THIS WEEK IN WILD BEAUTY: June 25th, 2022
The Wild Beauty Foundation welcomes you to the sixth edition of our weekly newsletter!
This Week in Wild Beauty
Read the newest wild horse and burro focused headlines for the week of June 25th, 2022
Oversight Hearing on BLM’s Horse and Burro Program Requested
Early this week, seven U.S. Members of Congress called for an oversight hearing regarding the BLM’s wild horse and burro management. This letter was sent to the House Natural Resources Committee citing unsafe holding facilities and destructive roundup methods in wild horse herd management. Among the members involved were Nevada’s Dina Titus and Tennessee’s Steve Cohen who joined WBF at the capital during the Save Our Wild Horses Conference.
“After reviewing assessments of the off-range facilities evaluated this year, we are concerned about documented trends of inadequate biosecurity controls, understaffing, lack of recordkeeping, limited access to hay and water, and issues related to pen maintenance.”
One of WBF’s eloquent Youth Advocates, fourteen-year-old Josselyn Wolf, delivered a speech to Congressman Steve Cohen during our trip to D.C. in May. We believe her influential message, along with the powerful work of other advocates and wild horse groups, resonated with him and helped inspired our representatives to see the importance of preserving wild horse populations for future generations to enjoy.
You can see Josselyn’s powerful speech as well as her meeting with Congressman Cohen in our recent PSA (click here to watch)!
The letter comes after the rescheduling of a Colorado roundup despite the requests of Governor Jared Polis to halt roundups after the deaths of over 145 horses in the Cañon City prison holding facility. The members of Congress explained, “With the BLM planning to roundup at least 22,000 wild horses and burros, under the guise of reaching Appropriate Management Levels that are determined through unclear means and adding to the nearly 60,000 currently confined in BLM facilities, we believe an oversight hearing of the Wild Horse and Burro Program is merited to protect the well-being of captured horses and to ensure that the BLM is focusing its efforts on humane on-range management.”
WBF is confident that change can be made by sharing voices like Josselyn’s with our legislation. We thank these members of Congress for standing with wild horses.
The SAFE Act Advances Through Subcommittee
This week brings great news for all equine activists! Thursday, the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act officially advanced through the House Subcommittee within the Energy and Commerce Committee. The language in this act closes loopholes in the slaughter pipeline and permanently bans the transport of horses to slaughter. Acts like these will save not only the wild horses and burros we fight to keep out of the system; but also the domestic equines such as former Thoroughbred racehorses who are abandoned to suffer the same fate. The advancement of this act is a huge step in the right direction for the protection of America’s horses!
Although Congress voted to ban slaughterhouses in the U.S. almost fifteen years ago, flaws in the Horse Protection Act were found by those who profited from this cruel system. The SAFE Act now has the opportunity to fill in the loopholes and ensure that no horse within the country will be legally subject to slaughter.
You might remember in a previous newsletter, we spoke about the public hearing with the Energy and Commerce, at which members spoke on the basis of SAFE Act. Katie Kraska of the ASPCA introduced the bill and requested increased welfare for all equines, wild and domestic, within our country.
Now, exactly a month after the hearing, this act has moved forward in the House!
The SAFE Act currently has 218 sponsors in the legislature and received backing this week in the House Committee on Appropriations. This issue also received bipartisan support in the House, which provides a good opportunity for the historic legislation to pass.
With each step forward, this act gets closer to seeing the Senate and House’s legislative action. We at WBF thank the representatives involved in advancing the SAFE Act through the House and encourage the conversation about banning this horrible practice in our country to continue.
A still frame from our upcoming documentary WILD BEAUTY: Mustang Spirit of the West.
This Week’s Call To Action
Call Your Members of Congress & Ask Them to Support the SAFE Act
Now that the SAFE act is getting closer to Congress, it needs as much support as it can get! This important piece of legislation will save so many horses from a life of abuse and neglect. We ask you to call your local Members of Congress and ask them to stand with America’s horses, both wild and domestic.
Rescue: Whisper of the Wild Comes Home!
From left, Kimerlee Curyl, Ashley Avis, “Whisper of the Wild”, Mackenize Foy
Our most recent rescue horse, Whisper of the Wild, took a trip from Texas to California this past week following a month of quarantine, care, and recovery with one of our nonprofit rescue partners. Once in sunny California, she met her very special adopter for the first time!
Guess who it is? WBF Ambassador and star of Disney’s Black Beauty, Mackenize Foy!
Based on her brand, Whisper’s story began in Idaho where she was rounded up in 2019. She began her life as a wild and free young mare, but unfortunately, after her adoption from the holding facility, her owner abandoned her at this kill pen. The abused and emaciated state she is in, and the look on her face made our hearts break; seeing the clear pain, sadness, and fear as she stands wincing with her eyes closed.
Whisper’s first photo from the Louisiana kill pen, May 2022
Destined for the slaughter pipeline in Mexico, one of our adopters saw these photos of her online, and after contacting us, we immediately worked with our partners to rescue her. Once safe, Whisper began her rehabilitation and began to get the spark back in her eye. She put on weight, received vet care, and began to trust in gentle hands again.
Just over a month after we first rescued this beautiful mare, she said goodbye to her time in Texas and started her journey west. On Thursday, June 23rd, Whisper of the Wild officially arrived in California. There to meet her were WBF founders Ashley Avis & Edward Winters, wild horse photographer Kimerlee Curyl, and Whisper’s wonderful adopter Mackenzie Foy!
Whisper during her rehabilitation in June 2022, photographed by the lovely Air Ponies.
WBF could not have asked for a better adopter for sweet Whisper. It is clear she and Mackenzie were destined from the very start of her journey with WBF, with Mackenize even suggesting her official name alongside a barn friend in California, Kami.
We were blown away by how sweet and gentle Whisper was in person; something we could sense through images of her but were so lucky to experience in person. Whisper of the Wild and Mackenzie make such a great pair and we look forward to watching their journey together.
Whisper settling into California life captured by Kimerlee Curyl
We hope this adoption will raise critical awareness for these individual lives and will inspire others to bring rescue horses into their care. Mackenzie will be documenting their journey for our WBF channels and we cannot wait to see them get to know each other!
We at WBF thank everyone involved in Whisper’s rescue and those who generously donated toward her rehabilitation, Kimerlee Curyl for coming with us to photograph her arrival, along with the generous hearts at AirPonies for driving to visit our nonprofit partners in Texas to take some photos to chronicle her journey before she made her way west!
Thank you for standing with wild horses.
Monty Roberts & eleven year-old WBF Youth Ambassador Jocelyn M.
Highlights from “The Movement”
Last weekend, WBF had the pleasure of attending and speaking at Monty Robert’s annual event, “The Movement” in California. During our time here we discussed our upcoming wild horse documentary WILD BEAUTY and debuted a few exclusive clips to attendants.
We were also joined by eleven-year-old WBF Youth Advocate Jocelyn M. who was able to meet the legendary horse whisperer she admires, Monty Roberts. Jocelyn even did join up with one of our rescued wild horses, three-year-old Zion who we adopted along with his mother Zephyra (seen gazing at us in the background of the above photograph) following the 2019 Triple B roundup in Nevada. It was a spectacular sight to see.
We are grateful to have Monty Roberts as a WBF Ambassador and very proud of Jocelyn for her continuing advocacy for wild horses on behalf of the next generation!
Witness Proves Piceance-East Douglas Horses are in Good Condition
Eyewitness accounts from photographers on the ground in the Piceance HMA say that the horses the BLM claims to be malnourished and unhealthy are nowhere near that condition. Photos taken by Scott Wilson for the American Wild Horse Campaign show healthy horses throughout the range.
Several young foals were also seen, which is upsetting considering the upcoming helicopter roundup in July. These tiny, innocent animals should not be subject to inhumane roundups due to lies spread by the Bureau of Land Management. Governor Jared Polis has already called for a halt to this roundup, but despite his concerns and outcry from the public, yet again the BLM is moving forward sooner than planned.
We must stop this unnecessary roundup from happening.
To join the opposition, you can send your public comment to the office of Chris Maestas. Call and email and tell his office that you stand with wild horses.
Call 970-826-5101
Email cjmaestas@blm.gov
You can also spread the word by calling into your local news stations, journalists, newspapers; let’s get creative. This false repetitive narrative from the BLM cannot continue to stand.
WBF Wild Horse Trivia Night
WBF’s Wild Horse Trivia Night is coming this Tuesday, June 28th!
Join us for a night of wild horse fun.
Register by clicking here.
WBF is excited to host this virtual event to connect with our community and bring some fun and positivity into the wild horse advocacy world. We find it healthy to find joy and celebrate our wild horses despite the often sad news headlines – which we are all working hard to change. And so, The Wild Beauty Foundation is partnering with our friends at LaLa Horse to bring you a fun wild-horse-themed trivia night this Tuesday, June 28th, 2022!
Special guests include:
Ashley Avis & Edward Winters of The Wild Beauty Foundation
Wild horse champions Marty Irby and Scott Beckstead
Renowned wild horse photographer Kimerlee Curyl
And Erik Molvar of Western Watersheds Project
The event will be one hour live via Zoom, with the game played on your phones. There are five rounds of ten wild-horse-related questions, and surprises along the way!
The trivia itself will be about forty-five minutes, and the last fifteen (and perhaps a bit more) will be a Q&A session with these speakers, all featured in our upcoming documentary WILD BEAUTY: Mustang Spirit of the West.
This event is open to all ages, and anyone is welcome to come learn about our nation’s wild horses or show off their knowledge of these special equines! Invite your friends to this night of wild horse education and fun, and forward along our newsletter. Don’t wait, this virtual event is only a few days away!
The sign-up form can be found on LaLa Horse’s website and Zoom login instructions will be emailed shortly after registration.
WBF Wild Horse Trivia Night
June 28th, 2022
7:00pm EST/4:00pm PST
Photograph by Sandy Sharkey
Glimpse of Wild Beauty
This image of a group of wild horses with their long manes blowing in the breeze was captured by the lovely Sandy Sharkey. The gentle, natural movement in this photo reflects the souls of these horses so elegantly.
Another beautiful shot of Whisper during her rehabilitation by Air Ponies.
A Quote to Graze On
“After that day, I realized that maybe there was one person who could understand me. And the amazing thing was, I understood her too.” – Black Beauty
We wish Mackenzie and Whisper the best in their journey together. With happy tears in our eyes, we are proud to stand with wild horses.
Thank you for being a supporter of wild horses, and protecting the wild beauty of our world.
– The WBF Team
#istandwithwildhorses #wildbeautyspirit
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