The State of Nevada has stepped up the capture of wild horses from the Virginia Range, an area of state, local and private land on the outskirts of Reno. Because these horses do not reside on federal land, they are not protected by federal law (Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971).
Under the leadership of Governor Brian Sandoval, the Nevada Department of Agriculture treats the historic and iconic Virginia Range mustangs like feral pests, inhumanely capturing and removing them from their homes on the range, and then dumping them at a livestock auction, where kill buyers purchase horses to ship to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico. The state refuses to work directly with local advocacy groups, forcing them instead to outbid the kill buyers to save the captured horses from slaughter.
A recent Associated Press article revealed that discussions about slaughtering wild horses and creating a market for horse slaughter have been held at the highest levels of Nevada state government -- including Governor Sandoval himself!
It's time to let Governor Sandoval know that his heartless wild horse policy is unacceptable and, if continued, will negatively impact the state's number one industry: tourism. Please act today by personalizing and sending the governor the fax below.
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Virginia Range Mustangs
The Virginia Range herd roams the Virginia and Flowery Ranges and surrounding valleys outside Reno and near the historic mining town of Virginia City. The horses are a mixture of what were originally BLM horses, horses released by locals after the gold rush played out, and a few strays that joined up with the herd and survived in the rugged country. Because they do not reside on federal land, but rather a combination of state, county and private land, they are not protected by the federal Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
Prior to 2008, the herd was managed primarily through a coalition of non-profit horse groups, called "cooperators." The community groups helped keep horses out of trouble, place horses that had to be removed with adopters, and provided other forms of assistance under the direction of the Nevada Department of Agriculture's horse program manager. But in 2008, Governor Jim Gibbons appointed a rancher and radical anti-federal government activist named Tony Lesperance as director of the NDOA. Lesperance was hostile to wild horses and to wild horse advocates and the situation with community involvement in managing the horses deteriorated. Over the past four years, until this fall, the state just washed its hands of the whole situation, claiming it had no money to manage the horses. The population grew, reaching the situation that exists today, with larger horse numbers, conflicts between the wild horses and the developments that are pushing out beyond Reno and into the hills that the horses call home.
In 2011, the new governor, Brian Sandoval appointed Jim Barbee to be NDOA director. He met with wild horse advocates and appeared sympathetic, yet did nothing to address concerns or implement changes.
In September, the NDOA begin setting traps and capturing Virginia Range horses and disposing of them at a livestock auction in Fallon that is frequented by kill buyers. During the third week of September, 23 Virginia Range horses were put up for bid at the auction. Wild horse advocates were able to rescue them all, but only after someone believed to be associated with the auction house bid up the price so that advocates ended up paying $18,000 for the horses. The following week, another group of 30 Virginia Range horses were put up for bid at the Fallon auction. The advocates were in despair, lacking the resources to purchase these horses until we sent out a fundraising email for them, raising enough funds to purchase every horse and care for them until permanent homes are found.
Since that time, the state has captured more horses, and advocates have rescued 99 wild horses in total. Another 41 Virginia Range mustangs will come up for auction on January 9, 2013. Thanks to our generous AWHPC supporters, local advocates have the funds necessary to save these horses and care for them while permanent placement is located.
However, wild horse advocates cannot keep buying horses from the slaughter auction without first addressing the front end -- the state's failure to manage the horses on the range, the continued capture of horses from the range, and the state's continued refusal to work directly with advocates to place horses removed from the range.
Horse Slaughter
Polls show that two out of three Americans oppose horse slaughter, yet every year, more than 100,000 American horses, both wild and domestic, are slaughtered. Most of these horses are crammed onto trailers and shipped across U.S. borders into Canada and Mexico, where they are brutally slaughtered, and then shipped overseas to end up on dinner plates in Europe and Asia.