Save America's Wild Horses

Hello friends around the world!

Here is some updated information for those of you who are interested in what could happen to the Wild Horses if we do not get enough phone calls on this issue MONDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 6TH!

Please forward this email as far and wide as you can, and encourage your friends and colleagues to make these phone calls Monday morning before noon Eastern standard time!

I spoke with my Representative's office this morning, and she said that the Rider #142 that has been attached to the 2004 Omnibus Federal Appropriations Bill, which allows for the slaughter of thousands of Wild Horse herds in the Western United States, CAN BE REMOVED if enough people make phone calls!

Do not let Congresspeople tell you it is too late!

It is not too late -- they CAN remove the Rider.

Please read on, and I promise to try not to bother you too much anymore with these emails, but it is just an absolutely URGENT situation, and your support and efforts are definitely going to make a difference!

Let's not allow the George Bush destroy the only remaining herds of horses on the Great Plains. Let's not let his cattle industry and corporate cronies destroy all this Beauty.

For the Wild Horses,
Amanda Holmes

See included Rider for actual language of the bill:

In 1971, a public outcry of an unprecedented magnitude for a non-war issue led to the adoption of the Free-Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act, which recognized the intrinsic value of wild horses to our national heritage and ecosystem. The Act was meant to protect our wild horses a permanent home on the American landscape. This law has now all but been overturned, without as much as a hearing. Less than 35,000 wild horses remain on our public lands. If the administration has its way, these horses and their priceless genetic diversity will soon be a treasure of the past.

Surreptitiously included in the omnibus federal Appropriations Bill is a rider (#142) that eviscerates federal protection for America's wild horses. Over the week-end before Thanksgiving, without any opportunity for review, Congress opened the door to the sale of America's wild horses ­ recognized by a 1971 federal law as living symbols of our Nation's spirit – allowing thousands of our wild and free horses to be slaughtered ffor profits. The Bill is scheduled to be signed into law on December 6.

The administration is pointing the finger at the tens of thousands of wild horses currently held in government pens. What they fail to mention is that these horses were unnecessarily removed from their rightful range due to pressure from special interest groups who run private commercial operations on our public lands (cattle, oil).

By legitimizing the sale of captured horses for slaughter, the rider is giving the Bureau of Land Management a lucrative outlet for round-ups. Specifically:

1. The rider amends the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act to allow the sale of wild horses for processing into commercial products.

2. The rider exempts horses bought pursuant to a new "horse sale" program from the criminal provisions of the Act that make it a crime to process or permit to be processed into commercial products the remains of a wild horse or burro.

3. The rider adds a new subsection to the Act, creating a "horse sale" requirement that mandates that BLM sell "without limitation, at local sale yards or other convenient livestock selling facilities" all wild horses who are either over 10 years old, or who have been offered for adoption 3 times unsuccessfully. BLM is required to continue to sell horses until all "excess animals" are disposed of and AMLs (appropriate management levels) are reached in all wild horse areas.

Below is the actual rider that passed last weekend amending the Wild Horses Act. It does several things, all of which are really bad:

2005 Appropriations Bill Wild Horse Rider

SEC. 142. SALE OF WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BURROS.

(a) IN GENERAL - Section 3 of Public Law 92-195 (16 U.S.C. 1333) is amended ­

(1) In subsection (d)(5), by striking "this section" and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting "this section" and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
(e) SALE OF EXCESS ANIMALS. –
(1) IN GENERAL. – Any excess animal or the remains of any excess animal shall be sold if –
(A) the excess animal is more than 10 years of age; or
(B) the excess animal has been offered unsuccessfully for adoption at least 3 times.
(2) METHOD OF SALE. – An excess animal tthat meets either of the criteria in paragraph (1) shall be made available for sale without limitation, including through auction to the highest bidder, at local sale yards or other convenient livestock selling facilities, until such time as –
(A) all excess animals offered for sale are sold; or
(B) the appropriate management level, as determined by the Secretary, is attained in all areas occupied by wild free-roaming horses and burros.
(3) DISPOSITION OF FUNDS. – Funds generated from the sale of exceess animals under this subsection shall be –
(A) credited as an offsetting collection to the Management of Lands and Resources appropriation for the Bureau of Land Management; and
(B) used for the costs relating to the adoption of wild free-roaming horses and burros, including the costs of marketing such adoption.
(4) EFFECT OF SALE. – Any excess animal sold under this provision shall no longer be considered to be a wild free-roaming horse or burro for purposes of this Act.


What You Can Do Now:

Make a lot of noise and a have your friends make a lot of noise!

Please understand that this does NOT end if the President Signs on December 6 th –We will keep up the good fight!
President Bush - 202-456-1111 president@whitehouse.gov
VP Cheney - 202-456-2461 vice.president@whitehouse.gov
Senator Harry Reid - 202-224-3542
Senator Conrad Burns (sponsored the Rider)-1-800-344-1513 or 202-224-2644
Do not hesitate to express your concerns directly to your local media and elected representatives. To find your legislators' specific addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses, visit the website: http://www.senate.gov
House of Representatives website: http://www.house.gov

Letters to Senators should be addressed to: The Honorable [Name Here], U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510.
Letters to House of Representatives should be addressed to: The Honorable [Name Here], U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
The congressional switchboard number is (202) 224-3121, and can be used to reach an office by phone.

Feel free to let Bureau of Land Management officials know how you feel about their removal policy. Demand implementation of an in-the-wild management program. Contact Kathleen Clarke, Director, Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C Street NW Rm. 406-LS, Washington, D.C. 20240; phone: (202) 452-5125; fax: (202) 452-5124

If you have not already signed the petition requesting a Congressional investigation into the wild horse management issue-Please do so NOW!
www.wildhorsepreservation.com
Follow link to Petition.

Since this rider was exposed, the petition is growing by about one signature per minute!
May blessings go before your every step

Save America's Wild Horses

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HOW THE RIDER WAS PASSED:

Apparently, the appropriations bill passed two weeks ago and Rider #142 was added on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and then the Senate did not meet on Monday and Tuesday and only met for 10 minutes on Wednesday before adjourning.

I told Senator Burn's staffperson and several other staff people that I objected to this rider being sneaked through like this, that it was very undemocratic and unjust, and that this rider was should be removed from the 2004 Omnibus Federal Appropriations Bill. She said that she would pass on my comments and that they are receiving a lot of calls about it.

Contact Information:

People need to contact the following Congressmen with their concerns and requests to remove Rider # 142 from the 2004 Omnibus Federal Appropriations Bill, and can also add any comments about the process that they feel are appropriate. The staff people may ask what this rider does, i.e., removes most of the federal protections for the American wild horse herds.

Although Congress is not in session until Monday, December 6, Congressional offices are open tomorrow (Friday) from about 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET, and some of them have answering machines so you can leave a message after business hours. People need to call:
Senator Mark Burns, sponsor of the rider, 202-224-2644
Senator Ted Stevens, Chairman of Senate Appropriations Committee, 202-224-3004;
Senator Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader, 202-224-3344;
Representative C.W. "Bill" Young, Chairman, House Appropriations Committee, 202-225-2771.
Representative Tom DeLay, Majority Leader, House of Representatives, 202-225-5951.
Also, people need to call their district's representatives --
They can call the Congressional switchboard at 202-225-3121 and get connected to their Senator's or Representative's offices; the operator can tell you who that is if you don't know.

White House Comment line - 202-456-1414. Call Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. They will not take any comments after hours, although they did during the previous administration.

Western Union Telegraphs - a really good way to let Congressional representatives know how you feel, especially on Saturday and Sunday. Send to the following addresses:

The Honorable (member's name)
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC
20515

The Honorable (member's name)
United States Senate
Washington, DC
20515