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Protect Wild Horses Sentenced to Freezing Death by U.S. Forest Service

Protect Wild Horses Sentenced to Freezing Death by U.S. Forest Service

This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Animals still need your help.

We have long campaigned against the dreadful management practices of the U.S. Forest Service for wild horses and burros, but this latest move is among the cruelest we've seen yet. Recently, the Alturas office transferred about 20 wild horses and foals from the Modoc National Forest in California to an exposed, hostile, and often freezing location in northern Colorado without proper vetting. Please act now to stop the Forest Service sending wild horses to freeze!

The area in Colorado where these horses were sent is a small 60-acre pasture at an elevation of 8,200 feet. The climate and weather conditions make for extremely harsh winters. The roads to this remote property are unplowed and often impassable in winter, and the area is "off-the-grid" with no utilities. No one lives on-site to make sure the horses get hay and water. In a recent October snowstorm, the area received 24” of snow with below zero temperatures and high winds, while snowdrifts of five to six feet were reported in a nearby town.

Conditions at the Devil's Garden Plateau in California, where these horses were once wild, are much more conducive for survival.

Now, these horses are confined in a 60-acre pasture with extreme weather conditions, no shelter, and no one to provide care.

In Defense of Animals
Two of the transferred horses who could die without urgent action. Photo: In Defense of Animals

Worried citizens raised concerns for the welfare of these horses to the Colorado Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Protection, but the Department stated it couldn't intervene because the horses were not frozen or starving yet. Shockingly, there is no law in Colorado requiring shelters for animals kept outside.

We are working with local officials to protect these horses from dying of exposure. Please take action to ensure it never happens again.

What You Can Do

This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Animals still need your help.

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