Never before has there been a need so great for people to
ban together for the protection of one of our most precious and historic
natural resources, the horse.
– Katia Louise, President of the Wild for Life Foundation
Substantial evidence indicates that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intends to eliminate
wild horses and burros from America’s public landscape.
Countless
American wild horses and burros are systemically mistreated and removed from
their legally protected homes in the wild by the BLM despite U.S. policies which mandate their protection and preservation on
public lands. Unless and until the BLM
is stopped, the future for America’s majestic horses and burros will continue
to be in jeopardy. The stakes could not be higher; their very survival is at
stake and time is running out.
“Contrary to the BLM’s claims that
wild horses are overpopulating, statistics show that vast numbers of wild
equines are disappearing from the American West,” states Katia Louise,
President of the Wild for Life Foundation, and Director, Saving America’s
Horses. “In the 19th century, more than
2 million wild horses roamed the West, but independent analysis of the Bureau
of Land Management’s own data indicates that there may now be less than 15,000
wild horses roaming freely on public lands.”
There are over 200 million acres of
range-lands in the U.S. where these horses could roam freely, but they are
quickly being eliminated by the same governmental agencies that claim to
protect them. Unless action is taken, America’s wild equids will continue to
vanish – a potentially catastrophic scenario for generations to come.
Wild horses are labeled as “feral”
by proponents of slaughter in denial of paleontological evidence showing that
the horse evolved on the North American continent over 50,000,000 years ago.
With human encroachment on natural
habitats a constant feature of our modern world, America's wild and historic
Mustangs are quickly losing their Native home lands. As the remaining number of
Wild Horses in the U.S. nears extinction, the need for their legal protection
becomes tantamount to their survival as a species. America’s Wild Horses cannot
be reproduced once they are gone.
Congressional findings and
declaration of policy state that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living
symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to
the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American
people; and that these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American
scene. Under public law and policy of Congress wild free-roaming horses and
burros are to be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to
accomplish this they are to be considered in the area where presently found, as
an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.
However, wild horses are also
labeled as “destructive” or “invasive species” by the livestock industry as a
means to justify their removal. However, the reintroduction of horses to
range-lands can in truth rejuvenate the environment. As brought to the screen in
the acclaimed documentary film, ‘Saving America’s Horses: A Nation Betrayed”, wild horses are being successfully returned to landscapes in Britain.
Studies of these conservation grazing is practices reveal that the
re-introduction of wild equines to the woodlands and pastures has in fact successfully
restored the natural environment and wildlife.
In the classic book, Welfare Ranching:
The Subsidized Destruction of the American West, J. Boone Kauffman, Ph.D.,
Professor of Ecosystem Sciences in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife,
Oregon State University, Corvallis, gives testimony to the far-reaching and devastating
ecological consequences of government-subsidized livestock grazing through his
scientifically supported work, “Lifeblood of the West”; “… livestock grazing
has been the most widespread cause of ecological degradation of riparian/stream
ecosystems. More riparian areas and stream miles are affected by livestock
grazing than by any other type of land use.”
When it comes to “livestock grazing”
on public lands, permit holders are able to increase their stock by grazing
farm animals such as cattle on America’s open range-lands. But in the U.S.
horses are not produced for food, and cattle ranchers see them as competitors
for the grazing of free forage on public land which they could otherwise use
for their livestock. However, recent
findings through Princeton University have shown how combining wild equine
grazing together with cattle can create beneficial effects; not only for the
environment but for cattle as well. "Clearly, blanket statements that wild
equids invariably compete with livestock can no longer be accepted” states
Michael Coughenour, a senior research scientist at the Colorado State
University Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory.
While USDA Secretary of Agriculture,
Tom Vilsack, publicly claims to be against horse slaughter, the USDA has been
rallying tribal leaders to support the reopening of horse slaughter in the U.S.
However, Wild for Life Foundation President, Katia Louise brings to light a
startling recent report which exposes the USDA’s distribution of misinformation
provided to the American tribal leaders. This well-substantiated report
entitled In Truth Wild Horses on Native Land and Tongue, reveals evidence of meetings held by the USDA with
tribal leaders for the purpose of getting them to distribute ‘misinformation’
to their congressional delegations about horse slaughter and the removal of
America’s wild horses.
As
part of a larger pattern, just a few weeks ago a strikingly similar situation to
the USDA’s activities in support of horse slaughter took place when the BLM denied having any knowledge or involvement related the sale
of America’s wild horses and burros to slaughter. In
a recent Federal Report which shocked
the Nation it was reported that the BLM’s largest buyer of wild horses was in
truth sending them to slaughter. With a closer
look at the management of wild horses by the BLM, and in stark contrast to the
BLM’s claims of purportedly protecting America’s wild equines, the BLM’s proposed
Budget for Fiscal Year 2017 (Section 110) reveals BLM’s intentions to further
strip America’s wild horses and burros of their protective legal titles. The Wild Horse Freedom Federation recently discovered the BLM’s proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2017, and says it leads to the slaughter and sterilization of America’s wild horses. Critics view this
latest move by the BLM as a wider campaign endorsed by the Obama Administration.
President Obama’s appointment of Ken
Salazar as Secretary of the Interior, which oversees the BLM, together with the
U.S. Forest Service, has continued to conduct scores of roundups across 12
Western U.S. states resulting in the capture and eradication of countless wild
horses. After Salazar stepped down in a wave of controversy in February of
2013, President Obama appointed Sally Jewel to the position— a veteran of the
oil industry. “While many had high hopes that Sally Jewell would direct a shift
in policy, she has instead been silent on reversing agency roundup policies
throughout the West,” observes Katia Louise. “And many believe she has in fact promoted
and intensified such efforts.”
Can we preserve and protect one of
America’s most iconic species before they become extinct in the wild and
reverse the degradation to open range-lands caused by their removal? The Wild
For Life Foundation (WFLF), a federally registered nonprofit says the answer is
YES; a resounding YES!
"Never before has there been a
need so great for people to ban together for the protection of one of our most
precious and historic natural resources, the horse," said Ms. Louise. "Regardless of why,
we as a culture, are
so repulsed by the thought of consuming horse flesh, and the reasons are many;
if we fail to uphold our fundamental moral and social responsibilities, we are
in effect dooming the fate of our own humanity.
“Most people don’t have any idea
that America’s wild horses are disappearing and going to slaughter,” added Ms. Louise.
“Unless and until the BLM is stopped,
the future for America’s majestic horses and burros will continue to be in
jeopardy. Armed with the true facts and uniting together to make our united
voice heard for the horses and burros, we can educate and effect change.”
In an effort to save, protect and
preserve wild and domestic equines, as opposed to the promotion of horse
slaughter and widespread roundups throughout the American West, Wild for Life
Foundation’s President, Katia Louise is calling on members of the public who
care about the horses to join in a united stance for the horses with WFLF
Saving America’s Horses by going to wildforlifefoundation.org and
clicking on the join button, which will continue to raise awareness and provide
ongoing education on this critical issue. Ms. Louise says, “Making your voice
heard will ultimately bring this unjust, cruel and barbaric practice to an
end.”
Charity missions like WFLF’s “WILDAND FREE” campaign help to raise awareness and the essential funds to aid wild
horses and burros that need rescue and sanctuary services after being rounded
up, starved neglected, discarded or discovered in other life threatening
danger.
Wild for Life Foundation (WFLF) is a
volunteer based 501 c3 charity dedicated to the prevention of cruelty to
animals with a focus on animal welfare and the protection of wildlife. Among
WFLF’s greatest concerns are imperiled wild horses and burros, and abused,
neglected and slaughter bound wild and domestic equines. WFLF is dedicated to
saving, protecting and preserving wild and domestic equines through rescue,
education, preservation and sanctuary. The WFLF also promotes the conservation
of wild horses on their Native lands and the preservation of natural ecosystems
and wildlife. WFLF saves the lives of homeless, starved and slaughter bound
horses whose healing hearts enhance the lives of people. Federal ID No:
26-3052458
##
