Please Take Action Today to Postpone the Antelope Complex Wild Horse Gather at the Future Eco-Sanctuary Site

Dear Friends,
So many of you often ask me what you can do to help the wild horses. Here is what you can do. The BLM has publicly stated in a press release that they have plans “to gather and remove approximately 1,917 to 2,278 excess wild horses from in and around the Antelope Complex.”

I have previously submitted a proposal to Bob Abbey to postpone this gather that directly affects the wild horses on the future site of the eco-sanctuary that we are developing in Nevada and allow me to construct my own holding facilities on the private lands that I have already purchased for the horses, which are adjacent to the Antelope Complex. This would also be a considerable savings to American taxpayers and the government in many ways.

Unfortunately, the request was denied, and they will proceed with the gather, in late January 2011, unless we voice our opinions against this. Luckily, so many animal welfare groups have also spoken out on this issue and signed onto a letter, written and submitted to Bob Abbey, by the Wild Horse Preservation Campaign. Please read the letter and take action now by clicking the link below. This issue is time sensitive, so please take action today. Also, please ask all your friends to join in. Together, we can change the future of these mustangs.

Sincerely,
Madeleine Pickens & all the mustangs

TAKE ACTION NOW BY CLICKING HERE

Here is the letter that was sent to Bob Abbey, Director of the BLM:

Mr. Bob Abbey, Director
Bureau of Land Management
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5665
Washington DC 20240                                                            January 11, 2011

Dear Mr. Abbey,

We the undersigned organizations urge the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to postpone the Antelope Complex gather, which will permanently remove 1,917-2,278 wild horses from the 1.3 million-acre range in northeastern Nevada, beginning in January 2011. It is our understanding that the non-profit Saving America’s Mustangs, which recently purchased two ranches within and adjacent to the Antelope Complex, has offered to provide short and long-term holding for all of the wild horses scheduled for removal in the Antelope gather. This offer would save taxpayers money by averting the costs associated with shipping horses thousands of miles to long-term holding facilities in the Midwest. It also provides savings in direct holding costs, both short-term and over the life of the horses, since some could potentially be returned to the range as Saving America’s Mustangs’ plan to build an eco-sanctuary in the area proceeds.

In light of the above, we specifically request that BLM take the following actions:

• Postpone the Antelope gather until Fall to coincide with optimal conditions for a safe capture operation and Saving America’s Mustangs’ ability to receive the horses.

• Place all horses gathered in the Antelope operation in holding facilities constructed on Mrs. Pickens’ private lands within and adjacent to the Antelope Complex instead of transferring them to long-term holding facilities in the Midwest.

Any concerns about water shortages should be eased by the fact that livestock grazing in the area has been reduced. In fact, there has been no livestock grazing on the allotments associated with Mrs. Pickens’ ranches since June 2010.

BLM’s plan to proceed with a late-January gather in the Antelope Complex makes no fiscal or operational sense. Antelope horses will be captured during treacherous winter conditions and shipped thousands of miles to the Midwest, instead of being gathered at a safer time of year and held on adjacent private lands that will eventually become part of larger wild horse eco-sanctuary.

Everyone from Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to the Government Accountability Office to the U.S. Congress has pointed to the need for BLM to seek alternatives to costly off-the-range holding of wild horses. Mrs. Pickens’ proposal offers the BLM the opportunity to initiate such alternatives sooner rather than later. Implementing this alternative holding model now will not only benefit the Antelope horses, but will also have taxpayers significant funds while boosting the rural economy in the Elko, Nevada area.

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to a prompt reply.

Sincerely,

Matt Bershadker, Senior VP Anti Cruelty, ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)

Stephanie Boyles, Wildlife Scientist, Wildlife and Habitat Protection, The Humane Society of the United States

Jon Marvel, Executive Director, Western Watersheds Project

Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director, The Cloud Foundation

Anand Ramanathan, BVSc, MS, Executive Director, In Defense of Animals

Neda DeMayo, CEO, Return to Freedom

Jill Starr, Founder and President, Lifesavers Wild horse Rescue

Karen Sussman, Director, International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros

Patricia Fazio, Ph.D., Director, Wyoming Wild Horse Coalition

Suzanne Roy, Campaign Director, American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign

Follow Madeleine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mpickens
Visit her website for up to the minute information: www.savingamericasmustangs.org
Become Madeleine’s friend on the Saving America’s Mustangs’ Fan Page: www.facebook.com/mustangmonument
Also check out the Mustang Monument Wild Horse Eco Sanctuary Page: www.mustangmonument.com
Become a supporter of the wild horse issue: Click here

Saving America’s Mustangs

2683 Via de la Valle

# G313

Del Mar, California 92014