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The roundup has begun.

The roundup has begun.

Despite our best efforts, the BLM today began the cruel roundup of 2,700 wild horses living peacefully in the 500,000-acre Calico Mountain Complex in northwestern Nevada. See video of these beautiful horses here.

The BLM knows that its latest assault on wild horses is so shameful that it cannot stand the light of day. So the agency is setting up its capture pens on private land from which the public will be barred.  No one will be able to witness the brutal helicopter stampede of the horses over treacherous winter terrain. No one will see the BLM chase older horses, pregnant horses, and little foals to the point of exhaustion, some will be literally run to death. The separation of foals from their mothers, the shattering of horse family bands will happen behind closed doors.

In the face of growing opposition, international media attention, a federal court ruling suggesting the roundup be postponed, and pending complaints with the Interior Department and White House to stop the cruel action, the BLM chose the coward’s way out. Never mind that just 21 days ago, BLM chief Don Glenn proclaimed publicly and repeatedly that “All of our gathers are open to the public; the public is invited to come and watch all the time.”

Don Glenn’s 180 degree reversal is not surprising in light of the sheer inhumanity of BLM roundups.

This is what the BLM does not want the public to see : This pregnant mare was chased to the point of collapse in a winter BLM roundup in 2007.

Evading public scrutiny by conducting a roundup in secret on private land during the week between Christmas and New Year’s when government officials are on holiday and unable to hear official complaints is business as usual for the BLM.

But we expect more of the Obama Administration, which was elected with promises of change and transparency.  Sadly, those promises ring hollow for America’s wild horses. In reality, the Administration has accelerated the pace of wild horse roundups, and plans to remove 12,000 horses a year from their Western ranges over the next three years.  The vast majority of these horses will be sent to holding facilities in the Midwest, where they will join the 33,000 wild horses already removed from the range and currently warehoused at taxpayer expense.

In the end, the number of horses in government holding facilities will far exceed those left in the West.  The plan remains unchanged, despite the federal court ruling on IDA’s lawsuit that the BLM’s stockpiling of horses in Midwestern warehouses was never authorized by Congress.

Despite the horrible fact that the Calico roundup continues, we can assure you that we will not stop fighting to protect wild horses. We will fight for what is right and just for these iconic American animals.  While the same government officials who have overseen this ill-fated program for decades may think they will continue to get away with this injustice – they are wrong.

Add your voice to the growing chorus of outrage over the all-out assault on America’s wild horses. Please tell the Administration to change course and start by immediately suspending the Calico Complex roundup in Nevada.

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