learning more than I ever wanted to know about the workings of our government and how utterly corrupt it is. Special interests rule, and it's delusional to believe otherwise. Even small things - relatively speaking - like getting horse slaughter outlawed in the US for good and all and preserving the small remnant that remains of our once magnificent herds of wild horses on public lands in the west - are totally under the control of the special interests and the will of the American people is irrelevant. 

I would have considered the things I have learned this winter inconceivable if I hadn't seen them with my own eyes in pictures and videos of those in the front lines. And I'm not talking about the Obama administration either. This has been going on for probably as long as the Department of the Interior/BLM has been in existence no matter which party was in the White House.

Ever since the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed in 1971, the BLM have been loading the dice in favor of the ranchers in the Public Lands Grazing Program until by now there are few acres left for the horses despite the Congressional mandate and even fewer horses grazing on them. The BLM rounds the horses up - at public expense - and warehouses them - at public expense while the ranchers lease their land for almost nothing.

Now something even worse is happening. The horses are literally being purged from their legal lands, but not for the ranchers this time, although those good ole boys haven't figured that our yet. No, this time the DOI is planning to allow extractive interests, many of which are foreign owned, to have pretty much everything they want. More open pit mines, shale oil extraction - known as fracking - tar sands extraction - all of which require millions upon millions of gallons of water which cannot be replaced because it is contaminated during the processing. Ain't that a hoot for states like Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, etc. that have no water now?

Meanwhile, the idiots ranchers are pushing for Nevada legislators to pass a law that screws with the definition of "wildlife," and will deny the wild horses the right to drink the water. No, that's not a typo. They want to cut Nevada's wild horses off from access to water. Well, when the water guzzling fracking and tar sands developing are finished with Nevada's aquifers there won't be any water for their cattle - or them either.

As for the pro-slaughter activists who block every effort to get a national ban on horse slaughter for human consumption, I'm even more contemptuous of them.

The big horse organizations like the Quarter Horse Assn., the Jockey Club and others want slaughter back so they can breed and breed and breed, looking for that "special one" while the culls - hundreds of them every year - are dumped off to be slaughtered. Nice, huh? Also, that horse that doesn't run quite fast enough, doesn't spin fast enough or doesn't have enough "cow" doesn't have a happy retirement, he goes to slaughter. Use 'em up and dump 'em off, that's their motto. Who cares how much they suffer or how many dangerous chemicals are in their meat. Not my problem.

Big Animal Ag seems to think that slaughtering traditional food animals might be threatened by banning the slaughter on a non food animal like horses. It's insanity, I know, but they actually seem to believe the "Vast Vegan Conspiracy" - which exists only in their imaginations - is using banning horse slaughter as a "slippery slope" to ban all animal precessing. I can't believe they think this could really happen, but why take chances, right? The only problems horse slaughter causes is intense suffering for horses and, given that American horses are not raised as food animals and are regularly exposed to substances that are banned from the human food chain, meat adulterated with dangerous chemicals is regularly being exported to unsuspecting consumers abroad. But, this bothers the Big Animal Ag fellas not one whit. After all, if there is the slightest minute microscopic chance that they might be affected, well, who the hell cares about anything else?

Lord, Lord! Excuse me while I go out and watch Indy and Ami having a good time, frolicking without a care in the world. And I plan to keep it that way.

 

Last one to the barn is a rotten apple!

Related articles

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• "Welfare" Ranching is the Great BLM Lie (ppjg.wordpress.com)
• Open Letter to BLM (Deb Coffey) (artandhorseslauraleigh.wordpress.com)

For High Crimes & Misdemeanors

Please read this and then follow the link to the page where you can tell your Congresspersons and Senators that you too demand that Bob Abbey be impeached. As you can see, there are more than enough crimes committed by this man to impeach him ten times over. It's incredible to me that in America a government agency like the DOI/BLM can lie, break the law, and deny public access to public horses - even after a court order! - not once but many times over many years.

Even worse, this isn't even about horses - it's about the extractive industries, many foreign - that want to dig more open pit mines, build more pipelines, use hydraulic fracturing - fracking - and more. The officials in our Public Lands states are only too happy to take the money offered to allow the DOI/BLM to lease these lands, and have never given a thought about the consequences to their OWN states or America in general. After all, the Public Lands belong to every American, no matter where they live.

The real sticking point is water - something the Western States do NOT have. All of these industries take water, millions and millions of gallons of water. Enough water to actually empty the aquifers in states as dry as Nevada. Fracking has also contaminated the ground water - before it sucks it all away.

The public lands ranchers who have demonized the wild horse for 40 years and have blocked every attempt to force the BLM to obey the law may have shot themselves in the foot. If there's no water for the horses, there is no water for the cattle - and soon, none for the people. Many times I've heard it said that the next war will be about water. Now that I know what is really going on, I believe it.

Impeach Bob Abbey!

Amplify’d from americanherds.blogspot.com

Sunday, March 6, 2011

For High Crimes & Misdemeanors

Last week, Vivian Grant, founder and president of International Fund for Horses in conjunction with Michael Blake, screenwriter of "Dances With Wolves" and two-decade long wild horse and burro champion, released a powerful call to citizens and advocates across the country to exercise their Constitutional rights for the sake of our wild horses and burros. The timing of the call could not have been better as it coincided with the release of BLM Director Bob Abbey's approved "new" Wild Horse and Burro Proposed Strategy; a regurgitated and misleading pack of cow manure that continues to promote an unyielding agenda of spin and bureaucratic "substantiation" for continuation of their crimes. "I believe crimes are being committed against our wild horses", says Grant. "Crimes that must be prosecuted and the federal officials responsible removed. We are asking Congress to do just that, starting with BLM Director Bob Abbey." "Article Two, Section 4, of the United States Consititution states that "The President, Vice President, and all Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors." International Fund For Horses then goes a step further by providing citizens and advocates alike an easy-to-follow, step by step guide to initiating Impeachment proceedings against BLM Director Abbey. At a time when the BLM is extending its hand with promises of reform, why should those who are trying to implement change demand the Impeachment of Director Abbey? I'll tell you why. BLM has been promising reform and using their bureaucratic weight to generate these kinds of smoke and mirror tactics for decades now while our mustangs and burros have suffered and continue to suffer with no end in sight. How bad is it? HISTORICAL > After the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed to protect America's wild horses and burros from harrassment, capture, branding and death, between 1971 and 1980 the BLM allowed over 69,000 animals to be taken off the range by private individuals claiming them as their own. > In 1986, 20,000 horses went to large scale adopters and were sold to slaughter or abused as a result of weakened adoption standards, fee waiver programs and sanctuaries used as fronts for commercial exploitation; many of these while still owned by BLM employees. >In 1992, Michael Blake funded and organized an independent census of wild horses in Nevada conducted by the Public Lands Resource Council. At the time, the BLM was reporting over 33,000 wild horses were on Nevada rangelands but the independent found less than 8,300. The results of the census were dismissed by BLM officials based on the assertion that BLM used a superior method to count the animals via helicopter while the independent census used a fixed wing aircraft. Today, BLM is making "progress" on new census techniques using fixed wing aircrafts. > In 1992, an investigation by BLMs own law enforcement officials resulted in the accumulation over 3,000 peices of evidence being compiled about what amounted to little more than a highly organized horse-to-slaughter trade run by the BLM now known as Del Rio. The DOI, Department of Justice and Office of the Inspector General were all implicated in a large scale cover up at the highest level through a systematic dismantling of a Grandy Jury convened to try the DOI for alleged crimes. After the successful shut down of the investigation and trial proceedings, those involved in uncovering the truth about the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro program pleaded with then Attorney General Janet Reno to re-open the case. This request was denied. > In 1997, Associated Press reporter Martha Mendoza began a series of articles filled with investigative research exposing more corruption within the DOI's BLM, which touched off a fire storm of press about the Program. >In 1998, a Congressional Field Hearing before the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public lands regarding Range Issues And Problems With The Wild Horse And Burro Act, which current BLM Director Abbey attended, quotes Congressional representative Faleomavaego raising the question: "And is it true that some 32,000 horses cannot be accounted for since we implemented this program?" Mr. Abbey failed to answer the question nor was an investigation ever initiated to determine their fate. > In efforts to placate public outrage, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board was re-established after a lenghty hiatus. Predominately stacked with those who had glaring conflict-of-interest, staunch pro-BLM supporters were reappointed time and time again as the list of their recommendations justified each new step in extinction of the herds that continues unabated to this day. Public requests for investigations and removals of Board members were denied. THE NEW MILLENNIUM > In March 2000, a Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Natual Resources held a hearing where long-time National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board member Larry Johnson submitted a statement in concert with BLM urging support for a mass cleansing campaign of wild horses and burros throughout the West under the "Restoration of Threatened Watersheds" proposal. Wild horses and burros, not livestock, were cited as one of the top three threats to watersheds in the West. The official testimony has since disappeared but was preserved HERE and was instrumental in launching the largest removal campaign of wild horses and burros since the passage of the Act, which is still ongoing today. > After four years of massive removals, Senator Conrad Burns slips an eleventh hour amendment in an Omnibus Appropriations Act, without public notice or review, which allows the unlimited sale of our American heritage. BLM officially launches the legal sale of wild horses and burros to undisclosed individuals, a practice that continues today. The original language of the For Sale Authority clauses were found in a Nevada strategy document and linked to Nevada Senator Harry Reid. The majority of both advocates and citizens now consider the secret sales of wild horses and burros a legitimate function of the BLM and rarely call for its immediate repeal. > Over the next decade the BLM continues to remove wild horses and burros at record levels while simultaneously reducing appropriate management levels and accelerating the elimination of habitat without accountability or review. As the costs of warehousing the now captured animals skyrockets, in 2008 the BLM announces the Program is broke and they no longer have the funding to feed the animals. Euthanasia of tens of thousands of animals is proposed and strategies are developed to kill wild horses and burros en mass and sterilize the remaining herds in documents titled BLM Team Conference Calls and Alternative Management Options. > In response to the BLM's declaration of considering mass disposal of America's wild horses and burros, Congress orders the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review of the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program and answer questions about the status of the land that has been removed from wild horse and burro use. The GAO comes back with a report that freely admits the majority of the information and data used to compile the report has not been independently verified by the GAO. Instead, the GAO relies on BLM survey data to evaluate the Program and issue their conclusions and recommendations based on BLM personnel responses. With respect to questions surrounding the large scale habitat loss, again the GAO defers answers to BLM instead. After three years, the BLM has still failed to provide a comprehensive overview of the lands status and there has been no independent review as to the accuracy of BLMs summary reports. > In response to Congressional demands for reform in September 2009, newly appointed Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar responds with a new initiative a month later. A long-time cattle rancher with strong ties to the oil and gas industry, Salazar presents a vision that utterly fails to challenge the culture of corruption and history of abuse by pushing for so-called reforms that merely continue the trend of decimating America's herds. CURRENT > In 2008, U.S. District Judge Collyer rules the DOI/BLM has exceeded its authority by issuing decisions to declare all wild horses in the Colorado based West Douglas Herd Management Area as "excessive" and zero the area out. After the ruling, the BLM proceeds to issue a bushel basket full of new Resource Management Plans that continue to eliminate at least 2 million acres of previously designated habitat and schedule the removals every wild horse and burro they can find. > In September 2009, the BLM launches a roundup of the Pryor Mountain wild horses and The Cloud Foundation is instrumental in catapulting public awareness of the plight of the American mustang and burro into the spotlight. BLM responds to increases in public scrutiny by closing off public lands to conduct their activities and BLM Field Manager Jim Sparks tells the public, "This is not a democracy". > In December 2009, the BLM signs the decision to launch the largest wild horse removal operation of the year in the Nevada based Calico Complex. The public submits over 10,000 comments with questions about the legality of BLM's environmenal review process, discovers recent increases in cattle authorizations and that the BLM buried testimony and data from their own rangeland specialist to justify the removals. A lawsuit is filed by Bill Spriggs on behalf of In Defense of Animals, who argues that long term holding is illegal. While the judge agrees this is most likely the case, the BLM moves operations on private land to keep the public at bay and almost 1,900 animals are removed before a verdict is rendered; the case loses on a technicality and answers about long term holding are left answered. > Advocates and citizens attempt to gain access to wild horses removed from Calico and are greeted by a barrage of law enforcement escorts and restrictions. Despite this, over 100 horses are reported as dead as a result of the removals including known miscarriages and aborted foals. Citizen based photos and videos of the reality of roundups gain national media exposure and the BLM begins to scramble to find ways to justify how roundups are humane. > In June 2010, the BLM hosts a public forum led by hired spin doctors to sell the Salazar Initiative. This event will culminate in the newly released strategy document referred to above, which coincidentally found three main topics worthy of consideration out of 9,000 public comments, two of which are almost identical to Salazar's new vision. > In July 2010, the BLM again closes all public lands during the Tuscarora roundup and is greeted by a lawsuit by Laura Leigh and Gordon Coward demanding public access. After filing a request for an injunction, the BLM suddenly announces the wild horses are dying of thirst and a BLM emergency response team is created to provide testimony to the judge. As a result, the judge rules in favor of the BLM and the horses are removed with little to no independent scrutiny. > In response to evidence of inhumane treatment and allegations of illegal activites, Congress sends a letter to BLM requesting a moratorium on the roundups and urges the initiation of a study by the National Academy of Science (NAS) to review the Program. Secretary Salazar and BLM Director Bob Abbey ignore the request and the roundups continue. While BLM did agree to a review of the program by NAS, signs are already becoming visible that the study will have strict controls on what it will be allowed to review and just last month, BLM refused to upload the prior NAS studies online for public access. (That's assuming NAS will actually be awarded the contract as it is currently up for Solicitation of Bid and may be awarded to another contractor based on a "viable response".) > On December 3, 2010, the BLM releases what it hails as an "Independent Observers Report" on the methods and procedures used to remove wild horses from public lands. Questions surface as to the allegiance of the observers and their "independent status" due to long-standing ties to the BLM's National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board and pro-horse slaughter industry supporters comprising the team. > On December 13, 2010, the DOI Office of the Inspector General (OIG) releases a report extolling the virtues of Secretary Salazar's initiative and asserts that roundups are humane and necessary. Though OIG inspections are generally conducted at the request of officials, the OIG reports they initiated the inspection themselves due to public concerns. Evidence of a whitewash surfaces one month later and suggests the large scale cover ups of the 1990's attributed to the DOI's OIG are ongoing. At the same time, a collaborative effort by advocates release an alternative report based largely on BLM published information and data that outlines the potential fraud and abuse of the Program and urges for the Defunding of Roundups through 2012. In response, the BLM ignores the report. > In January/February 2011, a coalition of advocates document and film multiple abuses of helicopter techniques used to drive wild horses to trapsites in the Antelope Complex in Nevada. ("Antelope Roundup a Disaser for Wild Horses" by The Cloud Foundation, "Pictorial Essay of Obama's Wild Horse Stampede at Antelope Complex" by R.T. Fitch/Straight From The Horses Heart, "Antelope Complex Wild Horse Roundup's Final Days - Heavily Pregnant Mares and More Horse Abuse by Contractor" by Herd Watch/Grass Roots Horse, "Antelope Complex Ends With 1,368 Mustangs Captured" by American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign). > The BLM reviews the Antelope Complex roundups, contractors, methods and treatment exposed by citizens to address allegations of impropriety. The BLM clears itself and the contractors of any significant wrong doing. > Less than a month later, the BLM unveils its new plan and strategy for the future of America's Wild Horses and Burros filled with the same old rhetoric, misleading statements and craftily presented alternative "solutions". Promises of BLM's proposed reforms supported by well-heeled government lackies ring hollow, both to America's wild horses and burros, as well as within every page of the strategy itself. THE DOI AND BLM HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO OPERATE THE WILD HORSE AND BURRO PROGRAM WITH VIRTUALLY NO ACCOUNTABILITY TO ANYONE BUT THEMSELVES AND THOSE WHO DEPEND ON GOVERNMENT SALARIES OR ARE CONNECTED TO GOVERNMENT STRINGS. THIS IS A LONG STANDING TREND THAT HAS CIRCLED ITSELF REPEATEDLY AND MUST BE STOPPED! AMERICA'S WILD HORSES AND BURROS NEED MORE AND THEY MUST HAVE MORE NOW! PLEASE VISIT THE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR HORSES WEBSITE TO DOWNLOAD THE IMPEACHMENT PETITION AND SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS. IT'S TIME TO DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY - NO MORE EXCUSES! DO IT TODAY! CLICK HERE

Read more at americanherds.blogspot.com

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Photojournalist Seeks Court Assistance in Reporting Access

I'm sure many of you are familiar with Laura Leigh and her lawsuit against the BLM for denying her 1st Amendment right to observe what they are doing to OUR wild horses on OUR public lands with OUR tax money.

Laura has had to appeal to the 9th District Court of Appeals to enforce her rights because the Nevada District Court Judge has been sitting on his verdict since December! Every day that goes by without a verdict, more horses are rounded up, handled with chilling lack of concern for their lives and well-being, then trucked out, never to be seen again.

If this makes you mad enough to chew nails, please help us! Spread this article to everyone you know. Word must get our to the American people about what the BLM is doing to the horses and to the land itself.

If you're willing to do a little more, please help support Laura in her legal battle with the BLM. The ONLY place you can do this is http://grassrootshorse.com

THANK YOU! For the horses.

Amplify’d from www.rcfp.org

NEWS MEDIA UPDATE   9th Cir. · February 18, 2011 · Newsgathering

Photojournalist seeks court assistance in reporting access Keywords: Access to places A Nevada photojournalist petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco (9th Cir.) Feb. 14 to immediately appeal a Nevada district court's inaction on her attempt to remove restrictions on access to wild horse roundups and warehouse facilities, which, she claimed, functions as a prior restraint. Share: · Facebook · LinkedIn · Email Print Link Laura Leigh, a wild horse journalist, photojournalist and correspondent for Horseback Magazine, has covered wild horse roundups and warehouses, which are "operated, managed and/or maintained with U.S. government funds and are controlled" by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, according to Leigh's petition. She claims that, in response to disliking "her published subject and seeking to avoid further 'negative press,'" the Bureau of Land Management cut-off Leigh’s "close-up access to observe crucial moments of wild horse captures," and "singled-out Ms. Leigh in punishment for her having publicly disseminated the videos and photos of the Respondents activities." Leigh said she is "blocked, repeatedly," from gaining access to a matter of "significant public interest." Leigh originally filed for a temporary restraining order against the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada district court on July 16, 2010. The court affirmed Leigh's right to view wild horse roundups on public lands, but allowed the bureau to continue a policy of gathering horses by helicopter. Leigh filed suit again on July 23, 2010, challenging the Bureau of Land Management's helicopter policy and decision to gather on private lands, thereby precluding her access to gather information about the roundups. The court denied the motion on July 27. Leigh filed for reconsideration on July 30, asking for a temporary restraining order of a particular roundup that was going to occur on Aug. 2, 2010. However, the court didn't rule on the filing until Aug. 12 and ruled the case was moot because the roundup already occurred. On Sept. 22, 2010, Leigh filed for declaratory and injunctive relief in the same court as her previous suit. She sought to prohibit the bureau from doing a helicopter roundup of wild horses in an area known as Silver King Herd Management Area until she was allowed access to the facility, but, according to her petition, the court denied the motion because the roundup had not occurred yet. On Nov. 16, after the roundup had ceased, the court held evidentiary hearings, but has not decided on the matter. In her petition to the Ninth Circuit, Leigh argued that the district court’s inaction is an effective denial of the requested relief; that such restrictions on the press are not permissible; and that a court should not apply mootness to forego review when conduct repeats, but ceases, before the court's review. The petition expressed Leigh's concern that "the [Bureau's]’ efforts causes a chilling effect on speech and expression." "The case in a nutshell is about transparency. It's about me, as a free press, being able to exercise my First Amendment right and inform the public of the actions of our government and the handling of wild horses," Leigh said. — Rachel Costello, 7:14 pm Copyright 2011 The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Read more at www.rcfp.org

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Related articles

• D.C We Have a Problem ! Wild Horses Harassed and Abused by Government Hired Helicopter Contractor (goldendays-suzanne.blogspot.com)
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• Progress! House Votes to Reduce Agency Budget for Wild Horse Roundups (news.change.org)

A Miracle for the Holiday

What an incredible story. These horses were on their way to Hell, but now they are safe thanks to Jill Starr, President, Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue and the incomparable Madeleine Pickens. And so much for those cynics who have cast doubt and disbelief on Ms Pickens' sincerity. Hopefully, this will shut their mouths permanently.

Please, share this and help care for these horses if you can. If you want to make a donation go here: http://www.wildhorserescue.org/donatefallon.htm  or here: http://www.savingamericasmustangs.org/

May everyone have a Merry Christmas thinking about these horses that were saved from Hell and are now in Heaven thanks to some Christmas Angels.

Amplify’d from www.wildhorserescue.org

A MIRACLE FOR THE HOLIDAY

Just hours away from being loaded on to double decker cattle trucks and heading north on the Highway to Hell that would take the 235 little wild mustangs from their Nevada home to the horrible fate of a Canadian Slaughter Plant, Mrs. Madeleine Pickens, a well known and highly respected wild horse advocate made an incredible offer that turned out to be the "stay of execution" these horses must have been praying for. I was having a conversation late in the evening on Dec. 22 with Mrs. Pickens about the terrible fate that the Native American horses were facing.  So many of the rounded up mustangs had already been sold and shipped to slaughter. As I was talking with her about the group of foals I am trying to save from the same herd that have not been sold yet, she asked me if we could save any of the horses that were bought by the killers before they get shipped off. Admittedly I was caught off guard by that question, but I was quite happy to make a phone call and see if any of the auction purchased mustangs were still in the killer's feedlot.  I quickly found out that there were still 235 horses on the ground being readied to ship out on Friday, Christmas Eve.  When the killers said sure we'll sell them to you for the same amount of money that we would make off of them at the slaughter house I called Mrs. Pickens back and told her the high price they demanded. She reeled temporarily by the large figure, but quickly rebounded with "we have to do it, we can't let those horses go to slaughter". We both hung up with our respective jobs to do...I had to make the arrangements to receive another 235 horses at our temporary holding facility in Fallon, and she had to raise the funds. By early morning Thursday, Dec. 23, all the pieces were in place and the horses now have a new lease on life.

All 235 horses will be housed along with Lifesavers other Fallon rescues until their long term sanctuary is ready for them. I have to say that I am amazed by and have much admiration for Mrs. Madeleine Pickens.  Her compassion is boundless and her determination is a force of its own. I am honored and grateful to have had the opportunity to partner with Saving America's Mustangs & Madeleine Pickens in this blessed holiday miracle that saved 235 precious lives.  I hope there will be more miracles to witness in the days to come. May all your hearts be bursting with the warmth of this season of giving... Many blessings, Jill Starr, President, Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue

See more at www.wildhorserescue.org

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Pictures and Report from Bald Mountain Wild Horse Roundup

I believe the words and pictures in this report speak for themselves. Stampeding the horses during a "freezing fog" event, no shelter for the horses in bitter cold, new equipment including a "cell killer" which probably had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that every time Laura tried to go live, her cell service would immediately drop out even though it was just fine seconds before. Stinks to high Heaven doesn't it?

Please contact your Senators and Representatives in Washington and ask them if this is their idea of complying with a journalist's 1st Amendment rights. There is nothing so low that these creeps won't stoop to it.

And, get this, Laura was the ONLY observer there!

Amplify’d from blog.grassrootshorse.com

Friday, December 17, 2010

Pictures and Report from Bald Mountain Wild Horse Roundup

Yesterday’s freezing cold and a fog of legends at Callaghan wild horse roundup was nothing compared to reports of the bitter cold temperatures in Nevada’s Bald Mountain today.  The legend, >From Wikipedia: The name pogonip is an English adaptation of the Shoshone word meaning "cloud" (payinappih). The English-speaking settlers who encountered this unpleasant and sometimes scary phenomenon when they went out West in the 1800s needed a word for it and they borrowed it from local populations. This freezing cold fog has been known to kill animals by freezing their lungs. Apparently, blm thinks its a great day to stampede America’s wild horses to their capture.  Here are five photos, taken yesterday by journalist Laura Leigh. She is on the ground at Bald Mountain reporting back to us on the happenings there and the world is watching.

Basing my assumptions on the past actions of this government agency blm, no member of the public would have ever seen these horses. Laura’s pictures are the only testimony to their existence. Thankfully Laura’s courage and fortitude has her witnessing.  All our attempts to stream live from this location, so far, have resulted in cell service “dropping” immediately as her equipment was set to go live even though it was clear and strong seconds earlier.  New equipment on the government’s blm vehicles, at least those seen in Twin Peaks, had the capability to kill cell service and broadband connections, much the same way as movie theaters do. I can’t help but wonder if Nevada has the same…….and more importantly, why would they need it ?

And since I am asking, why has blm supplied it’s employees with new cameras and new flip videos ? Why would a blm truck need what’s called a “cell killer”, cameras, tracking devices and other types of surveillance equipment ? Why do you suppose………..

Maybe they should have spent the over 62 million dollars in stimulus money they received last year to put the Wild Horse and Burro Program on a sustainable track and not on high tech “toys”.  The word shame does not even begin to describe this scenario. I am waiting for Laura Leigh’s additional report from today’s roundup activities. I expect to hear from her shortly.

Posted by GrassRootsHorse.com at 12:41 PM Read more at blog.grassrootshorse.com

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Report From Pine Nut - The Roundup That Wasn't Supposed To Happen!

Not only does the BLM lie and say they're NOT going to roundup any horses today, they DO round up horses and are holding 22 foals that they are NOT going to release with their mothers!

Please spread the word! Part Two coming up!

Amplify’d from blog.homehorsehound.com

Thursday, November 25, 2010 Read more at blog.homehorsehound.com

Report from Pine Nut Wild Horse Roundup VERY SERIOUS !

Last night word came that there would be no roundup of wild horses today.  BLM claimed it was a day for treating the horses with fertility drugs and the public was not allowed, since the horses were very skittish. The Pine Nut horses by all accounts are quite accustomed to people as they are very popular among the people who live nearby. BLM stated that Friday would be a release day for the 122 horses they captured yesterday. HOWEVER, it is another BLM lie. Word came while I was on the phone with Laura that the BLM was releasing horses today ! She rushed out to be there. She arrived along with other reporters with no sign yet of the BLM. She called back within a short time with very disturbing news.  There are 22 foals who were captured WHO WILL NOT BE RELEASED WITH THEIR MOTHERS.  The BLM states they "cannot match the foals to their mares" and are not even going to attempt it.  The foals have already been shipped to Palomino Valley facility.

This is an outrageous situation and please make calls to Mark Struble 775-885-6107 he is the person who has made this call and is responsible.

Laura will be sending me pictures as the situation unfolds. Please spread the word and make the calls.

Posted by Maureen at 2:38 PM Read more at blog.homehorsehound.com

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Feds and Contractor Caught Conducting Covert Wild Horse Stampede

As you read this, please keep in mind that this is all TRUE and DOCUMENTED. The BLM and the Cattoors are now not only conducting covert removals of hundreds of horses, they actually threatened the life of an advocate on PUBLIC LAND!

Now, President Obama and members of Congress - What do you intend to do about this? Are you actually going to ignore an attack on a tax paying American citizen on public land by one of your Agencies and their henchmen? Do the citizens of the United States of America have ANY rights left at all?

I AM WAITING FOR YOUR ANSWER, MR. PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

Amplify’d from rtfitch.wordpress.com

September 26, 2010

Feds and Contractor Caught Conducting Covert Wild Horse Stampede

(The News as We See It) by R.T. Fitch ~ Documentation supplied by GrassRootsHorse

BLM/Cattors covertly loading and shipping wild horses from Sheldon ~ Photo by Leslie Peeples

While law makers and the American public had their eyes concentrated on the much contested Silver King round up in Nevada the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) along with helicopter contractor David Cattoor where conducting an unpublished and unannounced secret wild horse gather at the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge (Sheldon).

Plaintiff in several suits against the BLM for lack of transparency and violation of First Amendment Rights, Laura Leigh of GrassRootsHorse, was tipped off that there was illicit activity taking place at Sheldon as many roads were closed due to a “wild horse gather”.

On September 22, 2010 Ms. Leigh discussed this situation with wild horse advocate Leslie Peeples, who was already on the road to visit another wild horse herd, and Ms. Peeples immediately changed plans and headed to Sheldon to investigate as no such “gather” was indicated in any public records.

On the morning of Sept. 23, 2010 Ms. Peeples phoned the Lakeview office of the USFWS and when asked if a wild horse gather was being conducted she was told, “yes”.

Cattoor Truck at Sheldon ~ Photo by Leslie Peeples

Ms. Peeples headed out to Sheldon on back roads when she encountered an oncoming semi-truck with a livestock trailer being towed behind it at a reasonable speed.  Ms. Peeples intended to ask the driver where the stampede was taking place so she pulled her car over to the side of the road and stepped out into her lane of traffic to flag the driver down for information.  Upon seeing this, according to filed court documents, the truck driver aimed for the center of the road, speeded up and missed running over Ms. Peoples by only inches.

Read more at rtfitch.wordpress.com

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