House Leader Opposing Proposal to Euth Wild Horses

Posted by TheHorse.com


House Leader Opposes Proposal to Euthanize Wild Horses
by: The Associated Press
July 13 2008, Article # 12269

A House leader has come out against a federal proposal to euthanize wild horses and asked a federal agency to delay a decision on the animals' fate.

Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, urged the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to refrain from action until after the scheduled September release of a General Accountability Office report on the agency's management of wild horses.

The BLM's National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board in September is scheduled to consider alternatives to deal with horses' surplus numbers, including the euthanasia proposal.

Agency officials have said they're faced with tough choices because wild horses have overpopulated public lands in the West and they no longer can afford to care for the number of animals that have been rounded up.

"The BLM can, and should, do a better job with its entire wild horse and burro program, and should wait for the GAO to come forth with its report this fall before moving forward with a decision that will have a permanent effect on the lives of these creatures," Rahall said.

The agency, which had hoped to reach a decision by Sept. 30, now has no exact time table for one, spokeswoman Celia Boddington said Friday.

"We won't make a decision until we've discussed this issue fully with Chairman Rahall and humane groups," Boddington said. "We clearly want to take all our stakeholders' concerns into consideration."

The agency is considering different options such as efforts to step up birth control, but has not made any decisions yet, she added.

The 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act gives the agency the authority to euthanize and sell wild horses if necessary.

"It is a sad state of affairs when we have to fight to prevent the possible euthanasia of thousands of American horses," Rahall said. "We have a responsibility to preserve these icons of the American West for future generations."

But ranchers have said euthanasia might be necessary to keep horse numbers in check. Ranchers view the horses as competition for forage on the range.

"These are not easy choices," Boddington said. "The fact remains Congress authorized us to manage healthy herds on healthy rangelands. We're now looking to choices afforded us by current law."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., thinks the GAO report will show that the BLM has not done "a particularly effective job" when it comes to managing wild horses, spokesman Jon Summers said.

"Further, he believes the agency could do a much better job with its adoption program," Summers said, adding Reid also supports birth control as a way to control horse numbers.

There are an estimated 33,000 wild horses in 10 Western states. About half of those are in Nevada.

The agency has set a target "appropriate management level" of horses at 27,000. About another 30,000 horses are in holding facilities, where most are made available for adoption.

Last year about $22 million of the entire horse program's $39 million budget was spent on holding horses in agency pens. Next year the costs are projected to grow to $26 million with an overall budget that is being trimmed to $37 million.

A day with Gus and Smiley

Tuesday this week Kayanna and Katrina Stowasser of Fort Collins were able to visit Gus and Smiley, two of the original Miracle Horses rescued from Dekalb, ILL when the slaughter plant was shut down by a Supreme Court Ruling.

This was a very important day for these two girls who have followed the story of these horses from the beginning and were there to see them arrive at Denkai from the Stockyard.

The Girls received some wonderful information from Christine Schultz who has fostered these two TB horses for the last year and has done a wonderful job in caring for them. Christine is so intelligent and has a wealth of knowledge to share.

We arrived home around midnight from our daily adventures, both girls tired, but having fulfilled a very important need. Katrina is well on her way to finding her career goal thanks to this project and Christine, I look forward to watching her blossom with this!

Ribot Dream on Bloodhorse.com

Check out Steve Haskin's article on Bloodhorse.com about the plight of Ribot Dream, a.k.a. Gus:

http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/46127.htm

Warning: Graphic

Shelters experience this every day. These animals are real, their stories are very real and the abuses they have suffered at the hands of people are real. These animals, after all the torture they go through, still find a way to forgive us. Think twice before you look the other way and decide not to report animal abuse and neglect.

Farmed Animal Transports Cruel

Sweetheart, 9 Month old TB/Paint Mare

Sweetheart is just that, an amazing, intelligent sweet girl! She is 9 months old and has quite a story to tell. Sweetheart was purchased by her previous owner from a woman in the Galeton/Eaton area that was recently convicted of animal cruelty for starving a horse resulting in death. This precious little girl has entered our Sanctuary because the woman who purchased her is no longer able to care for her or any of her other animals due to alcoholism issues. This curiously wonderful little filly has a special need, she has a very large hernia that will require surgery and she needs your help to make this possible or she faces serious health complications. Please help her live, make a contribution to Sweetheart today! Your contribution is life-saving and can be mailed to: Denkai Animal Sanctuary 36710 WCR 126 in Grover, CO 80729 or via our website at www.denkaisanctuary.org, just click on any donation button.

Sugar Babe Update, End of June

Sugar Babe continues to recover. This week she was visited by Dr. Michael Suit of Timnath, CO who sutured her finally healed puncture wound and then floated her teeth. She had a history of ulcers in her mouth from a long lack of dental work, a lot of the reason she was having a hard time gaining and holding her weight. It is very painful for a horse to chew when they continually bite into the sides of their mouths or on their tongues. Your contributions count, please help Sugar Babe Recover: www.denkaisanctuary.org to make a contribution.

Sugar Babe, doing great!

Sugar Babe on June 6, 2008

Sugar Babe June 19, 2008
Sugar Babe is doing great! Thank you for your donations and support towards her. She has finally shed most of her winter coat, is showing a bit of a belly and her infection in her hip has healed well. She still has a ways to go though, so we will keep you updated!

Fort Collins Animals In Need

The below listed animals are just a few of the many in need at a local rescue with only 1 week left to find placement. If these animals do not find placement, they will be transported to Denkai Sanctuary until placement can be found.



Approx. 6 year old Molly Mule. Trained to ride, needs advanced rider has been on trails, has some trust issues with new people, but patience will get you a long way with her.



TB mare, lameness issues, age unknown. Some of the lameness may be fixable, but we are not sure at this point.






Registered QH Mare and yearling Filly. Both need training and are pretty green.



TB Mare, Fairly young, trained to 3rd level dressage.



Mini molly Mule, trained for children to ride, age unknown.

Kiger mustang mare and colt, both are friendly, but need more halter training, etc.


Must stay together, mustang gelding and John Mule, both are seniors, not ride-able.



These goats are all very friendly and would make great pets, most look like a nubian type breed.


Female Pot Bellied Pig. Pretty shy of people, needs a buddy! We are not sure on her age.


Steer, young, maybe 2 years old. Friendly and food motivated.


Donkeys, all jacks from what I could tell, all are incredibly friendly.


Female Yak, food motivated and very friendly

Greeley 4-H Club Helps Out!

Weld County Rangers Help Animals In Need

As part of their once a year community service project, local children ranging in age from 6 years to 15 dedicated their Father's Day weekend this Saturday to the Animals! Working right along side their parents, the Weld County Rangers 4-H Club, led by Kathy Seelhoff of Greeley, dove right into the task of helping homeless animals residing at Denkai Animal Sanctuary near Grover, CO.

The Weld County Rangers 4-H Club is a group of girls and was one of the hardest working volunteer groups we have had at our Sanctuary. The parents even dove into the task of helping to clean pens, children helped to exercise and graze horses, socialize puppies, and finally, build a yard for incoming chickens and turkeys that are being left behind during the foreclosure crisis we are facing here on the front range.

Denkai is always looking for groups to help with community service projects at the Sanctuary. These projects include; building, clean up, horse training, daily volunteer work, and much more. For information on how you can make a difference, contact Denkai at: info@denkaisanctuary.org or call (970) 895-2337.

No Country For Horses: CBC Video

The Following is a video aired by CBC. Some of the footage is a bit graphic.

Horse Slaughter in Canada, disturbing findings.

http://www.cbc.ca/national/blog/special_feature/no_country_for_horses/no_country_for_horses.html

Alcoholism Hurts Animals Too

Alcoholism is a disease. Not only does it take a toll on a person's personal life and well-being, their friends and families, but also their pets.

We have seen many an animal come into our sanctuary because of this issue. The first was a beautiful purebred collie. The woman literally had to sneak out of her house with her child when her husband was away to bring us the dog, because when her husband drank, the dog, then the wife were both abused. The latest rescue to come to us involves 6 chickens and 2 ducks, one of which is currently fostered as it is only 1 week old. The person had purchased these at a local feed store and was then arrested on a repeat DUI charge, thrown in jail and will be there for a while. All of these birds were without food and would have starved to death without a place to go.

Think Before you Drink. Drink Responsibly, think about the effects this has on your children, friends and especially your pets, those that rely on you to feed and care for them. Take responsibility for your actions!!

Sugar Babe Days 2-5 in Recovery

Sugar Babe has shown great strides in her recovery she still has rarely lifted her head from her hay and has really enjoyed getting out to graze on fresh grass a little every day. She has been on antibiotics and we have worked at flushing out her wound. On day four, it finally flushed clear without any more sign of infection. She has shown her personality finally today too! I took her out to graze on some fresh grass and when we were headed back to her stall she planted her feet and went oh no you don't! I want the green grass, I'm not moving! I had to laugh, she is feeling alive again! This horse is amazing, for what she has endured and for her will to live through it and recover.

Day 3: Youth from Turning point helps to graze Sugar Babe.


Day 5: The brown patch on her hip is from Comfrey Root, an herb used in drawing out infection and swelling, it works wonders.

Plains Sugar Babe, nearly starved to death

Plains Sugar Babe is her registered name, she is now 25 years old. She was once a beautiful, thriving young mare, born in Loma, Colorado to a Miss Leo Royal and Mr. Plains Bar. Sugar Babe has been through six owners since her birth in 1983. Some treated her like royalty and others forgot to care or worked her so hard she nearly fell over.

Sugar Babe was sold as a children's horse to previous home. The child was to take care of this horse, feed her, ride her, provide for her. Well that child found other interests and Sugar Babe was not one of them. Parents, before you purchase or adopt an animal for your children, make sure that the entire family understands that this is a lifetime commitment, not just a few years or couple of months until the fad wears off. This is a living, breathing, sentient being that is going to rely on ALL of the family to help care for them. There is a lot of money involved in veterinary care, the cost of feeding, and time in working with an animal. If the care stops, you are all responsible. All it takes is to put yourself into the shoes that animal is standing in. For Sugar Babe this meant alone, standing in a small fenced area staring at that door to your house where she knows you come out of that door to feed her, waiting for days and watching you walk right past her to get in the car and go grocery shopping or to a friends house. Her water is low, she has to ration it, survival kicks in as she realizes that nobody is going to care for her, she has been forgotten. She sheds a silent tear. How would you feel?

Friday night, Sugar Babe came to our Sanctuary, her current caretaker fulfilling a promise to her previous owner never to run her through the kill sale. That did not protect her from starvation or an injury that festered for four months, a puncture from a t-post into her rear hip. Sugar Babe's hooves and lower legs along with her right side were covered in horse manure, a sure sign that her stall was not cleaned. She hardly lifted her head all last night and into today from her hay and senior grain. Finally, this afternoon she stopped to take a look at her surroundings. She found a wonderful friend in Michelle, one of our incredible volunteers who helped to give Sugar Babe a bath and scrub the manure from her sides and hooves. She immediately perked up, listening, hearing the other horses, though she has to stay separated for now for the special care she is receiving. She is alive again and she needs your help to begin to thrive.

Please consider making a donation towards Sugar Babe and the care she is receiving here at our Sanctuary. This is made possible because of you and your support. Visit our website to make a contribution: www.denkaisanctuary.org

New Sanctuary Location: Video 2

Video of the New Sanctuary in Grover!

Check out our article on Best Friends Network

Thank you to Rita for helping us to spread the word!

http://network.bestfriends.org/colorado/news/24216.html

Bandit Needs a Home!

Well, Bandit is down on her luck (again) and she doesn't know why. She's hoping to get lucky FOREVER this time.

Here's her story:

"Hi, my name should be Mushy Love Girl Bandit 'cuz that's who I am. I was down on my luck a few years back when my unfeeling person dumped me in the Buckhorn Canyon to fend for myself. I didn't have any practice doing this as my only experience was being a loyal and loving dog. But good fortune found me and my buddy and we both found new homes. So I loved my new family with all my might. I am quiet and like to follow my person around and just lay down quietly near them...this makes me feel good and I hope my loving companionship makes my person feel good too! All was going very well for 5 years but then the children grew up and moved away and now, much to my heart break, my adult people don't want me anymore. No one deserves to lose their home...much less twice. I am ready made. I am house trained, mature and have good manners. Given a preference, little kids aren't really my bag...even though I do OK. I don't want to be all alone during the day so it would be the cat's meow (terrible metaphor) if I could keep company with someone who works from home or is retired. Also, steps are easy but jumping in a car is a bit difficult. I promise I will love and be loyal to whoever wants me forever."

As you can hear, it is a sad story. I ask each of you to please search your heart and database for Bandit's final home. She deserves to get lucky forever.

Thank you,

Amy

Amy Burgess
(970) 215-3528
ABlive@aol.com

New Babies!

Howard and Robbi, Named for Channel 4's reporter and camera person are now five days old and doing great, their momma was part of the nine goats rescued together with Dreampower Animal Rescue of Colorado Springs.

Grover Property, New Photographs

The following are just a few of the more recent photos taken of the Grover property we are working to purchase. There are shelters located on the property, but we did not have room to add them here. This is a very nice, low-maintenance facility, a lot of farm equipment is coming with the property. We have raised $30,000 so far towards our $60,000 goal. Please keep it coming and help to close this gap! We have only a couple of weeks left to make this happen. This facility is located on 640 acres.

To donate, visit www.denkaisanctuary.org