This is a quickly moving situation and we already have an update:
- We’re told that there are currently 467 horses in pens at the slaughter auction.
- Not all of these are wild horses. Some of them are branded horses owned by the tribe. But we know there are unbranded wild horses among the branded tribal horses. Sadly, there are no laws that will allow us to help the branded horses.
- The unbranded horses are the ones we’re asking the Feds to confiscate because there is a very good chance that they are federally protected wild horses.
- We are aware of reports that the USDA, which is responsible for initiating this roundup of wild horses, has changed its Facebook settings to prevent us from posting to the page to urge the agency to act. It is disappointing that we can’t have our say on an official government page, but as an alternative, we encourage you to share our Facebook post that has USDA’s page tagged.
- You can also call Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at 202-720-3631 to let him know that you expect his agency to do everything possible to prevent unbranded, wild horses from being sold for slaughter tomorrow.
Time is running out for these horses. We’re taking legal action today to raise the stakes, but that might not be enough.
Those not branded could be saved if we speak up!
Please take action now!
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We need your help right now to save wild horses who have been caught up in a large tribal roundup that has snared 417 horses who await their fate at a slaughter auction in Fallon, Nevada. Many of the horses are branded and “owned” by the Ft. McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe, and sadly, there is nothing legally that we can do to save them.
But among the tribal horses are an undetermined number of unbranded horses — taken from public lands where federally-protected wild horses are known to roam. We must ensure that federally protected wild horses are not sold at the slaughter auction.
This can’t wait. The auction takes place in a little over 24 hours from now.
How we got here is a long story which you can catch up on here. Suffice it to say that these horses have been captured off Forest Service and BLM, as well as tribal lands. The lands in question are in close proximity to a designated Herd Management Area (Little Owhyee) where federally-protected wild horses live.
There is no way to distinguish wild horses from tribal horses if they are unbranded. Unbranded horses captured from our public lands are sitting at the slaughter auction waiting to be purchased by kill buyers.
Let’s make some noise,
—Suzanne Roy
American Wild Horse Preservation