Written by VIVIAN GRANT
Well, those of us following the BLM Public Meeting in Denver on the Wild Horse & Burro Program via live streaming just got kicked out.
Here are my thoughts on what we heard once the audio was (pretty much) sorted out.
Wild Horse & Burro Decimation Plan
The bottom line is that the BLM are sticking to their plan no matter what. They are doing so because, what else can they do? The BLM are carrying out the agenda as dictated by the Department of Interior, under the direction of Secretary Ken Salazar, appointed by Barack Obama.
No matter how well wild horse and burro advocates debate the points, defeating BLM arguments at every turn, or how many great solutions or alternatives they suggest, America’s wild horses and burros will be zeroed out. All of them. End of story. They will be rounded up, the ones who are not adopted will be imprisoned, then euthanized. In this case, euthanized means slaughter (as Horse Slaughter Sue Wallis finally got around to recommending after babbling incoherently in her earlier turns at the mic). That is the Obama Plan. Therefore that is the Salazar Plan, and the BLM’s.
Public hearings such as these are an exercise in futility, but attend we must. Wild horse and burro advocates have to continue giving a voice to our wild equines. As always they are doing a stellar job.
Wild horse and burro advocates say we need more data, more ideas, more plans, perhaps even more celebrities. Well, that’s great, but where has it gotten us, or more importantly, where has it gotten the wild horses and burros? Rounded up, harassed, imprisoned and abused — some to the point of death. What America’s wild horses and burros truly need is a voice in the nation’s capital.
It is the federal government who got the wild horses and burros into this mess. It will take the federal government to get them out of it. The question is, with elected and appointed officials conducting the business of lobbyists and special interest groups, and no one else’s, the taxpaying citizen has absolutely no say in how this country is run, or what the policies are. Of course, we can vote out the old and vote in the new, but how long before they too are sucked into the same malignant cycle?
Our wild horses and burros need strong, relentless and powerful voices in Washington, true champions who will get the job done to return and leave them in the freedom they were promised in 1971.
Live Streaming, BLM Wild Horse & Burro Meeting, Denver, Colorado continues June 15th.
Link: http://xtomic.acrobat.com/blm. Sign in as a Guest.
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Tuesday's Horse 
Just listening to the Meeting, for me the only thing that should be be talked about is why The BLM , is NOT doing there job , and that is PROTECTING and PRESERVING the Wild Mustang!!! And when are they going to put them back on their land? And why they are terrorizing them daily, instead of coming up with new methods of horror for the Mustangs. What part of stop this insanity dont they understand, there is no problem for the Mustang except for the BLM problem, that is what needs to be solved here!!!! My God, what is wrong here???????
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What do you do when no there in DC listens to the plight of the Wild mustang , this has happen before in history ……………………………………………..Seems like no matter what we do, those beautiful mustangs go on suffering…………………………..If you ever watched Hildago ( the Movie) it took money to free them…………….. That is exactly what its going to take now…………………….. So what are we going to do????????? I have begged pleaded, urged implored to Washington to no avail ………… What do we do?????? There is an answer, But what is it????? Someone has it !!!!!
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Somehow I can’t help but wonder if today’s staged Discussion Forum is part of the larger plan – PR to brainwash the rest of the country and busy work to keep advocates away from work that makes a real difference. Everything they had on their agenda they have been receiving letters, emails, phone calls about for months, years. They set up a website early this year to solicit feedback – we gave it to them. They know what we want. They are just playing with us. Reminds me of a cat with a mouse….
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the other person that has spoken up to adopt a lot of wild horses is madeline pickens – she has offered to buy land in nevada and take several thousand wild horses but the blm turned her down
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where are the heroes we used to have – remember when washington used to respect people from hollywood that did good causes – i know many are there but who recognizes them – when paul mc cartney went to washington and did a concert, obama honored him with something cant remember what it was – well paul mc cartney is a large contributor to one of the wild horse funds – he and his first wife raised horses – she loved them – maybe we need him to confront washington since obama seems to like him
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This is why I am convinced, for this reason and many others, that the Obama agenda is to get rid of them, once and for all. I never would have thought this of him. I can’t express how disappointed I am. As you say, Jan, where have all the heroes gone? And it is not that we are asking for anything unreasonable. Just call a moratorium on all round ups and investigate the management of this program.
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I do not believe Pres Obama wants to get rid of the wild horses. I think he has so much on his plate that the wild horses do not even register in his mind. This fight needs to be in the Senate. That is where everything goes to die. President Obama is not standing in the way of Congress passing ROAM.
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Perhaps so, Susan, about President Obama. However, there is no way he did not see the huge protest in Las Vegas when he was there. And the White House has been bombarded day after day after day, for months. I know he has a tough job; I know things are in a huge mess. His priorities are not mine; not a lot of people’s. Obama pushed through a health care bill when people needed to be put back to work first. Even his supporters agree with that. And yes, now there is the oil disaster in the Gulf. But there is always some crisis or another. Our wild horses and burros are on the verge of being zeroed out. It would take Obama 5 minutes to instruct an aide to tell the DOI/BLM to stop the roundups and tell Congress to get an investigation underway. Horse issues are always bipartisan issues. Insofar as the Senate, as long as you have Senator Harry Reid of NV in any kind of power position, we will get absolutely nowhere there. Remember, Reid is the one who got former Senator Conrad Burns to do his dastardly dirty work in the first place, stripping the 1971 Free Roaming Wild Horse & Burro Act of its protective measures from slaughter ‘under the cover of darkness.’ You most likely are aware of all this, and I hope you do not feel I am being preachy. There are lot of people following this issue here, and hopefully it will give them more perspective.
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No, not preachy at all. I learn a lot from you. I do know a bit about the Burns amendment and how it was snuck in. I was trying to find out the other night if the ROAM act effectively repeals the Burns amendment. I find the 3 strikes rule one of the most egregious acts against the wild horses that completely 100% goes against everything the 1971 law stands for. Will ROAM strip this rule? I hope so.
And yes, the President could do something for the wild horses. I wish he would. I just don’t think he will tackle this right now. The gays are mad at him too for not tackling DADT. Look at what Bush Cheney left him. He is only human and I do think we are lucky to have him. I really do. Especially when you consider the alternative.
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I agree about Obama to a high degree. However, we just do not have the time to wait on him to get around to it. Our wild horses and burros are being maliciously handled, cruelly abused with many dying. There are hardly any left, just 20,000 or so, perhaps a few more, but not many. Once they are gone, we cannot bring them back. It is a real American tragedy. No, the ROAM Act does not really repeal the Burns Amendment, but it does give the wild horses & burros more protection than they have now. It is pretty weighty. I prefer streamlined legislation where the opposition does not have a lot to hang their hat on. Easier to pass. On the other hand, when you have a massive bill, you have a lot of bargaining material with a few items considered non-negotiable, which I suspect was Rahall’s intention. I saddens me to think we may see our wild horses and burros disappear from the American landscape in my lifetime.
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Jan, you know I think technology, world business ( of course), and modern culture have all worked to take us away from fundamental values- away from each other. We are passified — as if we are communicating to make a difference here in the web — while we are really so helpless.
We don’t have news or television as a voice because cowardly television will only report what’s accepted by business and politics. We don’t have a voice in movies because film has forfeited to politics as a power body in this culture and taken the route of profit only- not message. Celebrities have less weight than they used to because they are no longer a novelty- there are too many of them. And while fighting for their careers they are just as awestruck as the rest of us by what’s happened since the war started, or else just looking to keep themselves off the radar.
We need to stand up! We are loosing this country. We need to fight with all the passion we had as teenagers! This is blatant injustice and a result of only one thing- laziness on the part of lawmakers.
Same thing in the gulf! Trying to bring better product in there to cleanup is like talking to a wall.
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Vivian, beginning next month, the Mustangs cannot be sent to slaughter. The EU regulations prohibit all wild equidae meat except zebra. It’s on page 3, the third paragraph of the EU communcation to third countries exporting horse meat. Of course, we should keep an eye on hardware stores for a run on black and white paint…
Your assessment was right on target. They want them gone. The beef industry runs everything and between their livestock on public lands that cost us hundreds of millions of dollars and the special interests, they are doomed. I don’t know why they waste all the money and time on meetings when they have no intention of listening to anyone or changing anything.
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Thank you, Vicki, for your great comment, especially on EU regulated plants. However, the problem is Mexico. It is not clear exactly how many plants slaughter horses there. I asked the AAEP because they had been there to inspect several. According to the AAEP, there are only two horse slaughter plants that are EU regulated. You may find this interesting. Looking at the number of tonnes of horse meat produced and exported by both Mexico and Canada, it does not add up. It could very well be that some of the Mexican plants export horse meat to Canada, who stick their seal on it, then ship it on to EU countries. I know you are aware that Mexico had the same “deal” with the two horse slaughter plants operating in Texas, who put a USDA sticker on their horse meat for them. This was exposed in the injunctive lawsuit filed to keep the Texas plants open. I believe the documents are all on Mary Nash’s site. Of course, the CFIA does not respond when asked to explain this.
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Aren’t they predicting Mexican slaughter to increase xfold when Canada bans our horses? And Mexican slaughter is THE most horrific thing in the world for horses.
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I think the EU directed 6 month quarantine will put a hitch in their giddyup (as they say in Texas), but people will falsify their horse health history documentation. Who is going to check it? You can already see that the horse slaughter plants are not properly supervised by the CFIA. Hell, they didn’t even have supervising officials on the kill floor for three years — as ordered by the CFIA. Unbelievable. Not until people stop eating horse meat will horse slaughter ever really stop. That is why we have been working so hard with media campaigns in Europe.
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I came into the video meeting as sue wallis was finishing up with her famous ‘guts torn out by coyotes’ speech. The moderator was very strict about keeping everyone en pointe – the subject was ‘adoptions’. Whenever the topic strayed, he brought everyone back to the subject.
So how’s come I get on there in time to hear sue & no objection from the moderator?
Vivian – you’re absolutely right about the need for an Equine Power Broker. I’m simply stumped, though, as to how to BUY one.
I’ve been a part of the vocal Advocacy for a relatively short period of time. I understand that this has become a REAL battle for about the last six months or so. While my heart & soul belong to Equines & their best interests, this battle has also become about the gentrification of the power structure & how far our representatives have set themselves above us. It’s allowed me to see the correlations between those things considered economically unfeasible or unimportant – Wild Equines, wild life, the health and protection of open space, Public lands, coast lines & waterways, the moral imperative to treat animals with humanity & respect – regardless of their purpose in the scheme of human existence – how all of these things, inlcuding the overall well being of American Citizens, are intertwined yet have been relegated to the basement in favor of Them What Has. It is beyond frustrating.
My apologies for the ramble.
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Lisa, that was one of the best ramble-rants I’ve seen in awhile. Could not agree more and it’s so frustrating to feel we cannot find a white knight. With all the celebs, major figures who has made some stand, nothing sticks, no one’s stand is big enough to make a difference. Very maddening…..
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Vivian, great comments on our little virtual roundtable. You’re right, the s**t runs straight downhill from the White House. They want the land, they want the money, and they want the wild ones GONE ASAP!
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We should look at Engles out of Nevada sponsored by the “Tea Party”. Someone should contact her regarding the wild horse situation . Vote for her and then get the Tea Party behind us. By doing this Reid is gone and we have Engles. The other things is we must get HR-503 passed that way our horses can not be taken out of the United States. I thought something was funny when Mexico and Canada both said they were doubling their slaughter for this year. The other persons that holds a lot of clout for what they are doing in New Orleans, etc. is Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. Also, we could get more people to open up more sanctuaries.
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Sharon Engle believes the Dept of Education should be abolished. She believes income tax should be abolished. She believes social security should be ended. She believes only one person in the family should have a job outside the home (right, Sharon, how about each spouse having 2 jobs each in this economy). Do you really think she would care about wild horses if she doesn’t care about your kid’s education or your mother’s social security income? Say good bye forever to any wild horses in Nevada if she gets elected. Just because someone isn’t Harry Reid doesn’t mean they give a hoot about wild horses. She is a whackadoodle who has no business holding public office.
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Oh, my, Susan. Engle does sound like a whackadoodle (great word by the way) with no business holding public office. No one wants federal income tax; want it all at the state level . . . until a national disaster happens. Mind you, the bureaucrats in DC don’t spend it well, do they, when they actually get around to responding? Reid has to go. Is she the only candidate running against him? We’re doomed!
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Who can we get to be the champions?
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We need someone in Washington DC with power who will be moved to help. That means every single one of us who cares contacting anybody and everybody who represents them, and not stopping, until we get the attention of the right person; who will not pay lip service, but make it their mission to save these horses and burros. That is what we can do from our end. I can’t tell you how disappointed I am in the power players who usually stand up for horses in DC who have made all kinds of tough public statements who have not lifted a finger to help, or who have said there is nothing they can do. Getting rid of Harry Reid would be a great start. I hope Nevadans vote him out of there.
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