Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Silent Night, with Choppers

Today's News:
Bureau of Land Management officials said a lack of forage caused by drought makes it necessary to remove a total of 1,000 horses from herds in northeastern Nevada.

Dear Readers,
BLM's gift to Nevada's wild horses is terror and capture. To us, they give lies.
These gathers will take place not far from me and I can't stand the bloody excuses any longer. So these mares, colts and stallions will be stampeded through the snow by helicopters because of a "lack of forage caused by drought" ?
What about the thousands of cattle and sheep (and wildlife, but sharing comes naturally to them) still EATING on the range? Think they might contribute to the "lack of forage" ? Yes, the range is dry in places, but it doesn't much matter if your dinner plate is wet or dry if it's empty.
My readers know my feelings about BLM are mixed. There are many caring individuals within the Bureau, but they don't determine policy.
My readers also know I support traditional ranch families and their fight to hang onto a vanishing, valuable lifestyle. They care for the range. They have to; their livings depend on it.
That's not so for CORPORATE ranchers. Their millions of dollars are invested elsewhere, too -- in city buildings, in stocks of a sort with no beating hearts and businesses in other countries. Ranching reflects a small part of their wealth. Often they're in it for tax write-offs and they make life hard for small, struggling ranchers, then gobble up land that's been in families for generations.
Why are they allowed to breed thousands of head of cattle and feed them on over-used public rangelands?
BLM may be "rescuing" horses from starvation, but wildlife, including horses, wouldn't need human "help" if they weren't forced to compete with domestic livestock.

This year, America's wild horses won't sleep in Heavenly peace. They'll be standing over their foals, hiding in cold ravines, braced for the racket of helicopters, coming closer.

My best to those of you who care,
Terri

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 11:12 AM

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