Madeleine Pickens, wife of the eccentric billionaire tycoon T. Boone Pickens, wants to ride to the rescue of a beleaguered national icon. The wild horses that have been an emblem of the wide-open American West for centuries more recently became a major headache for the federal government, which routinely removes some of the horses from 1o Western states to prevent overpopulation and protect grazing land. But as the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) holding facilities grew crowded, federal officials gingerly announced that they were considering a euthanasia program to cull the herds at their facilities and contain costs.
Pickens, a racehorse breeder and lifelong animal lover, said she was horrified when she learned about the problem. “There’s got to be a way to bypass [the BLM] — why does it have to be Washington to solve the problem?” said Pickens, who, along with her husband, airlifted 800 cats and dogs stranded by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and brought them to California for adoption [Washington Post]. Pickens approached BLM officials and suggested an alternative: She would buy 1 million acres of rangeland somewhere in the West, and convert it into a permanent retirement home for the roughly 30,000 homeless and unwanted horses.
Pickens says she envisions a refuge that’s open to the public, where tourists could sleep in log cabins or tepees to get a taste of the frontier experience. “You shouldn’t be coming to this country to see Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck,” she said. “We are more than that. We are a country that was formed on horseback and we should enjoy it, not slaughter it” [Dallas Morning News].
The wild horses and burros would be sterilized, Pickens said, so they wouldn’t contribute further to the overpopulation problem, and additional animals rounded up by the BLM could gradually be brought in to the refuge. About 33,000 horses still make their homes on the range, but the BLM hopes to bring that number down to about 27,000. Tom Gorey, a bureau spokesman, said the agency welcomes her offer. “Right now we couldn’t be more pleased with her interest and we hope that materializes so that we can get many of these horses out of holding,” he said [Dallas Morning News].
Related Content:
DISCOVER: First to Ride looks back at the first humans to domesticate wild horses
Image: flickr / DangerRanger
November 19th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
i like Madelein Pickens
November 19th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
One of the best ideas I heard in a very long time. Having studied wild horses on the south Ruby Range in NE Nevada I can say that there is little more breathtaking than watching stallion a full gallop to defend his mares. Wild horses and the west go together like bread and jam and Mrs. Pickens is to be commended for her offer.
November 20th, 2008 at 12:02 am
I think I LOVE Madelein Pickens. Finally sombody who cares about the horses AND is willing to use their resources to actually do something about it. Bravo! I have renewed hope in humanity….
TS
November 20th, 2008 at 3:11 am
Never trust the Pickenses.
This is a water-grab. Those 1 million acres of rangeland will probably be bought from the BLM at firesale prices (because it’s for a ‘good cause’), but the Pickenses will probably write in water-rights for the deed.
Look up the “Pickens Plan” for energy. This guy is as crooked as an 19th century robber baron.
November 21st, 2008 at 8:41 am
This is the most generous,fantastic,wonderful idea I,ve ever heard of.Bless her soul for helping these magnifcent creatures. I would love to meet her someday.
November 21st, 2008 at 10:39 am
Mrs. Pickens should contact me. I know of the perfect opportunity for a wild horse preserve in north west Nevada, north east California. The Twin Peaks BLM allotment.
November 21st, 2008 at 7:46 pm
The T Boone Pickens has been giving to charity and Oklahoma State University to make him forgiven for his raiding and dismantling of companies in the 1980. All the people he tossed out of companies and laid off must be weighing on him.
The aid that his wife will apply for to “save” these horses will include a benefit from the BLM to the tune of $1.65 a day to care for each horse. Do the math. That is about $18 MILLION a year. They are only required to provide land, water and some hay. No vet care, no trims, no dental and cannot remove the carcass when a horse dies.
I think you will find the Pickens have a motive at all time.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:06 pm
As to the reply by “An Observer” give Mrs. Pickens the benefit of doubt. She is trying to save an American Icon, not execute them as the BLM would do. I just wish her reserve would be in Texas where most people love horses.
November 22nd, 2008 at 1:08 am
You might ask BLM why they have to protect their range land from 30,000 horses while there are 30 MILLION privately-owned cattle eating the native grasses down to bare rock. If BLM could stop being a Big Ag whore,they could probably find a better solution (than euthanasia) that would be fair to the mustangs and to the people who support them.
Madeline Pickens is a hero in my opinion. It’s inspiring to see people with money spend some of that money on worthy causes.
November 22nd, 2008 at 1:40 am
To everyone who thinks that this is a ploy…SHAME ON YOU! Here is a woman who has the guts and the money to save these horses! TO assume her motives are anything other than pure is ridiculous. Heard of the word altruism???? Look it up! Mrs. Pickens embodies this virture. She is a very wealthy woman and could sit around doing nothing all day; instead Mrs. Pickens takes up a cause she believes in and gives it her all to save innocent animals.
Madeline Pickens is a TRUE American heroine. Saving our American heritage in these mustangs is something to be celebrated. It is high time that Americans stood up to big Argiculture and demanded that cattle ranchers (who want to graze cattle on the land Mustangs inhabit) pay fair land lease rates to the taxpayers. As of now, cattle ranchers don’t need to OWN the land cattle graze on. The ranchers simply pay a small amount to the Feds to graze cattle on PUBLIC LANDS and, at the same time, kick native species and Mustangs off the land.
To “An Observer”– you have obviously not owned horses…I have. Let me tell you, $1.65 a day to cover water, hay and land costs is NOTHING! Hay is so very expensive that I am sure the Pickens’ will be dipping in to their own wallets to cover the fees. Again, look up the word altruism…
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I believe what she is doing is wonderful. As a young girl growing up I owned several horses and know how much work is involved in the caring of them. The mustangs represent the last of the west and should be protected just like the buffalo are protected. I am glad that they now have an angel to look out for them. I did not know about Mrs. Pickens helping all the animals in La after Katrina until this recent bit of news. If she ever reads this article I think what you are doing is wonderful and helping those animals in La was very nice of you.
November 23rd, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Thank you, Mrs. Pickens! The way people treat animals says a lot about the people, and what you have done for these horses says SO MUCH about the person you are. Our First Presbyterian Church in Wisconsin was praying for a kinder and more just solution, and you came forward. You are a true heroine.
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:46 pm
A million acre refuse is impractical. Try 10 100,000 acre ones. In order to care for the old, infirmed, and diseased you’d need several air planes to cover a million acres. Putting several ranches in play in different areas of the US would enable more to be cared for in a manageable way. When looking for help, look no further than the boomer cowgirls. Many of us are looking for a worthwhile future and if you put out the call I’m sure you’ll find plenty fo women ready to jump on board with a great deal of ex-perience and knowhow.
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:18 pm
As a WWII veteran at 83 years old I applaud you for what you are doing. I just wanted to say I wish I was a younger man so I could come out there and help you. Keep up the good work!!!
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:34 pm
You are a wonderful human being…I am so impressed with your empathy and compassion towards our voiceless “four-leggeds”…may God bless you!
if you a re looking for animal lovers to come & help pls don’t hesitate to call on us “boomers”…we’re in pretty good shape and would like to help the cause.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Madeline Pickens is an angel of animals and wildlife. Thank You for sparing these horses. The law that states that they cannot be adopted otherwise needs to be changed. I am going to email all my animal and wildlife advocates to aid in this change. We, (the people who signed the petition to stop horse slaughter and closed them down them in the US are also battling exporting them for slaughter. Please write your Congressperson, Senator and Representatives to help change the laws that state these horses are to be euthanized instead of free. Madeline is correct in stating that sterilizing them is the solution.
We have to join Madenline Pickens together to make this change.
We need more safety features in our laws to protect animals and wildlife from developing areas as well. Thank you Madeline!
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:06 pm
I don’t know anything about Mr. Pickens’s business dealings, but if Mrs. Pickens is going to spend this amount of money to save the horses, she’s an angel and I thank her.
November 25th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Thank you Madeline for doing what those of us who share your love of horses could only dream of doing. Last week alone in Monterey California, a half a dozen abandoned horses were brought to the animal shelter for rescue. With the economy gone belly up, many families are hard pressed to keep a roof over their own heads, and subsequently the family cat, dog, or horse suffers abandonment or worse. It is a sad comment about our society that often in hard times the creatures whose lives once provided comfort are left behind and forgotten.
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I don’t care why she is doing it…I just want to thank her and her deep pockets… THANKS
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:20 am
I encourage anyone who opposes the Pickens plan or has a negative opinion of Mrs. Pickens initative to talk to someone who has adopted a mustang. Ours is the most loyal, most friendly, most even tempered and most adaptable horse in the herd. These horses share our heritage, deserve the respect of all Americans and a due the salvation from an unnatural fate. Mrs. Pickens, I’m in, just tell me where and when to show up!
Note to Brent Espil, I think you need to do a bit more reseach - the Twin Peaks area you suggest is the home to one of the most genetically pure Mustang herds maintained by the BLM. The Twin Peak gene pool is so stable that it has been suggested that the Twin Peak Mustangs be considered a breed. Furthermore, the intent of the BLM is to protect the ranges where herds exist; your suggestion would displace an entire herd’s existence.
December 5th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
I wish the cattle industry would tone it down and stop encroaching on the wild land. If people would eat less meat, the vegetables grown in the same size area would feed many more people.
December 6th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
GOD BLESS HER!!!!!!!!!!!
December 7th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Finally, someone who can help wants to. I agree with Lucy, we can do better with a few less cattle!
December 7th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
I applaud her efforts.I have a truck and trailer and a love for horses if she wants to put me to work.I just want to express the frustration i see everyday from area rescue groups when there is not enough homes for all these animals (dogs and cats included). The BLM should require all of the stallions to be castrated before adoption. And i really wish people would stop breeding,and that includes race horses!
December 9th, 2008 at 7:28 am
I think the suggestion that she’d find many willing volunteers among ‘boomer’ women is grand; in my area that’s who mainly run the rescues and put in the hours to feed, medicate, etc. It is going to be time consuming to drop hay on the no-doubt rugged remote land.
But grow vegetables instead? Come on…the reason all this land has remained in federal hands is because it could never be claimed by the pioneers as there is little water. It is certainly not arable…only the thrifty native plants can survive and they grow in a patchy, selective pattern reflecting soil depth and rainfall. Eat more vegetables by all means but give up on growing them on these BLM lands. PS yes I own a mustang!
December 17th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
We needed a new Wild Horse Annie!! THANK YOU!!!!!
December 22nd, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I think if we all really have any questions about this, maybe we should go for visits. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth is what my daddy always said. If we monitor the care of the animals and volunteer at the facility, then we know what is going on. Do I get an amen?
December 28th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
How can I help?
December 28th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
How can I help??
December 30th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Madleine Picken’s interest and overreaching plan was a much welcomed report in the otherwise bleak news! Enlivended by the news of the educational component, I yearn to be a participant in the plan.
With a M.A. in museum ecucation, voulunteer experience as a museum Docent and the desire to work within and for nature, I would love to be a part of the planning and implementing stages of this humanitarian effort.
PLEASE contact me!
January 6th, 2009 at 1:59 am
More power to Mrs. Pickens. This is what the BLM should have been doing all along. Why does it take a private individual to come up with a logical, workable plan? What is wrong with our government? It is our tax dollars that have been supporting the failing BLM plan. Our government should take the money they have been giving the BLM and give it to Mrs. Pickens to implement her plan.
January 6th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Yes! We have an angel on Earth! Thank you Mrs. Pickens. I have followed the wild horses since 1971. It is a shame the way we treat this beautiful creature that helped create the United States of America. Horses were brave soles leading us into battle, loyal partners to Lewis and Clark in their infamous explorations of the West, carried families and supplies in covered wagons to the great frontier, pulled heavy plows day after day saving the backs of farmers who grew our food. They even carried our mail on the first U.S. postal route. All they asked for in return is some hay, water and love. It is a sad to think that payment for a lifetime of service and heroism is euthanasia. Yes, I also have 3 wild horses. We are trusted friends for life. The way it used to be and should always be.
January 12th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Thank you on behalf of all the horses the BLM is trying to destroy. I am beyond appalled at what’s happening to these amazing creatures and want it stopped immediately! I would like to help with this project and will do whatever I can to assist in saving these beautiful animals from destruction. Please contact me and let me know how I can help!
SAVE THE HORSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 16th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Dear Mrs. Pickens,
An associate of mine and myself have been granted a Patent for a product addressing “ALTERNATIVE ENERGY”. It is a new way of heating your home that has never been thought of before. Our product can be used for residential, commercial or industrial heating. It is a completely “Green” approach and will undoubtedly create an entirely new industry.
It is my hope that someone who screens these replies would alert Mr Pickens that we would love to talk to him. I’m not sure how to contact Mr. Pickens.
Hope to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Bill Percy cell # 201-230-9874
January 29th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
We have a plan that would save these horses as well as domestic animals (and rehabilitate the domestic animals for successful adoptions) that could be a part of a large wind farm(s). If there is a way to be in touch with Mrs. Pickens, we would certainly be grateful for the opportunity to discuss this with her.
February 1st, 2009 at 8:39 pm
If her plan could be expanded to include ANY horses, including those that owners can no longer take care of, I’m all for it, and I would not want any that belonged to me “adopted” after being set free. As far as dentals, trims, vet care, vaccinations, ad infinitum, since when did that exist for unowned horses, anyway? If they’re going to be gelded to prevent reproduction, they’ll all be gone in 30 years, so what does it matter? I think I’d prefer to live my life as an uncared for wild horse with only hay in the winter any day (which is still better than the life of a wild horse in the past) if the alternative was euthanasia or starvation (like we see so many cases of these days).
February 6th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Having spent 50 + years working with horses the following is true ! Anything we do as humans with wildlife is usually “wrong” . When will we learn that in order to allow Mother Nature’s creatures to be exactly what they are, means providing access for them to live there lives naturally without our intervention ! However, “IF” we have to place them in a preservation system than it should be as close to their natural instinctive lifestyle and behavior as possible !!! There are no “Geldings” in nature and you do not have humans “select” in any way what their genetics, social herd behavior and activities should be ! With today’s technology it would be very conceivable to allow multiple herds live truly “wild horse” lives with minimal intervention !! Required would be annual movement of the herds into large holding corals and single file through a chute, vaccinating the mares for control of foal production and immediately returning to the wild ! Maintaining any herd size is dependent only upon which year you skip the round up and vaccination process ! Wild horse raw instinct, behavior and social interaction would be completely natural and a “gift” for any human to witness !! Herds could live out their lives as almost totally free and management on public BLM lands could be in exactly the same fashion !!!! Rounding up and segregating Stallions, Mares and Foals is no different than going into a neighborhood, taking 50 families from their homes, “castrating” the men and sending them off to live together, gathering all the children and adopting them out and leaving all the mothers to themselves !!! We would “NEVER” do that to the human race “WHY” do we force this upon the “Wild Horse” ?
February 14th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Dear Mrs. Pickens, God Bless you for trying to save the horses.
My wife and I lived in Reno, Nv from 79 thru 93 and in Fallon, NV from 93-98. Since then we have lived in Henderson, NV. While living in Northern NV, we spent almost every free day 4 wheeling Northern Calif and Nev. We were always so happy to see a small herd of mustangs running free. The BLM would like them all dead along with all the ranchers. The BLM so they do not have to bother with them and the ranchers want every available bit of grassland for there herds. Prior to WWII, tens of thousands of mustangs roamed these same ranges. They were turned into flight andbomber jackets and meat for the grocerry stores. I know, I was forced to eat the course horsemeat as a child.
While 4 wheeling all over much of Northern Nev and Calif, we seldom encountered herds of wild horses. Sometimes we would stumble on entire herds that had been murdered by ranchers and/or vandals. Very few people were ever prosecuted and those that were either got off or got a slap on the wrist.
We were so saddened by the plight of the wild horses. It’s the say story over and over. Politics and greed. Ever wonder why the BLM increased the adoption rate from under $50 to $125 per head. Less would be adopted and more would be euthanized.
Please do not give up your plans for the wild horses, and I thank you for them and my wife and myself.
Bob Sands
February 16th, 2009 at 1:35 am
I SAY GREAT BUT CAN I HAVE A JOB PLEASE MABE TAKE CARE OF HORSES THANKS JOHN
April 5th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Hello. I would enjoy your update on this very real life and death situation that is our future. We are all connected. I too, am very intrested in starting a sanctuary to save the wild horses and burros. I am committed to this cause and am just beginning to research the magnitude of this critical cause that cries for HELP! I would truely respect dialog from you or your organization for ongoing information for this well-born effort and/or efforts.
Thank-you. sincerely,Debra Botello
May 19th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
I would like to get in touch with Mrs. Pickens as I am going to write a book to bring attention to the plight of the Wild Mustang. Perhaps she would like to make a statement for my book.
I have written four books to date.
You can view my books on my blog - ray-fortner.blogspot.com
Two of these books feature a feral mustang as one of the lead characters.
I can be reached at 850-438-6921 or rbfortner@cox.net
Thank you for any help you can give.
June 4th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Why Doesn’t she invest in her grand kids and save the children insteasd!!
July 4th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
What You Can Do to Help Save Cloud’s Herd and America’s Wild Horses
Be Bold,
Speak out Tell friends
family and emial your local state and President Obama
~ “Join the Cloud Foundation
Over 40% of America’s wild horses have been removed from the wild from 2000-2008 alone and if the agency responsible for managing our wild horses, the Bureau of Land Management, does not change we are in danger of losing the last of our wild horses. Over 100 herds have been zeroed out from the over 19 million acres legally designated for their use. The BLM needs to return wild horses to these areas—over 30,000 are currently in government holding.
As few as 13,600 wild horses remain in designated public land herd areas in ten western states in America, among them is Cloud’s herd in the Pryor Mountain area of Montana and Wyoming. Only 25% of our wild herds are currently at genetically viable population levels! Cloud’s herd is one of these although a massive round-up planned for August 2009 would change this. The round-up would result in 60 horses losing their families and their freedom, including some horses who have lived their entire 20+ years in the wild. We must stop the destruction of Cloud’s herd and work for the sustainable future of all our wild horse herds across the west.Congressmen Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) have stepped forward to make real and positive changes to the Wild Horse and Burro program with their recently introduced bill HR 1018. Please write to them to thank them for their hard work. You can read Ginger Kathrens’ comments and suggestions to the congressmen here.
Here is a short list of government contacts — please write, e-mail and/or call on behalf of Cloud and all our wild mustangs.
Contact the following agencies and representatives
PRESIDENT:
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comment line: 202-456-1111
www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/
CONGRESS:
1. Stop the BLM from managing our wild horses to extinction.
2. Halt all round-ups of wild horses until range conditions and herd numbers can be verified.
3. Return wild horses in holding to the 100+ herd areas (19+ million acres) that have been zeroed out.
4. Expand the Pryor Mountain. Wild Horse Range for Cloud’s Herd & protect herd at viable population level of at least 150 adult horses until range is expanded.
Congressman Nick Rahall (D-WV)
2307 Rayburn HOB
Washington,DC 20515
(202) 225-3452
email
Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
1440 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
ph (202) 225-2435
fax (202) 225-1541
Email to: Laurel.Angell@mail.house.gov
Your US Senators and Congress people
Montana Senator Max Baucus (D)—specific to Cloud’s herd
511 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington DC, 20510, phone: 202-224-2651
e-mail from: http://baucus.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
Montana Senator Jon Tester (D)—specific to Cloud’s herd
204 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington DC, 20510,
phone: 202-224-2644, e-mail from: http://tester.senate.gov/Contact/
Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee:
304 Dirksen Senate Building, Washington, DC 20510
phone: (202) 224-4971, Fax: (202) 224-6163, e-mail all 23 members at http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
Reinstate wild horse protections removed in 2004 by the Burns Rider and include language in the bill that would prevent BLM from destroying healthy wild horses.
DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR- BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
1. Work to expand the legal boundaries of the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range to include the historic and current use areas in the Custer National Forest. This will allow for a truly viable herd of 200-300 mustangs.
2. Keep the population at a viable number of at least 150 adults until range expansion is achieved. This will allow for the preservation of the rare Spanish genetics of the herd. Bringing in horses from other herds is ill advised, unnecessary and costly.
3. Do not remove older horses
4. Work to protect the mountain lions that have kept the herd at zero population growth in years past. Natural management should be the goal.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar \
DOI, 1849 C Street NW, Washington DC 20240
Phone: 202-208-7351, exsec@ios.doi.gov
BLM Acting Director Ron Wenker & Acting Deputy Director Mike Nedd
1849 C Street NW, Washington DC, 20040, phone: 202-208-3801 Ron_Wenker@blm.gov, Mike_Nedd@blm.gov
Don Glenn BLM Division Chief of Wild Horse and Burro Program
BLM Washington Office, 1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5665 Washington DC 20240
Phone: 1-800-710-7597 or 202-208-3801, Fax: 202-208-5242, wildhorse@blm.gov
Jim Sparks, Field Manager BLM -Billings Field Office
5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, MT 59101
phone (406) 896-5223, fax (406) 896-5281
Jim_Sparks@blm.gov
United States Department of Agriculture
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250
Email: AgSec@usda.gov
FOREST SERVICE
Ask the following people to please work with the BLM to expand the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range to include the historic and current use areas in the Custer National Forest. This will allow for a truly viable herd of 200-300 mustangs.
• Abigail Kimbell, Chief USDA Forest Service
1400 Independence Ave., SW Washington, D.C. 20250-0003
phone: (202) 205-1661, e-mail: akimbell@fs.fed.us
• Mary Erickson, Acting Forest Supervisor- Custer National Forest
PO Box 130, Bozeman, MT 59771,
p. 406-587-6701, mcerickson@fs.fed.us
• Chris Worth, Acting Deputy Supervisor
1310 Main Street, Billings, MT 59105
phone: 406-657-6200, cworth@fs.fed.us
Please write letters to the editor, ask that your favorite radio and TV hosts cover this story and last but not least, please tell your friends and family about wild horses and ask them to join the Cloud Foundation in helping to protect and preserve wild horses on our public lands.
List compiled by The Cloud Foundation, March, 2009 ~ www.thecloudfoundation.org
Please share this press release with local and national media, friends and colleagues, and voice your concerns wtih our government’s management of our wild horses directly to President Obama at ww.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/. We need change in the Wild Horse and Burro Program to protect our wild horses. Thank you.
PRESS RELEASE
June 11, 2009- for immediate release
Documents Reveal BLM Secret Plan to Destroy Wild Horses
Documents obtained from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) via the Freedom of Information Act by a Phoenix-based non-profit, The Conquistador Program, reveal shocking and detailed plans to destroy healthy wild horses in government holding facilities as well as those still remaining in the wild on public lands.
BLM employees as well as a USDA veterinarian held weekly “Implementation Team” meetings beginning in July of 2008 in which they discussed and developed strategies aimed at ridding BLM of thousands of mustangs. In October they completed a 68 page document entitled “Alternative Management Options”. Tactics included in this document are reminiscent of those used to wipe out Native American tribes in the 1800s.
The BLM team created scenarios for killing mustangs using barbiturates, gun shots, or captive bolts. Bodies would be disposed of through rendering, burial or incineration. They discussed killing 1200-2000 wild horses per year. The document states that “the general public would be prohibited from viewing euthanasia.” Additionally, the Team felt that “increased support from public relations and management staff would also be needed to insulate those doing the actual work from the public, media and Congressional scrutiny/criticism.”
“Minutes from these meetings as well as the Draft Plan reveal what amounts to ‘the final solution’ for the American mustang,” states Ginger Kathrens, filmmaker and Volunteer Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation. “Despite a huge outcry from the American public last year regarding BLM plans to kill wild horses in holding, the agency is still pressing forward with a plan to destroy our American mustangs both on and off the range.”
Division Chief of the Wild Horse and Burro Program Don Glenn told The Cloud Foundation that “no decision has been made to move forward on a large scale with this plan, yet.”
BLM meeting minutes speak for themselves. “Security at facilities and at gathers would need to be increased to combat eco-terrorism. Having the people that are willing to put down healthy horses at gather sites could be a problem. Having vets putting down healthy horses at preparation facility[ies] could also be a problem.” Meeting minutes reveal the psychological toll that employees would pay—“have counseling for employees and contractors that have to euthanize the healthy horses because it is very stressful.”
The report created an option in which wild horses of all ages could be sold “without limitation”. In other words, horses could be sold directly to killer buyers in unchecked numbers. The Team admitted that “some wild horses will go to slaughter”.
“Once they are gone, they’re gone” says Karen Sussman, President of the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros. “To lose this incomparable species would be a travesty.”
Team Members formulated ways in which they could circumvent the National Environmental Policy Act, asking “How many (wild horses) could be euthanized during a gather (roundup) without having NEPA?” BLM discussed ways to circumvent the federal carcass disposal law (43 CFR 4730.2). Conversations included how many wild horses could be rendered at the Reno Rendering plant or “disposed of in pits”. The Team concluded that “there will not be large numbers of horses euthanized during gathers or in the field. This is due to state environmental laws.”
Recommendations include the creation of gelding herds, and sterilization of mares to create non-reproductive herds in the wild in place of natural herds. The team recommended changing the sex ratio from the normal 50% males and 50% females to 70% males and 30% females. Then the experimental two-year infertility drug, PZP-22, would be given to all mares that are returned to the wild. Plans call for rounding up the wild horses every two years to re-administer the drug.
“Mares on the drug will cycle monthly and, with the altered sex ratio, the social chaos will be dangerous and on-going,” Kathrens explains. “Any semblance of normal wild horse society will be completely destroyed.”
Kathrens has spent 15 years in the wild documenting mustang behavior for her PBS television documentaries which chronicle the life story of Cloud, the now famous pale palomino stallion she has filmed since birth. “Even Cloud and his little herd in Montana are in serious danger if BLM implements these options,” she continues. “The BLM plans a massive round up in Cloud’s herd beginning August 30, 2009.”
The BLM will not guarantee that Cloud and his family will remain free.
BLM Alternative Management Options
BLM Implementation Team minutes