LETTER TO 118TH CONGRESS: REFORM AMERICA’S WILD HORSE & BURRO PROGRAM–ROAM-RD

On December 15, 1971, the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was unanimously passed by Congress, and three days later, on December 18, it was given a glowing send-off by President Richard M Nixon during its signing ceremony. Wildlife ecologist Craig C Downer says the coming jubilee must see its rescue.

I believe that getting people to restore wild, naturally living horses and burros in America together with their viable habitats and at truly viable population levels is essential today if America is to pull out of its destructive vortex of selfish and greedy, materialistic speciesism.

Speciesism means only considering one’s own species as important and regarding the rest as all being here merely as things, or objects, to be used and abused or gotten rid of according to people’s selfish wants or whims.

This is no right and moral way, and it is leading to the destruction of all life on Earth. All life on Earth is really one united family that has taken millions of years to establish itself on this planet. To destroy this for a relatively few years of materialistic indulgence is immoral beyond belief. It is a cardinal sin.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 that was passed 50 years ago should now be celebrating not lamenting what has happened with America’s magnificent wild, naturally living horses and burros. But unless we change the present state of affairs, this noble and life-enhancing law shall have failed. We cannot allow this to happen. We can make a turnaround and restore the true intent of this good-willed act, but we ourselves must act if we are to save and restore the wild horses and burros, a healthy and balanced life community, and the human race itself.

This jubilee year must see the rescue of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

This means restoring holistically complete habitats for all seasons of the year and ones that are appropriate for the long-term survival of truly long-term viable populations of interbreeding wild horses and burros who number in the thousands — not the outrageously low and non-viable levels that the BLM and US Forest Service have assigned for them in contradiction of the pure and core intent of the law.

We must break the “agency capture” of this program and get it into the hands of people who really understand, appreciate and care for the wild, naturally living horses and burros and their legal and adequate natural homes. And we must follow the sound principles of reserve design that treat horses and burros and their natural and legal habitats with the enlightened respect that they deserve.

Wild horse restoration is intrinsically important to the future of life on Earth. This has been their home for millions of years, and they have a universally important and indispensable role to play. This role can and must be restored, for it is a healing and restoring role that our planetary life community is in such desperate need of today.

All of my life, horses have been of foremost importance, and I grew up riding and caring for a wonderful chestnut stallion named Poco. together we discovered the mountains, forests, valleys and bushlands of Nevada and California, always keen for new adventures awaiting us just around the corner. Poco taught me so much and saved me and my family so often, because of his great wisdom and attunement to the world of nature.

One shining communication for me stands out. This is Poco’s great longing to live the free and natural life again, in an unfenced and biodiverse place, and to be with his own kind. This became especially apparent when we encountered wild horses and were out riding amid the aromatic sagebrush and pinyon and juniper as well as Sierran ecosystems. Poco came so alive in these and was irrepressible in his desire to run up and greet his fellow wild horses — for every horse is truly wild at heart. Just being there and witnessing this was thrilling and spoke volumes to me.

So now I will convey some of the most important messages and lessons I have learned over a lifetime. These are irrefutable justifications for restoring the wild horses and burros in America and elsewhere. There are many others, but here is what I believe is most crucial to impress upon people today in order to stop the ongoing wipeout and restore these magnificent eq1uines to our shared home: Planet Earth.

READ THE REST OF THIS EXCELLENT ILLUSTRATED ARTICLE THAT UNVEILS THE WHY AND HOW OF RESTORING AMERICA’S WILD HORSES AND BURROS AND THEIR HABITATS AND THE TRUE INTENT OF THE LAW at this:

50 years on, here’s how America’s wild horses can be saved

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS GROUND-BREAKING ARTICLE RE: THE WHYS & HOWS OF SAVING AMERICA’S WILD HORSES & BURROS