HOW TO LOBBY FOR WILD HORSES & BURROS
First Step:
Arrange meetings with your Congressperson (Representative) and Senators:
The first step is to make contact with an initial email or call to their offices requesting a constituent meeting. The meeting may be in person, zoom, or phone call (whatever you feel comfortable with).
You can also call your Rep or Senator by using the Capitol switch board number, to request a phone or in-person meeting, or to ask questions or request support on a legislative issue or bill:
#202-224-3121
Hello,
My name is _______and I am a constituent located in __________.
I would like to meet with ____________ or a staff member who handles public lands issues. I am requesting a meeting to discuss our wild horses, burros, wildlife, and public lands.
Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you,
Name
Address (providing your city, state, and zip code would be sufficient)
Phone number
Once you have spoken to a staff member or left a voice mail with the script above, go to the Congressperson and each of the Senators websites and use their Contact Me email screen to send the same script above in an email.
Be prepared with names and phone numbers of fellow advocates if they are joining you in the meeting; if you can get 5 people to join the meeting with you that will really make a statement. Your meeting will normally be with an aide and will be about 15 to 30 minutes in length. Be polite, factual, and professional (and non-emotional) at all times - they work for you. Remember, one of the Bureau of Land Management's strongest arguments against legislators listening to wild horse advocates is that we are emotional animal activists. So we need to be polite, mature, and professional when speaking to legislators so we can prove the BLM wrong.
When talking about the BLM, always use the entire title of Bureau of Land Management since BLM is also known as Black Lives Matter.
Steps Two and Three instructions:
Step 2
How to Prepare for the Meeting
1. Your Representative or Senators office will coordinate the meeting. Some staffers offer a number of time slots that you can pick from. Be attentive, and answer their emails in a timely fashion.
2. Thank them for coordinating the meeting and provide your email and phone number in all correspondence. If you have people joining you, provide their names and contact information. Forward your information packet, if you have one (i.e. the Congressional packet offered here on the website) with the email.
3. Practice your meeting with a friend or in front of the mirror to make you more comfortable if needed
4. The day of your meeting, be early; legislators and their staff are on a schedule and can’t go past the time reserved for you. Be sure to have their phone number on hand in case of a last minute problem.
5. When your meeting starts, introduce yourself and supporting team, where you live and if you can, personalize your story. Example: "I was raised out west and wild horses have always brought so much joy to our family."
6. Always end with your asks. Decide what your asks are before the meeting, two or three are best, but only mention one piece of legislative action per phone call. For example:
Step 3
Following Up
1. Follow up the next day with a Thank You email.
Example: 'Thank You for taking the time to listen to my concerns and information on the bill to end helicopter round ups and the wild horse issues. I am forwarding the information again on the key issues we discussed. I will be following up with you but please contact me if you have questions.'
2. The next follow up will be in 7 to 10 days, asking them if they have made a decision to cosponsor your bill and/or taken action on your concerns. Remember, you are building a relationship and always be polite even with a no answer.
3. Reach out to them to keep them updated on the issue.
Congratulations! You are an effective advocate for our native wild horses.
Below is a copy of the original Wild and Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act of 1971
Arrange meetings with your Congressperson (Representative) and Senators:
The first step is to make contact with an initial email or call to their offices requesting a constituent meeting. The meeting may be in person, zoom, or phone call (whatever you feel comfortable with).
- The sites below will give you contact information for Senators and Congressperson:
- Contact information on your Senator
- Contact information on your Congressperson (member of the House of Representatives):
You can also call your Rep or Senator by using the Capitol switch board number, to request a phone or in-person meeting, or to ask questions or request support on a legislative issue or bill:
#202-224-3121
- Tell the operator you want to talk to your Congressperson and you will be transferred to the correct office. Then make two more calls asking for each of your two Senators.
- Ask for an appointment or talk to the staffer about the issue you are calling about
- If you are unable to schedule an appointment directly with your Representative or Senator(s), then the appointment can be with the staffer or aide who deals with public lands issues or natural resources.
Hello,
My name is _______and I am a constituent located in __________.
I would like to meet with ____________ or a staff member who handles public lands issues. I am requesting a meeting to discuss our wild horses, burros, wildlife, and public lands.
Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you,
Name
Address (providing your city, state, and zip code would be sufficient)
Phone number
Once you have spoken to a staff member or left a voice mail with the script above, go to the Congressperson and each of the Senators websites and use their Contact Me email screen to send the same script above in an email.
- Within a week, a staffer should contact you to schedule your meeting. Repeat the email or call again if you have not received a response. Sometimes they will want more information on your concerns before scheduling an appointment. You can use the following script if this happens (using the words taxpayer dollars or waste of taxpayer dollars will always get their attention):
- "I would like a meeting to discuss how my taxpayer dollars are being used to fund round ups our wild horses and burros, how a few ranchers are paid millions of dollars to do these roundups and house our wild horses in holding pens, and how we are losing our wild horses, burros, and wildlife on our public lands to large corporate interests."
Be prepared with names and phone numbers of fellow advocates if they are joining you in the meeting; if you can get 5 people to join the meeting with you that will really make a statement. Your meeting will normally be with an aide and will be about 15 to 30 minutes in length. Be polite, factual, and professional (and non-emotional) at all times - they work for you. Remember, one of the Bureau of Land Management's strongest arguments against legislators listening to wild horse advocates is that we are emotional animal activists. So we need to be polite, mature, and professional when speaking to legislators so we can prove the BLM wrong.
When talking about the BLM, always use the entire title of Bureau of Land Management since BLM is also known as Black Lives Matter.
Steps Two and Three instructions:
Step 2
How to Prepare for the Meeting
1. Your Representative or Senators office will coordinate the meeting. Some staffers offer a number of time slots that you can pick from. Be attentive, and answer their emails in a timely fashion.
2. Thank them for coordinating the meeting and provide your email and phone number in all correspondence. If you have people joining you, provide their names and contact information. Forward your information packet, if you have one (i.e. the Congressional packet offered here on the website) with the email.
3. Practice your meeting with a friend or in front of the mirror to make you more comfortable if needed
4. The day of your meeting, be early; legislators and their staff are on a schedule and can’t go past the time reserved for you. Be sure to have their phone number on hand in case of a last minute problem.
5. When your meeting starts, introduce yourself and supporting team, where you live and if you can, personalize your story. Example: "I was raised out west and wild horses have always brought so much joy to our family."
- Remember to always be polite and never give false information. If you don’t know an answer, tell them you will get back to them. Remember to relax and tell them this is your first time, if so.
6. Always end with your asks. Decide what your asks are before the meeting, two or three are best, but only mention one piece of legislative action per phone call. For example:
- For example: I would like her/him to support bill H.R.3656 - To amend the Act commonly known as the Wild Free-roaming Horses and Burros Act to prohibit certain uses of aircraft with respect to the management of wild free-roaming horses and burros, and for other purposes (but do not mention HR 3475 The SAFE Act in the same call - make a separate call to ask for support on different bills. In addition, do not combine wild horse issues with equine slaughter issues, this is confusing to legislators - keep the issues separate).
- Be sure to end with the question of the action you want them to take: "Do you know if she/he supports this bill?" Wait for an answer. Ask them if you can contact them again for the answers and to see if they have any questions. Usually the answer is yes.
Step 3
Following Up
1. Follow up the next day with a Thank You email.
Example: 'Thank You for taking the time to listen to my concerns and information on the bill to end helicopter round ups and the wild horse issues. I am forwarding the information again on the key issues we discussed. I will be following up with you but please contact me if you have questions.'
- Include your contact information
2. The next follow up will be in 7 to 10 days, asking them if they have made a decision to cosponsor your bill and/or taken action on your concerns. Remember, you are building a relationship and always be polite even with a no answer.
3. Reach out to them to keep them updated on the issue.
Congratulations! You are an effective advocate for our native wild horses.
Below is a copy of the original Wild and Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act of 1971
Click here for a download of the original Wild and Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act of 1971