edit. v2.
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You can tell it’s an election year by the amount of wild horses that suddenly have to be removed off Federal range to “preserve habitat” for mule deer hunters and cattle ranchers who also lease it. This year, 1200 in our sister state, home to the Senate Majority Leader.
The Obama administration touted that it would use so called “science based” decision making. After watching the Bush administration decide to humor the National Park’s decision to murder a bunch of introduced, very cute, but non trophy type smaller deer at Pt Reyes National Seashore with helicopter hunting, (think more canned Tule Elk Special Hunts as a result ) under the guise of they weren’t “native,” and the helicopter contract went to a big Republican donor, while the Dems made stupid excuses for this, I was sort of cynical that this was going to happen.
Science does not = rotor cowboys.
Science does not = Cattoor Livestock.
http://rtfitch.wordpress.com 7/12/2010 BLM – Infamous helicopter contractor returns for illegal tuscarora wild horse roundup. “It was Cattoor Livestock that stampeded the horses of Pryor Mountain in 95ยบ+ degree heat for miles, and again the Cattoors who were actually credited with running the hooves right off from several foals during the bloodiest of all roundups on record, the Calico Complex debacle. Due to the deaths in the field, …. documented on video, the Cattoors launched an attack on the First Amendment and instructed their attorneys to issue threat/demand letters to news agencies, major non profits, magazines and blogs that were reporting the news to the public on the deadly Calico roundup. The letters wanted to “fix” the news…. and insist on public apologies for reporting the facts as witnessed. The mention of company owner David Cattoor’s past indictment for capturing and selling wild horses to slaughter was likewise considered taboo. ”
“In their care, 86 horses have died and 40 mares have aborted their late term foals….”
http://tuesdayshorse.wordpress…
“In late December, government contracted helicopters took to the air, rounding up every horse they could find on the vast 500,000 acre Calico range, an area designated principally for wild horse use since 1971, but grazed by thousands of privately owned, government subsidized cattle. The roundup….. has cost at least $1.3 million…. while causing injury and death to hundreds of wild horses. ….. over 24 million acres have been withdrawn from wild horse and burro use. The BLM “welfare ranching” practices continue allowing the land to be leased primarily to corporations at minimum fees of $1.35 per cow/calf pair or per 5 head of sheep per month, along with land leases to extractive and energy industries on Western public lands.
