Back in JULY 2014 I broke the story to the Associated Press about Rep. Chris Stewart's (UT) bill to let the states and Indian tribes manage federally protected wild horses and burros. The act is called Wild Horse Oversight Act (WHOA). The news story went viral. Rep. Chris Stewart's bill seeks to allow states to manage wild horses (AP) ". . . An overpopulation of horses is pushing cattle off the range, the Republican lawmaker said, and leading to the destruction of important habitat for native species." "States and tribes already successfully manage large quantities of wildlife within their borders," Stewart said in a statement. "If horses and burros were under that same jurisdiction, I'm confident that new ideas and opportunities would be developed to manage the herds more successfully than the federal government." But Anne Novak, executive director of California-based Protect Mustangs, said her group opposes the legislation because it would lead to states and tribes killing the animals or selling them off for slaughter for human consumption. The government is rounding up too many mustangs while allowing livestock to feed at taxpayer expense on the same rangeland scientists say is being overgrazed, she said. "We've had firsthand experience with states and tribes managing wild horses, and it's horribly cruel," Novak said in a statement. "They ruthlessly remove wild horses and sell them to kill-buyers at auction. Severe animal abuse would be the result of the (legislation)." Read more here: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765656593/Bill-seeks-to-allow-states-to-manage-wild-horses.html Utah AR Advocate named Elisa was trying to let people know too. She understood this would affect all the wild horses on federal lands and wanted to organize people to fight this. Who listened to the warnings and did something? I apologize for not doing more than sounding the alarm in the national media cost to coast. I hoped someone would lobby elected officials in Washington to stop this madness in it's tracks. Sadly that didn't happen. Wild Horse Advocacy groups, as well as humane groups with millions of dollars, salaried staff, etc., had the time and the money over 2 years to stop this but they didn't. Many advocates and organizations have ben fussing over pushing Pesticide PZP--a diversion whether intentional or not--when America's herds of wild horses and burros are underpopulated in the West. After all the fear mongering in Washington and lies that it's going to allegedly cost tax-payers $1 billion to care for all the captive wild horses and burros "in a few years", Rep. Chris Stewart's horrible mustang and burro bill has wiggled it's slimy self into the 2017 Appropriations Bill. The director of the BLM is quoted saying it would cost taxpayers $1 billion in 20 YEARS to care for the current captive mustangs and burros. Even that inflated amount needs to be challenged and compared to the millions spent annually on welfare ranching! This situation is worse that the Burns Amendment slipping in because we didn't know that was coming. We know this is coming and it must be stopped! I've heard that at least one of the large humane groups is backing the way the 2017 Appropriations Bill is targeting wild horses and burros. Is that why their offshoot groups in wild horse advocacy, who push PZP, are doing really nothing even though they have known about this for 2 years? Now it's 2016 and it seems like this is the end of the greedy plan that Secretary Salazar started to wipe out America's wild horses and burros. Rep. Stewart's bill would surely send wild horses--stripped of their federal protections--to slaughter and we cannot let that happen! Go see your elected officials in Washington and in their home offices and ask them to STOP the insanity of letting states manage federally protected wild horses and burros. It's time to come together to protect America's wild horses and keep them safe from slaughter! With dedication, Anne Anne Novak Volunteer Executive Director www.ProtectMustangs.org PROTECT MUSTANGS P.O. Box 5661 Berkeley, CA 94705 Mission: To protect and preserve native and wild horses.