Martin Luther King Day got me to thinking about the prejudice that exists not only in the human world, but also in the animal world as done against animals by humans as well. The plight of the BLM Mustangs and Burros against prejudice, greed, politics and special interests is but one example.Since moving to Northern Nevada in 1992 and really meeting Mustang horses for the first time (I've been a professional trainer/instructor since 1976 in dressage, hunter/jumpers, some western events and specialize in teaching/training green horse/novice owner combinations, and have interacted with all different breeds and crossbreeds of horses but never with Mustangs until 1992), the crusade to keep them on our public lands has been near-and-dear to my heart. Politics run rampant in this state in regard to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, and unfortunately, the free roaming Mustangs and Burros have been caught in the crossfire between special interest groups. Following are two articles I wrote. The first one was written 3-4 years ago regarding the battle that is still being waged against the Mustangs and Burros on BLM land and the real reasons that this is happening. The second one was written 2-3 years ago and basically covers a lot of the first articles points, with some additional information. It's a lengthy read, but well worth it if you're at all interested in free-roaming Mustangs and Burros and their plight:
My home is in Lyon County, Nevada, home to the Lahontan, Pine Nut and Virginia Range Mustang herds. My profession has been as a horse trainer for the past 30+ years, and I also teach a college course in Equine Management, have been an expert witness in equine related legal cases and also do commercial horse transportation for individuals adopting Mustangs from the BLM. The Mustangs that I see on the range nearly every day in Stagecoach, Fernley and Mark Twain/Dayton, Nevada are typically in very good condition, with bright, glossy coats in the summer, and currently with healthy looking long winter hair. They roam in small herd groups (or bands) and if asked, I'm sure those horses would tell anyone that asked that they prefer to stay free to roam and interact with their families. It would be a hands down no-brainer conclusion that they don't want the alternative of making the terrorizing trip to the slaughterhouse, being slammed with a bolt gun to the head, even as their flight instinct is screaming for them to run, and perhaps being hoisted still conscious and having their hide stripped off of them. Here are the facts of this issue: there are a handful of powerful lobbies in Washington, the cattle industry being in the forefront, that want the government/public land for themselves and have been trying from the time the Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act went into effect in 1971 to get that act over-turned (which did occur when Senator Conrad Burns R-Montana slipped a rider in at the 12th hour, demolishing the Protection Act, into a 3000 page amendment that President George W. Bush then signed). Now, the administration that is in power is receptive for that overturning and that is what is happening (and even though my husband and I had been trying to warn people for the past 10 years to be on their guard, that’s exactly what happened. Those Mustang-lover’s who have their heads-in-the-sand said it could never happen because they foolishly trust the powers-that-be to do what’s right). The cattle industry already has millions of dollars of subsidization from us taxpayers to help them with their privatized livelihoods, and they also only pay an small annual pittance to graze their cattle on the Open Range, but that simply isn't enough for them obviously. Now that they have solar-powered water sources for their cattle, which in the past the cattle had to roam just like the Mustangs to find water sources so fencing off large tracts of land so they could rotate pastures wasn't an option, they want to fence the public land so they can rotate pastures. They don't want those BLM Mustangs sharing the range forage or partaking of their water sources, so now the push is on and they are succeeding with the help of people such as Senator Conrad Burns (R-Montana). The mining industry, another powerful lobby in Washington, also wishes to fence their mining operations, and begin operating even more facilities on public BLM land where the Mustangs also roam. Fencing keeps nosey people out so that they cannot view the destruction from the hard rock mining industry. This industry releases more toxins than any other industry in the U.S. These toxins include mercury, arsenic, lead, and cyanide. Water pollution caused by acid mine drainage leaches potentially toxic heavy metals like lead, copper and zinc from rocks, causing wildlife habitat destruction, which is to blame for wildlife and fish kills, that this industry doesn't want the public to view. The military has always been known for being secretive, and the oil industry and Department of Energy (DOE) also want a piece of this pie we call BLM land. Because Mustangs are nomadic and roam as they graze, and as long as they were federally protected, fences couldn't be put up arbitrarily, perhaps blocking them from their range, or Herd Management Areas (HMA's) as it is called. Many politicians, and those groups and industries mentioned earlier who stand to benefit the most from the removal of the BLM Mustangs from public land, continue to repeat the same old worn out rhetoric of over-population of Mustangs, not enough forage, destruction of the range, blah, blah, blah, but that's just a smokescreen. Pray tell, how could any intelligent person believe that 37,000 Mustangs (now down to 29,000 at the end of 2007, and I believe that estimate is high) roaming on the western states BLM land could possibly impact the environment and the forage situation even remotely close to over 4 MILLION cattle on BLM land ?(and there are over 2 million head of cattle grazing on public land in Nevada alone, and that’s actually pairing up a cow and her calf as a "unit" and not counting them as 2 individual animals. That figure is also from 2000, so figures are probably higher now). Funny enough, (not really) the BLM does not even have the manpower to police/enforce how many grazing permits are issued every year, and for how many cattle, so the numbers could conceivably be much higher then noted when I got that number 4 or so years ago). They would also have everyone believe that as people who love Mustangs, we don't have their best interests at heart and are all a bunch of dumb do-gooders that don't care if they're starving. The fact is, if the reason the Mustangs were being eradicated from the BLM land was for the reasons they, and also Senator Burns who slipped the rider in at the 12th hour give, I would agree and look for alternate solutions. However, the factual reasons for the eradication (incidentally, the number of cattle grazing on public land doesn't ever seem to be reined-in to lower numbers, why is that if the range can't sustain all these animals on it?) are because of the greed, lack of compassion and callousness of the above named factions, industries and groups and their quest to fence off public land so that no one but they have access to it.
An alert to all of you recreationists out there: even if you couldn't care less about the Mustangs being free or not, or even whether they are dead or alive, you certainly will care when fences go up so fast on public land it will make your heads spin. The only thing standing between you and your ability to recreate on public land since 1971 are the BLM Mustangs and the federal act they were protected under. Now, with the passing through Congress and the signing of Bill 4818 by the president, any Mustangs captured that are 10 years old or older, or those passed up on adoption 3 times, will face almost certain death by slaughter. Many that are in long and short-term holding facilities have already been scheduled to be sold to contract "kill" buyers that buy them by the pound and these horses won't even have a chance to gain a good home through a sale. Some people that are proponents of the Mustangs being removed from the range would have you believe they have an even chance of getting a good home if they go to a sale. Problem is, most of these sales are what are called "kill sales", where the "kill" buyers are out in force and buy the horses in volume by the pound. Very few will be bought by a non-kill buyer, although I'm sure those few who are saved, out of thousands that are not, will be grateful to their new owner. The powerful lobbies will gain control of the public land, and the fences WILL go up very quickly as the population of BLM Mustangs on BLM land goes down even more quickly. I would just ask that people who care about horses, wildlife, the health of the public land and your freedoms from lobbies who wish to block you from enjoying the beauty of our public lands would educate yourselves on this issue. Don't just believe what the offending industries or I write or say, go on the Internet and read all sides. Read the op-ed pieces and Letters to the Editors in your newspapers, call horse groups and also the BLM. Make phone calls, ask questions, grill people for answers. In this way, you will be more educated and informed on this issue and in a position to make intelligent decisions that could help save the lives of thousands of innocent horses that are not unhealthy, starving or in the case of Mustangs, destroying the range land and/or eating all the forage. It's also just the general principle that we as citizens should have a say-so regarding what happens to our country as a whole, our environment, the public land, the wildlife, the Mustangs, etc.
Please fax, email, send letters and make phone calls to your representatives if you find that something tragically wrong is occurring here and certain people and groups think we're too dumb or uninterested to notice what they're trying to slip past us. Let's get this reversed and at least into a public forum where our voices will be heard from both sides of the issue, instead of having something that means the lives of thousands of BLM Mustangs stealthily slipped into a 3,000 page Bill.
Authors Note from 1/21/08: the push is under way to eliminate horse slaughter in the United States and the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act made it onto the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote on September 7, 2006. In spite of last ditch efforts to descimate the bill by attaching amendments that would hamstring it, the bill passed on a vote of 264 to 146. However, in the Senate, there are still special interest groups and individuals (such as Conrad Burns) that have threatened to "throw it out!" (what else would you expect from the person who got the Mustang and Burro Protection Act overturned in the first place? Funny though isn’t it, Mr. Burns is also a cattleman!!!!! Surprise, surprise!). In the meantime, all 3 slaughterhouses that processed horses in the US have been closed down because the states they are located in exercised their rights to pass laws within their own states against the slaughter of horses for human consumption in their state/s. However, horses continue to be shipped to Mexico and/or Canada for slaughter by VERY inhumane methods. We need to keep pushing to pass a Bill that will make it illegal to sell horses for slaughter for human consumption in the United States, AND make it illegal to sell a horse destined for slaughter in Mexico, Canada, and anywhere else that they may be shipped while still alive (such as Japan for instance where they would be slaughtered upon arrival) to be slaughtered out of the country.
Laura Bell
Lyon County, Nevada
Starwood Farm and Bell Star Mustangs
email: lmbell@totalsierra.com
2nd Article:
Recently, our government in the form of the Bureau of Land Management, the cattle, mining and oil industries, the military, the DOE and the developers have finally gotten their feet firmly in the door and there is no closing it again unless "we the people", who are supposed to have a voice in major decisions, band together to protest this travesty upon a symbol of our American heritage, the Mustang.With the passing of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005 (HR 4818) in Congress, which President Bush then signed on December 8, 2004, and with Rider 142 that was sponsored by Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) hidden deep within this Bill, this allows for any captured BLM Mustangs that are 10 years old or older, and also BLM Mustangs that have been passed-up on adoption at least 3 times, to be sent to "kill" sales. From there, they will most likely be purchased by "kill" buyers and sent to one of three foreign-owned slaughterhouses in the United States and then served as a delicacy on dinner plates in Europe and Japan (apparently, "filet of foal" sells for $38.00 per pound!). Most all Mustang proponents were not privy to this Rider in the Appropriations Bill until after it passed in Congress. At that point, and before it went before President Bush to sign, thousands of emails and Fax's were sent out, and thousands of phone calls placed to the White House, to senators and governors, and humane societies and various rescue organizations to enlist help in convincing the President not to sign that Bill unless the sponsor of the Rider removed that item. Unfortunately, the Bill was indeed signed with that back-door Rider still intact, effectively sentencing thousands upon thousands of Mustangs to death by slaughter at facilities that are not even set-up for processing horses, and thus, quite often don't do "clean kills" and the horses are then bled-out and/or stripped of their hide while still conscious.
Right now, the new act supposedly only affects those Mustangs 10-years-old and older, and also those Mustangs passed-up on adoption 3 times or more. However, having seen how these agencies work, this is just a strategy to get the protection act over-turned to a degree, but given more time, ALL of the Mustangs will be in danger of going to slaughter. This strategy has worked time and time again, so if this Rider is not rescinded, I'm sure we'll see more of the same that has historically occurred in the past.
This is a huge set-back regarding protecting the BLM Mustangs and burros, and also very effectively over-turns the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971. This Protection Act federally protected those Mustangs roaming on government/public land, and also those who are captured off of that land. There are currently 17-23,000 Mustangs in long and short term holding facilities and they could be subject to shipment to "kill" sales as early as January 15, 2005 with the passing and signing of this Bill.
Just to play devil's advocate, is living in a long-term holding facility the ideal solution for these captured Mustangs? Perhaps not, but given their choice, I do truly believe (and I currently have 12 formerly wild Mustangs and 2 burros that I adopted, and they all are happy and well taken care of living in various herds on my property) that these horses would choose living in large herds, as horses really are genetically programmed to do, at holding facilities where they are well fed and provided with fresh water, rather then being shipped and going through the terror and death at the slaughterhouse!
Regarding the Opinion piece which appeared on December 14, 2004 in The Nevada Appeal written by the "Nevada Appeal editorial board": "wildlife and horses and cattle roaming on Open Range are sometimes located in close proximity to humans and vehicles" (although, many, many Herd Management Area's, or HMA's, are quite remote where the Mustangs have little or no contact with humans at all). This sometimes leads to tragic accidents as happened in Mound House several weeks ago with a Mustang being hit by a vehicle, sustaining a broken leg and ultimately having to be destroyed by a brand inspector on the scene. However, and apparently by some people's reasoning, any time there is a collision of wildlife, livestock or companion animals with vehicles, I guess those critters, be it deer, bear, antelope, hawks and owls flying into windshields, etc, or with horses or cattle roaming on Open Range, or even dogs and cats, should ALL be rounded up and slaughtered to keep this from happening again. Happens all of the time in our Open Range state between cattle and vehicles, yet there are still well over 2 million head of cattle grazing on BLM land as per what grazing permits have been taken out on government land in Nevada. Maybe the solution to this problem is that people need to realize that they live in an Open Range state, keep their eyes open when driving, and also slow down, especially at night when visibility is limited.
What some of us have known for a long time is that special interest groups such as the mining industry, cattle industry, the oil industry, developers and also the military and DOE, intent is to fence all of the government land, but since these horses and burros are nomadic and also were federally protected, fencing couldn't be done to the extent that these groups wished to do. That is why the Mustangs are being eradicated, because of fencing and groups wanting to gain total control of public land, and not for the reasons that are given by rout that it is in the best interests of the horses and burros, and that they are over-populating or damaging the range. Since when is being captured and then sent to slaughter in their best interests? This Bill serves to take away their protection entirely so the eradication can be taken to completion, and there is also now no protection for these horses and burros in captivity either. There future is grim to say the least. If this issue really were about over-population and not enough feed as the worn-out rhetoric that comes from those who want the BLM Mustangs off the government land want you to believe, then birth control would have been implemented on a large scale a long time ago. The BLM would systematically capture the larger herds one-by-one, castrate the stallions that are of breeding age, use birth control measures if appropriate on the mares of breeding age as has been being tested on some captured herds for quite some time now, and then turn them back out on their Herd Management Areas (HMA's). Keep the youngsters (especially the colts who are too young to be gelded when they are captured) and put them into the adoption program, and those not adopted could go into long-term holding, or out to sanctuaries, which are large tracts of fenced land where the stallions are castrated first and then mares and geldings alike are turned-out to live wild again. In this way, we would see the reproduction of Mustangs in the wild slow down dramatically. So if this is the "real" reason, over-population and not enough feed on the range, that these Mustangs are being captured off the government/public land, then let's see these industries and the government have their actions speak louder then their words for once and implement birth control on Mustangs, but put them back on the Open Range to live out their lives.
Unfortunately, the BLM taking the numbers down by leaps and bounds is NOT about the above reasons such as too many horses out there and not enough feed for themselves and the cattle too, or them doing damage to the environment. The reality is that studies have shown that cattle are the culprit in damage to the land because they do not roam far and wide on the range as Mustangs, who are nomadic, do. Mustangs don't hang around water sources, causing erosion, and also tainting water with urine and feces as cattle do. And because of their digestive systems, roaming Mustangs actually re-seed the range by the manure that they pass, where as cattle, with their very efficient digestive systems, are eating machines and digest most all of the forage that they consume. Many Mustangs also inhabit more remote areas where there are no cattle, and they actually eat forage that cattle won't eat anyway in these areas. This is mostly a land control issue perpetrated by those powerful and well-funded lobbies in Washington who wish to fence the land for various reasons. The cattle industry wants to fence government land so they can rotate pastures to grow more feed for their cattle, and also keep other critters besides their cattle away from the water sources, some of which are solar-powered that they have put in. For gosh sakes, with currently less than 3% of the beef consumed in the United States from cattle grazed on public lands, and at a minimum cost to the taxpayers of $128 million a year according to a 2002 report commissioned by the Center for Biological Diversity, and also for the pittance of fees they pay to graze their cattle on public land of about $75.00 per year for a cow/calf pair, you'd think they wouldn't mind sharing the water with some of the other animals on the open range. Problem for the Mustangs (and wildlife) is that before solar powered water sources were available, the cattle industry couldn't put up fences because then their own cattle couldn't get to the water in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, etc because of fences blocking them from it and the animals injuring themselves, and also perhaps damaging and destroying fences trying to get to the water. Now that they can put solar water sources anywhere they want, they do want to fence off the land to have the water for their cattle only and to rotate pastures too, but Mustangs (and wildlife) will destroy fences in their quest for water in their nomadic travels. Right now it's the Mustangs they blame for many of the problems in terms of their cattle raising, but who and what are next when the Mustangs are gone?
The mining industry is intent on fencing the government land to keep people away and keep high security so no one can see how they are adversely affecting the environment with their strip mining and also cyanide lakes to separate the ore from the gold. Another interesting bit of information regarding mining and the wild horses is that whenever a mining operation is allowed to move into an area which is a Herd Management Area and the Mustangs move to another HMA to get away from humans, then the BLM comes in and rounds the herds up because they say they are over-populating in the HMA. For goodness sakes, if they didn't let the mining operation in the area in the first place, then the horses would have no reason to move to another HMA and be subject to capture.
The oil industry wants to do the same thing as the mining industry; keep folks away so they can continue to impact the land and wildlife negatively without Joe or Jane Public seeing what they're doing.
Developers wish to put up subdivisions, malls, industrial parks, etc, wherever there is appropriate land available, and which is located near-by BLM in some cases, and wild horses roaming in their subdivisions or commercial properties is not conducive to selling their developments.
And everyone knows how secretive the military is and what their motivation for fencing as much land as they possibly can is. They also want to test bombs and who-knows-what-else and you can't have those pesky, unsuspecting, federally protected horses and burros out minding their own business on BLM land and perhaps getting hurt or killed by weaponry.
So this issue really is primarily about fencing and various powerful lobbies in Washington that I named above gaining control of public lands. It's not about the rhetoric that is so easily put out there by the government in the form of BLM propaganda, some uncaring, ill-informed politician such as Conrad Burns who sponsored Rider 142 in Appropriations Bill 4818, or these various industries as mentioned above which have a lot to gain if the horses and burros are removed. I guess if it's said often enough it must be true? NOT!
It is also ludicrous and silly to think that the approximately 19,000 Mustangs currently grazing on Nevada BLM land (and our state has the largest population of free roaming horses of all the western states that have Mustangs) could possibly impact the environment and feed situation even remotely close to the well over 2 million cattle that are now grazing on government land in Nevada. I received the figure of 2.3 million cattle on BLM land back in 2000 from the BLM, however, I did hear the numbers are currently higher. Plain and simple, the reason for the capture of thousands of BLM Mustangs is because these lobbies, groups, factions, etc, wish to fence the land and have control of it.
The Mustangs will continue to be eradicated, and will ultimately be slaughtered if the public and all concerned citizens don't raise their voices to those who make the decisions and basically got this Rider past us with no public discussion. The word we need to get out to everyone, whether they are Mustang or animal lover's, or simply people who like to recreate on government/public land is that putting up fences, fences and more fences is the oppositions goal. And with the removal of the BLM Mustangs, that goal becomes easier and easier with every horse that is taken off government/public land.
The following was also included in Bill 4818: "Venturing onto public land without paying a required fee will be a criminal act, punishable by up to six months in prison or a $5,000 fine." It is called "Recreation Access Tax" or "RAT". So anyone that thinks they will continue to enjoy recreating on BLM land once the fences go up has a sad and perhaps costly surprise in store for them if they don't pay the fees.
The cattle industry is also experiencing their third record breaking year of profit. I wonder why that is, anyone care to take a guess? I guess no one cares that millions of their taxpayer dollars go to support the cattlemen who graze their herds on government/public land, but all they can seem to do is whine about what the paltry numbers of Mustangs on government land are doing to them, or how much it costs to have the captured Mustangs in long-term holding facilities or sanctuaries. I suppose I've always felt that my taxpayer dollars going to help support the cattlemen, who are a privatized industry, who graze their herds on BLM land was a trade-off in exchange for my taxpayer dollars also going to help support the adoption program, and also those Mustangs who had been captured and are in holding facilities because of their now-removed federal protection status. Further, many Mustang proponents have no problem with cattle and horses co-existing on the government/public land. What we have a problem with is the removal of the Mustangs and the fencing of the land so no one but these privatized factions and also the military get the use of it. With the over-turning of the Protection Act, my opinion has radically changed and I no longer feel like helping to support the cattlemen and their livelihood. Think I can get out of paying for their cattle now? Sadly, most likely not.
A few words about the BLM: every, single BLM employee that I have spoken and worked with that is affiliated with the adoption program have all seemed to be people who truly care about Mustangs. Unfortunately, they are the ones in the field and are not in Washington DC calling the shots where the decisions are made. Given a choice and able to speak their true feelings, I believe most of them would say that they don't want any of the Mustangs to be subject to slaughter. Because of possibly losing their jobs if they rock-the-boat, most can't really say anything negative, but in a few private conversations, I do know the true feelings of a few BLM employees and their feelings are with the Mustangs and their survival.
There have been several very effective programs in force for many years, and some new programs to continue to promote Mustangs as wonderful and very trainable horses. These programs include the adoption program through the BLM, the prison program at the Warm Springs Correctional Facility and also the establishment of foundations to raise private funds as well. Now, just when these programs are becoming more successful, the protection act has been almost effectively over-turned. The timing of this couldn't have been worse, but if we can get this wrong-doing reversed, we can save many, many Mustangs from going to slaughter, keep Mustangs on the range in controlled numbers using birth control measures, and also continue to enable people to adopt "A Living Legend" that will become a part of the family as the loyal and devoted horses that they tend to be.In the West, and also many other parts of the United States and the world, many people consider Mustangs and BLM burros a national treasure, and Wild horses and burros have been protected since 1971 by the "Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act" which declared that wild horses and burros "are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West" and are a protected National Heritage Species.
So please fellow citizens of the USA and horse and animal lovers, think back if you can to when Wild Horse Annie rallied the school children in 1971 to help stop the cruelty against wild horses and burros and write, call, email and FAX to your representatives in Washington and let's see if we can get this terrible tragedy corrected before it is too late and horses are slaughtered.
Laura Bell
Trainer/Clinician/College Course Instructor--Horse Management
Starwood Farm and Bell Star Mustangs
Lyon County, Nevada
Email address: lmbell@totalsierra.com
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