Monday, January 03, 2011

Taking the WILD out of the WEST


Calico Mountain stallion captive at Indian Lakes, BLM : photo by CAT KINDSFATHER

Dear Readers,
This news footage CNN Wild Horses Round-upsTEXT was shot on the real Phantom's home range. The film of a BLM helicopter buzzing a burro, then knocking the little guy off his hooves will make you catch your breath and think of the worst bullies, ever.
Watch the video, then read the transcript to see what you missed.
Best,
Terri




Fate of Wild Horses

AZUZ: When you think about an old-fashioned round-up, you might picture a cowboy on a horse, trying to corral some group of animals. But a modern-day round-up out in the American west is causing some controversy because horses -- thousands of them -- are the ones being rounded up! John Zarrella rides into the middle of this debate between the U.S. government and animal activists.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: There is no Secretariat, no Seabiscuit, no Black Beauty. Here, they have no names, none needed. In their eyes, you see who they are, rugged, powerful, independent. They are the wild mustangs of the American West. Woven generations ago into the fabric of this land, they've become the focus of lawsuits, even protests as far away as New York.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Help save America's wild horses.

ZARRELLA: The horses are at the center of a tug-of-war between the U.S. government, chasing them down with helicopters, and animal rights groups who want it stopped.

RICHARD COUTO, ANIMAL RECOVERY MISSION: The roundups of the wild horses and burros of the United States is a true holocaust of the animal world.

ALAN SHEPARD, NEVADA BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT: We can't let one, say, the horse, impact everybody else by taking all the feed, all the water, all the, do damage to that habitat.

ZARRELLA: The disagreement is clear cut. The Bureau of Land Management, BLM, is charged with caring for and managing nearly 40,000 horses and burros roaming on 26 million acres of the West. While this federal land, your land, was set aside for the horses, they don't have free rein. The land is considered multi-use.

SHEPARD: Wildlife, livestock, recreationists, mining interests, whatever.

ZARRELLA: The BLM insists it must reduce herd sizes because the land can't support the numbers.

MARK STRUBLE, SPOKESPERSON BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT: This ain't Kentucky bluegrass.

ZARRELLA: So, it holds roundups. Last year, the goal: remove 12,000 horses. That's right, 12,000, and take them to holding pens.

BONNIE MATTON, WILD HORSE PRESERVATION LEAGUE: This is our land. We want the horses on here, most of us.

ZARRELLA: Armed with cameras and recorders, the activists document what they see as brutal roundups. Here, a helicopter chases one single burro, eventually knocking it over. It staggers off. Here, you're looking at steam rising from the backs of chased-down, exhausted horses. The BLM says less than 1 percent of the animals die in these round-ups. Activists say that's 1 percent too many.

Labels: BLM round ups, burros, cnn, mustangs, Pine Nut Range

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 4:15 PM   3 comments

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