Sally Jewel is the newish US Secretary of the Interior, and the youth group YEA! Youths’ Equine Alliance, having had hopes that she would address the failures of the wild horse programme, are extremely disappointed that she has not so far taken any action to help.
Indeed it appears that “Ms. Jewell had not even been briefed on the wild horse and burro program because she had other priorities.”
The SAFE Act was not passed, which would have protected horses from slaughter, the helicopter roundups continue and there are now more captive horses than those living free. The Bureau of Land Management only provided shelter for a small percentage of horses and burros in their care and the government shutdown in summer interrupted the adoptions programmes and may have affected standards of care.
A further cause for concern is that there is no wild horse curriculum in public schools.
Please see:
https://quaker-animals.co.uk/2013/09/yea-youths-equine-alliance-in-the-usa-2
for previous news on this work.
YEA! Youths’ Equine Alliance says: “We must take the well-being of the captive horses and burros in our own hands by sharing the Great American Mustang Exodus Campaign widely. If we band together to provide homes for the horses and burros, we could force the BLM to change their focus from caring for captives to managing wild horses on the land.”
Please sign:
Thank you Robin for your great perseverance and concern over the lives of these equines. I will hold you in the light for success in 2014.