Saturday, January 01, 2011

MUSTANG MEAT IS NOT ON THE TABLE


Palomino Armstrong and HoneyBandit, BLM survivor

Dear Readers,
It's time to GROW A BACKBONE and let the people who've declared war on horses -- wild and tame -- know that dollar $igns aren't a good enough reason to bring back American horse slaughter factories.
The Summit of the Horse will be held in Las Vegas, two days from now. It's sponsored by United Horseman, a pro-horse slaughter group.
"We are experienced horse people who have the best interest of the horse at heart and seek unification of our country's horsemen and horsewomen in promoting horse welfare,” said Dave Duquette, group president. “We're speaking with a unified voice for horses and horse people.”
The thing is ...no.
No, this isn't about horse welfare; it's about Greed, one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
No, you do not have the best interests of horses at heart. Betcha a lie detector test would show interest in your bank account, not horses, at heart.
(AT HEART? Seriously?)
And finally, no, you are not speaking for horses and horse people.
In fact, I'm issuing a Victorian "how dare you?" and I bet I have some company in asking HOW DARE YOU say you are speaking for me?
Most horse people would do back-flips to avoid a union with you. The ick factor there is nearly as nauseating as UH vice-president Sue Wallis's suggestion.
Wallis, a state senator under investigation for fraud & ethics violations, wants U.S. horse flesh (so full of drugs that horse-eating nations won't accept it)fed to school children and the poor.
I know thousands of students who'd have something to say about that. If UH wants to kill the school lunch program nationwide, let them fire up a press release celebrating the info that Wyoming kids are being served filet of Flicka.
More chilling than UH's boasts is this: BLM DIRECTOR BOB ABBEY is a featured speaker at the pro-slaughter convention. Director Abbey told me face-to-face that slaughter is not a viable option for healthy horses.
Does that mean the option is on the table for mistreated foals like HoneyBandit (shown above?) or that Director Abbey's had a change of heart?
You pay Director Abbey's salary.

Please express you opinion here:

Director: Bob Abbey
E-mail: Director@BLM.gov (cut & paste or type this into your email form)

Chief of Staff: Janet Lin
E-mail: janet_lin@blm.gov (cut & paste or type this into your email form)

Or use:
Director Bob Abbey
BLM Washington Office
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5665
Washington DC 20240

Start the year off as you mean to go on!
Terri

Labels: Bob Abbey, Ken Salazar, Summit of the Horse

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Sunday, August 01, 2010

Letter to BLM


Ghost Dancer, photo by BLM

Dear Readers,
Wouldn't you like to know what's going on in Ghost Dancer's mind? What knowledge of water holes, cougars and shelter from storms does a 15-year-old mare carry in her brain? I can only imagine, and I'm writing new stories about it.
Below, is a different kind of writing I'm doing for Ghost Dancer's still-free friends and family.
This was published today:

August 1, 2010

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management plans to clear the West of 6,000 wild horses between July 1 and Sept. 30. How many will be left?

BLM's figures vary, and when those who speak up for the horses ask for the science, they're brushed aside as the equine equivalent of crazy cat ladies.

Ten years ago, I was writing for Nevada magazine, researching my books and observing BLM roundups. Gather days started at Bruno's café in Gerlach. Before dawn, I drank coffee with BLM staffers, then rode with them to the gather site.

Helicopters drove the horses into the corrals. They fought the confinement but were rested before being trucked to pens in Palomino Valley.

Not anymore. In January 2010, BLM stampeded Calico Mountain herds onto a private ranch, where the public was locked out except on designated observation days.

On Jan. 16, we met at Bruno's again, but my nostalgia vanished when I saw the guns. Most BLM staff were armed. The gather was on fast forward. Two helicopters, not one, chased panicked horses. Horses were sorted by gender. Stallions fought. Mares screamed for foals that clustered together as their mothers were taken away.

BLM's daily updates show the contractor's concern for speed, not safety. The hooves of two foals separated from their legs. Adult horses suffered broken necks, skulls and pelvic bones. BLM says 109 mustangs died and 40 wild mares suffered miscarriages -- from pre-existing conditions.

This summer's roundup hasn't made the BLM look very good. The agency reported no endangered horses on the range before the roundup, but scores died afterward. The roundup was halted until the BLM's Alan Shepherd insisted most of the remaining horses would die if they weren't gathered immediately.

Judge Larry Hicks believed him. The roundup could go on if humane observers were allowed. When they showed up, the roundup had been moved to private land, and they were threatened with arrest.

BLM reports describe a palomino: "bleeding from the mouth ... disoriented and unaware of his surroundings. ... He apparently had sustained a serious head injury and possible jaw fracture during the night ..." Supposedly, the young stallion wasn't run to death; he just woke up mortally injured.

That's why we need a moratorium on wild horse roundups until the BLM clears its name through an independent evaluation. While we're waiting for results, make plans to let the horses earn their own ways.

Consider eco-tourism plans, like those proposed by Soldier Meadows Ranch and Madeleine Pickens. Partner the BLM with the first lady's Let's Move Outside program, letting city kids appreciate wild animals. Introduce middle-schoolers already using terms like "compensatory reproduction" in discussion of BLM's herd management to Sally Ride's science program.

These are cheaper, win-win solutions. Our land, our children, our wallets and wild horses will benefit.

Terri Farley has a secondary teaching credential, 36 best-selling books and two Calico Mountain mares.
* * *

An opinion piece under the by-line of Bob Abbey, Director of the BLM ran on the same page. Here's a link:
BLM's Goal

I hope you'll read it, too, because we all need to keep working with our hearts and HEADS. So, stay informed.

Best to you,
Terri
p.s.
Some of you wanted to see a more complete photo of Tassel. Here's one.
High bidder on this sweet horse is from Pennsylvania. Hope it was one of you!

Labels: BLM, Bob Abbey, ghost dancer, Op-Ed, tassel

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