She hates what circuses do to animals, she stands up for poor Billy the Elephant, she hosts events for the Humane Society, and she thinks our treatment of animals is what defines us as a humane group of people. So really it shouldn't surprise anyone that Jorja's also against the rounding up of wild horses.
Just this month, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that the Calico Complex round-up of over 2,700 wild horses will proceed on December 28 as planned, which is in seemingly direct opposition to the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act, which they're tasked with enforcing.
To a lot of urban Americans (and non-Americans) this needs some explanation. Mustangs are a breed of feral horses (often also called wild horses) who roam the United States and Canada. In the US, they're protected by law, but as with so many wild animals these days, their territory and number have dwindled greatly. A few hundred can be found in Canada (Alberta and BC), but the majority are in the United States. Right now, the BLM feels that a total of 27,000 mustangs is a "manageable" number. The problem? There are about 33,000 in the US alone.
The Calico Mountain Complex is in Nevada, where roughly half the mustangs in the US live. The BLM's plan will reduce the number of feral horses to something more 'manageable', by putting many in holding facilities or selling them for slaughter.
Humanity is, in my opinion, proved when we do something for those who cannot stand up and speak for themselves.
What can you do?
Contact your US representative and senators that they should support a moratorium to stop the gathers, the roundups and removals pending Congressional action on the future management of the wild horses and burros. Ask them to hold a hearing on the course of the wild horses and burros program.
Contact BLM Director Bob Abbey and ask him to stop: Robert_Abbey@blm.gov
The Animal Law Coalition has a lot more information that can help you decide if this is something you should support and how to do so.
It's not too late to save the mustangs.
Source:
Harness Link
Animal Law Coalition
I think if they are concerned about the numbers, perhaps some methods of selective birth control for the animals (what that is for horses, I don't know) would be far more humane, of course, than killing them. I'm against the round up, but I sympathize with the need to keep the population at a "manageable" number.
I agree, it's a complicated and complex situation, but killing animals because there are too many to manage strikes me as part of the reason the Earth's so screwed up right now! It's like Asian Carp poison running around Chicago. By all means, lets mess with the ecosystem even more!
I have great sympathy about this particular issue because these are Amarican wild horses and like much of your wild life it is under threat.We have seen bears and wolves in your wonderful National Parks.You are just so lucky to have such amazing animals.
This is unfortunately a World wide issue when it comes to wildlife up against man.
Man usually wins.