Wildhorse news 11th Hour for Cloud’s Herd
National Call in Day for Cloud is Friday, August 28th — SPREAD THE WORD!
Barbara Ellen Ries says:
11th Hour for Cloud’s Herd
Please act now to stop this unnecessary and cruel round up— the BLM still plans to move forward on September 1st
The Bureau of Land Management is rounding up and eliminating 12 herds (650 horses) off 1.4 million acres in Nevada right now– next they plan to destroy Cloud’s herd with a massive removal of 70 horses that would include OLDER HORSES and YOUNG FOALS.
Many of the horses you have come to love in the Cloud shows and will meet in the new Cloud show on October 25th will lose their families and their freedom next week. By zeroing out whole herds and reducing others to below genetic viability, the BLM is circumventing the will of Congress.
The House just passed the Restoring of American Mustangs (ROAM) act and the Senate will review this bill (now S.1579) when they return from recess in September. Is BLM just trying to do as much irrevocable damage to America’s wild horses as they can before Congress can act?
This round up will start on September 1st unless we can stop it. Removing 70 horses will destroy this unique little Spanish herd, leaving them well below the bare minimum for genetic viability. The range is in great condition and the horses are healthy. This removal should be stopped. Please do all you can to help! Listen to Ginger Kathrens on Endangered Stream Live– a special edition show “Angels for Cloud” http://wflendangeredstreamlive.blogspot.com/2009/08/angels-for-cloud-with-gunger-kathrens.html
National Call in Day for Cloud is Friday, August 28th — SPREAD THE WORD!
Have your kids call in and write too– These horses need to be preserved for future generations and we must act NOW
1. Call/write/fax President Obama as often as you can—this herd is a national treasure and should not be wiped out by a government agency. Please flood the phone lines with calls! Phone: 120-2456-1111 or 202-456-9000 Fax: 202-456-2461
E-mail Obama http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/
You can also call or write to the President (Please include your e-mail address):
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
2. Ask Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar to stop this round up
Call: 202-208-3100
Write: feedback@ios.doi.gov
3. BLM Director Bob Abbey, tell him to halt this round up– he must reconsider his agency’s actions
Call: 202-208-3801
Fax: 202-208-5242
Robert_Abbey@blm.gov
4. Call and write your own Senators and Congress people- tell them that Montana is allowing the destruction of Cloud’s unique and historical wild horse herd. Politely express your outrage and ask them to help stop this round up. Find your state offices here
Listen to Ginger Kathrens NOW on “WFL Endangered Stream Live” http://wflendangeredstreamlive.blogspot.com/2009/08/angels-for-cloud-with-gunger-kathrens.html
YouTube – Saving America’s Horses (teaser) http://snipurl.com/rgi2b
REMEMBER: National Cloud Call-In Day is FRIDAY, AUGUST 28th!
Thank you to everyone for signing the petition- we only need about 400 more signatures!
YouTube – Stop the Massive Removal of Cloud’s Herd http://snipurl.com/rgi69
Here is more info:
PRESS RELEASE
Bureau of Land Management on Rampage to Destroy Famous Wild Horse Herd
For Immediate Release August 10, 2009
Cloud and the wild horses of Montana’s PryorMountains are world famous but fame it appears is not going to protect the herd from a drastic government round up planned to begin September 1st in their spectacular wilderness home.
There are currently only 190 wild horses (one year and older) living in the PryorMountains. The BLM plans to remove 70 of them, plus foals. According to the foremost equine geneticist, Dr. Gus Cothran, 150-200 adult horses are needed in the herd to ensure their genetic diversity, which is vital to their long term survival.
These 70 horses would be placed in jeopardy. Any horses over 10 years of age can be bought directly by killer buyers and transported over the Northern border to Canadian slaughterhouses or south into Mexico. Younger horses not adopted would be put into government holding with 33,000 others that the BLM has removed from the wild and has proposed killing because they can no longer afford to feed them.
BLM cites poor range condition as the reason to remove the horses but abundant snow and rain for the past two and a half years has produced wonderful range conditions according to all who have visited Cloud and his herd. The Agency is not listening to anyone. They want this herd gutted. Nearly all the mares returned to the range would be given an experimental two-year infertility drug, PZP-22.
This helicopter round up is just one among many that the BLM is trying to complete, perhaps before the Obama Administration can catch up with what is going on.
The PryorMountain wild horses are descendants of the Lewis and Clark horses who were stolen by the Crow Indians in the early 1800′s. They can be traced further back to the horses brought over with the Spanish Conquistadors in 1500 making them one of the most Spanish of all wild horse herds in North America.
Please contact The Cloud Foundation for more information
http://www.thecloudfoundation.org, info@thecloudfoundation.org, 719-633-3842
Tags: wild horsesTagged with: wild horses
Filed under: Horse News
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Wild Horses Rule!
Leave them alone
Kellie Burns
Morgans, welses, and ARABS rock i have them all!!!!!!!!
Kellie
what ever I CAN DO 2 HELP LET ME NO
kelliE
Hey,
I heard that they let cloud and 300 other horses go about 2 weeks ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE Cloud’s herd so much. I have watched so many viedos of him and the herd i think it is terrible! I hope you get a lot of people to sign.
Kellie
Subject: Re: PRESS RELEASE: BLM Rushes Forward with Roundup of World Famous Wild Horse Herd Before Senate Can Act
Famous Wild Horse Herd Granted Two-Day Reprieve from Massive Roundup
For Immediate Release
BILLINGS, MONTANA- August 31, 2009: The Pryor Mountain Wild Horses, perhaps best known from the popular Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies PBS Nature series, have two more days of freedom before an unprecedented round up could begin. The Pryors roundup has been delayed for two days to allow Judge Sullivan of the Federal District Court to hear the case brought against the BLM by The Cloud Foundation and Front Range Equine Rescue.
The Bureau of Land Management, responsible for managing wild horses on public lands in the United States, plans to round up all the horses in Montana’s only remaining wild herd and remove 70 horses plus four or more foals. This will leave a non-viable herd of only 120 horses according to respected equine geneticist, Gus Cothran, Ph.D., of Texas A&M University. The Pryor Mountain wild horses are a unique Spanish herd renowned for their primitive markings, historical connections, and spectacular habitat.
BLM is dispatching National Wild Horse and Burro Program staff for this round up, perhaps because they expect trouble from humane advocates who are currently being prevented from observing this roundup. “Never before in my experience have plans been so vague and operations so secret in the Pryors,” says Ginger Kathrens, Volunteer Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation.” The BLM will be closing down roads to the mountain top where the majority of the herd spends their days grazing peacefully in their subalpine meadows. Young foals, only days old will be driven by helicopters and are in serious danger of being hurt or killed. Billings BLM Field Manager Jim Sparks told one advocate that they would expect a loss of 2% or six horses as a result of this operation.
The BLM has always had signs posted at the entrances to the horse range that tell the public to ‘report violations of harassment, death or removals.’ “Why are they above the law?” Asks Crow Tribe Historian and Elder, Howard Boggess. “Everything that is against the law for me they are planning to do to these horses. This is a very sad thing as far as I’m concerned. The horses have lived here for over 200 years. Even under the harassment of the BLM they’ve survived since 1971.”
The BLM claims that it is necessary to remove 70 horses in order to “maintain a thriving ecological balance.” However, the range is still green in late August following three years of above average precipitation after a multi-year drought. The horses are fat, preparing to go into winter. “Why are they removing nearly half the horses after the drought is over? I’ve told them [the BLM] if you take these 70 horses you’ve destroyed the bloodline, the gene pool will no longer be there,” continues Boggess. “Their whole goal is to get rid of the horses.”
“What they are proposing to do is criminal— people locally and all across the Nation worked so hard to save these horses from eradication in 1968,” explains Kathrens. “This range was specially designated for wild horses, the first of its kind in the nation. This is their refuge and it is about to be invaded.”
The BLM plans to remove 17 horses over ten years old and by BLM’s Standard Operating Procedures, “old, sick or lame horses shall be destroyed.” “When they take out the old horses they remove the ones that know the way to the water, the good grass, the way around the canyon – they’re taking out all of the knowledge of the herd,” Boggess explains. “It is really sad to sit there and look at the horses and think that in the next ten days they’ll be taken off this range and they’ll never see it again.”
This case is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, September 2nd, and thousands of people around the United States and the world await the decision of Judge Sullivan which will decide the fate of the unique and beloved Pryor Wild Horse Herd.
For more information contact:
The Cloud Foundation
Valerie Kennedy
312-371-4933
photos available upon request
info@thecloudfoundation.org
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i hope he is ok with his herd…. its just sooooooo sad
Sign Petition to Save Cloud’s Herd
We need 5,000 signatures – please share this petition with friends!
Cloud is the beautiful wild palomino stallion featured in two PBS specials (with another one to air soon). The Pryor Mountain Wild Horses are a genetically rare Spanish mustang herd. This roundup would hurt the herd’s genetic diversity.
The round up of Cloud’s herd is scheduled for September 1st and 70 horses plus foals could lose their freedom and their families. Many of those removed would be horses in Cloud’s age group- even his 18 year old mother could be targeted for removal! This unnecessary removal must be stopped. Please sign this petition which will be sent to Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and BLM Director Bob Abbey. Please click here to sign the petition- it only takes a moment!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/4/stop-the-massive-removal-of-cloud39s-wild-horse-herd
For more information, go to http://www.thecloudfoundation.org/
I wish there was more we could do!
Kellie
Thats so sad.. :*(