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CNN Jane Valez Mitchell Reports on Wild Horse Roundups 12/24/13

Posted by on December 18, 2013

http://www.hlntv.com/video/2013/06/07/report-wild-horse-roundups-arent-working

DO SOMETHING NOW!
A potentially huge turning point for the beautiful wild horses that roam the American west.  The new Interior Secretary of the United States said she was going to wait to decide how to proceed with wild horse roundups until the National Academy of Sciences released a report.  Well, that report has come out, and it’s scathing criticism of the Wild Horse and Burro Management Program.  The report reads quote “continuing ‘business as usual’ will be expensive and unproductive for B.L.M. [Bureau of land management] and the public it serves.”  Critics have long said that these roundups are unnecessarily cruel and inhumane.

Deniz Bolbol of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign joins Jane to discuss the latest development for the wild horses of America.  To learn more or get involved, visit StepInSally.com.

Sally Jewel response weak as usual

 

Step in, Sally!

We’re collecting signatures on an open letter that will be delivered to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. The goal to demonstrate that tens of thousands of Americans are fed up with the direction of the program and the toll it’s taking on wild horses, burros and American taxpayers.

Join us in telling Sally Jewell that we’re counting on her to step in and find a better way forward for America’s wild horses and burros and to fix this broken federal program.

Dear Secretary Jewell,

Congratulations on your appointment and confirmation as the Secretary of the Department of Interior (DOI). As Interior Secretary, you face many challenges. Today we write to you as concerned citizens, advocates and lawmakers to urge you to reform the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) Wild Horse and Burro Program.

For decades, the BLM has pursued an unsustainable and highly controversial approach to wild horse management. In fact, the U.S. government today maintains more wild horses in captivity than remain free in the wild. This is an untenable situation, both for America’s wild horses and for American taxpayers.

Since 2009, the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program budget has doubled as the agency escalated its unsustainable roundup-remove-and-stockpile approach to wild horse management. Meanwhile, the BLM has grossly underutilized proven, cost-effective and humane alternatives, such as fertility control, that keep wild horses on the range and avert the need for roundups and removals.

We are hopeful that your appreciation of the outdoors will lead you to embrace and appreciate the iconic wild horses and burros of the American West and share the commitment of the majority of Americans to protecting them. We are encouraged to learn of your response to Senator Ron Wyden’s question about the troubling direction of this program and your intention to work together on reform.

We, the undersigned, call on you, as a conservationist and outdoor enthusiast, to follow through on this promise by recognizing that our federally-protected wild horses and burros are national treasures to be protected and preserved for future generations.

We further request that you, as a successful businesswoman, set this program on a sustainable path by making it more humane and cost-effective. This is a solvable problem, but it requires a commitment to fixing what is not working. We stand ready to engage in a constructive dialog with you that leads to long overdue and much needed changes to the BLM’s program and a more certain future for America’s wild horses and burros.

Given the importance of wild horses to the American people, and considering the ever-tightening budget situation, we believe that this is a problem that demands your urgent attention.

Many thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,

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