January 16, 2020
Volume 50 - No. 03
A Symbol of America, The Wild Horse, Is Being Slaughtered for Pet Food and Human Consumption. Can Environmentalists, Ranchers, Mustang Lovers and The Government Work Together to Stop This Tragedy?
The BLM, the Symbol of America Wild Horses - Cattle and Animal Rights Organization Fight Over Your Public Land By Pete Peterson
The helicopter, like an airborne The Paper - 760.747.7119
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sheepdog, buzzed over the rugged landscape, careening left and right, doubling back to scare strays from deep ravines, darting into small canyons to extract every head of mustangs, driving its prey relentlessly over the eastern Nevada terrain. The band of frightened horses run to flee airborne attacker, following the ‘Judas horse’ – a domestic horse - that leads its wild cousins toward a metal corridor that dead ends in a manmade corral. Mares, young colts, even foals hardly old enough to walk, run at a
crazed pace, their hides sweat stained, their breath labored, their long strides carrying them across the rock-strewn landscape. A black stallion shies, stumbles, rights itself and keeps running, hobbled now, its hoof leaving blood among the rocks and sage brush. The Judas horse swings left. The herd follows and over the next four hours, some 117 wild horses are herded into the pen, their days of roaming the western lands ended forever. On this day, the black stallion and two other mustangs are euthanized
America’s Wild Horses See Page 2
as result of injuries that occurred during the stampede, but the majority of these beasts are destined to spend the rest of their lives – often up to thirty years – as wards of the Bureau of Land Management. Why is this happening, you ask? The helicopter chase is part of the three-week annual horse round up, the dreaded ‘gathering’ where the symbol of America – the wild mustang - is driven from its range to temporary pens. Once captured, these magnificent animals are trucked to more permanent holding