A federal district court in Washington DC has granted a Summary Judgment Motion Against Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar et al forbidding removal of the West Douglas Herd of Wild Mustangs from their range in Colorado. This could be huge for all mustangs.
In the case of Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Coalition vs Ken Salazar, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior, et al on August 5, 2009, Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of the United States District Court, District of Columbia, ruled as follows: “For reasons explained herein, the Court finds that BLM’s decision to remove the West Douglas Herd exceeds the scope of authority that Congress delegated to it in the Wild Horse Act. The Court will grant in part Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, deny Defendants’ cross motion for summary judgment, and set aside BLM’s decision.”
In her ruling, Judge Collyer states, “It is a federal crime to remove a wild free-roaming horse or burro from public lands, convert a wild free-roaming horse or burro to private use, or kill or harass a wild free-roaming horse or burro. Congress delegated to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior jurisdiction over all wild free-roaming horses and burros ‘for the purpose of management and protection in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.’”
In other words, a federal court has found the BLM in violation of the very law they were appointed to enforce. A lot of folks have been saying that for a long time and now the point has finally gotten before a federal court and there is a ruling. This is huge.
As you probably know we’ve been on a mission to bring these BLM violations of the 1971 Wild Horse act to light. The act states that wild free-roaming horses and burros will have approximately 52 million acres of land “which is devoted principally to their welfare.” But that land has been arbitrarily reduced by approximately 36%, and 95% of the balance has been leased to cattle and sheep ranchers for livestock grazing. The horses and burros are outnumbered 150-to-1 by cattle and sheep on lands that are supposed to be “devoted principally to their welfare.” Consequently America’s mustangs are in serious danger of extinction.
There are approximately 60,000 still-wild mustangs in existence, roughly the same number as in the early ‘70s. But 33,000 of that 60,000 have been gathered out of the wild and are in BLM holding facilities across the country. And those that remain in the wild are living below viable levels, which simply put means below the number that must be available for breeding to keep the horse from not being forced into incest for the species to attempt to survive.
To my knowledge, this ruling on the Colorado herd is the first ever that addresses the BLM’s illegal actions against the wild horses. It could be the beginning of a new day for this icon of the American west.
To read the entire ruling (and it’s a fun read because the judge really nails the actions of the BLM):
http://www.thesoulofahorse.com/PDF Files/JudgeCollyerAugust5-2009Opinion.pdf
[…] Colorado fought back successfully in 2009 as reported here on “The Soul of a Horse” […]
No Anne,these horses we’re trying to save are not what you call farrel horses,they are very much the wild mustangs that we know and love.And we need to save these precious creations God has given us to enjoy and not to destroy as the BLM’s and Ken Salazar think they should do in the sake of Greed.All the cattle and sheep are not good for our eco.or our biology criteria at all if anything destroy the land,they need to kick the cattle and sheep and oil and mineral guys off the land and return the land they took from the wild horses and burro’s and release everyone of the wild horses and burro’s they have in their holding pens,that are dying from disease and Lord knows what besides being mistreated and inhumanely kept.They need to stop giving the mares PZP and stop sterilizing the stallions so these animals can survive and roam free like they were meant to.we taxpayers paid for these wild horses and burro’s to have there public land and we should be able to tell our President to stop paying the BLM’s $60,million or more for them to so called manage these wild horses and burro’s and all their doing is driving them to extinction if something isn’t done and done now.
I write to you from a small all-volunteer equine welfare in NE Florida that is devoted to providing a safe haven for retired horses and unwittingly our county’s only option for rescue/abandonment cases. On behalf of everyone here at Diamonds in the Rough Farm, Inc. (www.DRFarm.org), Thank You for all your hard work and for your accomplishments in the Colorado case. Keep up the great work; we will do our best, in these challenging times, to do the same in our role within equine welfare.
On another note, it was disheartening to read Anne’s comment. No other species could be more invasive than the one we belong to. I wonder if it ever crosses any one’s mind that we continually re-create ecosystems to cater to elite Homo sapiens. Remember, it would take many lifetimes to undo what humans have destroyed. On horseback none-the-less. Where would humanity’s progress be today if it weren’t for the animals that carried them there? Don’t you think that we do owe horses, at the very least a few herds, a place to live without serving humans?
I’m sorry to bother you-all, but I found this site while I was trying to investigate the Pryor Mt. Gathering .You’ve been through the legal process, so I’m thinking, maybe, you will be able to answer a question….At this point the Federal Court Judgement is a Month Old, it’s in Public Possession, but just last week the BLM used helicopters to chase Clouds little herd off Pryor Mt, and has them penned, with 40 of them tagged for either auction or quick-paper release to kill buyers ( depending on the report)…Could someone ,please tell me, how this could be legal ? Is there some sort of loop-hole or have I misunderstood the Judgement.? A lot of people are really confused about this, so any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank You…Helen
Helen… the case you refer to was a case involving a herd in Colorado… and the ruling was specific to that herd. Can be referred to but cannot be used for legal precedent in other cases like the Pryors. That’s not to say the BLM is not breaking the law every time they do this. They are. But it has to be handled one case at a time for now. And the Pryor case won’t be in court until December. If Cloud wins then any horses rthat have been adopted and those that haven’t could go back. We have to just keep praying that the system will right these wrongs if enough work andpressure continues.
We have so much of our heritage symbolized by the Wild Horses. Just like horses are reflective of how we are when we are around them, I see the endangerment of the freedom of the herds as reflective to our own freedoms. I spent some time with a UT herd, they were healthy, fat and in great shape. I am using images and feelings from that expierence for a painting seires to focus on the Wild Horses. Plus, I am makeing my voice heard. Just like our freedom is worth fighting for, so is theirs!
Maybe someone should point out that the horses aren’t “wild” they are feral (same as feral cats), and as such have to be managed b/c they are an invasive species and do not naturally fit in the ecosystems which we are trying to keep them in.
Sorry Anne… you are wrong. The horses have been on that land for 52 million years. They began in what is now the American West and have lived there for all those years except about 10,000 years when an unknown cataclysm eradicated them but not before they had migrated across the Bering Strait Land Bridge and spread throughout the world. See my blog on this.
It is about time that someone removed the BLMs self appointed godhead!! They long since ceased being caretakers and became exterminators.Salazar is a very poor excuse for Sec. of anything and bears no resembalance to any who cares for the land or its wildlife save the $$$$ that it can bring in to line pockets!
God Bless these people who have filed! As many of us have believed for a long time, what they BLM and Salazar is doing is illegal.
How about hiring a known horse criminal to roundup the horses in the Pryor Mts. Please add that to this list!
I’m doing a benefit with Michael Blake this Saturday in Tucson, AZ for the ISPMB. If you’d like to see some images of the Mustangs that the ISPMB has saved, visit my website and go to slideshows/mustangs.
Blessings for all you are doing, Camps!
What wonderful news. I want to post it on my FSHR facebook page but I don’t know how. So it’s on my profile. The more people who stay abreast of the mustang situation the better. Your blog is teriffic.
[…] you will learn more about the cause and the plight. Joe Camp’s blog entry on August 6th, Federal Court Slaps the BLM – Says Mustang Removal Illegal, gives more information about the ruling. If you are owned by a little dog and think that you […]
Thanks for the awesome news!!Now we have to let all the charities know that are campaigning for same success! It does not go unnoticed that you had a huge part in the lobbying!
Fantastic, encouraging news. This is a topic I know nothing about, so I thank you for writing about it (and Kat for tweeting about it!) You guys must be thrilled. Keep up the amazing work!
It’s awesome, and of course we had to hunt down the lawyers/group who made this happen and, before I could actually stop to think if it was a good idea, volunteered to help out in a lawyerly way. :) I’ll keep y’all posted.
[…] Here’s another link from Pam Nickoles’ blog: https://thesoulofahorse.com/blog/federal-court-slaps-the-blm-says-mustang-removal-illegal/ […]
the wall is coming down…what a fortuitous turn of events…here come the judge!
[…] https://thesoulofahorse.com/blog/federal-court-slaps-the-blm-says-mustang-removal-illegal/ […]