Back in January, I saw this beautiful piece of art work and thought about a pale palomino stallion named Cloud. He was a horse that Ginger Kathrens recorded since the day he was born, back in 1995. She recorded him through his whole life and still records him today. She saw how he went from a fragile colt to a young stallion who was forced to leave his family. He made new friends in a bachelor band and then eventually, after a lot of hard work he finally got a family of his own. Cloud has lived in the Pryor Mountains of Montana all his life. But now Cloud and the rest of the wild horse population is in great danger.

"It is regrettable that the Government Accounting Office's report failed to hold the BLM accountable for rounding up some 30,000 more horses than could be adopted over the past 8 years. The GAO looked only at the train wreck and not at the reasons that the train left the tracks in the first place. As you know, the BLM has proposed killing the horses in long-term holding to remedy their self-made budget crisis. We cannot allow this to happen and I am concerned that we don't have much time to stop them from carrying through with this despicable plan. These horses belong to us, the American public, and they should be returned to the wild, not killed by the thousands. As I write this, the BLM is rounding up over 400 healthy horses to be removed from the Cedar Mountain Herd in Utah. It is likely that only a handful of theses horses will be adopted and the rest will end up in long-term holding where they are in danger of being killed." Ginger Kathrens wrote this in November 2008.

That was last year. These next few paragraphs are from a June 11th press release...

Documents obtained from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) via the Freedom of Information Act by a Phoenix-based non-profit, The Conquistador Program, reveal shocking and detailed plans to destroy healthy wild horses in government holding facilities as well as those still remaining in the wild on public lands.

BLM employees as well as a USDA veterinarian held weekly "Implementation Team" meetings beginning in July of 2008 in which they discussed and developed strategies aimed at ridding BLM of thousands of mustangs. In October they completed a 68 page document entitled "Alternative Management Options”. Tactics included in this document are reminiscent of those used to wipe out Native American tribes in the 1800s.

The BLM team created scenarios for killing mustangs using barbiturates, gun shots, or captive bolts. Bodies would be disposed of through rendering, burial or incineration. They discussed killing 1200-2000 wild horses per year. The document states that "the general public would be prohibited from viewing euthanasia." Additionally, the Team felt that "increased support from public relations and management staff would also be needed to insulate those doing the actual work from the public, media and Congressional scrutiny/criticism."

"Minutes from these meetings as well as the Draft Plan reveal what amounts to 'the final solution' for the American mustang," states Ginger Kathrens, filmmaker and Volunteer Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation. "Despite a huge outcry from the American public last year regarding BLM plans to kill wild horses in holding, the agency is still pressing forward with a plan to destroy our American mustangs both on and off the range."

BLM meeting minutes speak for themselves. "Security at facilities and at gathers would need to be increased to combat eco-terrorism. Having the people that are willing to put down healthy horses at gather sites could be a problem. Having vets putting down healthy horses at preparation facility[ies] could also be a problem." Meeting minutes reveal the psychological toll that employees would pay—"have counseling for employees and contractors that have to euthanize the healthy horses because it is very stressful."

The report created an option in which wild horses of all ages could be sold "without limitation". In other words, horses could be sold directly to killer buyers in unchecked numbers. The Team admitted that "some wild horses will go to slaughter".

"Once they are gone, they’re gone" says Karen Sussman, President of the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros. "To lose this incomparable species would be a travesty."

Kathrens has spent 15 years in the wild documenting mustang behavior for her PBS television documentaries which chronicle the life story of Cloud, the now famous pale palomino stallion she has filmed since birth. "Even Cloud and his little herd in Montana are in serious danger if BLM implements these options," she continues. "The BLM plans a massive round up in Cloud’s herd beginning August 30, 2009."

This needs to be stopped very soon! Please be supportive and try to write to the BLM or any government official about what might happen to one of the last symbols of the American frontier...






















To learn more about Cloud and what is happening to the mustangs, please visit The Cloud Foundation