Wild Horse Education

Talk Back, Respond to the Nonsense

By on
Owyhee - 1 (4)

Keep calling

Many of our supporters are sending us responses from their Senators and Reps on the FY 18 budget that is set to slaughter wild horses. We have every expectation that the Senate version of this bill WILL carry language to kill our wild ones because of pure fictions. We have done multiple articles leading to this juncture about how this has happened and we will continue to do so. Please remember we began this particular battle under the “eight ball” of the chaos left by those asserting the FY 17 budget was a back door to slaughter (it was not) and even the media did not want to carry the story of the FY 18 budget because they felt they had already covered it. We have a massive amount of spin to dig through to protect our wild ones and simply maintain the protections in the 1971 Act.

YOUR voice is vital. Make it the best you can be. The first place to start is to “self police” and do not react.  Instead, do your research and then speak out.

Here is an example of how you can respond to the letters you receive back from your Reps.

 

Letter copied and pasted. Dear Mrs. X:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about President Trump’s budget for Fiscal Year 2018 and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro program. I appreciate hearing from you.

In order to control herd sizes, BLM must remove thousands of animals from the range each year. Currently, BLM estimates that there are over 70,000 wild horses and burros on BLM owned land, which is three times more than the agency says the land can support. The Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board, which is an independent group that makes recommendations to BLM about its management of the program, recommended that BLM euthanize or sell 45,000 horses to control the herd size. The Wild Horse and Burro program received $80.4 million in funding for Fiscal Year 2017.

President Trump released his budget request on May 23, 2017, as a blueprint for returning government spending to fiscally sustainable levels that promote economic growth. Among other things, the budget requests the authority to use all management tools provided by the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act of 1971. While I do have some concerns about certain reforms proposed by President Trump, I believe the federal budget can and must include significant reductions for the sake of unburdening future generations of Americans by spending taxpayer dollars in a way that creates a viable financial system. As the Senate debates the federal budget, I will be sure to keep your views in mind.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. Please do not hesitate to contact me again about other important issues.

Sincerely,
Thom Tillis
U.S. Senator

EXAMPLE RESPONSE, typed very fast in an email to one of our supporters because we have limited time (see video below)

Simply tell him that he needs to look into the truth about the first population survey. Right now we actually have as many as we had in 1971.

The “claiming period,” 1971-1976,  saw 17,000 wild horses claimed in the state of NV alone as private property. The 17,000 were not included in any “inventory” of horses standing on public land. In addition using the same number as a benchmark (1975) when horses were seen as “fast disappearing” is absurd. Any other species would see the creation of a recovery number of at least 3 times the original survey. (see NAS for review of survey methods).
This push to slaughter wild horses has nothing to do with the reality of the range and I would be glad to talk with him. This push is about resentment of federal authority that stopped open slaughter in 1971, nothing more.
Not one single entitlement for domestic livestock operators has been addressed, a program that loses the tax payer in excess of 150 million dollars a year. Domestic livestock is also the single most destructive use of federal grazing land. If this were about money we would see these entitlements addressed. 
As one example we use just over 1 million dollars a year to monitor all wild horses west wide. We (the tax payer) have spent over 1 million dollars to help two permittees, just two livestock permittees, to keep grazing on federal land that is being pounded to dust at the Argenta allotments where no wild horses even exist. The allotments were closed by BLM because of damage during the drought and the ranchers created an intimidation campaign. BLM capitulated.
This is not about wild horses causing destruction, or the wild horse program creating a huge expense to taxpayers. This vote is about selective and corrupt management of OUR wild horses, OUR public lands and OUR resources.
Another piece that might be helpful dealing with the “numbers game” and the “wild v feral” nonsense. https://wildhorseeducation.org/2017/03/03/deadly-traps-dont-get-caught/
We are experiencing internet issues. To view a fast video report from the field click the link above.
We are on range gathering data that we are sending to Senators and Reps and even others in DC that are carrying this reality through the sea of fictions. The fight is not over. The fight, no matter the outcome, does not end with the budget. 
We have a generous donor offering to double all donations we receive through Sunday.  PLEASE DONATE NOW to keep us in the battle for their very lives!  
imgres

Categories: Wild Horse Education