Faxes Flood Utah Governor as Federal Authorities Plan Massive Mustang Roundup

Salt Lake City, UT (May 1, 2014) - More than 7,000 citizens faxed Utah Governor Gary Herbert in less than 24 hours, urging him to halt his attack on federally protected wild horses. Faxes came from as far as Europe and states like Alaska and Florida, reminding Governor Herbert that Utah’s mustangs are a state attraction and warning that tourism will suffer if the state maintains its anti-mustang stance.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it is yielding to pressure from ranchers and local officials by fast-tracking the roundup of hundreds of wild horses in southwestern Utah.

Last week, Governor Herbert suggested that Utah manage wild horses to “keep ranges open for livestock grazing.” This statement followed the BLM's request for livestock grazing permittees to reduce grazing on BLM land due to drought. The Governor implied that reductions were due to wild horse populations, but the BLM Utah Director clarified that over 90% of permittees asked to reduce grazing were not affected by wild horses.

“Ranchers and their allies must stop scapegoating wild horses for damage to public rangelands caused by livestock grazing,” said Suzanne Roy, director of the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation), a national coalition. “Cattle and sheep graze on ten times more public land in Utah than wild horses. Privately-owned livestock vastly outnumber federally-protected wild horses, even on the small amount of land designated as mustang habitat.”

“The American public strongly supports protecting wild horses on our Western public lands,” said Neda DeMayo, President of Return to Freedom (RTF), a national wild horse preservation and sanctuary organization. “Fundamentally, this is an issue about how our public lands are managed and for whom.”

News also broke that the BLM was fast-tracking a wild horse roundup in the Bible Springs Complex due to pressure from ranchers and their political allies, inspired by Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who threatened to take matters into their own hands if the BLM did not act. In response, DeMayo stated:

“American citizens are upset about the threatening, bullying tactics employed by the livestock industry and their political allies in the West. It’s time for the BLM, Governor Herbert, and other Utah officials to recognize that the public lands – and the wild horses that inhabit them – belong to all Americans, not just the handful of ranchers who profit from taxpayer subsidies that accompany public lands grazing. We must all work together to preserve these national icons.”

RTF and AWHC are urging the BLM to cancel plans to round up wild horses in southwestern Utah and instead follow the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), which, in a report last year, identified PZP birth control as an immediately available tool for controlling populations and as “the most acceptable alternative to removing animals for managing population numbers.”

Earlier this week, AWHC, RTF, and The Cloud Foundation sent a letter to Governor Herbert urging him to change course on the wild horse issue. The Governor posted a response on his blog yesterday.

The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation) is a coalition of more than 60 horse advocacy, public interest, and conservation organizations dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage.

Return to Freedom (RTF) is the founding and parent organization for the American Wild Horse Conservation. RTF is a national non-profit dedicated to wild horse preservation through sanctuary, education, and conservation, and also operates the American Wild Horse Sanctuary in Lompoc, CA.