The Gift of Life: Your Most Meaningful Holiday Gift

Give the gift of life this holiday season for America's most needy horses

Include America's most needy horses in your holiday giving this year by making a donation to the Wild For Life Foundation. To give your kind donation special meaning simply designate which WFLF program you would like to support. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by law. 100% of your donation will go directly to help the horses.

DONATE: WFLF's Navaho Horses Rescue and Recovery Mission
Help provide for the urgent needs of Navajo orphaned foals and wild horses - from vet medical care to hay, to milk-replacer feed, to urgent lifesaving transport. 100% of each donation goes directly to the rescue and recovery of Navajo horses and burros.

DONATE: WFLF's Emergency Equine Rescue and Recovery 
Help provide urgent care and feed for at risk horses, ponies and burros in need. 100% of each donation goes directly to the rescue and recovery of abused, neglected and slaughter bound horses and burros.

DONATE: WFLF's Saving America's Horses, film and educational program
Help WFLF bring SAVING AMERICA'S HORSES far and wide -- with more public showings and educational presentations …to universities, schools and libraries …to policymakers and community leaders …onto television/ cable and DVD.  100% of each donation goes directly to Saving America's Horses.

ABOUT US:
     Wild for Life Foundation (WFLF) is dedicated to providing lifesaving rescue and sanctuary for abused, neglected and slaughter bound equines; preserving and protecting wild horses and burros; and informing, inspiring, and empowering the public through cultural visual arts education for the prevention of equine cruelty. We build connections between people and animals through community enrichment and social engagement. Through education, rescue, sanctuary, the arts and sciences, Wild for Life Foundation informs, inspires, and empowers people to speak and act on behalf of saving, preserving and protecting animals and their significant roles in our world’s ecosystem and history; for the greater good and a better world now and for generations to come.

We are an all volunteer charity including staff, CEO, Board of Directors, Advisory Board and Honorary Board Members whose contributions of time and talent are all donated. We save lives and break the cycle of animal cruelty for at risk equines by providing for their vital ongoing stewardship and facilitating appropriate transition to new forever homes. Founded in 2008, WFLF has served a steady stream of rescue horses since that time. In 2013 WFLF's rescue program experienced a very positive 172% increase of equines saved since 2012.

     Wild for Life Foundation’s educational film project, "SAVING AMERICA’S HORSES: A NATION BETRAYED" is an inspirational social action tool for promoting wild horse conservation and preservation initiatives, strengthening natural partnerships between people and horses, and supporting the prevention of equine cruelty. It's a powerful feature documentary film with a deeply passionate look into the world of both wild and domestic horses; their connection to our history and the future of humanity.

"A provocative rallying cry for justice and integrity" - THE QUAD CINEMA, NYC "Outstanding" - LA SPLASH MAGAZINE "Impassioned" - HOLLYWOOD REPORTER "Shocking statistics… "A searing indictment" -VARIETY "Filled with facts" - NY TIMES “A broad and balanced spectrum of opinion through interviews with veterinarians, trainers, policymakers and celebrity horsemen” - ABOUT.COM

Viewers venture across America’s breathtaking landscapes to witness the magnificence, power and free spirit of one of America’s most treasured icons, the horse. The film "contrasts shots of noble, beautiful, galloping animals... with well-researched, shocking statistics." –VARIETY.

WFLF and its wild horse preservation initiative serves as an educational platform for the protection of wildlife through the provision of long term sanctuary of wild horses and burros removed from America's rangelands. WFLF supports comprehensive and science-based solutions that lead to systemic change, reduce suffering, and cultivate a more compassionate society.

     The Lifetime Equine Refuge is the primary lifesaving and community enrichment program within the Wild For Life Foundation providing a second chance at life to abused, neglected and at risk horses through rescue, sanctuary and education.  Through WFLF's Lifetime Equine Refuge we provide medical care, housing, farrier and feed for abused and neglected wild and domestic equines; rehabilitation and training needs for rescue horses transitioning to adoption and therapy; and ongoing sanctuary for rescue horses in need.


Holiday Giving to Help America's Most Needy Horses - Donate Today!

Seventeen Native Navajo wild horses, ages 2-5 years old need Immediate Transport to Safety

MAKE ROOM FOR A HORSE IN YOUR HEART!

Feel free to forward this email to your contacts in the equestrian community!

17 NAVAJO HORSES RESCUED DURING  ROUNDUPS NEED HOMES

Seventeen Native Navajo wild horses, ages 6 months -5 years old, were captured in November from the open rangelands of New Mexico narrowly escaping slaughter during the U.S. government funded roundups, sponsored with American tax dollars, and under the misguidance of the BLM and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).  The horses are temporarily safe thanks local rescue team members of the Navajo Horses Rescue and Recovery Mission, but time is of the essence to get them to safety. These horses need immediate transport out of New Mexico to safe harbor.

They were picked up “as strays” during the recent roundups, just outside the reservation. Despite their obvious healthy appearance, they were claimed to be “starving due to a lack of forage on the reservation”.

To learn more read the below links… The first link is an overview and the second link a detailed explanation with the latest events listed at the bottom of the article.  This is a hot-button issue and Saving America's Horses and Wild for Life Foundation are doing their utmost to intervene on behalf of the horses through legal and other ethical means.

http://www.savingamericashorses.org/indigenous.html

http://www.savingamericashorses.org/navajohorses.html

The Wild for Life Foundation (WFLF) has set up the Navajo Horse Rescue and Recovery Mission as a go-to source for updated information and as a place where rescues/ supporters/ potential adopters can connect as WFLF introduces the rescues that will be officially collaborating on this effort.  The link to join the Facebook group is below

https://www.facebook.com/groups/721735291185577/

Partnering Rescue/ Sanctuary Information: http://www.wildforlifefoundation.org/rescuenadrescovery.html 

Time is of the essence!!  If you can help with this rescue effort, please provide the following information to WFLF at

admin@wildforlifefoundation.org

Equine Rescues and Sanctuaries:  Click here to join this effort. 

Save a life - Support this effort: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=RA6MJEWVD5M64

DONATIONS ARE NEEDED AND WELCOME!

The Navajo Horses Rescue and Recovery Mission is a program founded under the leadership of Katia

Louise who is the volunteer Executive Director, President and founder of the Wild for Life Foundation (WFLF).  Learn more about WFLF at: http://www.wildforlifefoundation.org/home.html

Details about The Navajo Horses Rescue and Recovery Mission are available at: http://www.wildforlifefoundation.org/navajorescueandrecoverymission.html

Katia is the producer and director of the much-acclaimed documentary, "Saving America's Horses: A Nation Betrayed," which has won multiple awards on the international festival circuit, including Best Documentary and Best Environmental Film, among other honors.  She works tirelessly on behalf of the America's equines, both wild and domestic, including the Navajo horses, to protect and preserve their habitats and their lives now and for generations to come.  Let's band together as a group and help!

Donations are tax deductible, and can be made to The Navajo Horses Rescue and Recovery Mission through the WFLF website or by clicking here. You may also mail donations to

Wild for Life Foundation

19510 Van Buren Blvd, Ste F3236

Riverside, CA 92508

Let’s all pitch in and make this effort a success.  Please pass this email on to EVERYONE you know - even people who are not normally connected to horses have compassion for orphaned foals!

These are essentially babies, 2-5 years old, and their family members were sold to slaughter. Please help!

Announcing the arrival of the Navajo orphaned foals to WFLF’s Sacred Hearts - Firelight South Wild Horse Sanctuary, Alpine, Texas

Alpine, Texas, October 23, 2012 – It’s a new day and a brand new place to call home for the orphan Navajo foals recently rescued by Wild for Life Foundation, Lifetime Equine Refuge.

"We are proud to partner with our sisters and brothers at the Firelight South Ranch as an official WFLF Wild Horse Rescue and Sanctuary facility. Firelight South is an American Indian owned ranch and home to over 40 wild and domestic horses saved from slaughter,” says Katia Louise, filmmaker, founder and president of the Wild For Life Foundation (WFLF). “We look forward to a long lasting partnership for the benefit of at risk wild and domestic horses."

“In making a public statement opposed to wild horse roundups and horse slaughter; we at the Firelight South Ranch support the Wild for Life Foundation’s Navajo Rescue and Recovery Mission and are proud to offer safe harbor and plenty of TLC for these sacred and majestic foals whose mother’s were sent slaughter. We are pleased to work in partnership with the Wild for Life Foundation’s Navajo Rescue and Recovery Mission as part of our continued goal to provide rehabilitation and freedom for at risk wild and domestic horses. We hope this partnership will continue into the future by helping other at risk wild foals and horses,” says, Rachael Waller-Rondeaux, owner Firelight South Ranch.

“This is just the beginning for these orphaned Navajo foals, it's going to take months for these little ones to heal, build their strength up and overcome the physical and emotional injuries they sustained during the roundups."  The majority of the orphaned foals are being cared for under Wild for Life Foundation and will be considered for placement over time. Once ready, some of the foals will be placed through specially approved WFLF rescue partners. A few of the strongest foals were just recently placed in forever sanctuary at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota.

"We are thrilled that several of the orphan Navajo foals will have an opportunity to grow and thrive under the Texas skies at Firelight South,” adds Katia Louise. WFLF’s Sacred Hearts – Firelight South was established for the purpose of providing safe harbor to wild horses in need and is a certified best practices facility under the WFLF Safe Haven Rescue Partnership Program. Donations in support of the orphaned Navajo foals at WFLF’s Sacred Hearts – Firelight South can be made on line at www.lifetimeequinerefuge.org or by mail to WFLF at the address below.

17 surviving Navajo foals were recently rescued under Wild for Life Foundation’s Navajo Horses Rescue and Recovery Mission (NHRRM). They had been discovered in a life threatening situation after being rounded up from their Native home land on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico. The foals, ages 2 - 4 months were orphaned during the roundups after losing their mothers to slaughter. Approximately 1600 wild equines lost their lives during the US government funded Navajo roundups which the majority of Navajo people oppose.

Volunteer rescue members from the WFLF’s Navajo Rescue and Recovery Mission have put their lives on hold to rescue, recover, evacuate and provide care for these survivors; to assure they will never be subject to roundup or slaughter again. We are especially grateful to Deanna Tierney of the Northeastern Nevada Equine Rescue who has partnered with WFLF as an official Safe Haven Rescue and Sanctuary facility. Deanna’s assistance has been instrumental through the early stages of this rescue mission, including the safe emergency transport of these orphaned Navajo foals. 

In a recent turn of events the widely contested Navajo roundups have been temporarily suspended by Navajo President Ben Shelly under pressure from his own people including the Nahooka’ Dine’ (Navajo Elders and Medicine People), together with the Wild for Life Foundation, and the Foundation to Protect New Mexico Wildlife, an organization founded by Gov. Richardson and actor, director and conservationist Robert Redford. The foundation is working to stop the slaughter of horses, including actively fighting efforts to reopen horse slaughterhouses in the United States.

“These sacred and majestic horses heal our hearts and they can heal the lands,” adds Katia Louise. “As Ambassadors for the horse nation, these 17 surviving foals through WFLF will be helping to educate and show the world that the re-introduction of horses to rangelands, in truth can rejuvenate the environment.”

Craig Downer, wildlife ecologist, Wild for Life Foundation Board Member, and author of “The Wild Horse Conspiracy” points out that wild horses are a big benefit to the ecosystem. They help to create that very important soil substance known as Humus...which makes the soils more nutrient-rich, adhesive and more retentive to water. This aids greatly in increasing the moisture of soils and elevating the water tables. The manure of wild horses builds the soils and disperses the intact seeds of many species to a much greater degree than cattle and sheep. Wild free-roaming horses also greatly reduce the possibility of catastrophic fires which can sterilize the soils and destroy its seed banks.

About The Wild For Life Foundation: Wild for Life Foundation (WFLF) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit charity dedicated to saving, protecting and preserving equines through rescue, sanctuary and education. WFLF and its wild horse preservation initiative serves as an educational platform for the protection of wildlife through the provision of long term sanctuary of wild horses and burros removed from America's rangelands. WFLF and its Saving America’s Horses Initiative is an international consortium of scientists, equine welfare experts, researchers, and horse advocates collaborating efforts to promote wild horse conservation and preservation initiatives with a focus on the prevention of equine cruelty. On the Web – www.wildforlifefoundation.org , www.LifetimeEquineRefuge.org, www.SavingAmericasHorses.org Federal ID No. 26-3052458

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Media Contact:
Kate Dudley
kate@katedudley.com
Ph. 310.439.9817

Wild for Life Foundation
19510 Van Buren Blvd, Ste F3236
Riverside, CA 92508

Navajo President Drops Support of Horse Slaughter and Suspends Roundups

NEW MEXICO, October 9, 2013 — The Wild for Life Foundation (WFLF) applauds Navajo Nation (NN) President Ben Shelly for reversing his support of horse slaughter in the U.S. Under pressure by many of his own people, the Nahooka’ Dine’, several Navajo Chapters and The Dine' Hataali Association, (a Navajo organization comprised of medicine men and women that serve as board of directors from six Navajo regions), together with the Foundation to Protect New Mexico Wildlife, and several animal welfare groups including the Wild for Life Foundation, the Navajo Rescue and Recovery Mission (NHRRM) and others, the Navajo Leader agreed that he will no longer support horse slaughter.

Rescue team members and partnering sanctuaries of WFLF’s NHRRM, including The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, Northeastern Nevada Equine Rescue, Live and Let Live Equine Sanctuary, Sacred Heart’s Firelight South, Wild Burro Protection League, Harmony Horseworks, Saving Horses Inc., have issued a harmonious statement of support for Navajo President Shelly's powerful stance in opposition to horse slaughter. With praises for Shelly's promise to suspend the roundups of wild horses on the reservation, the NHRRM encourages permanent suspensions together with positive, viable and humane alternatives for the management of wild horses on Navajo lands. 

The New York Times (NYT) broke the news online yesterday, reporting that “Shelly will also order a temporary suspension of wild horse roundups on the reservation.” According to the NYT the Navajo leader said, “I am interested in long-term humane solutions to manage our horse populations,” Mr. Shelly said. “Our land is precious to the Navajo people as are all the horses on the Navajo Nation. Horses are sacred animals to us.

NN President Ben Shelly agreed to suspend horse roundups on the Navajo Nation during a meeting with former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson over the week end. Gov. Richardson represents the Foundation to Protect New Mexico Wildlife, which he founded with actor, director and conservationist Robert Redford. The foundation is working to stop the slaughter of horses, including actively fighting efforts to reopen horse slaughterhouses in the United States.

In a press release issued by NN President Ben Shelly, Gov. Richardson said, "I commend President Shelly for calling for an immediate end to horse roundups and for making it clear that moving forward the Navajo Nation will not support horse slaughter or the return of horse slaughter facilities. This is exactly the outcome horse advocates, such as myself, had hoped for.”

The two leaders agreed to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would suspend horse round ups on the Navajo Nation.

WFLF, President, horse advocate and filmmaker, Katia Louise has been actively working behind the scenes over the last several months with Navajo Elders, and with Richardson, in garnishing collaborative support in a united effort on behalf of protecting and preserving America’s horse and burro population.

WFLF’s Navajo Rescue and Recovery Mission (NHRRM) recently rescued 17 Navajo foals ages 2-5 months that had been orphaned during the Navajo Nation roundups. “These roundup survivors they are now helping to show the world that the re-introduction of horses to rangelands, in truth can rejuvenate the environment,” says Katia Louise.  “They are sacred and majestic beings - they heal our hearts and can heal the lands.”

  

Wild for Life Foundation’s NHRRM and its wild horse preservation initiative serves as an educational platform for the protection of wildlife through the provision of long term sanctuary of wild horses and burros removed from America's rangelands. WFLF and its Saving America’s Horses Initiative is an international consortium of scientists, equine welfare experts, researchers, and horse advocates collaborating efforts to promote wild horse conservation and preservation initiatives with a focus on the prevention of equine cruelty. WFLF supports comprehensive and science-based solutions that lead to systemic change, reduce suffering, and cultivate a more compassionate society.

  

MEDIA CONTACT:

WFLF: Kate Dudley, 310.439.9817, kate@katedudly.com             

About the WFLF 

The Wild for Life Foundation (WFLF) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit charity dedicated to saving, protecting and preserving equines through rescue, sanctuary and education. WFLF promotes the preservation of natural ecosystems, wildlife and the prevention of cruelty to equines, and opposes practices that threaten the environment, wildlife and that cause suffering to animals. Federal ID No. 26-3052458 — On the Web at www.WildforLifeFoundation.org  

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Navajo Orphaned Foal Evacuation is Underway!

New Mexico, October 1, 2013 - WFLF's Navajo Horses Rescue and Recovery Mission is pleased to announce that 17 Navajo orphaned foals have been successfully evacuated from the local shelter in New Mexico (NM). The fillies and colts ages 3-5 months old, were taken from their mothers who were shipped to slaughter.  These surviving foals are being transported to safe harbor outside of NM.

"The evacuation of these orphaned foals is just the beginning for most of them," says Katia Louise, president of the Wild for Life Foundation (WFLF). "It's going to take months for some of these little ones to heal, build their strength up and overcome the injuries they sustained during the roundups."  At least a dozen of the 17 foals will be going directly into an all volunteer Equine Special Care Facility under WFLF, where they will be provided with crucial veterinary medical care, nutritious feed, hay and supplements, and of course, lots of TLC and specialized individual attention. You can help save these little innocent orphaned foals by making a donation today.

Funds are being raised and will go directly to pay for needed vet medical care and vet medical supplies. It's
anticipated that these foals will need to remain in special care for another 10 - 14 days before they will be cleared for the next leg of their transport to their final Rescue destinations. Some of the foals have transportation covered but not all.

Under the leadership of Katia Louise, WFLF organized the Navajo Horses Rescue and Recovery Mission as a collaborative effort to save the lives of these and other majestic and sacred wild horses and burros who have been victimized by the highly contested U.S. government funded Navajo roundups. "We are sincerely grateful to all the partnering rescue team members and the local partnering shelter who has been working hard behind the scenes, watching out for these foals and helping to raise support that's needed to save these precious lives," added Katia Louise. Volunteer rescuers of the Navajo Horse Rescue and Recovery Mission have put their lives on hold to rescue, recover and evacuate survivors, and insure they will never be subject to roundup or slaughter again.

Two of the healthiest colts have been approved by WFLF for adoption and will soon be placed into a qualified loving forever home, and three of the other healthiest foals have been approved and will soon be placed in temporary foster care through WFLF's Safe Haven Network, pending their permanent placement with one of WFLF's Official Rescue and Sanctuary Partners, soon to be announced.

Wild horses and burros are being taken from their Native homes in the highly contested Navajo roundups which the vast majority of Navajo people oppose. You can help save these innocent and sacred wild Navajo horses and burros by giving to this mission. Funds received will help pay for immediate transport, hay, veterinary medical care and housing.

Please keep sharing to keep those donations coming in as this is still considered a crisis situation. Click here to make a donation today.  To give your gift special meaning you can specify medical care for foals, or transport for foals, etc.

Be sure to subscribe for updates as more information becomes available. 

With gratitude,

Katia Louise, President
The Wild for Life Foundation
Navajo Horses Rescue and Recovery Mission
Lifetime Equine Refuge
Saving America's Horses: A Nation Betrayed

Learn more:
www.WildForLifeFoundation.org
www.SavingAmericasHorses.org

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Navajo Horses Rescue and Recovery Mission

Orphaned Navajo foals need your help! They are just 3-5 months old and were taken from their mothers who were shipped to slaughter. Wild horses and burros are being taken from their Native homes in the highly contested Navajo roundups which the vast majority of Navajo people oppose. 

Volunteer rescuers members from the WFLF's Navajo Horse Rescue and Recovery Mission have put their lives on hold to rescue, recover and evacuate survivors, and insure they will never be subject to roundup or slaughter again.
You can help save these innocent and sacred wild Navajo horses and burros by giving to this mission. Funds received will help pay for immediate transport, hay, veterinary medical care and housing.

Click here to make a donation.

Click here to learn more about the Navajo Horses Rescue and Recovery Mission.

Donations are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by law. Federal ID No. 26-3052458

Thank you for caring and for taking part.

The Team at Saving America's Horses
Wild for Life Foundation
www.SavingAmericasHorses.org
www.WildForLifeFoundation.org

Baby horses caught in the cross fire of the turbulent Navajo roundup

Sept 15, 2013, Update on Navajo foals- The surviving foals that had been rounded up with their mothers last week in the widely contested Navajo government-mandated roundups, which the vast majority of  Navajo people oppose, are safely recovering and receiving needed veterinary care at the local county humane shelter. Livestock officials have reported that the mothers of these foals were shipped to slaughter.

Donations to help with costs for feed and vet care during their stay at the local shelter can be made online at: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NM64.html 

Sadly, 989 wild and domestic horses and burros were captured to date, in the Navajo government roundups, which were funded with American tax dollars. The tally includes wild horses and both branded and unbranded family pet ponies, trail riding horses, ranch horses, burros and more. 

According to the Navajo President's roundup orders all unbranded horses were subject to shipment on the same day they were rounded up.  However, the turn around time from roundup to sale has often taken place in less than 24 hours for many of the captured horses and burros.
 
Wild for Life Foundation's search and rescue teams together with partnering rescue team members, are working behind the scenes to locate and save as many horses and burros as possible that were captured during the turbulent Navajo roundups.  More rescue and adoption information will be posted as it becomes available. 
Learn more: http://www.wildforlifefoundation.org/navajohorses.html

Contact us, or to join this effort:
admin@wildforlifefoundation.org

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Orphaned Navajo Foals Saved From the Brink of Death

Navajo Nation, NM - Sept. 12, 2013 -  Mares and foals are being swept up 
along with other wild horses and burros during the US government funded Navajo roundups which the majority of Navajo people oppose.

Local tribal members have reported Navajo government rangers coming onto their property and confiscating virtually every horse, even from within their stalls and pens.  Horse owners are said to have two days to claim or save their horses, but in many cases owners didn’t learn about the roundup until the very moment when rangers were storming their property.   Both branded and unbranded horses captured in the Navajo roundup have reportedly been sold and shipped to slaughter without providing their owners a means to get them back.

According to an order by the NN government, livestock officials are to be responsible for maintaining accurate records of each equine including the description and identification, plus the purchase price, date, and location of the sale at the auction.  

A group of Navajo foals were recently discovered at a local livestock yard, who had been captured this past week, range in ages from 2-5 months. They were taken away from their mothers who have reportedly been shipped to slaughter.  These foals were rescued from the brink of death by rescue workers. There were originally 30 foals in this group, however 3 have since died. Several of the remaining 27 are now receiving continued veterinary medical care through a local animal clinic.

Wild for Life Foundation is partnering with a local shelter who will temporarily house the foals while we work on arrangements for their rescue, recovery and placement. Donations for feed and vet care during their stay at the shelter can be made to the shelter on line at 
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NM64.html

Please watch for updates on this story to learn about the ongoing rescue effort of these foals

• Listen to "The Great Horse Controversy" to hear the Navajo people as they speak out publicly against  horse slaughter and BLM roundups http://www.nativeamericacalling.com/

Learn more about this cause at
http://www.savingamericashorses.org

Wild for Life Foundation
admin@wildforlifefoundation.org

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Horse Slaughter: New Mexico Government Rangers Storm Private Properties Searching & Seizing Horses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Horse Slaughter: Navajo Nation Government Rangers Storm Private Properties Searching and Seizing Horses in New Mexico

New Mexico – September 10, 2013 -The Navajo Nation (NN) Government is conducting a large-scale roundup of wild horses despite opposition from many tribal people.  Local tribal members have reported government rangers coming onto their property and confiscating virtually every horse, even from within their stalls and pens.  The sweeping roundups, if not stopped, will result in the distressed removal of countless horses and burros across the 17 million acre Navajo reservation which spans four states including New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.

Horse owners are said to have two days to claim or save their horses, but in many cases owners didn’t learnabout the roundup until the very moment when rangers were storming their property. The NN Department of Agriculture is taking the horses to holding facilities, then auction, and selling the unclaimed horses to kill buyers.  Many are going straight to slaughter.

The actual number of horses residing on the reservation is uncertain, as reports are considerably varied. But the basis for receiving over $1.3 million in appropriated funds for the horse and burro roundup from the U.S. government was hinged on drought conditions combined with a popular livestock grazing campaign which alleges an overpopulation of “feral” and “destructive” horses.  Wild horses are labeled as “feral” by proponents of slaughter in denial of paleontological evidence showing that the horse evolved on the North American continent over 50,000,000 years ago. 

When it comes to “livestock grazing” on public lands, permit holders are able to increase their stock by grazing farm animals such as cattle on America’s open rangelands.  But in the U.S. horses are not produced for food, and cattle ranchers see them as competitors for the grazing of free forage on public land which they could otherwise use for their livestock.

Horses are also labeled as “destructive” or “invasive species” by the livestock industry as a means to justify their removal.  However, in other parts of the world such as the United Kingdom, where conservation grazing is practiced, wild horse herds are being successfully restored to the woodlands and pastures for their rejuvenation benefits to the lands.   In the classic book, Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West,  J. Boone Kauffman, Ph.D., Professor of Ecosystem Sciences in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, gives testimony to the far-reaching and devastating ecological consequences of government-subsidized livestock grazing through his scientifically supported work, “Lifeblood of the West”; “… livestock grazing has been the most widespread cause of ecological degradation of riparian/stream ecosystems.  More riparian areas and stream miles are affected by livestock grazing than by any other type of land use.”

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez professes to align her position on the issue with the majority of citizens of New Mexico, where over 75% are opposed to horse slaughter.  However, New Mexico horse advocates say that behind the scenes Governor Martinez’ actions support the pending horse slaughter plant in her state.  According to these sources, she has the authority to ban horse slaughter in New Mexico and has not done so.  Looking ahead, some believe that Martinez will be a contender for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2016.

On a national level, while USDA Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, publicly claims to be against horse slaughter, the USDA has been rallying tribal leaders to support the reopening of horse slaughter in the U.S.   Wild for Life Foundation President, Katia Louise brings to light a startling new report which exposes the USDA’s distribution of misinformation provided to the American tribal leaders including Navajo President Ben Shelly.  This well-substantiated report entitled In Truth Wild Horses on Native Land and Tongue, reveals evidence of meetings held by the USDA with tribal leaders for the purpose of getting them to distribute ‘misinformation’ to their congressional delegations about horse slaughter and the removal of America’s wild horses..

The Navajo Elders have issued a declaration saying, “We strongly urge the Navajo Nation and U.S. Government, Bureau of Indian Affairs, DOI, USDA, to stop the desecration and destruction of the Diné Way of Life and Spiritual Foundation by recklessly promoting and supporting the roundup and mass execution of our relative, the horse.” 

As part of a larger pattern, two weeks ago a strikingly similar roundup to the one occurring on the Navajo reservation took place on the Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Reservation in Nevada.  

Critics view this latest roundup as part of a wider campaign endorsed by the Obama Administration. President Obama’s appointment of Ken Salazar as Secretary of the Interior, which oversees the BLM, together with the U.S. Forest Service, has continued to conduct scores of roundups across 12 Western U.S. states resulting in the capture and eradication of countless wild horses.   After Salazar stepped down in a wave of controversy in February of 2013, President Obama appointed Sally Jewel to the position — a veteran of the oil industry. 

 “While many had high hopes that Sally Jewell would direct a shift in policy, she has instead been silent on reversing agency roundup policies throughout the West,” observes Katia Louise. “And many believe she has in fact intensified such efforts.”

Ms. Louise states, “Contrary to the BLM’s claims that wild horses are overpopulating, statistics show that vast numbers of wild equines are disappearing from the American West.  In the 19th century, more than 2 million wild horses roamed the West, but independent analysis of the Bureau of Land Management’s own data indicates that there may now be less than 15,000 wild horses roaming freely on public lands.”

The Navajo Government has justified the eradication of its sacred Navajo horses by mimicking USDA and livestock industry assertions that the horses are supposedly “destroying the lands”;  however, as stated by President Shelly during The 2012 Navajo State of the Nation, he admits that other livestock grazing, not horse grazing is to blame; “Our specialists have said sand dunes are growing and the land is being overgrazed.  For example, we have nearly 170,000 sheep in Fort Defiance Agency, while our land can only support about 7,800 sheep.” These facts are just the tip of the iceberg.  The NN Department of Agriculture estimates that the Navajo range is overrun with domesticated livestock by more than 40 percent.

Past U.S. Government-mandated culls of horses and livestock have taken their toll on the Navajo people. Now, through U.S. Government funding, the NN Government is holding its own Government-mandated horse cull and doing so against the will and undeniable opposition of many of its people.

In an effort to save, protect and preserve wild and domestic equines, as opposed to the promotion of horse slaughter and widespread roundups throughout the American West, Wild for Life Foundation’s President, Katia Louise is calling on members of the public who care about the horses to join in a united stance for the horses with Saving America’s Horses by going to www.savingamericashorses.org and clicking on the join button, which will continue to raise awareness and provide ongoing education on this critical issue.  Ms. Louise says, “Making your voice heard will ultimately bring this unjust, cruel and barbaric practice to an end.”

MEDIA CONTACT:
Kate Dudley
Phone: 310.439.9817
Email: kate@katedudley.com

Wild for Life Foundation
September 10, 2013
LOS ANGELES, CA

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Startling Report Connects the Dots for Horses & Reveals Foul Play

NEWS RELEASE

     Aug 29, 2013, Los Angeles, Wild for Life Foundation announces the release of a startling new report exposing the distribution of misinformation provided to American Indians by the USDA.  The well substantiated report entitled, “In Truth of Wild Horses on Native Lands and Tongue” reveals evidence of meetings held by the USDA with unsuspecting tribal leaders for the purpose of getting  tribal people to distribute  ‘misinformation’ about horse slaughter and the removal of America’s wild horses to their congressional delegations.

 “The data regarding horse slaughter and the wild horses as provided by the USDA APHIS has been grossly misrepresented to American tribes and the falsifications are stacked one on top of the other,” says Katia Louise, Director, SAVING AMERICA’S HORSES, and president, the Wild for Life Foundation.

U.S. policymakers that may have been swayed by a recent showing of tribal support for horse slaughter may now give reconsideration to their positions on pending legislation such as the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act of 2013, SB541 and HB1094. The SAFE Act is a bill to prevent human health threats posed by the consumption of equines raised in the United States. If passed by both the House and the Senate, this bill will ban horse slaughter in the U.S. as well as shipping horses to other countries to be slaughtered for human consumption.

In Truth of Wild Horses on Native Land and Tongue is authored by Katia Louise, of Sioux descent; the award winning filmmaker of the powerful documentary, SAVING AMERICA’S HORSES: A NATION BETRAYED. The report is published by Wild for Life Foundation and is the first in a series of insights based on facts and findings brought to light through the film.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE REPORT
Or copy and paste this link to your browser window:
http://www.savingamericashorses.org/In_Truth_of_Wild%20Horses_on_Native_Lands_and_Tongue.pdf

Press Contact:
Phone: 310.439.9817
Website: www.SavingAmericasHorses.org
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