URGENT: Sign Petition to End Wild Horse Roundups!

URGENT –  Sign to End Wild Horse Roundups Now!

Animal lovers: we have a chance to end the wild horse roundups happening now. We need YOU to sign this crucial petition immediately.  Click here RIGHT NOW to demand that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack declare a threatened wild horse herd to be a study herd. If Vilsack makes that simple call, that would halt the horrific, cruel wild horse roundups going on right now, orchestrated by the Bureau of Land Management, which has been co-opted by the cattle industry, which wants the land for cattle grazing. It is Vilsack who has the power to declare the Heber herd – in Heber, Arizona – to be a study herd. PLEASE SIGN NOW. IT TAKES A SECOND!

CLICK HERE TO: Tell USDA Secretary Vilsack to Save the Heber Herd

On the #ActionHour in October of 2021 #JaneUnChained journalist Lindsey Baker interviewed Karen Sussman, President of the International Society to Protect Mustangs and Burros (ISPMB) ispmb.org. She said:

“We must persuade Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to declare the Heber Arizona herd, a study herd now! It is critical to the welfare of ALL wild horse herds in this country. Secretary Vilsack has the authority to make a phone call and have the herd declared a study herd. The study would provide a blueprint for the management of all wild horse herds in the US and would ultimately put an end to roundups that are going on right now in many western states of the US.”

“In accordance with the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, A study was mandated in 1983 but never was carried out.” Karen Sussman, President ISPMB

ISPMB is the oldest wild horse and burro organization in the United States and was instrumental in the passage of The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.  It is also the only organization in the US to manage four herds of wild horses who have remained undisturbed for 17-years. ISPMB says this makes the herd a perfect candidate for the study.

Sussman stated, “A study was mandated in 1983 but never was carried out. The land management agency cited the costs being too prohibitive at the time. It is estimated that they spend fifty to sixty-thousand dollars every year on holding pastures for all the wild horses who are not adopted. Scientific studies show that when left alone the wild horses self-manage their population. Imagine what could be accomplished if the money was used to protect and preserve the wild horse populations and the wildlife habitat?” To learn more about the history of the Heber herd go to ispmb.org.

What’s Behind the Roundups? Lobbying & Land Grabs by Cattle Ranchers!
Please sign now and share out the Petition To Save The Heber Herd .

Why are the roundups happening? Lobbying by the meat industry and a grab for public lands that were reserved for the wild horses and burros back in the 1970s. That’s the real cause for the roundups. Over the years these lands have been systematically confiscated for cattle ranching, leaving the horses with very little of the land to occupy. The roundups devastate the individual bands of horses, leaving vulnerable family members to fend for themselves.

This is Leading to the Rapid Extinction of Wild Horses in America!

Ecologically, horses and other wildlife are instrumental in maintaining a balanced ecosystem. It has been noted that when there are roundups, many times wildfires follow. Horses are native to the continent and therefore they are able to adapt and fit into the ever-evolving ecosystem, while cattle are not and are found to be detrimental to the ecosystem.

The Bureau of Land Management, which is under the Interior Department, has been the focus of intense criticism over its handling of wild horses who’ve been rounded up and put in massive holding pens, at taxpayer expense. According to this New York Times article, many horses that are rounded up are going to slaughter in Canada and Mexico. Critics say there’s widespread violation of the spirit and the letter of the law, where individuals are paid $1,000 per horse by our government to give legally protected mustangs “good homes” and are, instead, shipping these innocent and terrified animals to auction.  A large number of horses suffer horrific fates, spending weeks, months, even years in horrific confinement, only to wind up going to slaughter in Canada and Mexico. Here’s the full interview with Lindsey Baker and Karen Sussman.

See Also

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In summary, the round-ups are in no way beneficial to the horses, or the environment, nor are they a good use of taxpayer dollars. The cattle industry makes no effort to hide that they want the BLM to continue roundups despite the disastrous effects. The BLM continues to carry out this program based on misinformation and unstudied herd management practices, all done in favor of the cattle ranchers, despite the effect it will have on the future of the planet, wild horses, and all wildlife.

Act Now to prevent the Extinction of Wild Horses! Please sign and share. Sign The Petition To Keep the Heber Herd Free.