In blistering heat foals cluster by a wire fence seeking the shreds of shade provided. Although BL requires shelter of adopters they do not hold themselves to the same basic standards. (Palomino Valley Center, open to the public)
December 10th is International Animal Rights Day. The UN passed their historic declaration expanding International Human Rights Day to include animals in 1998 and added the day to the “international day of recognition calendar” to be honored on December 10th of each year.
Kindness and respect are due to all living beings, human and animal alike. Most people understand that animals feel pain. Animals, like our amazing wild horses, also have extremely strong family bonds, places they call home where they feel safe and basic needs involving food, water and companionship.
Understanding that all living beings have needs and suffer through neglect, denial of basic needs or outright abuse might seem basic. But when it comes to protecting the welfare of animals things are not so simple.
For our wild horses and burros that live on our public lands in the United States, there is an entire law intended to stop abuse and harassment and implement humane management. The jurisdictions that are to carry out the mandates of that law are the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the United States Forest Service (USFS),
It took over 40 years (and a lot of litigation from WHE) to simply gain the first welfare standards under that law. However, the standards were never taken through any formal process to make them legally enforceable; the agency simply stopped short of achieving enforceability.
Why? Simply because (it seems) they do not want enforceability.
Hotshot (electric prod) still being used to speed up loading of yearlings by BLM
Today, you can take action. By adding a simple line item to the budget Congress can cut through all the circular arguments and delays. If Congress simply designated funding to finalize enforceable welfare rules, the BLM would have to do it.
Click HERE to send a letter directly to your lawmakers.
Or you can use this sample to write one of your own or as a script to call your representatives. You can call the switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your representative.
BLM has no Heat Index parameters or Air Quality Index parameters for helicopter use. Fire blowing into NV created that “dark purple” for air quality and the roundup pushed forward because “the pilot could see” and did not stop even though severe and long lasting respiratory issues could result in horses and in the people onsite.
It is hard to believe that a federal agency tasked with humane management simply refuses to create enforceable welfare rules.
It is an obscenity that they push back so hard when it comes to the most basic parameter of the law, humane handling.
Our wild ones cannot speak for themselves. We hope on this Animal Rights day you take action to help protect the most basic and ethical of principle: stopping avoidable suffering and death.
End of year funding is critical to keep our team in the field reporting to you and all of the other work we do like investigations and litigation. Without your support, none of our work is possible. Thank you!
Calendars are now 40% off on our Zazzle storefront! 100% of all proceeds of product sales support the work of WHE.