Disappointment Valley Wild Horse. Image / BLM Colorado Photostream on Flickr.
The film Wild Horses and Renegades has generated a federal lawsuit, Kleinert v. Salazar, challenging the recent Disappointment Valley helicopter roundup based on violations of the 1971 Free Roaming Wild Horse & Burro Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the U.S. Constitution.
The legal strategy focuses on staying in court post-roundup. Federal lawsuits against the BLM under the 1971 Wild Horse Act are rare and recent, and this area of the law is literally developing by the day. Most lawsuits are dismissed for lack of standing and mootness. The Kleinert case is unique and should withstand dismissal. This is because the volunteer group is able to return captured horses back to the larger range they inhabited 1971, so the herd can repopulate to a higher, genetically sustainable size
Since the captured Disappointment horses can in fact be returned to the range thanks to community support, the court can grant this relief, which means the case should withstand dismissal and the plaintiffs can stay in court post-roundup.
This will be a rare opportunity to create new law. It could be a game changer for the American wild horse and its advocates.
MEDIA CONTACT: ANNE NOVAK
Anne@CreativePR.net
Tel: 415-531-8454
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A MOVING CLOUD PRODUCTION
Amongst a shroud of BLM secrecy, national protests and alleged wild horse killers in Reno court on Tuesday, filmmaker exposes plan to zero out American wild horses and the dirty slaughter secret
Stars speak out to save iconic wild mustangs in new documentary at Newport Beach Film Festival tonight
Los Angeles, CA (April 26, 2010)—With the American mustang crisis in the news worldwide, award-winning Native American filmmaker, James Anaquad-Kleinert brings his star-studded environmental film, Disappointment Valley … A Modern Day Western, featuring Sheryl Crow, Viggo Mortensen and Daryl Hannah to Newport.
The film screens at the Newport Beach Film Festival today at 6:30 p.m. at Edward Island Theatre in Fashion Island. To purchase tickets and for information visit www.newportbeachfilmfest.com or arrive one hour before the screening to purchase tickets.
The Press and public are invited to the post-screening Q & A for interviews and discussion about the film and wild horse issues in the news. Tokala Clifford-Black Elk, Native American actor, and James Anaquad-Kleinert will address the press. More information about the film can be found at www.theamericanwildhorse.com.
“Disappointment Valley explains the reasons why we are seeing massive wild horse & burro roundups and why these majestic, beautiful, iconic creatures are being threatened and facing possible slaughter,” says Daryl Hannah.
“Killing wild horses, running brutal roundups and shipping them out the back door to slaughter has been going on for years. I’m grateful for people like Sheryl, Viggo, Daryl, Michael and Ginger of The Cloud Foundation for their support of my film,” says James Adaquad-Kleinert adding, “Disappointment Valley shows how wild horses are problematic for the “New Energy Frontier” —the public land grab going on right now. Since America’s wild mustangs cannot speak for themselves we’re getting the word out.” His short film, Wild Horse Spirit, was a pivotal part of the 2007 Emmy award-winning PBS series Natural Hero’s. Now, in Disappointment Valley, the filmmaker explores how the “New Energy Frontier” public land grab is forcing the mustangs out.
“These animals are so important. They tie us to our history. They are part of our heritage,” says Sheryl Crow emphasizing “They have no one to protect them other than us.”
“If the public could view what’s being done to wild horses, the public would stand up and take action,” states Michael Blake, author of Dances with Wolves.
Disappointment Valley documents the West’s legendary wild horses’ struggle for survival today. The film focuses on the stallion named Traveller, the activism used to save him from a horrible fate after he is caught in a roundup and the fight to release him back into the wild. Wild horses have long symbolized freedom, individualism and the free spirit of America. Through poignant interviews, the documentary delves into the reasons behind the massive wild horse roundups today and current impacts of oil, gas, mining and corporate cattle grazing on western public lands. Most shocking is the discovery of the legal loophole—known as the 2004 Burns Amendment—allowing America’s iconic wild mustangs to be sold for slaughter. Horse meat is sold abroad as a delicacy .
Some say Disappointment Valley is similar to the Oscar-winning documentary, The Cove except that the mustang film takes place here at home. Both feature documentaries expose slaughtering a beloved animal for human consumption unknown to the public at large.
James Anaquad-Kleinert has been working for seven years to bring this story out. Tonight he screens his work in progress at the Newport Film Festival in hopes of a distribution deal.
“Wild horses are living things who have a right to coexist in what is a vast landscape, which is the American West,” states Viggo Mortensen in Adaquad-Kleinert’s film adding, “Let’s do something about this!”
