Winnemucca facility in NV. Papillovirus, ringworm and strangles are common visitors to holding facilities where there is no actual infectious disease and sanitation protocol that is enforceable.
On Friday, Wild Horse Education and our our partner Rewilding America Now filed an Amici Curiae brief in the Ninth Circuit court of Appeals addressing holding facilities and welfare issues.
The underlying case focuses on the Winnemucca facility in Nevada where WHE appealed to the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) on welfare and First Amendment issues prior to the facility ever taking in a single horse or burro. We were deep in the Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP) battle at Pancake (that concluded with a resounding win for our wild ones) and another organization took the case (without the First Amendment issues) into the Federal Civil court system and has had to Appeal to a higher court.
The amicus curiae, or amicus briefs, is a legal term meaning “friend of the court.” This ‘friend’ is a person or organization offering the court additional information or perspective about the case. In this instance our organizations offer both additional information and perspective about the facilities that is missing in the existing case and necessary for the context of any ruling to be fully understood.
Over the course of the next week we will be doing a series of articles addressing the off-range system of the BLM. The off-range program is distinct from the on-range program. The broken on-range program feeds the system of holding, but that is a different conversation.
Spotlight Articles, Facilities:
One short life. How the system failed a baby burro.
A few facts you should know in order to understand why we felt in necessary to file in support of overturning the lower courts decision:
Over the last 15 years, BLM has only approved new off-range corrals that are privately owned and operated. BLM is not requiring these facilities to offer regular public visiting hours (weekly, monthly, or even quarterly).
BLM uses a statement of maintaining the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP) in all paperwork to claim facilities are “humane” and using “best welfare practices.” However, a facility can repeatedly fail aspects of CAWP and basic record keeping requirements, have high death and illness rates, fail to comply with vaccination and hoof-care timelines and continue to receive horses and burros from the range with no penalty. In fact, there are only two requirements to determine where BLM will send a freshly captured horse or burro: distance to capture location and lowest bid for care.
The lack of public access inhibits the public from providing an oversight function guaranteed by the First Amendment (to witness and report on activities involving government spending and public property). When you lump that in with “lowest bid” being the driving factor for where wild horses and burros are supposedly “given the best possible care,” we have a recipe for disaster.
At any given time, around 70% of all captive wild horses and burros are housed in off-limits to the public facilities where violations of CAWP are present, basic issues of record keeping are rampant, vaccination schedules are not adhered to to, etc. In addition, adoption efforts are inhibited.
The average death rate in these facilities is 1 in 10 within the first six-months and can rise to as high as 1 in 5.
CAWP has turned into a support system for offenders and not an oversight program. Until CAWP is finalized as enforceable rules, BLM relying on these standards is meaningless. (Confirmed through other litigation and during the Advisory Board meeting.)
Injured horses were moved into an internal pen prior to the tour. Only with a long lens and a very steady hand (while on a moving wagon) could we see a glimpse of what was being hidden during the “public tour.” The public was not allowed to view the internal pens.
The Winnemucca facility was approved to house 4,000 wild horses and burros.
The facility exists in an area known for flooding.
There is no shade, shelter or sprinkler systems to address dust or fire because BLM did not “put it in the contract” even though those things would be a necessity to prevent undue suffering and death.
Since the facility began housing wild horses and burros in 2022, the public has only been allowed inside once.
During that tour we noted issues with construction inconsistent with the EA that approved the facility causing injury and more.
In addition, the BLM CAWP team has never assessed the facility at all, even though they state CAWP and oversight apply.
Above: Orphans at Winnemucca. The foal alone in the pen was said (by BLM) to have been orphaned during the roundup 3 months prior and had been housed in the pen alone since that date and BLM would not allow it to be fostered.
After the East Pershing roundup, 70 wild horses were rendered (died and disposed) at this facility in the month of February alone. (You can read more on the facility HERE)
Our team members visited the corral during the only public tour and provided information in the brief that was not included in the underlying case.
From the Amicus brief
Handling and housing of our wild ones should not be shoved aside for convenience and violations hidden from view.
Inhumane treatment includes failures to address issues that cause stress, injury, or undue suffering.”
Within the BLM today the law is not a priority. Supporting offenders and placing cost over welfare, is not “humane treatment.”
Issues arising within holding facilities cannot continue to be kept out of sight. In the coming days access to witness actions paid for by taxpayer funds and carried out on public property (wild horses and burros) is going to increase in importance.
Filing the Amicus was simply the right thing to do. WHE and RAN stepped up.
Over the course of the next week we will be doing a series of articles addressing the off-range system of the BLM. The off-range program is distinct from the on-range program. The broken on-range program feeds the system of holding, but that is a different conversation.
Through March 5, your contributions to our vital work will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $5,000.
Our team is working hard in the field and in the courts. Without your support, none of our work is possible. Thank you for keeping WHE running for our wild ones!
Categories: Wild Horse Education
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