Public and Political Pressure Causes BLM to Cut Tragic Wild Horse Roundup Short in Sand Wash Basin
For Immediate Release:
September 9, 2021
Contact:
Lisa Friday • (804) 389-8218
lisa@thecloudfoundation.org
Craig, Colorado – Today the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) called an early end to the horrific wild horse roundup in Sand Wash Basin. Prior to the roundup’s start, The Cloud Foundation (TCF), in conjunction with the Sand Wash Basin Advocacy Team (SWAT), attempted to leverage public pressure to stop what has proven to be a dangerous and deadly event. Despite thousands of messages from concerned citizens, as well as formal letters from Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Congressman Joseph Neguse, Western Watersheds Project and the Sierra Club, the BLM forged ahead with this ill-advised plan.
Now the agency is supposed to stop roundup operations within the HMA, having captured two thirds of their goal of 783 wild horses. Sadly, they will continue to roundup horses who have strayed onto public lands outside HMA boundaries. Allegations of abuse by the helicopter contractor - Cattoor Livestock - combined with at least three wild horse deaths and several accounts of abandoned foals wandering the range caused an outpouring of public outrage. There is speculation that Governor Jared Polis took a stand on behalf of the public and the horses, and influenced a decision to end the roundup early.
“The brutal Sand Wash roundup is over thanks to the thousands of calls, messages and emails from people not only in the United States but around the world who value our wild horses,” stated Ginger Kathrens, founder of The Cloud Foundation and former Wild Horse Advisory Board Member. “It’s shameful that the BLM does not value them at all. The inhumane practices in this roundup are blatant violations of the BLM’s own animal welfare guidelines. It is high time that this program be totally reviewed, and the travesties of the past be corrected.”
“Our government must be held accountable and be responsive to public opinion,” stated Lisa Friday, Director of Communications for The Cloud Foundation. “Americans want their wild horses managed humanely and fairly on the lands that were dedicated to them. What happened at Sand Wash is an outrage that every American should feel.”
According to local advocates, the BLM claimed the “emergency” roundup was necessary due to drought. However, once monsoon rains replenished water holes, the agency shifted its explanation to lack of forage, and then again to the welfare of the sage grouse. Advocates state that the real motivation for the roundup is that wild horses compete with privately owned livestock for rangeland resources.
Despite BLM’s supposed drought “emergency,” they allowed livestock to trail through the HMA earlier this year and private grazing is expected to resume in the fall. Within dedicated wild horse Herd Management Areas, livestock are typically allocated almost 80% of the forage available. The remaining pittance is divided between wild horses and other wildlife. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, which made them a federally protected species. Despite this designation, the BLM plans to remove epic numbers of wild horses, adding them to the over 50,000 animals already in government captivity.
The Cloud Foundation (TCF), a 501(c)3 non-profit, has been at the forefront of wild horse advocacy since its inception in 2005. TCF was founded by Emmy award-winning filmmaker Ginger Kathrens, creator of three acclaimed PBS Nature series documentaries that followed the wild stallion Cloud in the Pryor Wild Horse Range. Dedicated to the protection and preservation of wild horses and burros on our public lands, The Cloud Foundation advocates for protecting natural wild equid behaviors, repatriation of wild horses to zeroed-out Herd Areas, and equal allocation of forage within Congressionally-designated Herd Areas.
###