Tag Archives: Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Renowned Wild Horse Advocate Finally Appointed to BLM Board

Ginger filming Cloud and Family, May 2014 ~ photo by R. T. Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation.

“It’s a first and a long time in coming.  Internationally acclaimed cinematographer and wild horse advocate Ginger Kathrens has finally been appointed to sit on the BLM’s Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board.  Ginger and other advocates have attempted to be a voice for the wild horses and burros in the past but have been inexplicably passed over, but not this round.  The BoD of Wild Horse Freedom Federation would like to express their congratulations to Ginger and sincerely hope that her sage advice will be listened to and acted upon by the other members of the board.  Job well done.”
~ R. T. Fitch

Equine Welfare Experts to Converge on Wellington

CHICAGO, (EWA) – Equine welfare advocates from several countries will meet this weekend at the fourth annual International Equine Conference (IEC). Invited guests who are expected to attend include Governor Charlie Crist, and Representatives Ted Deutch and Patrick Murphy. The IEC is organized by the Equine Welfare Alliance and Wild Horse Freedom Federation, and will be hosted by Victoria McCullough at her estate in Wellington, FL. The event brings together a wide spectrum of people dedicated to the welfare of domestic equines and the protection of wild horses and burros.

Speakers will address issues ranging from the plight of cart horses in Israel, to saving a nearly extinct Abaco Island horse. Representatives from the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition will give update reports on horse slaughter in Canada and the dangers of the hormone replacement therapy that is derived from pregnant mare urine.

The event provides both an educational and a coordinating function. The first conference grew out of alarm caused in 2011 when a ban on funding for horse slaughter inspections was dropped from the Agriculture budget, leaving the way open for horse slaughter to return to the US.

The last US horse slaughter plants were closed in 2007 under state laws and kept from moving to other states by the inspections ban. Since 2011, the concerted effort of the welfare advocates, and especially Victoria McCullough herself, has resulted in the restoration of the ban.

“We dodged a bullet in keeping the plants from coming back,” explained EWA’s Vice President Vicki Tobin, “but over a hundred thousand of our horses are still going over the border to slaughter in Canada and Mexico.”

The Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) is a dues-free 501c4, umbrella organization with over 310 member organizations, the Southern Cherokee Government and over 1,100 individual members worldwide in 22 countries. The organization focuses its efforts on the welfare of all equines and the preservation of wild equids. www.equinewelfarealliance.org

Wild Horse Freedom Federation (WHFF) is a registered, Texas non-profit corporation with federal 501(c)3 status. WHFF puts people between America’s wild equids and extinction through targeted litigation against governmental agencies whose documented agendas include the eradication of wild horse and burros from public, federal and state lands. www.wildhorsefreedomfederation.org

Contacts:

John Holland
540-268-5693
john@equinewelfarealliance.org

R. T. Fitch
713.632.4573
rtfitch@wildhorsefreedomfederation.org

Press Conference to Address Horse Welfare Issues Will Be Held on Opening Day of International Equine Conference

September 18, 2013 – Lexington, Kentucky (EWA) – The Third Annual International Equine Conference, hosted by the Equine Welfare Alliance, will be held September 27-29 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.

On the opening day of the conference, Friday September 27, horse welfare organizations will come together to hold a special press conference to provide expert information on equine welfare to the media and advocates that cannot attend the full conference.

Michael Blowen, owner and founder of Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Facility, will open the press conference. Participating in the press conference will be key individuals from The Equine Welfare Alliance, Respect4Horses, the Cloud Foundation, Wild Horse Freedom Federation, Wild Horses of the Abacos, and the Humane Society of the United States.

The press conference will cover the potential re-opening of horse slaughter plants in America, BLM’s mismanagement of America’s wild horses and burros, horse tripping, the over breeding of horses and other current issues pertaining to equine welfare.

Where:
Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm
1841 Paynes Depot Road
Georgetown, KY
502.863.1775

When:
Friday, September 27, 2013 from 11:00a to 12:00p

All press, media and public are welcome to attend the Press conference. Refreshments will be served.  Please be seated at 11:00a.

After the Press Conference, the three day International Equine conference will continue with a tour of Three Chimneys farm in Midway, Kentucky, Old Friends Farm and a meet and greet reception at 7:00p at The Kentucky Horse Park. On Saturday, presentations will commence and will end on Sunday. The soon to be released documentary “America’s Wild Horses” will also be previewed at the International Equine Conference.

For the agenda, list of presenters, additional information or to register, please visit www.equinewelfarealliance.org.

The Equine Welfare Alliance is a dues free, all volunteer 501(c)(4) umbrella organization representing over 300 member organizations and over 1,000 individual members worldwide in 21 countries. EWA and its members are involved in a grass roots effort dedicated to ending the slaughter of American Horses and the preservation and protection of our Wild Horses & Burros on public lands. www.equinewelfarealliance.org

Respect4Horses is a horse welfare organization whose goals include providing information and documentation to educate the public, the media and legislators in order to promote changes in legislation in regards to current horse welfare issues such as horse slaughter and the roundups of our last remaining wild horses and burros. www.respect4horses.com

Wild Horse Freedom Federation is a registered, Texas non-profit corporation with federal 501(c)(3) status.  WHFF puts people between America’s wild equids and extinction through targeted litigation against governmental agencies whose documented agendas include the eradication of wild horse and burros from public, federal and state lands.  www.wildhorsefreedomfederation.org

The Cloud Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of wild horses and burros on our western public lands with a focus on Cloud’s herd in the Arrowhead Mountains of Montana. www.thecloudfoundation.org

Old Friends is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing a dignified retirement to Thoroughbreds whose racing and breeding careers have come to an end. By promoting these one-time celebrated horses through a campaign of education and tourism, we hope to raise awareness of all equines in need.  www.oldfriendsequine.org

The Wild Horses of Abaco organization is dedicated to saving the Wild Horses of Abaco, the world’s most endangered breed with only one mare, Nunki, remaining. Abaco is the northernmost of the larger Bahama Islands located of the southeast Florida coast of the United States.  http://arkwild.org/blog/

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization, rated the most effective by its peers. Since 1954, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. We rescue and care for tens of thousands of animals each year, but our primary mission is to prevent cruelty before it occurs. We’re there for all animals, across America and around the world. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty – on the Web at humanesociety.org.

Contacts:

Simone Netherlands, Respect4Horses
928.925.7212
simone@respect4Horses.com

John Holland
540-268-5693
john@equinewelfarealliance.org

Equine Advocacy Organizations Form Partnership with Cruelty Investigators

August 23, 2012 – Chicago (EWA) – Wild Horse Freedom Federation (WHFF) and Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) have announced a new working relationship with a team of professional undercover cruelty investigators. This new alliance will increase WHFF and EWA’s ability to inform law enforcement, lawmakers, the media and the public regarding all forms of cruelty to domestic and wild equines.

Hard-nosed and effective, with a history of these successful investigations focused primarily on equine cruelty related to the horse slaughter pipeline, the work of the investigators has assisted enforcement agencies and exposed numerous inhumane conditions inherent to the horse slaughter world.

Their investigation of Three Angels Farms, already notorious for two recent accidents, revealed numerous blatant on-going transportation violations. The report has been widely used throughout the equine welfare community, publications and the TV news media.

Continue reading Equine Advocacy Organizations Form Partnership with Cruelty Investigators

Another Win in Saving Colorado Wild Horse Herd from BLM Eradication

Court Allows Wild Horse Group’s Challenge to BLM’s Zero Out Policy

June 28, 2011 – A federal court rejected the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) request to dismiss or limit a suit brought by a consortium of wild horse advocacy groups and concerned citizens to save the West Douglas wild horse herd.  Although the BLM withdrew their 2010 plans to decimate this northwest Colorado wild horse herd early in 2011, the advocacy groups have remained vigilant in their stance to have the Court decide whether BLM has the legal authority to zero out a herd.  By her ruling, Judge Rosemary Collyer agreed that Plaintiffs could proceed with this claim and stated, “The Bureau of Land Management’s 2005 West Douglas Herd Amendment to the White River Resource Management Plan violates the Wild Horses Act because it restates the decision by the BLM to eradicate the ‘West Douglas herd’ of wild horses. The 2005 Amendment directed the BLM to eliminate the herd ‘at the earliest practicable date’ and BLM’s recent withdrawal of its decision to gather the herd in 2011 does not affect any change to the allegedly improper decision to eliminate the herd as soon as practicable.”

The battle over the West Douglas herd is nearly two decades old, and only through the efforts of concerned citizens and organizations have the horses been saved from the BLM’s desire to remove them all from their homelands.  In 2009, concerned citizens and organizations won the first case in the United States against BLM’s practices of eliminating wild horse herds when Judge Collyer set aside BLM’s 2008 roundup plans.  In 2010 advocates again sued the BLM and the BLM withdrew its plans to decimate the herd.

“The court agreed that we have the right to challenge the decision to zero out the herd, originally made in the 2005 Amendment, despite the fact that the BLM has decided not to perform a round up and removal in 2010,” explained Bruce Wagman of Schiff Hardin LLP, legal lead for the groups.  “BLM has been trying to avoid the issue with self-serving tactics, but the court found the BLM’s decision to hold off on this year’s gather ‘does not affect any change to the allegedly improper decision to eliminate the herd as soon as practicable.’  This is of course exactly what we argued.”

Continue reading Another Win in Saving Colorado Wild Horse Herd from BLM Eradication