Tag Archives: Madeleine Pickens

Shocking Recommendation to Euthanize Thousands of Animals

By now you have heard that the Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board to the BLM got together in Elko last week. In these meetings, all attendees but one, Ginger Kathrens, voted to euthanize any unadoptable horses in holding facilities as well as those on public lands. Firstly, with this statement the BLM are admitting to 45,000 Wild Horse and Burros being managed. We all know that number is highly exaggerated.

Second, and more importantly, the BLM Advisory Board state there is no other option but to do this. We demand to ask why Mustang Monument has not been considered or allowed to even try to assist! After spending 25 million dollars jumping through hoops to put in power, fencing, water wells and even an accessible cemented parking spot in the midst of a dirt road, we ask:

WHY NOT MUSTANG MONUMENT?

Hear what Madeleine Pickens has to say about this in this short video.

Coming to the conclusion to euthanize this large number of animals is only evidence that the BLM cannot manage their own Wild Horse & Burro Program. However, it is also all part of a strategic bigger plan by the BLM. You see the BLM needs and wants more money from the government, or actually the tax payers.  Here is how it works: The BLM budget is not enough. The Advisory Board recommends euthanasia and the public strongly disagrees. BLM then goes back to the government to say: We can’t kill them due to public outcry; we need more money to continue round ups and caring for these animals in holding facilities.

Madeleine speaks about the above cycle of deceit here.

Please spread the word, write and email your representatives, bring the plight of the mustangs and burros to the light and let’s get this fixed.

Thanking you for your ongoing support.

Madeleine Pickens
Saving America’s Mustangs, 2683 Via De La Valle, G 313, Del Mar, CA 92014

Mustang Monument Prevented from Opening for 2016 Season

Wells, NV – February 10th, 2016 – Mustang Monument was started on a dream and personal goal of Madeleine Pickens to save the American Mustangs that once were numerous across the West. To this day Madeleine has saved hundreds of horses and spent a wealth of personal time and money to fight for this worthy cause. Mustang Monument Eco-resort is a way for Madeleine to share her passion for these animals with the public and spread the word of their plight.

As they say, the tall trees do catch the wind – and Madeleine is certainly a tall tree. In her conservation efforts with the mustangs she has drawn not only immense support for her cause, but also strong conflict. Her pleas, legal battles and rallies for the animals are ongoing with politicians in Washington, and more specifically with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and private cattle ranchers in the Nevada area. The publicized issues with the BLM of late in Oregon as well as Nevada have increased scrutiny on Madeleine and Mustang Monument. The persecution of Madeleine and her ongoing battles for the benefit of these animals has this year bled into a thorough review of the operations at Mustang Monument with additional permitting requirements. In essence, we are at a stalemate.

One of the key aspects of Mustang Monument is the ability to appreciate the vast open spaces, sparsely inhabited by the magnificent mustangs for which we named our eco-resort. Unfortunately, to further observe these wonderful creatures, it is necessary to move from one privately owned portion of our ranch to the other, over roads that transverse public lands. To do this, we must obtain permission from the BLM, permission they regularly provide to others for far more mundane purposes, such as hunting and merely off-roading. However, in our case (as in many other aspects of our efforts to protect our heritage), the BLM has seen fit to delay and obstruct the issuance of the necessary permit – claiming among other things that they have lost or misplaced important public records necessary to resolve some of these issues. As we have no indication that the BLM will “find” these documents, or otherwise resolve the issues to permit access, we regretfully cannot assure our guests the experience we wish them to have.

To all the supporters of Saving America’s Mustangs and Mustang Monument, we appreciate your support in the past and as we push forward through these trying times. Please know that even though the resort will not be taking guests, we will be looking after the herd of over 800 rescued mustangs as always. That said, we will prevail and these majestic symbols of the American West shall continue to be free.

Any queries on the above can be directed to Kristy deLange on kdelange@savingamericasmustangs.org or by phone on 858-759-5500 X242.

BACKGROUND:

In 2005, a soldier in fatigues and a force called Katrina changed Madeleine Pickens forever.

Madeleine was not prepared to sit idly by and watch the devastation following Katrina unfold without getting involved somehow. In her headstrong way Madeleine motivated then husband T. Boone Pickens to go to Louisiana to witness the devastation first hand and to help load the first of the chartered planes with animals. The soldier in fatigues met them off the plane and asked about their purpose. Madeleine’s reply was simple. She was there to help the animals. It was then when the soldier broke down. He told the story of his rescue mission earlier in the day in New Orleans where a puppy had managed to take a spot in the rescue helicopter and sat happily wagging his tail – proud to have made it aboard. The soldier noticed the joy of the puppy and shouted out for others to take note amidst such sadness. The pilot however did not share the soldier’s opinion, and instead was clear in his order to make room for people and throw the puppy off. The man in fatigues had to do the unthinkable and place the puppy back in the contaminated floodwater…

Madeleine’s efforts to rescue the animals of Katrina included more than six aircraft filled with food, leashes, medicine, and transport crates. She organized a team of volunteers which flew over 800 dogs and cats out of Baton Rouge to California before reuniting many with their families again. The connections she made on the ground in Louisiana and in the following months immersed her into a world of people fighting for the rights of animals and protecting those creatures who cannot speak for themselves. It was late in 2005 when she heard of the horror that was befalling the American Mustang.

Again, Madeleine jumped to action and quickly made headway. In 2006 she met with Senator Harry Reid and Senator Dianne Feinstein and described her plans to start an eco-resort which works solely to benefit the Mustangs. Sen. Reid & Sen. Feinstein were supportive and asked Madeleine to go ahead and purchase the land, and then they would endorse the project. Madeleine purchased 900 square miles of land in Nevada. Henri Bisson, then head of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), was also in support and “sanctioned the project” at the Wild Horse and Burro meeting in Reno on 17 November 2008. Sadly, Henri Bisson resigned shortly thereafter and with his resignation came ongoing battles and stalling by our government and the BLM.

Madeleine’s mission to save the Wild Mustangs and preserve the history of America has spanned over 10 years, and to this day the program is viewed with contempt by the government that is bound to protect these animals, and met with unnecessary challenges because of ranchers and government offices that are benefitting from the destruction of these magnificent and peaceful creatures. One hundred years ago there were two million mustangs roaming free, and now there are approximately 30,000.

The timeline below illustrates milestones in the road which was travelled. It was not an easy path, nor the one with least resistance, and it has been expensive with costs to Madeleine exceeding $25 million dollars. However, she will continue to fight for these kind and gentle animals not to be caged or separated from their family, not to be placed in trucks and sent over international borders to be slaughtered, and not to have them chased, terrified, and suffering before slaughter all to end up on a plate.

  • 2005- Madeleine learns of Mustang Round Ups
  • Early 2006- Madeleine approaches Senators with her ideas
  • July 2006- Madeleine and then husband T. Boone Pickens testify before Congress to ban horse slaughter calling it “Un-American”. Press release can be found here:   http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/t-boone-pickens-takes-on-horse-slaughter-legendary-oilman-calls-horse-slaughter-un-american-56982582.html
  • September 2006- H.R. 503 passes the House 263 to 146. The vote statistics can be found at https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/109-2006/h433
  • November 2008- Henri Bisson supported the Mustang Monument project at the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Meeting in Reno, NV
  • Throughout 2009 & 2010- various meetings and letters to Senators, Congressmen, Bureau of Land Management officials with data and research to support Mustang Monument as a way to save the horses as well as save the taxpayers money to move these animals from short term & long term holding facilities
  • May 2010- Madeleine hosts an event at The Smithsonian in Washington DC to raise awareness for Saving America’s Mustangs. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/madeleine-and-t-boone-pickens-celebrate-americas-heritage-at-the-smithsonian-national-museum-of-the-american-indian-94205584.html
  • January 2011- Mustang Monument & Saving America’s Mustangs had a float in the Rose Parade with Mustangs and also supported by Native Americans, Wounded Warriors and their service dogs alongside to bring national attention to the cause
  • 2012 onward- various visits with the BLM and government agencies to move forward with the plan including data and research from professionals. Three different law firms are on retainer to work through the various permitting and hoops that must be overcome
  • 2013 onward- Employed A PR Company and Sales Team to showcase Mustang Monument and the mustang conservation effort through tourism.
  • 2013, 2014, 2015- Worldwide travel to showcase the property and the story behind it
  • December 2014- BLM and local officials demand Madeleine have a recreation permit to take guests from one property to her adjoining property which extends over a small portion of public land. To this day, the permit still has not been issued.
  • 2014 & 2015- Funded visits from various journalists & photographers to assist in getting publicity for the Mustangs and the fight to save them.
  • October 2015- BLM answers our queries for our permits by saying “the paperwork was misplaced”. Lawyers refiled the paperwork again and we were told that other issues prevented them from looking at the papers regardless.
  • January 2016- The BLM added pressure to the operation and placed pressure on local government to get Madeleine to carry out work on water supply pipes in the midst of winter at a huge cost, which was complete. They still then held up permits.

Saving America’s Mustangs, 2683 Via De La Valle, G 313, Del Mar, CA 92014

Mustang Monument Featured in American Airlines In-Flight Magazine

The Saving America’s Mustangs & Mustang Monument Teams are thrilled to share with you an article on Mustang Monument: Wild Horse Eco-Resort that is in the current issue of American Way (The American Airlines in-flight magazine). Journalist Rebecca Miller visited our ranch last summer and her story can be read in every seat back on all American Airlines flights. Be sure to check it out when you’re soaring through the friendly skies this month.

Born to Run
By Rebecca Miller

A cloud of dust billows in the distance. “Look! It’s the horses!” cries Madeleine Pickens, delighted at the sight of 28 of her rescued mustangs galloping across our path, manes blowing in the breeze. Once doomed for slaughter, these rescues enjoy a transformed life of health and freedom in the 900 square miles that is the Mustang Monument Wild Horse Eco-Resort and Preserve.

A scenic three-hour drive west from Salt Lake City, Mustang Monument is off Highway 93 in northeast Nevada. (It took me four hours, because I stopped at the Great Salt Lake and the Bonneville Salt Flats.) The preserve, which opens in summer 2014, is nestled between the East Humboldt Range and Spruce Mountain, the land stretching out to the Pequop Mountains and Goshute Valley. It feels like something out of the past.

“Let’s take a drive in the Tomcar,” Pickens says as she jumps out of our truck and into the small off-road vehicle sitting in the shade of Spruce Mountain. We weren’t really on a road to begin with – we are deep in the preserve on a dusty trail – but we are most definitely “off-road” in the Tomcar. With Pickens behind the wheel, we ramble across rugged hillsides. The smell of spruce fills the air as the Tomcar drives easily over the woody shrubs.

I hope to see the native mustangs of the West, which have been known to share the land with those horses that Pickens has rescued from captivity. In the Wild and Free Roaming Horses and Burro Act of 1971, Congress called the free-roaming horses “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West” and declared that they “shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment or death.” Madeleine Pickens, too, wants to save mustangs from slaughter – both free-roaming ones and those she’s rescued – so she bought and transformed this preserve of lush grassland, scrubby hillsides and mountains. It now serves as a home for 600 mustangs she’s rescued since 2011. The 28 we saw were followed minutes later by 15 more.

“Where are the others?” I ask.

“Who knows?” she laughs. “That’s the idea.”

A businesswoman, philanthropist and animal-welfare activist, Pickens found success in thoroughbred breeding and racing while her passion grew for the preservation and retirement of horses. She fought to close the last slaughterhouse in the U.S., leading to the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011. In 2008, when the U.S. government considered euthanizing or selling 30,000 wild mustangs to slaughterhouses overseas, Pickens started Saving America’s Mustangs, the organization that raised the funding for Mustang Monument.

For her, it’s a calling.

I grew up in New Orleans, where cowboy boots and hats were costumes for Mardi Gras and Halloween. I remember the white fringe skirt and boots I got for Christmas when I was 8. Wanting to be a cowgirl, I would practice lassoing various objects. (An animal lover and rescuer myself, I never tried to lasso the dog.)

Mustang Monument is how I imagined the West to be: big and wide with mountains and grassland. It’s not like Dallas/Fort Worth, where I currently live. It’s also not like Phoenix; Denver; Santa Fe, N.M.; or any Western town I’ve visited. In fact, if Fort Worth’s motto is “where the West begins,” northeast Nevada’s should be “you’re smack dab in the middle.” Here, I get to wear my turquoise cowboy boots and straw cowboy hat for function; I get to be a cowgirl. Pickens knows the spirit this place elicits in its guests. “I didn’t start this for tourism,” she says, “but why not share it?”

Indeed, Mustang Monument will be open to the public June through September. Beyond vacationing, one-day trips are available too. Your adventure is limited only by your mind’s imagination. And keeping in step with the resort’s surroundings, guests sleep in tepees perched in scenic vistas at the foothills of the Goshute Mountains, much like Native Americans did in the 1800s. Except these are luxury tepees, each painted in a different motif and outfitted with king-size beds, lush linens, hardwood floors with wool rugs, dressers and more beautiful antiques and Western decor from a variety of high-end vendors and retailers. Each tepee has its own adjacent bathroom with a toilet and a shower. In and around your accommodations, you can relax while watching wildlife, play horseshoes or bocce ball, practice archery or even swing in a hammock.

There are also organized activities, like wagon rides and cooking lessons. And though most people – myself included – might imagine beans heated over a fire and coffee you have to chew when thinking of cuisine of the Wild West, Mustang Monument takes cowboy chow to a whole new level. The five-star menu includes delicacies like smoked rainbow trout, black pepper duck confit and seared scallops. Guests eat in the dining-room tepee, which is charmingly decorated with sunflowers, American flags and tabletop lanterns that give the canvas walls a soft glow. Following dinner, guests can relax in the game-room tepee, which has card tables and a bar.

Of course, 19th-century settlers didn’t have it this good, and the resort’s historians will be all too happy to educate you on what life was like for those pioneers. Landscape architects and environmental scientists are also on hand to teach you about your surroundings, while astronomers will help you navigate the night sky. By the end of your stay, you’d be well versed enough to lead a cattle drive across the desert on your own. That is, if your digs weren’t so temptingly comfortable.

Dust devils pirouette harmlessly in the distance, dissipating as rapidly as they form. Pickens tells me about other rescue animals at the preserve, like Tommy, her beloved dachshund, and Nero, a Belgian Malinois that was used in combat for several years. Nero, who has been here a few months, suffers from PTSD and jumps at the slightest noise. He is slowly recovering.

I share pictures of my own rescues: three Shelties, a schnauzer and a cat. Pickens is more than merely courteous as I speak – she’s genuinely interested. After all, she paid for and arranged the rescue of more than 800 dogs and cats from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Later, while I’m resting in my room, there’s a commotion in the kitchen. Pickens’ staff found a Sheltie stumbling into ­traffic on a remote stretch of highway. Matted, tired, hot and nearly run over, he’s now safe – rescued like the mustangs.

On my last morning at Mustang Monument, we indulge in a hearty breakfast and delicious coffee (no chewing required). Our new furry friend greets Pickens with a special Sheltie dance, to which Pickens says, “Hello, Sunshine!” That becomes his name; Sunny for short.

Sunny hangs out with Nero and Tommy while we humans visit a special group of older horses living their last years in luxury. Some are caisson horses whose duty it was to transport service members to their final resting place. Incomprehensibly discarded for slaughter, the horses have been given by Pickens the dignity and respect they deserve. These horses happily saunter up for ear scratches while pronghorn watch from a safe distance.

When the end of my time here comes (far too soon), I say my goodbyes. Pickens has already found a home for Sunny. Sad as I am not to take him home with me, I know Pickens has made sure he has a wonderful life ahead of him. She’s good at that.

To learn more about Madeleine Pickens and her horses, visit
www.mustangmonument.com
www.SavingAmericasMustangs.org

Horse Slaughter Plant in New Mexico Approved to Open Soon

Dear Friends & Supporters,
Saving America’s Mustangs is appalled over the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recent decision to approve an application for a horse slaughter facility at Valley Meat Company LLC in Roswell, NM on the grounds that killing horses for human consumption is inhumane and creates a serious health risk to consumers. Similar applications are pending for Rains Natural Meats in Gallatin, Mo., and Responsible Transportation LLC in Sigourney, IA, and could be approved as early as Monday.

It’s the first time since 2006 that a horse slaughter plant has been approved to operate in the U.S. The plant will undergo more compliance testing before opening so we still have a small chance that a loophole will be found.

All of this new legislation poses a sincere threat to all American horses — both wild and domestic — and we are standing with all horse supporters on this issue and Saving America’s Mustangs will stop at nothing to try and ensure that these slaughter operations are halted.  In recent polls, nearly 80 percent of Americans want horse slaughter to be banned entirely. That statistic is likely to be much higher when word gets out that this is happening.

We are elated that the amendment sponsored by Reps. Jim Moran (D-VA) and Bill Young (R-FL) to eliminate federal funding for USDA inspections of horse slaughter facilities passed the House Appropriations Committee last week. The amendment helps keep horse slaughter facilities from opening. Rep. Moran spoke in favor, with no one speaking against. This amendment is the vital loophole we need to prevent this slaughter plant from getting the inspectors in for testing.

Crucial new legislation, titled the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (H.R. 1094/S. 541), was recently introduced in Congress that will protect consumers from toxic horsemeat and end the cruel slaughter of America’s horses as well as their export for slaughter abroad. It’s something that more Americans need to learn about to prevent horse slaughter and toxicity in our food supply.

Please find your state Rep and write or call them and tell them this is NOT what the American people want and that you support the SAFE Act. http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/.

Sincerely,
Madeleine Pickens & the Saving America’s Mustangs Team

Contact New Mexico Governor:
Governor Susanna Martinez
Email her: gloria.marquez@state.nm.us
Call her:   (505) 476-2200

WRITE TO THE BLM:

Department of the Interior
c/o Secretary Sally Jewell
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20240
Phone: (202) 208-3100
E-Mail: feedback@ios.doi.gov
Office of Communications: 202-208-3752

BLM Washington Office
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5665
Washington DC 20240
Phone: 202-208-3801
Fax: 202-208-5242
E-Mail: director@blm.gov

Saving America’s Mustangs
2683 Via De La Valle G313
Del Mar, CA 92014

Check out the new Mustang Monument website:
www.MustangMonument.com

President Obama Moves to Make Horse Slaughter Illegal

With the onset of horse slaughter at the forefront of every media outlet in the past few weeks, there have been many advocates feverishly voicing their opinion against legalizing horse slaughter in the U.S.

Recently in Congress, the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act was introduced. The bill will prohibit the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the U.S. and ban their export abroad for that purpose. This bill ensures the protection of our nation’s horses from the controversial horse slaughter industry and will also protect the public from tainted horsemeat riddled with chemicals. The SAFE Act is sponsored by Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Representatives Patrick Meehan (R-PA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).

Additionally, The Obama administration has included a proposal in its 2014 budget that would effectively ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption. On a technicality, the language would prevent money on horse slaughterhouse inspections. However, without proper inspections, they would not be able to operate.

Every year, more than 100,000 horses are trucked hundreds of miles to slaughter in Canada and Mexico, according to PETA. Last year, PETA investigators documented the transport of nearly three dozen horses from a “meat buyer” in Iowa to the Les Viandes de la Petite-Nation, Inc. slaughterhouse in Quebec, a grueling 1,100 mile, 36 hour journey in subfreezing conditions. The horses were never given any food or water or off-loaded even once for a rest.

Last year, the Los Angeles Times wrote an editorial about certain drugs being administered to horses that could cause serious risks and health problems to humans if consumed.

“Horses that are bought here to be sold to processing plants in Mexico and Canada are acquired from random sources… they have not been tracked from birth, as cattle and pigs are,” said the Times in their editorial. “In addition, the horses have usually been treated over their lifetimes with a vast array of drugs, the most common of which is the pain reliever Phenylbutazone, a substance the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stipulates can never be administered to animals processed for food.”

Please take the time to take action below and let your elected officials know that you support the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act and tell President Obama to keep the language in his 2014 budget.

TAKE ACTION NOW TO SECURE PERMANENT BAN

Sincerely,
Madeleine Pickens

Check out the new Mustang Monument website:
www.MustangMonument.com

Saving America’s Mustangs Endorses Appointment of Rep. Grijalva as New Secretary of the Interior

Congressman Raul Grijalva’s name is being floated as a possible appointment to be the next Secretary of the Interior, and Saving America’s Mustangs thinks he is the best choice to lead this important federal agency. It would be a bold pick that would dramatically change how our federal government treats our federal lands. Will you join with other protectors of our environment and ask President Obama to Appoint Raul Grijalva as Secretary of the Interior?

Raul Grijalva’s leadership on the House Natural Resources Committee has demonstrated how he is a champion of clean air, clean water, renewable energy, comprehensive mining reform and environmental conservation. He is the type of bold leader that we need at the Department of the Interior. We need his leadership to better conserve our public lands for generations to come. His appointment will send a strong signal to special interest groups and well-funded lobbyists: the days of influencing our environment with cronyism and fat checks are over. TAKE ACTION here today.

Saving America’s Mustangs | 2683 Via De La Valle, G 313 | Del Mar | CA | 92014

Urge Support for an Amendment to Protect America’s Horses

Dear Humanitarian:
The House Appropriations Committee is poised to decide whether or not to block an unnecessary expansion of the federal government, save taxpayer dollars, and – of particular interest to humanitarians – protect horses from being cruelly slaughtered for human consumption.

As soon as next week, the House Appropriations Committee may consider the FY13 Agriculture Appropriations bill. Last year the Committee approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) that prevented tax dollars from being used to fund inspections of horse slaughter facilities. This bipartisan language had been included in every Agriculture Appropriations bill since 2005, until three legislators quietly removed it behind closed doors late last year. Without this important provision, foreign-owned companies will be able to reestablish horse slaughter in the United States at the expense of taxpayers, food safety, and the welfare of horses. In fact, representatives of such companies are already making rounds in the Midwest looking for a plant location.

Continue reading Urge Support for an Amendment to Protect America’s Horses

CEO of the Humane Society Responds to Wall Street Journal Article on Horse Slaughter

Photo: Steve Hebert for The Wall Street Journal

Gentlemen,
I know there are a thousand critics out there, and I think I personally may have 995 of them, but I did want to take a moment to express my disappointment with your May 3rd piece on horse slaughter. I think you fell for the false framing of the issue by proponents of slaughter, and you validated the anecdotes of a handful of people and turned them into a fact pattern. I don’t think it was reporting at its best.

There were some actual errors, including the mention that the Congress took the action of specifically “authorizing funding for inspections” at horse slaughter plants. The Congress did no such thing. It simply chose not to include language that specifically barred funding for inspections. In fact, every time the full Senate or House has voted on the issue, the outcome has been lopsided in opposition to horse slaughter. In this case, a couple of conferees to the Agriculture spending bill dropped the House-approved language barring funding. You’ll find no language in the appropriations bill that mentions that horses should be slaughter, and there’s definitely no authorizing language to that effect.

Continue reading CEO of the Humane Society Responds to Wall Street Journal Article on Horse Slaughter

BLM Selects Mustang Monument Wild Horse Eco-Preserve Proposal

Photo Courtesy of Jo Danehy

Dear Friends and Supporters,
We are elated to share the announcement from the Bureau of Land management that they are prepared to move forward with the wild horse eco-sanctuary that I have proposed in Elko County, Nevada. I want to personally thank the thousands upon thousands of supporters of Saving America’s Mustangs that have weighed in with their support over the past few years and for sticking with us through throughout this journey. We could not have done it without each of you.

I also want to thank the BLM and the multitude of their great staff that have worked diligently on this project over the past few years. Their support and the many hours they put into that effort is sincerely appreciated. While we may not have always agreed on every fine point during our early work, I think we always knew we were breaking new ground and moving in the direction of new horizons where the care and management of the Nation’s wild horses are concerned. Nothing of this magnitude is ever accomplished without a difference of opinion and our ability to persevere and work together is essential to the success of this project. And it is important to point out that there is so much hard work left to do and maintaining a good working relationship will ultimately determine how successful we are in moving forward and setting the stage for future successes.

Continue reading BLM Selects Mustang Monument Wild Horse Eco-Preserve Proposal

Official SAM Statement Regarding BLM Appointing Callie Hendrickson to Advisory Board

SAM has received thousands of emails regarding the appointment of Callie Hendrickson to the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. By a large majority, the comments received through various social media sites have raised concern and strong opposition to Ms. Hendrickson being appointed to the Board because of her ardent support for slaughter of wild horses. While others on the Board have also expressed support for efforts to revive the slaughter of wild horses, as well as domestic horses, Ms. Hendrickson has signaled her support for United Horsemen, the most aggressive coalition in this country advising support for horse slaughter for human consumption. SAM feels compelled to respond to the thousands of inquires we have received about Ms. Hendrickson’s appointment.

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.

Continue reading Official SAM Statement Regarding BLM Appointing Callie Hendrickson to Advisory Board