Monday, August 31, 2009

Save Montana's Endangered Wild Horses

Cloud - The Wild Stallion
Wild Stallions roaming free on Public land across areas of the United States, are becoming more and more an endangered species at the hands of the Bureau of Land Management.

Herds of horses that once roamed across American in their millions, have been reduced to wild horses numbering in their thousands. A hundred years ago an estimated two million mustangs roamed the Western range. Today there are fewer than 50,000.

Clouds herd, numbering 190, are to be reduced to 70 by the Bureau of Land management - well below the numbers needed to sustain genetic diversity. If the herds are reduced to these numbers they will no longer be genetically sustainable and the possibility of them completely dying out is guaranteed. The Cloud Foundation

Stop the Massive Removal of Cloud's Wild Horse Herd Here!

Although the Spanish brought horses to the "New World", it was only after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 that large numbers of wild horses spread across the Great Plains. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was the single most successful act of resistance by Native Americans against a European invader. It established Indian independence in the pueblos for more than a decade. This provided the Pueblo Indians with several thousand horses. Almost immediately, they started breeding larger herds, with the intention of selling horses to the Apache and Comanche Indians. America's Heritage: Wild Horses

Wild Free-Roaming Horses And Burros Act of 1971: "Congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people; and that these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene. It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands."

Cloud's Herd YouTube * Help the Wild Horses - 11th Hour for Cloud's Herd

The Bureau of Land Management is rounding up and eliminating 12 herds (650 horses) off 1.6 million acres in Nevada - next they plan to destroy Cloud's herd with a massive removal of 70 horses that would include older horses and young foals. By zeroing out whole herds and reducing others to below genetic viability, the BLM is circumventing the will of Congress. Is BLM just trying to do as much irrevocable damage to America's wild horses as they can before Congress can act? - Angels for Cloud