Wild Horse & Burro Rescue & Sanctuary Mission

Great news! The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has unanimously approved the Fiscal Year 2019 Interior Appropriations bill which includes language that would prohibit the Bureau of Land Management from killing healthy wild horses and burros or selling them to slaughter. The Senate and House versions of the bill will now move to the floor. However, the two bills are significantly different in that the one version would allow the Secretary of the Interior to create non-reproducing or single-sex herds through various means including surgical sterilization.

The practice of surgical sterilization raises multiple red flags for Wild for Life Foundation’s (WFLF) Navajo Horse Rescue and Recovery Mission (NHRRM). Surgical sterilization has been found to be painful and dangerous for individual animals and would threaten the diversity and health of whole herds. These procedures have reportedly put mares at serious risk of infection, hemorrhaging and other post-operative complications, some of which can be life-threatening. Plus, the cost associated with sterilizing large numbers of equines in the field is unknown.

In the past, BLM’s failure to implement cost-effective and humane management practices has resulted in more than 46,000 wild horses and burros being stockpiled in government holding facilities. Just last year this cost taxpayers over $47 million to house, feed and care for them.

The American public would be surprised, if not outraged to learn that government agencies, including the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forestry and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have in fact been encouraging the eradication of America’s wild horses from public lands. The BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) are governed by the U.S. Department of Interior and they manage wild horses and burros on America’s open rangelands (e.g. public lands, tribal lands, and forest lands, etc)

One other thing that most people don’t realize is that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), has the overall Federal trust responsibility for managing reservation rangeland and acts at an equivalent level as of the BLM and oftentimes mirrors BLM wild horse management practices.

Sadly, countless horses and burros are under threat of EXTERMINATION across the country, targeted for elimination from America’s public and native rangeland homes under government agency population management practices.

As news spreads about what’s happening, people are asking why tribes would go against their indigenous cultural beliefs and values to label the horse, a species many tribes consider sacred and as family; to instead label them as “feral” and sell them for their meat. For one thing as revealed in WFLF’s documentary film, “SAVING AMERICA’S HORSES: A NATION BETRAYED”, Agriculture and Forestry have threatened tribes with a loss of livestock grazing permits if they fail to implement management policies.  However, many studies including a recent GAO study has determined that the primary cause of degradation in range land areas is poorly managed domestic livestock grazing, and this has gone on for well over four and a half centuries. Yet wild horses are blamed fervently by livestock producers, the BLM and the BIA for rangeland destruction.

We at WFLF believe that the circle of life is eternal and in realizing how we came to be where we are, we must also look ahead at where we are going. We as native people honor our horse relatives, and the American public, without a doubt is adamantly opposed to slaughtering them. Horses are as much a part of the land as we are; their future is our future.

The Wild for Life Foundation’s (WFLF) Navajo Horse Rescue and Recovery Mission (NHRRM) is a lifesaving program which provides rescue and sanctuary placement services for wild horses, burros and orphan foals that that have been saved from roundups, slaughter and other forms of cruelty. These animals come to us traumatized, shattered, desperate and betrayed. Through our program they find love, quality care, safety, compassion, dignity, trust, hope and a new beginning.

WFLF provides lifesaving aid and care for both wild and domestic horses and burros in need, and has rescued and secured safe harbor for hundreds of horses and burros through our equine rescue/ recovery program.

HOW TO HELP: MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

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Say no to the mass killing, no to slaughter, no to roundups and no to surgical sterilization!

Long-Term Impact

America's wild horses and burros are living symbols of the historic spirit of the West. They contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people.  However they are sadly disappearing from the American landscape and must be protected.

The Wild For Life Foundation (WFLF) has stepped up in troubled times and saved hundreds of America's horses and burros. But, we cannot do this alone. It takes all of us working together to assure they receive the protection they need, to raise awareness, effect positive change and save as many lives as possible.

The Wild For Life Foundation seeks your assistance in sharing information about this important cause with your friends and family. Will you share this message with seven of your friends? 

As the remaining number of Wild Horses in the U.S. nears extinction, education and appreciation through their protection in the wild as well as safe and natural sanctuary environments becomes tantamount to their survival as a species. America’s Wild Horses cannot be reproduced once they are gone.

Wild for Life Foundation is an all volunteer 501 c3 charity and we rely 100% on donations. Your continued kind support enables us to further our mission on behalf of saving and protecting America’s horses.  Please make your voice heard by sharing this important update and by inviting your friends to take part in supporting our lifesaving cause. Together, we are their voice, and they need to be heard.

As always we thank you for supporting this vital lifesaving mission.

Sincerely,

Katia Louise, Director