Fighting against roundups is VERY different than fighting against abuse at roundups. Our teams have multiple appeals and legal actions to prevent specific roundups from happening: we are fighting against roundup plans and habitat loss, too. From the 5 HMAs of Pancake (where BLM has no management plan), to the 9 HMA/HAs* of Blue Wing (where BLM is running without updated data, is still using the same modeling for burros they use for horses), to Stone Cabin (where BLM has failed to update planning since 1983), through appeals against livestock grazing and mining expansion and more. We are working very hard (sometimes with partners and oftentimes alone). *Herd Management Area (HMA) are areas BLM manages horses and burros today. Herd Areas (HA) are land designated for use, but taken away from wild horses and burros.

But once the chopper takes to the air, the fight enters a very specific layer of the complex program: the welfare standard and the fight against abuse. Isn’t this where we should all agree?

Yesterday, we filed an emergency motion with the court as BLM continues to race to the finish line. In the last week, BLM captured 702 wild horses. In that time, BLM ran 3 traps, 2 of which provided no public access or observation of any kind. The 3rd trap held observers 1.5 miles away.

What we are asking for (in layman’s terms)

In the Complaint filed last week we are asking:

BLM complete paperwork required under NEPA for any activity that operates under an old approved analysis (in this case, the 2017 Gather-EA). The document we are asking for is used to demonstrate that nothing has changed (like the hard winter did not kill off horses and the drought noted in the 2017 EA is still active and range conditions are the same and did not change due to the wet winter) or that things have changed and the old analysis needs revision.

We are presenting that the welfare policy BLM is using is not an enforceable rule and needs to be one to comply with the law (1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act).

We are presenting information that demonstrates the lack of any hard standard, enforceability and that the parameters of the welfare standard are not adequate to create an environment where horses receive care that equates to current standard equine husbandry.

What did we ask for in the emergency motion?

We asked the court to enjoin (stop) the following while we argue the underlying case:

BLM from rounding up horses without allowing observation.

BLM from running during Heat Index cautions (dangerous health alerts).

BLM from running bands so that babies cannot keep up.