Equine Rescue & Welfare Organizations

This listing is for nonprofit organizations only. Due to a case in which a rescue organization falsified its 501(c)3 status, we now require a copy of each organization’s IRS 501(c)3 certificate letter.

Please fax your certificate with cover sheet to:
(970) 663-0676.

Recent Equine Rescue News

A letter from Madeleine Pickens

Dear Friends:

I write today to again ask for your support for another important part of the effort to protect our wild horses. On March 3rd of this year, I testified before the House Subcommittee on Public Lands on legislation sponsored by Congressman Rahall from West Virginia, H.R. 1018, referred to as the Restore Our American Mustangs or R.O.A.M Act. That legislation subsequently passed the House of Representatives on July 17, 2009 by a vote of 239-185, a comfortable majority. The legislation then moved to the Senate and was referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee where it sits today. This is the second Congress in which Congressman Rahall, along with Congressman Grijalva of Arizona and many other Members of the House of Representatives have managed to pass legislation that would make major changes to the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971.

It is quite amazing to think that a program that has been around for nearly 40 years and by anyone's admission is rife with problems would not have undergone a major review and overhaul, but that is the case with the Wild Horse and Burro Act. Oh sure, there has been the usual tinkering with small parts of the original legislation but never has there been a serious effort to correct many of the deficiencies that plague the program. One has to ask, where are the champions of the wild horses in the United States Senate? Why hasn't someone on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee pressed for changes to the Program? To his credit, Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia has sponsored a bill, S 1579, that is a companion bill to the one passed by Congressman Rahall. Isn't it interesting that there seems to be more interest in West Virginia in correcting the deficiencies in the Wild Horse and Burro Program than that demonstrated by Members from western States where wild horses reside?

Over the course of the history of this country, mainly in the past two hundred years, we have watched as different species disappeared from the American landscape. In the 1800s it was the buffalo, totally eliminated to make room for the development of the plains of the great Midwest. In the 20 century it was the gray wolf that seemed to offend the sensibilities of the ranching community and had to go. And now we find buffalo preserves growing up all over the country in an effort to restore this once predominant and magnificent animal. And, of course, we have engaged in a massive effort to restore the gray wolf to much of its original habitat, at great expense to the taxpayer. Why is it that we never seem to learn the lessons of preserving our wildlife species before they become extinct? One could argue that pure economics trumps all when it comes to saving some of this Nation's most valuable resources, our native wildlife. And the wild horses run the risk of being the next native species to fall victim to this reckless policy.

The Rahall and Byrd legislation seeks to address some very common sense solutions to the current problems of the Wild Horse and Burro Program. Here are a few of the things that the legislation seeks to accomplish:

1. It would, to the extent practical, make available as much land as was set aside in the original Wild Horse and Burro Act for wild horses.

2. Provide an annual inventory of our wild horses and make public that information.

3. Provide a fair and thriving ecological balance for wild horses on our public lands.

4. Assist in establishing sanctuaries on private lands.

5. Develop a policy standard to assess the Appropriate Management Levels of wild horses on our public lands.

Should any of these provisions strike fear in the hearts of those who oppose a fair resolution to the problems inherent in the Wild Horse and Burro Program? I think not. And yet there is little if any discussion of moving any reauthorizing legislation in the Unites States Senate.

It is incumbent on those of us who care dearly about the survival of our wild horse herds in the Western United States to wholeheartedly engage in an effort to pressure members of the Senate and the Senate as a whole to move this legislation at the first opportunity. Please take time to write your U.S. Senator today and ask that he or she get directly involved in the effort to pass legislation to "preserve and protect" our wild horses for future generations.

Click on the link below to "Take Action" on this important issue. From there you will be able to contact your local U.S. Senator directly with your own message. I’ve also listed the current Members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee below that will link to their webpage. A letter or a phone call to each will prove critical in helping our wild horses survive. I implore you to take the time today to write that letter or make that call. TAKE ACTION!

Thank you,,
Madeleine Pickens

TAKE ACTION HERE: CONTACT YOUR U.S. SENATORS TODAY:

A Unified Call for an Immediate Moratorium on Wild Horse & Burro Roundups - and a humane, fiscally responsible plan for preserving and protecting the iconic,free-roaming wild horses and burros of the American West

Moratorium Letter to President Obama and Secretary Salazar

Upon hearing about the BLM’s plans for the large-scale removal of 2,500 horses in northwest Nevada near the Black Rock Desert, more than seven thousand citizens submitted public comments to the BLM opposing the Calico Mountain Complex Round Up, scheduled to begin on December 1, 2009. Public comment has been extended through November 22, 2009 according to the BLM.

Individuals: sign on to this letter & send your request & comments to President Obama and your Representatives in one easy step. click here to support the moratorium.

Important News: Donkey Roping Outrage!

Please read the following article about a recent event in Mineral Wells, Texas, in which 150 roping teams gathered for a donkey roping contest. Click here for the full article.

Meredith sent this response to the editor:
I have been promoting and training mules and donkeys for more than 36 years, and I can tell you without reservation that this IS animal abuse. These donkeys you are using for your sport in this capacity will be ruined for any normal recreational purpose in the future by anyone else and will result in their demise. I opted publicly on the side of using the donkey to train for roping when there were complaints lodged against the TV show on RFD-TV because I noted the donkey was only used to train a beginner and was not actually roped. The loop was thrown under his back legs and the they allowed the donkey to walk through it, but the beginner could see it would have been a catch. Actual roping of donkeys is appalling and abusive, especially in an event of this magnitude! There are precautions taken when roping cattle that make it more humane (such as horn wraps), but there is no way to protect the donkeys, who should NOT even be involved in this sport because of their inherent nature to be loving and affectionate toward humans. Isn't it clear to you from their behavior? It is clear to me that you are lacking good judgment, and I will do everything in my power to see that those who continue to abuse donkeys in this way are prosecuted for animal abuse to the fullest extent of the law!

Please take a moment to send your own email to the editor letting him know that this inhumane treatment of donkeys is absolutely unacceptable.
Send your email to:  editor@mineralwellsindex.com   cc; donkranch@comcast.net
Mineral Wells Index
Attn; David May, Editor
Please include your name, city, state, and a daytime phone number.
Thank you.

2.27.09 11 wild burros shot and killed on govt land in AZ
Link to Article
I have been in contact with the BLM and they have provided the following contact:
Pamela Mathis pamela_mathis@blm.gov or 623-580-5509

She will making a data base of resources and also folks that want to donate money (to increase reward) or other resources to help catch the people that did this.

Pamela confirmed that there were indeed 11 burros shot and killed. She also confirmed that one of the females that was killed was in the process of delivering a foal when she was shot. She is looking for any and all resources to assist to solving this crime.

Please forward this to all that love donkeys and ask to have this put in all donkey / mule publications and on web sites, etc. The more people know about this the more likely the guilty parties are to get caught. Obviously the larger the reward, the greater the chance that someone will turn them in. It has only been published in AZ and has not been picked up by the AP for national publication, nor has the national news picked it up, yet.

If you have a leads on this case call 800-637-9152
Thanks for your help
Cady Ness-Smith
517-281-9139
sascns@flash.net

9.23.07 Help save a horse today! A historic group of 300 wild horses in Nevada from Wild Horse Annie's famous herd are headed to slaughter if homes aren't found for at least 200 of them. Read More

8.18.07 Wild horses might jeopardize other species
Debate continues about horses' effects on high desert habitat.  Read More