Press Conference Statement on Wyoming Wild Horse Protection

Introduction:Suzanne Roy, director of the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign), addresses the ongoing challenges faced by wild horses in Wyoming. With a petition signed by over 40,000 Americans, she highlights the public's demand for fair treatment of wild horses against the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) policies favoringlivestockinterests.

I amSuzanne Roy, director of the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign), a national coalition of more than 50 organizations nationwide.

I’ve come today to deliver the signatures of more than 40,000 Americans on a petition protesting the Bureau of Land Management’s Wyoming wild horse wipeout.

I’m here to deliver a strong message that the days of theBLMcatering to a small group of ranchers at the expense of the public and our wild horses are coming to an end.

Polls show clearly that Americans overwhelmingly support protecting wild horses on ourpublic lands. At the same time, fewer than a third of Americans want to ensure that ourpublic landsare available forlivestockgrazing.

Yet it’s thelivestockindustry, not the American public, that dictatesBLMland use policy.

BLM Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board

We meet today before the NationalBLMWild Horse and Burro Advisory Board that is supposed to represent the interests of all stakeholders, but in reality is stacked against wild horses. Five of nine members of this board are tied to thelivestockindustry. As just one example, the Board’s president, who ostensibly represents the field of veterinary medicine, is the former president of the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association. A pro horse slaughter cattlewoman on the board is supposed to represent the interests of the public, which is overwhelmingly opposed to horse slaughter.

Wild Horses vs. Livestock in Wyoming

We meet today in a state where the number of federally-protected wild horses is dwarfed by the number of privately-ownedlivestockonBLMlands. Hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep graze on 18.3 million acres ofBLMland in Wyoming, 80% of which has no wild horses on it at all.

Fewer than 4,000 wild horses remain in this state, where they are restricted to 3.6 million acres of designated habitat. That’s one horse per 900 acres! Not exactly what you’d call an overpopulation problem.

Half of the state’s remaining wild horses live in the Wyoming Checkerboard, a two million acre area of alternating public and private land parcels in the southwestern part of the state. These checkerboard lands comprise a portion of the three Herd Management Areas that are targeted in the pendingBLMroundup.

The Role of the Rock Springs Grazing Association

The push for the roundup comes from the Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA), whose members view wild horses as competition for cheap, taxpayer-subsidized grazing on thepublic landsin the area. The RSGA wants the horses gone from the Wyoming checkerboard. TheBLMis happy to comply and is allowing the RSGA, which owns less than a third of the lands in the three HMAs, to dictate what policy for the entire area.

Legal Action and Public Support

We have filed a lawsuit to stop theBLMfrom running roughshod over the law and the wishes of the American citizens and a decision is pending in U.S. District Court in this state. For now, the roundup has been postponed until at least September 1.

For the 40,000 citizens who signed the petition against the roundup, this is personal. They care deeply about how ourpublic landsare managed, and their voices can no longer be ignored. The grassroots movement to secure fairer treatment of our wild horses and burros is growing stronger every day. And it can no longer be ignored.