An Open Letter from Ginger Kathrens Regarding BLM’s New “Sale Authority” Policy
This morning while brushing my teeth, I was listening to NPR as I always do. I heard the reporter state that the US Department of Interior is moving the Bureau of Land Management from DC to a western location, closer to “people who understand the land.” This would appear to be code. The “people” they refer to are not the American public but the very few people who use public lands for private profit. They are the public lands ranchers who run cattle and sheep for nearly nothing on lands owned by all American citizens. The “people” they refer to are oil extractors, gold producers and others who make a profit from lands owned by the American people.
The threat to our public lands in the West is real. The Secretary of the Interior sees little value in preservation. Rather he seeks to maximize revenues from ever-expanding oil and gas and mining operations, while propping up the money pit known as welfare ranching.
So where does this leave America’s wild horses and burros and other wildlife who rely on public lands managed by Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), long jokingly referred to as the Bureau of Livestock and Mining? (The “joke” has become chillingly real.)
Interior has ordered BLM to empty out wild horse and holding corrals by selling 25 horses at a time with no questions asked to any buyer. These are wild horses who once roamed free at little cost to the public. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to diagnose the outcome for these helpless wild horses who have lost freedom and family and will now make the ultimate sacrifice. They will end up dying a horrific death in Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses.
Despite a prohibition on such cruelty by the Interior Appropriations Committee, the Interior Secretary has mandated that the horses must be sold. All BLM public holding facilities must comply, whether they like it or not.
Why is the Secretary in such a hurry to empty these facilities? The answer is this: ignoring on the range management options, BLM is scheduled to begin massive roundups of America’s mustangs this fall, refilling holding facilities so they can offer them yet again to kill buyers. Ignoring humane management solutions, they will continue the annihilation of these family-loving, freedom-loving animals.
What is happening to America’s democracy when the Interior Department can make an end run around Congress, intentionally opening the door to the massive slaughter of America’s wild horses? And what is Congress’s response to this atrocity?
-Ginger Kathrens
Humane Advocate, BLM National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board
Executive Director, The Cloud Foundation
Please help us get this message out.
- Call your lawmakers and tell them that you are absolutely not okay with the BLM’s new policy. This policy allows for the sale of so many animals at a time that it is extremely likely they will end up in slaughterhouses.
To call your lawmakers, dial (202) 224-3121 and follow the prompts to enter your zip code. You will be connected to the offices of the lawmakers in your area. - Share Ginger’s message above, which is available as a link below, with everyone you can. Share it on your social media pages, and send the link to your local newspapers, radio stations, and television channels. When you click below, at the bottom of the webpage there will be several sharing buttons for most social media platforms.
The Cloud Foundation
107 South 7th St
Colorado Springs, CO 80905
www.thecloudfoundation.org