The most glaring and perplexing part of the Hendrickson appointment is this: at a time when the Bureau of Land Management, from the Secretary of the Interior and the current BLM Director on down have expressed in no uncertain terms that there will be no slaughter of wild horses, why appoint an individual that supports slaughter to the only public advisory Board that makes recommendations on how to improve the Wild Horse and Burro Program.
Much of the opposition to wild horses comes from the ranching community and their lobbyists, and while we do not want to portray all ranchers as opposing the wild horses and changes that would make the Wild Horse and Burro Program more effective, humane and fair to all stakeholders, the ranching community is already represented directly by two other individuals on the current Board. Ms. Hendrickson is the Executive Director of an organization that represents the interests of the cattle ranching community yet was appointed to fill the position of “general public” advocate on the Board. We strongly reject the notion that she represents the “public interest” and that position is strongly supported by the thousands of contacts we have received regarding her appointment to the Board.
The appointments to the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board are made by the Secretary of the Interior with input from his staff and staff at the BLM. Perhaps the time has come for the process to change so that the “public interest” is truly represented on the Board, rather than those that bring an anti-wild horse bias to the Board or have extensive history working with the BLM on wild horse issues. We personally know of many talented individuals that have applied to serve on the Board who have been rejected; most of them would truly represent the “public interests” where wild horses are concerned.
It is time for all stakeholders to come together to work on improvements to the Wild Horse and Burro Program and for the Board that advises the BLM on these matters to represent the views of all the stakeholders, not just the ranchers, hunters and the status quo. We therefore oppose the appointment of Ms. Hendrickson to the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board and call on Secretary Salazar to find another candidate that truly represents the majority view of the American people.
Sincerely,
Madeleine Pickens & all the Wild Mustangs
Horse graveyard discovered in desert east of El Paso
by Paulick Report Staff | 03.17.2012
ABC-7’s Matt Dougherty reports that the remains of many horse carcasses have been found strewn across the sands of a remote desert area west of Hueco Tanks, east of El Paso, Texas – the remains of horses that have been shot and dumped, some recently.
Mark Harrington, who has lived on an adjacent piece of property for more than 20 years, says it is a problem that has been getting worse.
“They just bring them out here and shoot them,” Harrington says. The theory is that owners who are no longer able to feed their livestock bring them here to put them out of their misery quickly and quietly, rather than letting them starve.
Constable Angie Sommers, who believes some of the bodies now being found are those of former racehorses, is considering shutting down some of the adjacent back roads and is attempting to find the owner of the property.
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