This is part 1 of a series of how ideas from a “team” of 10 BLM employees go from conference calls and an Alternate Management Options plan (the background in this article), to the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board, to becoming Ken Salazar’s “new plan” for our wild horses.
Debbie Coffey (c) copyright 2010 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
BLM “team” conference calls and Alternate Management Options were obtained by the Freedom of Information Act by The Conquistador Program, a non-profit equine welfare organization in Phoenix, AZ (link below). This article consists of direct quotes of BLM team conference call notes and quotes from the Alternate Management Options. My comments are (in red).
The Bureau of Land Management is deceiving the American public with their plan to eliminate all of our publicly owned wild horses off of our publicly owned lands. And, they want your taxpayer dollars to pay for “counseling for employees and contractors that have to euthanize healthy horses because it is very stressful”! (boohoo)
Would taxpayer money be better spent prosecuting the BLM “team” employees (listed below) for collusion and conspiracy? You be the judge.
At the beginning of the BLM “team” notes: “All correspondence that is generated by this team” will not be “for the public”. (Why? Our tax dollars pay their salaries. What do they have to hide?)
The BLM “team” players are:
MAKING PLANS TO KILL OUR WILD HORSES
- If large numbers of animals become eligible for euthanasia at one time or at one location…euthanasia could be performed on- or off-site.
- Under this option, any facility could become a focal point for public, media or Congressional attention. Increased levels of security would be needed at all locations, or the activity may need to be moved off-site to a more appropriate and secure facility. Increased support from public relations and management staff would also be needed to insulate those doing the actual work from public, media and Congressional scrutiny/criticism. (They need to “insulate” themselves from Congressional attention, scrutiny and criticism?)
- All facilities would need to expand their capacities if large numbers of animals were euthanized in a short period of time. Euthanizing healthy animals creates emotional stress which can lead to compassion fatigue for those involved in the process.
- 20 year old horses would be euthanized at the trap site (preferred) or preparation facility. (Who, exactly, would prefer this?)
- John Neill talked with Reno Rendering plant and they said we could take as many as we want to take there.
- How many could be euthanized during a gather without having NEPA?
- Having people that are willing to put down healthy horses at gather sites could be a problem.
- Having vets putting down healthy horses at preparation facility could also be a problem.
MAKING PLANS TO SELL OUR WILD HORSES FOR SLAUGHTER
- Don Glenn said: “Sally had an e-mail from a person in Canada who wants 10,000 horses that he would slaughter the horses and send them to a third world country. Don is going to send the e-mail.
- Jim said he has a demand for horses going to Denmark, but they are having a problem with getting titled horses.
- Policy change could make as many as 12,000 sale-eligible wild horses age 11 years and older available for sale without limitation to buyers within the United States as well as other countries.
- Large, negotiated sales would be coordinated by the National Point of Contact.
REMOVING HERDS FROM PROTECTED HERD MANAGEMENT AREAS
- John Neill will “talk to Nevada on how they can justify zeroing out a herd”. (“Zeroing out” means removing ALL wild horses off of a federally protected herd management area. Yes, John, please tell us how you can justify this.)
CREATING NON-REPRODUCING HERDS
- If proven to be permanent, SpayVac could be used to create non-reproducing herds of mares. (Using foresight, does “non-reproducing” lead to extinction in your mind? Or is it just me?)
ADJUSTING THE SEX RATIOS OF HERDS
- Adjusting sex ratios of herds “Does it affect behavior and do we care?…Since we do not have any evidence this is bad, the BLM should be allowed to do this on a large scale.” (“and do we care?”…it’s your job to “protect” the wild horses.)
EXPERIMENTING ON OUR WILD HORSES WITH UNAPPROVED DRUGS AND USING THEM FOR RESEARCH
- Al Kane, a USDA APHIS veterinarian, would be sending info on SpayVac and GonaCon. (It’s noted that SpayVac is “not commercially available; barely available as a research project; Indications it may be permanent in horses; It is unclear whether we can get it in the country. Alan Shepard will be working on this with Al Kane.
- SpayVac has not been approved by the EPA or FDA for investigational use.
- A single vaccination of SpayVac…could be permanent…Based on the Nevada estray horse trials…
- The use of PZP under an investigational exemption…the products are technically challenging to mix and administer and their safety has not been confirmed by the FDA or EPA.
- The National Park Service is planning a field trial with wild horses to investigate the efficacy of GonaCon.
- GonaCon is…immunocontraceptive vaccine developed by the scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture‘s (USDA) Wildlife Services’ (WS) National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC)…with the Nevada estray horse trials.
(The BLM and USDA are very aware that the wild horses are being experimented on. How did they grant themselves the right to use our wild horses for research?)
TRYING TO GET AROUND THE LAW
- Under the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act, BLM is not authorized “to relocate wild free-roaming horses and burros to areas of the public lands where they do no exist.” However, a solicitor’s interpretation concludes BLM is not prohibited from moving excess wild horses to LTH (Long Term Holding) areas on public lands because no case law implies such a prohibition. (Well, MY interpretation of the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act is that the BLM is NOT authorized to “relocate wild free-roaming horses and burros to areas of the public lands where they do not exist.” Period.)
- Don Glenn on non-reproducing herds: The solicitor sent their comments on putting horses on public lands that they did not exist in 1971, they feel we could do that, but we may be challenged in court. Because they would be non-reproducing herd the intent of the law would be followed. The horses would still be considered as wild free-roaming wild horses.
- Euthanizing horses: How many could be euthanized during a gather without having NEPA? (This must be why the BLM limits public viewing of the gathers to only some, not all, days and only a few hours out of the day. Does the BLM euthanize some horses at the end of the day?)
- They mention Richard Sewing horses are adopted, so he has a domestic horse permit, so the (wild) horses are not considered wild horses by law.
RUNNING A BUSINESS
- Bud Cribley: There has to be a better way to run this program, than reprogramming an additional 20 million from other BLM programs. Bud does not know what the answers are, but there will have to be a comfort level all the way up to the Secretary level. (God forbid that Bud Cribley and Salazar would divert money or land away from foreign mining and energy companies that are grabbing up our public lands.)
- Euthanizing wild horses: Savings would average $3.50 per head per day that animals are not held in STH (Short Term Holding) and $1.30 per head per day in LTH (Long Term Holding). Millions of dollars in potential savings would result over the short and long term. (Read my lips…if the BLM would leave our wild horses on their federally protected Herd Management Areas, it wouldn’t cost taxpayers a penny.)
POINTING A FINGER IN THE WRONG DIRECTION
- Security at facilities and at gathers would need to be increased to combat eco-terrorism.
- Question: Is the BLM going to guard against ITSELF?
Collusion is a secretive agreement between two or more parties for a fraudulent, illegal or deceitful purpose. Conspiracy is an agreement by two or more individuals to commit a crime or to commit an unlawful act by unlawful means. Is the BLM crossing the line?
“Team” members listed on the Implementation Team Conference Calls are:
Don Glenn – Division Chief, BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program
John Neill – manager of Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro Center in Reno, NV
Alan Shepard – lead BLM officer for state of Nevada
Joe Stratton – manager of the Elm Creek holding facility in Nebraska. Monsanto featured Joe Stratton on a video it did about wild horses: View here
Rob Jeffers – Project manager lead in Modoc National Forest (Forest Service) in northeastern CA, and former head of the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program in Susanville, CA
Al Kane – USDA APHIS veterinarian
Jim Johnson – deceased
Lili Thomas – National Wild Horse and Burro Specialist
Gus Warr – Utah BLM Wild Horse and Burro lead
Bud Cribley – BLM Deputy Asst. Director, Resources and Planning
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Sources:
www.conquistadorprogram.com (Implementation Team Conference Calls and Alternative Management Options documents are available on this website)
An excellent analysis of the documents above, titled “BLM’s Final Solution for the Wild Horses and Burros” was done by the Animal Law Coalition.
Tags: animal cruelty, BLM, conspiracy, herd reduction, Wild horses
Samantha probably does work for BLM, wild horses are not overpopulated. BLM removed and killed thousands of wild horses and replaced them with 13 MILLION PRIVATELY OWNED WELFARE CATTLE AND THEN MORE SHEEP TOO. These cattle cost us up to i BILLION dollars per year and have destroyed our public lands, water, wildlife, soil,and native plants.
AMERICAS WILD HORSES – ARE NOW BEING BRUTALLY MURDERED BY SALAZAR/BLM IN VIOLATION OF THE 1971 FREE ROAMING WILD HORSE & BURRO ACT – PASSED AFTER A LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN BY AMERICANS & AMERICAN SCHOOL CHILDREN IN 1971. The American people never rose up and wrote to get screwed by BLM and their cattle buddies and don't want 13 MILLION cattle on our public lands. And the horses in BLM concentration camps whose homes ,and families have been stolen need to be returned to land that the BLM stole. BLM putting wild horses in concentration camps is the BLM running another scam on American people by paying their buddies to more money to imprison our wild horses, its called a RACKETT.
Samantha probably works for the BLM. Listen to her blather about “mustangs are everywhere.” Well Great! You got a problem with that? And, “research before making an opinion” Been there done that Samantha. Now, can you cough up how many wild horses have been sent to slaughter, and I want the muth’a frickn’ address to the Oklahoma Long Term Holding Facilities.
It is a myth that we are over populated with wild horses and wild burros. It is also a myth that they went extinct North American. It is also a myth that these are “feral” animals. “Feral” is just an old fashioned word used by hicks to justify their greedy thugs getting rich of the government dole.
The Paint registry does now, but not when it started. We can argue all day long about breeds, as I have delved into foundation breeds extensively, and the Quarter Horse is not a foundation breed by any stretch of the imagination. However, that is counter-productive. I think that we will need to agree to disagree and go our separate ways. You have your opinion, I have mine.
I will stand corrected on one fact, the mustang did give influence to the quarter horse breed but not before it was already a breed established on the east coast created by colonists crosses with chickasaws ponies and other imported stallions from Europe.
Answer me this then how is there an over population problem in the West of Wild mustangs? How is it still a problem with thousands of these horses going through adoption pipelines. And how is it still a problem when taxpayers pay thousands of dollars per day to pay for thousands of wild horses from the west just to live in Broken Arrow, OK not even counting all the other privately owned lands they are being dumped on at taxpayers expense. Currently there are 2000 of these mustangs living here on the Robson Ranch. A ranch that is very legendary in these parts. My papa also a very well known cowboy in these parts said they had a tigerstripe gelding that he made a full day round trip on every other day. 66 miles total checking the pastures for cows. He said this horse could lope a mile trot a mile and never tire. I know this is irrelevant but I am showing you that I am well informed in this area. Any ways currently these horses are all eight or older and gelded. Mares are on the north side of pine street and the geldings are on the south extending all the way to 51st. Also the ranch gets paid .66 cents per day per horse. I would not mind that land going to save a certain type of the wild mustangs that are threatened like the mustangs at Blackjack Mountain, but not to horses that are already over populated.
I am not saying The Quarter Horse breed does not have any mustang in their blood but mustangs are not major contributors by any means. And techniqualy the Quarter Horse was developed on the East Coast for the quarter mile. “There is evidence that the Spanish Barbs obtained from the Chickasaws were crossed with the Colonists’ English stock as early as 1611. Over the next 150 years, the product of this breeding would come to be known as the “Celebrated American Quarter Running Horse”(American Quarter Horse Association). The breed was already there just not technically considered a breed until later. I have read all the foundation books of the quarter horse breed because I am a big fan of the old blood. And yes the paint is a color breed but techniqually the Paint breed is a stock horse according to the registry unlike the Pinto breed which can be purely based on color. “While the colorful coat pattern is essential to the identity of the breed, American Paint Horses have strict bloodline requirements and a distinctive stock-horse body type” (American Paint Horse Association).
A mare’s gestation period is approximately 11 months. She normally has one foal. Twins are rare, and if they are born, one most likely dies. They do not breed like rabbits. Taking into account the harsh terrain and predators, it is likely that a good percentage of these babies die before reaching adulthood.
Therefore, the only real problem that I can see with leaving them alone is that cattle ranchers are inconvenienced by their presence.
Samantha,
Do a bit of research on the foundation breeds. Your Quarter Horse and Paint breeds are not foundation. They are mixtures of other foundational breeds, and are a relatively new construct designed for the horse industry.
Quarter Horse:
“As settlers moved West, they brought carriage, draft and riding horses with them. Often they were taller, heavier horses. They were crossed with Mustangs to increase the size of the native western horses. The most successful of these crosses were the early Quarter Horses.” (International Encylopedia of Horse Breeds)
Paint horses came about originally as a “color” breed with the only requisite being color, and not bloodline.
So you see, without the original wild horses of the West, your Quarter Horse and Paint would not exist.
Vickie you are just one person, so how can you speak for the “American People?”
First statement I would like to address is what right have these wild mustangs earned to populate unregulated? We did not win the West on wild mustangs, we won it on the ancestors of the Quarter Horse, Paint, and other similar breeds. So why should they be allowed to populate and destroy their current reservations and then destroy surrounding land. If the BLM did nothing about this wild mustang population and left them all in the West then the entire area would be completely over run, they would not have any grazing land. Horses destroy ground and when there are thousands roaming over a few hundred acres the land will be depleted. When their area is depleted then they roam and this is where the problem begins with the cattle ranchers because the horses invade their lands. If the population is controlled then this is not a problem.
If the slaughter markets were open in the United States where they would be regulated by the USDA under the Meat Inspection Act. The transportation laws are clear which are regulated by the USDA already and the rules where created through a joint effort from organizations like the HSUS, PETA, AVMA, and AAEP. Also, the laws governing the humane euthanasia of the horses with the penetrating captive bolt gun are declared humane by veterinary specialists and the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Equine Practitioners. Any one can look up these laws on the USDA, AVMA, and AAEP websites. If the slaughter houses here in American where reopened these horses would not have to travel long distances and would receive better treatment. Also, then the horse market would have a bottom dollar and as a result less horses would be just turned out to die, abused, and neglected because at the moment a lot of people can just not afford to maintain them and taking them to a local sale does not bring enough money to pay for the gas to get there.
What is the real justification for all of this? Are the herds breeding out of control? and what if they did? I need to hear the justification for this eradication. And I want it stopped. Do not spend our money this way on harming these horses! You are creating bigger problems than just leaving them alone.
We do not want our Wild Mustangs slaughtered, nor abused, we want them wild and free. Cattle people make money off their cattle, let me them feed them if that is the issue, just like horse people feed their horses. Don’t try and take more land from the Wild Mustangs, they earned and deserve for them and their lands to be protected and we the American People want that for them. Nature is harsh and will keep then in check. Do not artifically eradicate them by diluting the gene pool, by spaying and nutering, by rounding up and selling off to slaughter or penning them up where there isn’t enough room for them. Let Nature take care of them. They are the symbol of American Spirit more than the Bald Eagle is!
If you want to know why the BLM wants this then research the topic. BLM has thousands of mustangs everywhere. The reservations are full, the adoption areas are full, and now tons of privately owned land are being filled up. I live right next to a place in Broken Arrow Ok where there are thousands of BLM wild mustangs roaming, and the taxpayers pay to have them there, yet barely any of them know this. They just drive by and think “O, what a pretty horsey!” This land that they roam on in Oklahoma was used for cattle, but now it cannot be touched along with any of those horses. But the BLM cannot send them anywhere else because no one wants them. Seriously, if everyone wanted them then there would not be a problem at all, but thats not the case.
There are so many things the BLM is trying to do to control herd populations. Maybe if there was not such a surplus of horses in the United States the demand for these horses would go up. There might just be a reason why the rough country folk are siding with the french for once and it might be something to listen to.
If you have questions research this topic yourself. Even if you have already decided your opinion on the subject I dare you to research thoroughly both sides of the issue. Just make sure you sources are creditable and up to date.
There is no justification for this extermination. Big Cattle and Big Energy want the horses OUT OF THEIR WAY. That’s it.
Check this out: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/mustangconspiracy/
Horses today, the people of America tomorrow. Never trust any tentacle from the government.
what is the justification for all of this? Are the herds breeding out of control? and what if they did? I need to hear the justification for this eradication.