UPDATED:

Statement in response to a proposal by cattlemen’s lobbying groups, the ASPCA, Humane Society of the U.S., Return to Freedom and American Mustang Foundation. (in partnership with livestock; Farm Bureau News HERE)

“Ten Years to AML,” a proposal crafted by HSUS, ASPCA, American Mustang Foundation and Return to Freedom was delivered to the BLM last year, made public only today. It is representative of a long standing betrayal to wild horses and burros. (you can read the document 10 Years to AML_ A proposal for BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program). This is the document that got them into secret meetings with Chris Stewart (R-UT). Below is a picture of Tom Persechino (AQHA, hired by ASPCA, Nancy Perry of ASPCA and Neda DeMayo of Return to Freedom meeting with Utah legislators on moving this unholy alliance forward.

The “HSUS, ASPCA, Return to Freedom, American Mustang Foundation plan” asks:

10-20,000 wild horses removed each year to reach “BLM stated AML.”

“Safe Sterilization” (gelding, chemical spaying, surgical spaying when approved)

More money to people that make “eco-sanctuary,” or holding facilities, and place horses (Like the horses members of this group placed at ISPMB that starved to death captured at Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge)

This plan is a repackaging of the 2009 “Salazar plan” created by the former Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar. This is not new, it is rebranding of a 2009 Bureau of Land Management document.

This does not address any issue on range. It addresses nothing about the faulty data, Appropriate Management Levels, protecting habitat, fixing boundary lines. This plan sells your wild horses down river. We need to fix core issues and stop dancing around politics.

“These organization have a lot of money and play political poker. None of these organizations have a ground presence in the West. What they have are high paid employees selling your wild ones down the river,” said Wild Horse Education President Laura Leigh.

Leigh, the only person in history to litigate against inhumane treatment at roundups, the only advocate to litigate against habitat destruction by extractive industry, and the person that ran a 5 year marathon to roundup and courtroom to gain daily access for all to roundups, has been disgusted with these “high level games” for a decade.

“Money does not make you a leader in advocacy. Advocacy is for advocating for the wild horse itself, not your pocketbook. These orgs know nothing about the wild, wild horses. But they know how to polish and package old garbage to make it look new, and have the money for the firms that do it well.

“Massive removals, sterilization, horses placed in dangerous holding situations with no oversight, done without fixing flaws to the program. You mean that’s the best million dollar organizations can come up with?

“A bold new plan? That is like calling flint and a stick an innovation to create fire. A compromise starts with taking a strong stand for what is complete and includes all your most valuable requests. Both parties engage in a give and take. They gave the baby and the bath water away.

“For a decade I have watched those that can not tell the difference between a native grass and a noxious weed do nothing to improve the lives of wild horses as they lead the way in the political poker game of public lands.

This is not advocacy, it’s greed. It’s abuse of power. It’s betrayal of public trust.”

The issues we need to address are long standing. The program is based in archaic perpetuation of myth over science. The equation needs to be rebuilt before any discussion of sterilization, in any form. Before any discussion that centers on BLM’s ridiculous and disturbing “AML,” the validity of it needs intense scrutiny. The entire system of public lands grazing is flawed. Critical habitat is being lost to hard rock mining and oil and gas without BLM even making a pretense of trying to identify what is critical to the herd and protecting it.

Any “plan” that fails to address these first and foremost is fundamentally flawed and, frankly, spineless.

For over a decade these organizations did nothing but push a self serving interest. Maybe if they had actually advocated for the wild horses things could have been improving. Instead we see a spineless roll over that began years ago. Shame on them.”

(note: They also did nothing when helicopters hit horses except profit from it. WHE is the only org to take BLM to court against abuse at roundups).

BLM’s report to Congress is expected soon. It will site these organizations (Ten years to AML) as in agreement. Read here on what to expect: https://wildhorseeducation.org/2019/04/05/ground-zero/

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More documentation to demonstrate the dark alliance with livestock, an advocate (that used to be a roundup contractor), and what this means for the future of your wild horses… soon.

You can fid your members of Congress here: http://govtrack.us

Tell them you oppose mass removals of wild horses and sterilization. BLM must address the backlog of rangeland health assessments, reassess original survey work on wild horses and omit errors and manipulation from boundary lines, identify and protect habitat critical to wild horse survival. The long standing inequity on the range must be the number one priority of any management plan.

MORE INFO:

Zinke and the corruption the “big three” that betrayed wild horses joined, not fought against. https://wildhorseeducation.org/2019/03/06/underneath-the-headlines-wild-horses-and-national-monuments-hand-in-hand/

Idaho; gasoline meet match in the politics of wild horses: https://wildhorseeducation.org/2019/04/17/idaho-gasoline-meet-match-a-state-to-watch/

If you want to truly understand who is “in bed with the big million dollar advocate orgs” understand the public lands takeover machine: https://wildhorseeducation.org/wild-wild-horses-and-the-public-land-seizure-movement/