-----Original Message----- From: Adriene Sere [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, November 08, 1999 10:42 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [GSN] (no subject) From: Adriene Sere <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Why is it okay to capture these wild animals in the first place? as ------------------------------------------------------------ Wild horses still being slaughtered 186 mustangs sold for meat within 3 months of auction, BLM report finds Wild mustangs gallop in the Bureau of Land Management wild horse corral in Burns, Ore., on Oct. 23 shortly after the bureau's latest auction. ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 Nearly 200 wild horses ended up in slaughterhouses during the past two years in apparent violation of a federal rule that requires new owners to swear they do not plan to have the animals killed. ALAN RUTBERG Humane Society spokesman THE BUREAU of Land Management says that since March 1998, 186 wild horses were sent to slaughterhouses within three months of their owners getting titles from the government. In July 1998, the BLM began requiring that all new owners sign a statement saying they did not intend to sell their horse for slaughter, although some owners may have signed those statements earlier. The quick trip from title to slaughter was detailed in an internal BLM report last month that said 571 former wild horses were slaughtered at four U.S. plants between March 1998 and Sept. 22. It was the first detailed accounting by the BLM of wild horses going to slaughter since the Associated Press exposed the practice in 1997. The report fueled renewed criticism of the adoption program, which began under a 1971 law designed to spare wild horses from being rounded up and sent to slaughter. LAX ENFORCEMENT CRITICIZED Critics say the program has been plagued by poor record-keeping and lax enforcement of rules designed to protect horses. For example, the October report said five horses arrived at a Texas slaughterhouse the day their new owners got title, but the BLM now says that was a mistake. Three of those horses were sent to slaughter three months after their owners got title, but the other two had been in private hands for five years or more, BLM spokeswoman Mary Knapp said Friday. We went back and took a harder look at the information. We were just as alarmed as anyone at five horses being slaughtered the day they were titled, she said. We learned that is not the case, which is good news. That news did little to assuage BLM critics. This is a program that historically has had a lot of accounting problems, said Howard Crystal, a lawyer for the Fund for Animals, whose lawsuit prompted the affidavit requirement. Im surprised they havent been able to sort it out by now. Youd think they would be keeping closer track than they are. Knapp said the BLM revised its figures as part of an ongoing effort to determine how many wild horses have been slaughtered since the agency began requiring the affidavits in July 1998. She said BLM officials were not sure if any other figures about slaughtered wild horses were erroneous. SOME HORSES CONSIDERED UNTRAINABLE All of the five horses in question arrived at the Beltex slaughterhouse in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 20, Knapp said. One was a 21-year-old mare titled in 1994 and another was a 5-year-old stallion titled in June 1998. The other three, all mares, had been adopted by a boys ranch and titled Jan. 21, Knapp said. The ranch sold the horses at an auction because they were considered untrainable and one had kicked a boy in the head, she said. She refused to identify the ranch. The BLM says there are about 40,000 wild horses on federal land in the West. It rounded up 4,949 horses and sent out 5,745 for adoption during the year that ended Sept. 30, Knapp said. Under the program, the adopter pays a fee of as little as $125 and agrees to care for the horse for one year, after which the BLM can hand over the title to the animal. It is illegal to slaughter a wild horse, although the BLM says that once adopters take title, horses are private property and not protected by the federal law. The Fund for Animals and other groups sued the BLM following the 1997 AP reports. To settle that suit, the agency agreed to require adopters before they get titles to sign affidavits saying, Under penalty of prosecution ... I hereby state that I have no intent to sell this wild horse or burro for slaughter. The horse advocates hoped those affidavits would stop wild horses from being sent to slaughterhouses, where the animals are processed into meat that ends up being eaten by people in Europe and Asia. TEST CASE SOUGHT Horse advocates are pressing the BLM to find someone to make an example of for allegedly lying on their title application, said Allen Rutberg of the Humane Society. Critics question whether the BLM is committed to enforcing the requirement, especially since the head of the wild horse program, Tom Pogacnik, told the Salt Lake Tribune that its not clear just how long that signed agreement is intended to last. A significant number of these animals are going to slaughter within 90 days of title. That isnt right, said Rutberg, a member of the BLMs Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. I cant believe that these people wouldnt have known they were going to be selling their horses. BLM spokeswoman Knapp said agency lawyers are looking into whether adopters can be prosecuted for making false statements and investigators are inquiring into the slaughter cases. We will do everything in our power as the law allows to ensure that wild horses and burros are placed with adopters who intend to provide a long-term and quality home, she said. --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- Hey Freelancers: Find your next project through JobSwarm! You can even make $$$ in your sleep by referring friends. <a href=" http://clickme.onelist.com/ad/jobswarm1 ">Click Here</a> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
