We believe the two most effective ways to bring attention and protections to our wild horses are via legal action and via communication with Congress. This program focuses on the communication with Congress. Remember that Congressional sessions last just 2 years which means any legislation sponsored could be made into law within just two years time. Legal action can take much longer but is just as important.
We are looking for committed wild horse and burro advocates to join us in contacting Representatives and Senators with timely, relevant information.
Action Items
Below are the actions we will ask each of you to take; instructions will be under each item. Unless noted, there are no time constraints so if you see an item listed below that you have not completed, please do so today!
Please include a cover letter, handwritten is best, even if a short one, with each item you send to your legislator.
The cover letter can be as simple as: "My name is _____________ and I am sending you this information today because it is an issue that is important to me and many of your constituents. Please look it over and feel free to reach out to me for information. Thank you, (your name, address, phone number or email address)"
Please include a cover letter, handwritten is best, even if a short one, with each item you send to your legislator.
The cover letter can be as simple as: "My name is _____________ and I am sending you this information today because it is an issue that is important to me and many of your constituents. Please look it over and feel free to reach out to me for information. Thank you, (your name, address, phone number or email address)"
Action Item #3 dated September 1, 2022This letter covers both the SAFE Act and the Adoption Incentive Program. Normally we would ask you to keep those two items as separate topics when contacting your legislators, but in this case we tied in the AIP to the SAFE Act in a way they should be able to tell the difference.
(Date)
Good Morning (Senator or Congressman/Congresswoman), With over 500 horse and burro rescue organizations across the United States, it’s clear Americans care about equines. Recently, American Wild Horse Campaign conducted an independent investigation which revealed over 840 branded and protected wild horses and burros were found in kill/slaughter pens in the past 19 months. The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) for wild horses, which has cost taxpayers $12M, is a dismal failure with under 3% of horses being adopted. More importantly, the Bureau of Land Management has failed to follow up and manage the program as designed, and repeatedly and knowingly awards incentives to repeat adopters who adopt up to four horses at a time, wait until they are titled, then sell them to kill pens. They then repeat the process time and time again with no recourse. Some adopters have made tens of thousands of dollars, yet neither the BLM nor the adopters are hold accountable for the safety or condition of the wild horses. Here is a very recent specific example of the AIP program being abused for money as explained by Skydog Sanctuary: 28 wild horses were recently run through the Worland auction in Wyoming. Six wild horses went to the Stroud Oklahoma kill pen and their titles show they were from the same family as the Colorado kill pen wild horses, and all were part of the Adoption Incentive Program. Two wild horses were rescued at the auction, twenty went to Colorado, four were bought privately. The remaining 16 wild horses were saved by Skydog Sanctuary and American Wild Horse Campaign in partnership. The names on the titles show Bob Nicol of Fort Washakie, WY, Sherrie Corliss of Lovell WY, Dale Harris of Granger, WY, Deanne J Harris of Granger, WY, Sierra Harris of Worland, WY and Kaden Harris of Worland, WY. The Harris Family (from AWHC’s Report on the AIP) have used the AIP numerous times with large numbers of wild horses. Documents from the BLM Wyoming State Office shows a group of four related individuals adopted the maximum number of BLM animals each, totaling 16 animals. FOIA’s requested (Freedom of Information Act) show that the Harris family received the title for these animals in March 2021, with the final incentive payment in April 2021. Then, between May and June 2021, the original 4 individuals, plus 2 new family members, each adopted four more BLM wild horses through the AIP. The incentive payments brought in by this family total approximately $40,000 of taxpayer money. There are serious concerns about the whereabouts of the original 16 wild horses the Harris family ‘adopted’ and the safety of the 24 additional wild horses once title is passed and full incentive payment is received. Another family running the same scam for the BLM incentive money, the Nicol family, Bob and Detta Nicol’s horses, were titled to a PO Box in Fort Washakie WY. Why is the BLM allowing the adoption of wild horses to a PO Box address and how does the BLM expect to do an inspection of the wild horses whereabouts and condition? With no oversight, the AIP program is a path for sending our protected wild horses and burros to slaughter. In addition, quarter horses and thoroughbreds, both victims of overbreeding for greed, as well as privately owned horses whose owners can no longer afford to care and feed them due to the economy and high cost of feed, are also reaching the slaughter pipeline. Bills to abolish horse slaughter have been introduced for over 11+ years but have never passed through Congress. The SAFE Act HR3355 Save America’s Forgotten Equine Act and S2732, the John Stringer Rainey Save America’s Forgotten Equines Act, recently passed through subcommittee with a unanimous vote and is awaiting mark up in Committee. I am asking for your support of The SAFE Act, so we can finally eliminate equine slaughter in our country. After so many years, it’s time. In addition, in May 2021 Senator Dianne Feinstein wrote a letter to Secretary Deb Haaland at the Department of the Interior expressing her great concerns regarding the Adoption Incentive Program run by the BLM. She requested Secretary Haaland immediately halt the Adoption Incentive Program and ensure a proper investigation is conducted to prevent future wild horses and burros from suffering abuse or slaughter. I ask that you also encourage the BLM to halt the AIP program until an investigation can be conducted to ensure America’s wild horses do not end up in the slaughter pipeline at the expense of the equines welfare and Americans taxpayer dollars. Please see the attached links for more specific information on what is really happening with the slaughter pipeline. https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/2/9/2967ffef-844c-4124-af67-73c9b09c0b5a/E75AE4F17408302ACD6F6B16119DC73D.wild-horse-burro-letter.pdf https://www.instagram.com/p/ChKqdl1OhGw/ https://www.instagram.com/p/ChiN61tvPp6/ Sincerely, (your name) 
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Action Item #1 dated June 24, 2022
June 17, 2022 letter signed by Reps Titus, Cohen, Norton, Lieu, Sires, DeFazio, and Carbajal - this letter needs to be sent to every other Representative. Please print it out and mail it to them with a cover letter that has your name and contact information. Let your Rep know this is a very important issue to you and you wanted them to see what their fellow Representatives are requesting. If your Rep has already signed it, please send them a Thank You note and include one of the other Action Items on this page.
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Action Item #2 dated July 18, 2022
July 11, 2022 letter put together by Representative Ted Lieu's office (CA) regarding the Devils Garden wild horse herd in northern California. Several Reps have signed on but we need more and we need all the other Reps to know about this letter and that it is important to you. Please download the Devils Garden Letter file above, write a short cover letter to go with it, and both mail and fax it to your Rep. If your Rep has already signed the letter, please send them a Thank You letter via mail or fax and include one of the other Action Items included on this page.
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