Over 250,000 wild horses and burros have been removed from the range since the passage of the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Over 150,000 in the last ten years.
Roundups lead to increased reproduction and the stockpiling of wild horses in holding facilities.
“Equity” in management is as much of a myth as “open range.”
(above: WHE has been working with multiple media outlets for stories, films, books and we are also creating our own. To view some of our documentation of roundups you can click here)
We all know what is behind us, a deeply entrenched “way of being.” History has proven time and time again that our wild ones are treated as an afterthought when it comes to resource allocation. A continual scapegoat for all the ills on the range created by political maneuvering over riding common decency our wild horses and burros have carried that burden far too long.
But the burden our wild ones bear has not simply been built by the federal government and competing interests for resources, it has been built by fractures in advocacy itself. Misinformation and fatal divisiveness has bred like bacteria in a cesspool.
If we are to see our wild horses and burros managed as an integral part of our public lands it must stop now.
WHE fought and won on First Amendment issues. We set legal precedent to allow daily observation of roundups. We are working to open facilities.
WHE is the only organization to fight and win against inhumane treatment at roundups. This year, for the first time in the history of the Act to protect our wild horses and burros, a humane handling policy is now in roundup contracts. We have the largest documentation record of roundups over the last six years in the world (including federal agencies).
WHE has stopped unjustified removals both in court and through our relentless work on the range and meeting rooms.
WHE is working hard to gain data based, sane, humane management of our wild ones and the resources they depend on to survive.
WHE has given testimony in court, news media and to Congress.
WHE brings our work into the classroom, to all ages.
WHE is a tiny organization fueled by the passionate desire to educate. The only way to accomplish these goals is to “get dirty.” WHE has traveled to ranges in seven western states. WHE documents nearly 25 wild horse and burro herds on an ongoing basis every single year. Multiple organizations within the wild horse community and range protection movement have come to rely on WHE.
In 2016 our work over the last few years is coming to a new juncture. We have been working with multiple media outlets, film makers and organizing a “range centric” network. Our documentation includes things the federal government could not, pre and post turnout of livestock effects on the range.
It is time to break the cycle. Join US.
In 2016 WHE will release a book, a film and continue to bring the “reality of the range” to classrooms, living rooms and when needed, the courtroom.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Categories: Wild Horse Education