Senate Investigation Sought for Federal Agency's Misuse of Tax Dollars in Wild Horse Slaughter Scheme
Washington, DC (November 6, 2013) - The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign) has officially requested the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) to investigate the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for allegedly sending 252 wild mustangs from the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada to a slaughter middleman in Mississippi. Despite warnings, the horses were shipped to government contractor Stan Palmer of J&S Associates, who reportedly distributed them by the truckload.
AWHC is urging the Senate Committee to scrutinize the FWS/Palmer contract and halt Palmer's further dispersal of Sheldon horses during the investigation. The organization also hopes the Committee will reconsider the plan to eradicate the wild horses and burros of the Sheldon Refuge, given their historical and cultural significance. The ancestors of these horses served as cavalry mounts through World War I.
Sheldon mustangs at Stan Palmer's in Mississippi await their fate.
In a letter to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, AWHC stated, “The FWS has gone to great lengths to maintain its relationship with J&S to continue the laundering of wild horses from the Sheldon Refuge. Nearly $1 million in taxpayer dollars have been spent on this scheme, jeopardizing the fate of hundreds of mustangs. The FWS's actions contradict the Obama Administration’s stance against horse slaughter. You are the last hope for holding this government agency accountable and ensuring a humane fate for these horses.”
The FWS continued its contract with Palmer in 2013, despite an internal investigation revealing Palmer's inability to account for up to 200 of the 262 horses placed with him between 2010 and 2013. Under the contract, Palmer is required to find quality, long-term homes for the horses and is prohibited from selling them for auction or slaughter.
Trailer loads of wild horses leaving Stan Palmer's on October 31, 2013.
In October, Sheldon began shipping wild horses captured the previous month to Mississippi. On October 28, a Palmer employee posted on Facebook, urging people to “show up with your trailer and load em up…. need gone asap!!!!..... when they leave my house they are no longer my business.” Horses began leaving Palmer's property by the truckload shortly after the post.
More Information
- AWHC Letter to EPW Committee
- AWHC Letter to Secretary Jewell
- Sheldon Refuge Wild Horse Controversy
- Wild Horse Education Lawsuit and Sheldon Campaign
The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign), founded in 2004 by Return to Freedom, is a coalition of over 50 horse advocacy, public interest, and conservation organizations dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come.