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Old Mare collapsed after being driven to exhaustion by BLM Helicopter. Photo by Catherine Stokes (C) The Cloud Foundation.
This petition is now closed. Thank you to Everyone who Signed.
PLEASE SIGN PETITION TO DEMAND JUSTICE FOR “OLE SISTER”. CLICK HERE
Report Courtesy of Maureen Harmonay
The BLM and its contractors have gone on record lately to vehemently protest the characterization of their wild horse roundups as “stampedes,” with BLM spokesman Tom Gorey going so far as to tell Horseback Magazine‘s Steve Long that the use of the word is nothing more than “anti-BLM propaganda.”
But the latest footage from the Antelope Complex roundup, which began on January 23rd in Nevada’s Great Basin, belies that notion. A graphic videotape recorded yesterday captured not only the steam escaping from the sweat-drenched bodies of the wild horses as they flee the terror of the threatening helicopter above, but also the utter exhaustion of an older mare whose legs gave out when, after being pushed by the pilot for untold miles, she simply could run no more.
Again and again, the mare attempted to stand, to no avail. When finally, after many minutes, she was able to get back on her feet, and stagger off, still rubber-legged, the helicopter swooped right back in and started buzzing her all over again, coming perilously close to actually sideswiping her. Deniz Bolbol was there, and she described the horrifying scene for the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign:
“A band of eight horses enters the chute after being chased for a long distance. They run for a distance before an older mare collapses in the snow, her legs buckling beneath her, utterly exhausted from the long, terrifying run. She lays there helplessly as the helicopter hovers over her. She is too exhausted to move. Two wranglers run toward her waving whips with plastic bags tied to the ends, forcing her to struggle to her feet. Incredibly, the helicopter continues the chase.
The spent mare tries to escape, breathing hard, puffs of steam billowing from her nostrils. The helicopter comes within feet of her as she summons her last strength to trot and then run to escape it. To those of us watching, the chase seems to go on forever; we are shocked that BLM allows it to continue. Finally, the helicopter gives up and the mare is left dazed, her sides heaving. She stops for a moment, then walks off, away from the trap where her family is confined, and out onto the range. Alone.
This mare’s ordeal exemplifies the inhumanity of the roundups, which indiscriminately stampede the elderly, the infirm, the crippled and the very young, along with the able-bodied, subjecting them to extreme, and sometimes fatal, terror, trauma, and exertion. Even a local, pro-BLM rancher observing the roundup remarked on the chase of the elder mare: ‘That shouldn’t have happened to that old sister.'”
Old Mare Collapses at BLM Roundup
Join FaceBook Page, “Demand Justice For Ole Sister” HERE
All Horses Go To Heaven 
,,,So wish I had something to plaster that copter’s rear end with… The pilot is a chicken xxxx coward, a sadistic one at that. Makes me ashamed to be human….
THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS. LEAVE OUR WILD HORSES ALONE. LET THEM LIVE FREE AND STOP KILLING OUR WILDLIFE.
So cruel, How anyone can do this is just beyond me. Where is the justice in treating our Animal Kingdom Like this. Shame on all those who are involved in this act. Recy kypri
NOT COMMENT ;(((((
I know in my heart these people will get whats coming to then in the end. but for me I would love to get a 30-6 high powered gun sit in the hills and shoot the helicoppter and every man involved in this round up. or run them to death!!! this may be my new retirement plan and a good one i might add!!!!
Sounds like a fine retirement to me!
The worst thing is this will continue there is obviously big money to be made,bucks before freedom !!!!
I am so sick of the BLM stories. It seems they only do these things cause they get off on the torture and sufferring. In the end selling them to slaughter. Its like free money for them. It’s bullshit!
I think the BLM is disgusting, they’re murderers. They’re in bed with the cattle ranchers. I hope karma gets back to all of them! The BLM needs t be dismantled. Cheyenne
Hate to see this going on its time it was stopped
This is an unacceptable cruelty and lack of regard for life. Man’s humanity toward man will be judged by his inhumanity toward animals.
This is a travesty of common sense and compassionate action.
To live free, as it was meant to be
i am a wild horse
i wish to roam the land
with my herd
i will make a stand
grazing and lazing
room to run and be free
i am a wild horse
and this is how it should be
no more pens, no more round ups
no more human intrusion
it is time for man to wake up
from his cruel and hostile delusion
give me my grass
give me my trees
let my entire life time pass
in horse only company
Beautiful poetry! Ever so meaningful!
Thank you for sharing this.
This cruelty must stop! There is no excuse for this kind of abuse.
This is a sin! These horses are one of the last remaining symbols of TRUE FREEDOM in the United States of America. And for BLM to be doing this – taking the livelihood and LIFE from these majestic animals for a mere $350 each! If you were in their shoes, how would YOU like to have your home taken from you? How would you like to be captured like a criminal? This is heartbreaking! These animals deserve compassion and love, NOT incarceration and loss of FREEDOM!
These people can not be humane they suck on so many levels I myself am ashamed to be in the same race as these beasts something has got to give on this
Heartless these POS’S are this needs to stop. God will avenge this poor horses tourment. Karma will come trust me God will see to this. Please share we need to stop this ASAP
No animal should be put threw that. They should be in the horses place and rounded up and run down like they did to that horse.
that copter and the loser SOB flying it who was abusing the horse and trying to kill them and the mare should have been brought down! now with a smooth landing either!….GOOD FOR NOTHING!…………how dare you people torture and abuse and kill these or any animals!……..you shouls all be sent straight to hell!
How about if we place these helicopter pilots on the ground and chase them around? How long do you think these evil pieces of crap would last?
Why such cruelty to one of God’s beautiful creatures? This travesty must end now!!! Leave the horses alone!!!
It is deplorable the conditions they provide for these animals..kinda like the way they treated the American Indians and their great plan for their “reservations” only thing is we seem to not want to give the horses even that much space! Such a shame seeing as they are part of the last LIVING part of the very colorful Wild West, and even the start of the New World, so to speak. I wonder of all these ppl with their big idea’s are the ones who proudly drive around in their Ford Mustangs..irony at it’s best..and for that I will remain a voice for the horse…LOng Live Horses!!!
Thank you ,
i am thanking every single one of you ,
i take my hat off and bow to you all and i am so much honored , thank you for visiting our blog and signing this petition , bless you all for CARING for the VOICELESS , your a great VOICE for them and they need you , they need your VOICE and SUPPORT, please do visit us and please spread the word , give awareness to your friends and families encourage them to add their Voice to yours and make this VOICE grow bigger and louder , because this is our only weapon against the BLM , we don’t have GUNS and HELICOPTERS , our only weapon is our VOICE and with it sending out the words which gives awareness to the people ,
thank you ,
God Bless you ,
PH.
It is wrong! Animals should be loved & respected!
What is wrong with people?
This is barbaric and cruel.. with nothing but an ulterior motive ! SHAME ON YOU.
I agree!! Shame on You!!! People DEMAND respect for animals from your president. He ultimately has the final say of all these little departments such as BLM! Ask that government employees set a humane example for the treatment of animals so the children of the United States are encouraged to treat both animals and people with respect!!!
how can mankind treat innocent creature is such a way is beyond me~~~~save the horses~~~
See what our goverment does with millions of our money, they kill wild horses and burros. Shame on the bastards !!!!
STOP…what you are doing to our wild horses ! The land is theirs …it is YOU who are the intruders it is YOU who should LEAVE ! These horses have done fine by themselves for hundreds of years. WHY do you think they need the BLM NOW? They have managed their own existence for hundreds of years. They are in trouble because you are messing with the delicate balance of nature and habitat ! Let’s round up the members of the BLM by helicopter !!!!!!!!!!!!! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU…deceitful people !!!
what a disgrace!
leave them alone, you all are so cruel to gods creartions,,,
Leave the wild horses alone God created these beautiful things so leave them alone..
From: TCourt5096
To: KBROWN@MWPOWER.NET, aginfo@ag.nv.gov
CC: bboone@mynews4.com, Sent: 2/15/2011 9:26:57 A.M. Mountain Standard Time
Subj: Emailing to Attn. General :Current incidents in White Pine Cty. Jurisdiction
To whom it may concern:
With the current evident atrocities and sub-human standards of BLM’s inflicted cruelty occurring in your jurisdiction of White Pine County, it is time someone has the courage to investigate and expose these horrific actions against our wild horses. The exact jurisdiction can be easily determined, and the current events thereof are calling for nothing less.
The low humane standards by BLM have been very questionable since years ongoing, and BLM has admitted to having insufficient standards and promised to improve them at the Nat’l BLM Advisory Board meeting in Denver, June 2010. I was there. The constant PR gigs of “improving and taking a hard look” are getting old, as BLM clearly and contiously demonstrates their failure to do so.
It is time this is stopped and dealt with what it is: Unspeakable cruelty and unacceptable sub-humane standards and assaults inflicted by an adrenalin charged helicopter junkie, clearly violating FAA regulations of safety conduct – yet getting away constantly seemingly immune from anything and anyone.
I ask you to do your job and hold these people accountable, who abuse their power and break the rules as blatantly as they do since years. I ask you to have the courage to find and determine that this occurred in your jurisdiction and that it is your duty to make a stand for what is right – the propaganda and deception tactics of BLM have mislead Americans for years and it is time someone speaks up to expose the TRUTH.
Their methods are not acceptable, totally un-American and unspeakably cruel.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Monika Courtney, Colorado
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http://www.mynews4.com/story.php?id=37764&n=122
The past and current events have lead many to recognize that BLM tends to always fall back to their ways, declining our herds, continuing their same old cruel stampedes (it doesn’t take an Einstein during round ups to apply humane standards) and to boldly allow cattle moving into the ranges of mustangs, who lose their homes. To continue to employ a contractor who clearly fails humane standards, violates FAA regulations and behaves like a sadistic pilot on crack is beyond acceptance. Allowing such cruelty to take place whilst denying any interference and consequences within contradicts the reform they preach… I think one positive thing is that the public has caught on to be hip to their two-faced ways, their true colors are revealed. If people lie or exaggerate casually before we do business with them, they will most likely lie while we do business with them. May the latest ingratiating comments issued by Abbey not be yet another attempt to butter up his already frail image.
While I would like to appreciate a philosophy of “reform” within BLM… the reality of their actions and non-genuine “management” policies just do not reflect any of it…. and while things do not change overnight, BLM continues to deliver more blows to our mission and to truly preserve our herds, than not.
Bottom line is, people do not trust them, the change is not coming from within their hearts, but only by force of budget cuts, bureaucratic measures or litigation. They have made it clear what their intentions are. The most recent atrocities of their awful application of “humane standards” is an insult to anyone’s intelligence, whilst they boldly issue press releases and PR gigs as usual…. clearly demonstrating their disconnection to the very despicable reality they cause.
BLM’s only reform is replacing the current head honchos, whose minds are ill set and corrupt, no matter what pretty embellished intentions they publish. I will praise the BLM when I see true and genuine change, reflecting the niveau and values of the 21st century, such as Raul Grijalva expressed in his letter to Abbey / Salazar in August of 2009 (Pryor Mt. round up). The barefaced ignorance by BLM to that very plea and inquiry to improve their “science” and failed program was an eye opener and learning curve as to how BLM’s true talents lie not in manifesting any truthful components ever in their PR gigs, but to pacify and manipulate.
The fancy application of “science” on their part is a joke anyway. It doesn’t take a genius to see that the horses are disrupted, removed and wrongfully persecuted… most horses evicted from their range are in perfect body condition, not reflecting any of the “concerns” of BLM…. I am deeply troubled that any agency in this time of age in a supposedly modern, educated country could mislead the public for decades and boldly continues to tell us one story and perform another – and we rely on our observers to find out the appalling truth, horrific cruelty and brutality that is found only by the persistent eyes of devoted folks on the frontline – whilst BLM maintains their well planned PR gigs and covert tactics… and if they truly want to apply “science”, then one can only wonder, why wouldn’t they create a board that consist of true ecologists and range scientists such as Craig Downer ?? Well we all know why. The first step to balanced, improved management: END the biased hierarchy of the BLM Board and create a new Board that consists of both sides…. A simple step, yet not implemented…. we all know why. The present Board is a waste of time… too many years have been wasted with clever PR gigs and Board meetings that only brought to light how corrupt they operate even at a meeting… the horses and burros have no more time to waste !!!
Cleaning out house is what is needed – and with the present hierarchy may God help our horses.
We all know how public pressure is received by office holders… their first attempt is saving their own ass before anyone else’s. I would like to accentuate the “positive” as Willis suggests… I just haven’t seen that positive yet. And every time we have faith or are told one thing, another blow or surprise shock is delivered.
PZP’ing our herds into extinction in my eyes is not a positive thing. When Abbey and Salazar leave office, and Craig Downer gets on the National Advisory Board, then I praise.
Also, to convince Congress of the truth and lack of BLM’s integrity and deliverance, some of those people in Congress who have a final say ought to take an unannounced field trip to witness a stampede live….
that may be the ultimate and only convincing they need, because we all have written personal emails, snail mail letters and sent faxes and comments and made calls by the hundred thousands…. which were and are so blatantly ignored by BLM, one can wonder why they even have a comment line. (Oh, it looks good, doesn’t it ?)
I hope the public will quit tolerating the constant lies and deception, because they carry the only weight in BLM management, not the very job they were assigned to do.
STUPID LOSER psycho!! JAIL! JAIL!
I am so tired of the way our Government is doing nothing for our horses .WE do not eat horse meat we do not need to . What we do have is land , to move these horses to safe place’s . Just like the wild horses in Maryland were moved . Get these horses to land where they can run free and be safe , there is so many places in the U.S. to take them.
The BLM needs to be stopped now.
I know you are suppose to write something that is not rude when you leave a reply to these websites. I can not do that. For me I H A T E this pilot and all of you who belong to the BLM. YOU ALL have some kind of an excuse for this. You are liars and we DO NOT need to do this. I personally know of people who have rounded of these horses and trailered them off to the ‘dog food’ companies in Wyoming, while the ‘local law’ turn a blind eye. You make me sick. You do not own the land your cattle are on. IT IS GOVERNMENT LAND!!!! WE DO NOT CARE IF YOU HAVE SO MANY COWS THAT T H E Y ARE OVER GRAZING THE LAND. YOU ARE N O T ABOVE THE LAW. YOU WHO ARE BEING PAID OFF BY THESE PEOPLE NEED TO BE CAREFUL!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS GOING TO S T O P!!!!!!!!!
So the mare is called “old sister”. Are these wild ones our brothers and sisters? If we have this deep relationship with these noble creatures, how can we allow our “elder sister” to be treated this way? What would be the response to seeing a beloved sister or brother tortured in front of us by the very people we pay to protect them. Its time to really take this personally.And by the way does anyone know what has happened to this poor lonely mare. Has she been killed by predators? Would any other herds allow her to join up with them. Or has she died from a heart attack? or a blm bullet?
Or a broken heart. Inside I feel as betrayed by the “system” as she was.
Heartbreaking….and I am afraid there are not enough of us to stop the horse from becoming extinct….. “mankind” is a very ignorant and cruel creature…
Satanic cruelty !
This makes me want to cry. I’m doing a speech for my equine science class about the cruelty behind BLM roundups. I hadn’t even heard of this before i started my speech. What these people do is terrible. I’ve done the research and these so called “emergency roundups” are done just so the land can be used by people who will pay to graze their livestock. There is 160,000,000 acres land set aside for the BLM to manage for these horses and burros and yet only 32,000 are allowed to live there??? it makes no sense. and yet they say these lands are over populated by these herds? this is bull crap. The adoption and sale facilities these horses are moved to currently holds 50,000 wild mustangs and that’s more than what’s in the wild. This has to be stopped. Not only is this happening but our tax dollars are PAYING for it. I don’t know about you guys but that is not something I want my money to go to. Management for overpopulation is one thing but this is pure BS. I’m sick of this and I’ve just now heard about this
Taylor ,
God Bless you ,
i wish you to have a successful SPEECH ,
you have chosen a very important Topic for your speech .
Thanks so much, I just wish i could do more than write a speech about it. Maybe one day I will. I pray for these horses and I hope that people will realize what’s happening to them before it’s too late.
um I’m trying to cite all my sources for my speech but I have no idea who the author of this cite is. How should I cite it in MLA format?
The Report was written by Maureen Harmonay at this link:
http://www.examiner.com/equine-advocacy-in-national/wild-mustang-mare-collapses-from-the-stress-of-a-helicopter-stampede?CID=examiner_alerts_article
Here’s my speech. Let me know what you think!
The Truth Behind the Bureau of Land Management
Imagine, it’s sunset and you’re looking over a meadow at a herd of wild horses below you. You see the mustangs grazing peacefully and adorable foals prancing, bucking, kicking and playing in the tall grass. You feel the breeze and hear the horses nickering softly to each other. All of a sudden the peace and beauty is shattered by a roaring helicopter on the horizon. The mustangs scream in terror and gallop away as fast as they can. The horses run for countless miles until they are exhausted, many mustangs die, and countless are injured. The cause: a wild horse round up by the Bureau of Land Management.
The Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, is a government program to manage the animal population on government owned land in the western states. When the BLM thinks these pieces of land are overpopulated they thin the wild mustang herds using round up methods that are unethical, cruel, and lengthy. Yet, these round-ups continue and the mustang population, which has been on these lands longer than America has been around, is severely declining.
The responsibility of the Bureau of Land Management is to “determine the appropriate management level of wild horses on the public rangelands.” According to the BLM these animals have virtually no natural predators and their herd sizes can double about every four years. However, this information does not justify the methods used by the BLM to manage the wild mustang population.
A wild mustang round-up always starts with the wranglers setting up a trap site. The wranglers study the natural travel patterns of the herd in question and send helicopters to drive the horses to the site. The helicopters cause the old, the injured, the crippled, and the young foals to stampede along with the able bodied for miles, subjecting the horses to extreme, sometimes fatal, terror, trauma and exhaustion. Wranglers ride behind the wild horses driving them with plastic bags tied to whips.
The Antelope Complex roundup in Nevada’s Great Basin is a testament to this extreme cruelty. A video shows an old mare being chased down by a helicopter for an extremely long distance. The old mare collapses in the snow from exhaustion, her legs buckling under her. She lies helplessly in the snow as the helicopter hovers above her. Wranglers run at her waving whips with plastic bags on the ends, forcing her to struggle to her feet and run away in terror and exhaustion, and the helicopter continues the long chase. Breathing hard the mare tries to force herself to trot and finally run away but she cannot, the helicopter swoops at her several times, nearly side-swiping her. When they see she can go no farther the helicopter gives up and flies away, leaving her to walk away from the trap where her herd is back out onto the range, alone. Even a local rancher who supports the BLM, when he saw the round up said, “That shouldn’t have happened to that old sister.”
Round ups not only cause horses extreme trauma and exhaustion but also cause a significant amount of mares to abort their foals. The BLM knows that the winter months are the mare’s last and most vulnerable months of their pregnancies yet they stampede them anyway. Of the surviving horses from the Antelope Complex roundup, 20 mares experienced spontaneous abortions and only 3 actually gave birth to foals, these foals were extremely premature and small.
The cruelty isn’t just in the BLM roundups. When we think of wild mustangs we think of them roaming free and wild .The sad fact is there are only 32,000 wild horses left to roam the land and 50,000, who were once wild, stuck in captivity. The BLM has temporary and permanent holding pens for theses nearly 50,000 wild mustangs. These holding pens are covered in muck and there isn’t a blade of grass for these poor creatures. The main cause of BLM roundups is not enough food for the herd, so how is it these horses are stuck in the exact same condition when they are supposedly being “rescued?”
There is 160,000,000 acres of land used for BLM management yet only 32,000 wild mustangs are allowed to live there, and this number is dwindling. When the BLM decides how to thin herds the projected growth rate is nearly 15% more than what has been determined by other organizations. This allows them to thin the herds under the ruse of preventing overpopulation. When the BLM thins the herds, they thin them to the point where the herds are deemed no longer genetically viable; meaning the threat of inbreeding is so great the herd must be removed completely from the area. They also stack the herds with 70% males to disrupt behavioral patterns and herd mentality.
The BLM has the authority to develop roundups called “emergency roundups,” where they quickly remove a herd from an area due to danger such as wildfires or lands inability to support the herd. However instead of returning the horses home when the emergency is over the herd is sent to holding pins and the land is rented to private landholders where thousands of sheep and cattle replaced the couple hundred horses that were removed.
The BLM’s drastic roundups have completely swamped their Adoption Program, which in their best of years has placed only 5,000 horses a year, in safe homes. In order to be rid of the backlog of un-adopted wild horses the BLM will simply care for them until death, which could now come from a bullet instead of natural causes. Any horse over 10 can be bought directly by slaughter buyers and taken to Mexico or Canada for slaughter. Young horses are grouped in a government holding with 33,000 others removed from the wild that the government proposes killing because they cannot afford to feed them.
When I think of wild mustangs I think of them running over the plains, roaming free as the wind. Now only 32,000 are able to do this, while the rest are wasting away in pens until they die. This cruelty is unbelievable and it’s funded by our tax dollars. Since the Bureau of Land Management is a government program, we the people, are paying for the abuse and slaughter of these helpless animals. The BLM is comprised of false information, cruel roundups, inadequate food and housing, and extreme abuse of these wild mustangs, and we fund it.
Works Cited
The Persian Horse. “OLD MARE COLLAPSES AT BLM ROUNDUP – Please Sign Petition to Demand Justice For Ole Sister.” The Persian Horse’s Blog. Web. 13 Apr 2011. .
Paynter, Randy. “Cloud’s Herd is in Danger of BLM Roundup.” Care 2 Make a Difference. Care2.com, inc., 2011. Web. 13 Apr 2011. .
Cattoor, Dave, Sue Cattoor, Troy Cattoor, and Sandy Cattoor. “Wild Horse Roundup Facts and Information.” Wildhorseroundups.com. Cattoor Livestock Roundup, Inc., 2010. Web. 13 Apr 2011. .
AWHPC, . “A Study in Wild Horse Mismanagement.” Wildhorsepreservation.org. AWHPC, 2010. Web. 13 Apr 2011. .
AWHPC, . “Tragedy of BLM Mustang Roundup Continues as Antelope Mares Begin to Abort Foals Tragedy Continues in Aftermath of Controversial Wild Horse Roundup, Taking Its Toll on Mustangs and Taxpayers.” Yubanet.com. YubaNet.com, March 3,2011. Web. 13 Apr 2011. .
Abbey, Bob. Message from BLM Director Bob Abbey. , 2011. Web. 11 Apr 2011. .
I cannot fathom the actions of that helicopter pilot should be shot and hung by his you-know-what (not that he has any). I am from Canada, and I must say I am not proud of the seal hunt that goes on year after year that Canadian fight to stop. US stopped seal hunting many years ago because it is cruel. Now, why do you continue with this roundup? To me this is just as cruel. All for a piece of steak! Damn cattlemen!
If you’re angry about this, furious with BLM, be sure your own hands are clean. BLM is moving horses off the range in order to move more cattle on. So if you’re a meat eater, you’re part of the problem.
I agree with you 100% Dian. It makes no sense how anyone who calls themselves “wild horse advocates” can eat beef in any form! Either they don’t understand the politics of these round-ups or they are addicted to red meat.Either way, one must question the intelligence of continuing to support the cattle industry at the expence of the wild horses. Giving up buying and eating beef is a very small price to pay for one’s convictions.
And Taylor, I liked your speech. Hope you got an A+, and educated your faculty and fellow students about the real world of the BLM.
I loathe what the BLM is doing to these beautiful icons of the USA. God rest the soul of the horses and foals who have been killed due to the senseless roundup which do nothing but cause death, destruction and greed to these special interest groups. I pray that more and more people are exposed to this and become incensed with the deliberate extermination of a species. These horses deserve this land to roam without the helicopters chasing them and destroying their family herds. Wake up America! Let us do something to get these horses saved and safe. NO MORE WELFARE for these people!
Taylor, I appreciated your piece above. There is more that can be done and I like you hunger to do more. Can you talk to your federal representatives in the House and the Senate? Clearly you are knowledgeable enough. Give them a call either in their local offices or in Washington and let us know your reception. Also, if you’re a meat eater, realize that as the horses are being taken off their range, cattle are being placed on it. So meat eating is part of the problem – a big part. There are other groups working to end this and certainly many members of Congress oppose the actions of the BLM. Keep on researching and calling and seeking the other groups. Let us know, please, what your actions bring forth.