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WASHINGTON,
D.C. (July 2, 2008) – For the first time in the history
of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)—the federal agency charged
with protecting and managing wild horses in the United
States—officials now claim that up to 30,000 horses currently in
confinement may have to be “euthanized” to balance the agency’s
budget. The Animal Welfare
Institute (AWI) vehemently opposes any proposal that would sanction
the mass killing of our nation’s wild horses. “To set the record
straight, euthanasia is mercy killing. That’s certainly not what’s
being proposed here by any stretch of the imagination,” said Chris
Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for AWI.
“It’s killing pure and simple to balance the books for an agency
whose reckless management has caused immeasurable harm to a national
treasure at considerable cost to the American taxpayer.”
In the last few years, the BLM’s
national wild horse and burro program has changed leadership and
direction—and tragically, wild horses have paid the price. To
placate the demands of livestock interests and despite protests from
wild horse advocates, the agency began rounding up animals from the
wild at an unprecedented rate, leaving many herds with so few
animals that their long-term health and viability are now in serious
jeopardy.
Adoption demand could not keep pace
with such drastic removals, requiring the BLM to contract for more
and more private long-term holding facilities. Today, this misguided
policy has shockingly resulted in more animals being held in
confinement than run free in the wild. Now, BLM officials are
seeking a magic bullet for the problem that they have irresponsibly
created – adding a whole new subtext to the expression “They Shoot
Horses, Don’t They?”
The 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses
and Burros Act was passed unanimously by Congress to stop the mass
slaughter and commercial exploitation of these magnificent animals.
“Americans were outraged to learn what was happening then, and they
will be even more irate to learn what the BLM is proposing today,”
Heyde said. “Public support for the original Act is considered one
of the largest grassroots campaigns on animal welfare issues in US
history. It is time to reignite this passion if we are to save these
magnificent animals from extinction on the range and in the wild.”
The proposal to resume killing the
public’s wild horses will be discussed at the next National Wild
Horse and Burro Advisory Board meeting scheduled for September 2008.
AWI encourages the public and the US Congress to act swiftly to
protect our horses, whose lives are at risk at the hands of the very
agency tasked with the responsibility to care for them.
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For More
Information:
Managing for Extinction: Shortcomings of the Bureau of Land
Management's National Wild Horse and Burro Program
Contact:
Chris Heyde, (703) 836-4300
For over 57
years, the Animal Welfare Institute has been the leading voice for
animals across the country and on Capitol Hill to reduce the sum
total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. To learn more
about us, please visit
www.awionline.org.
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