Ginger's McCullough Peak comments
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Ginger's McCullough Peak comments
Patricia L. Hatle, Dear Ms. Hatle; Thanks for the opportunity to make these remarks on behalf of our thousands of Cloud Foundation supporters around the world but also on behalf of myself. I have been visiting the beautiful horses in the McCullough Peaks since early 1994 and love this area and all the wildlife there, including the truly exquisite wild horses. I had the great pleasure of riding on two 50-mile endurance rides in the herd area in 2005 and 2006. What a thrill it was to ride with wild horses. Bachelor stallions raced by my horse and me and, although we tried to keep up with them, they left us in the dirt. The three stallions stopped to look back as if to say “Come on. What’s taking you so long?” Then they raced away out of sight. I will never forget the beautiful black and white bachelor who dared come within a hundred feet or so of us. I wonder if he still roams free. His obvious joy at being wild was written all over his shining body. To read a plan that would destroy the herd is heart breaking and so unnecessary. I urge you to opt for the NO ACTION ALTERNATIVE. I cannot believe that HSUS would sanction the use of infertility drugs to be used in a way which could result in a zeroing out of any herd, let alone a herd that is so popular with the public. How many places in the west can you drive down a paved highway and see 30 colorful wild horses with their foals grazing and playing just a hundred yards away! Before the last BLM round up a few years ago, the McCullough Peaks wild horse herd was a robust 500 or so animals. The horses looked great and the range looked great as well. How could you now suggest removing all but 70 and then giving a two-year infertility drug to the few mares that are returned to the range? This will destroy the genetic viability of the herd, as you very well know. I am sure that Dr. Cothran who has carefully studied equine genetics would not advise these numbers if your goal is to maintain the herd into the future. Was he consulted at all on the efficacy of this plan? Just from a historic standpoint I cannot imagine that the herd would not be protected forever. Some have the blood of Buffalo Bill Cody’s prized Cleveland Bays coursing through their veins. Legend has it that when Buffalo Bill quit his Wild West Show days in the early 1900s, he released his Cleveland Bays in the McCullough Peaks. I have a friend who adopted a yearling from the herd several years ago and she had her colt blood-tested and the results show that he has rare Cleveland Bay markers in his genetic make-up! Regardless of the fascinating history and the gorgeous colors and conformation of these wild horses, your new plan would destroy the herd. What person in their right mind would believe this 110,000-acre range could not support a viable herd of at least 200-300 animals! What then is the real reason for this planned action? Massive oil and gas development? Pressure from livestock permittees who graze their cattle for a pittance of what they would pay if they were leasing non-public lands? What is it that would make the BLM decide on a plan of pure destruction? On Monday, June 30, BLM announced it needed to “euthanize” mustangs as they were running into a “budget crisis”. First of all what they plan is not euthanasia or mercy killing. It is just killing, probably shooting, thousands of mustangs. BLM has removed nearly 70,000 horses in the past 5 or 6 years, bringing mustangs to the brink of extinction. They removed far more than could be adopted out. Now they want a quick fix by killing them. Now is not the time to remove healthy mustangs from healthy rangelands. What will happen if the McCullough Peaks wild horses are rounded up? Will they be killed? Many will not be adopted, as there are just too many horses for sale right now. It is hard to give away trained quarter horses in this market. Any older horses will go to long-term holding, which is probably the first place the killing would start. By removing the McCullough Peaks wild horses from their range you will expose them to a nearly non-existent adoption or sale market and a government agency that suggests shooting them rather than feeding them. This is completely unacceptable and unbelievably cruel. Keep the McCullough Peaks horses on the range. The land is in great shape, so are the horses. There has been wonderful moisture this year. They need to be allowed to roam free as the Wild Horse and Burro Act intended. Again, please select the NO ACTION ALTERNATIVE. I’d appreciate an answer to the questions I posed. Sincerely, |