COLORADO (Oct. 4, 2022) – Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden has teamed up with international animal protection nonprofit In Defense of Animals to call for the end of brutal wild horse and burro roundups. Horrific mass mustang trappings have continued to escalate in torrid temperatures across the west this summer, at immense cost to taxpayers and to healthy horses and foals who are killed or corralled for life in cruel, disease-ridden pens.     

Video: Watch one of the latest wild horse roundups:  https://youtu.be/F2GDHaZle8k

"We are thrilled that Jann Arden has joined our campaign to end helicopter roundups of wild horses and burros," said Ginger Fedak, Wild Horse and Burro Campaign Director for In Defense of Animals. "The public is becoming more aware of the Bureau of Land Management abuses of our national treasures. Chasing wild horses with a helicopter over rough terrain in blistering temperatures into a small trap is beyond inhumane — it causes serious injuries and deaths. We hope Jann's involvement will bring more awareness so we can stop the trappings of these iconic American mustangs and respect them and their legally protected status."

Death tolls continue to rise from the ongoing roundups in the west. Broken legs, broken necks, and other injuries from the wild chases are reported by the BLM and justified as unavoidable and simply collateral damage. After roundups, BLM staffers or contractors shoot wild horses with non-lethal injuries and conditions that do not hinder them in the wild. The BLM untruthfully documents other problems caused by the roundups as "chronic" or "pre-existing," and kills these horses too. However, the conditions reported by the BLM as "pre-existing"  would have made it impossible for the horses to gallop many miles to the trap sites, for example with “pre-existing” broken legs, or other health conditions. 

Many of these horses killed for "pre-existing" conditions are foals whose young legs break during the desperate flight to escape. In Defense of Animals documented a foal killed by the BLM with a falsely-designated “pre-existing” condition of "all four legs not working."   

In Defense of Animals and other organizations have documented the BLM's roundups of America's wild equids, and has also reported the BLM's misinformation campaign to the media and the American public. When the BLM’s reasons for "emergency" roundups are shown to be false, with photographic proof, the agency cites a new excuse. Citizens are tired of the ever-changing dialog from the BLM, which backtracks and continues justifying its inappropriate and unnecessary actions, such as this latest case of a fabricated emergency for an expedited roundup.

Wild horses and burros are cruelly rounded up to satisfy livestock ranchers, many run by big-ag corporations. These livestock enterprises want the forage on public lands for personal profit. It is well documented that ranching operations are responsible for the degradation of U.S. public rangelands. 

Also, it has been shown that cattle produce copious amounts of methane gas, which contributes heavily to greenhouse gasses and global warming. Livestock production is a significant contributor to the climate crisis. 

Yet, the BLM turns a blind eye to the science and continues to remove wild horses and burros, who actually improve arid western ranges.  

Wild horse roundups are big business for government contractors — many of whom are the same livestock enterprises that profit from our public lands. It is a shameless conflict of interest when livestock operators benefit from government contracts to remove and hold wild equids, and then they utilize the land resources themselves for profit. 

By law, wild horses are supposed to have "principal use" of the Herd Management Areas (HMAs) where they are found. Livestock operators utilize most of the HMA forage, leaving the wild horses with far less than their guaranteed "principal use." 

There are better alternatives for wild horse and burro management than the appalling and failed policies of roundups and removals. This unified statement was produced in 2018 and signed by over 100 major advocacy organizations. It was sent to all members of Congress and the BLM with recommendations and scientifically referenced solutions. It has been largely ignored as the BLM continues on its hellbent path toward destroying America’s wild herds of mustangs and burros.   

Members of the public can make a donation to support the campaign to end wild horse roundups here: www.idausa/helphorses

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Images free for media use: https://bit.ly/PiceanceEastDouglasRoundup

Contact: Ginger Fedak, ginger@idausa.org, (415) 448-0048 Ext 217

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization based in California with over 250,000 supporters and a 39-year history of fighting for animals, people, and the environment through education and campaigns as well as hands-on rescue facilities in India, South Korea, and rural Mississippi. www.idausa.org/wildhorses

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