Coffee Clutch with Dutch Henry: Laura Leigh

Showing posts with label Laura Leigh. Show all posts

Monday, March 4, 2013

"Update On Laura Leigh and Wild Horse Education"

Howdy Folks,

“Today we have a guest blogger, Marta Williams of Wild Horse Education. You may remember we featured Laura Leigh and Wild Horse Education and their efforts to help our wild horses and her legal actions and Federal Court cases she’s brought and won against the BLM as a Feature Friday on Nov 16. I asked for an update I could share here on the Coffee Clutch.” ~ Dutch

Update on Wild Horse Education’s Legal Action Against BLM

There are currently four active lawsuits in federal court against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the agency’s handling of wild horses and burros on public land. All four cases were filed by Wild Horse Education, the only advocate group that consistently observes and documents BLM actions at roundups and conditions in BLM wild horse and burro holding facilities. The fact that founder, Laura Leigh, has witnessed over 400 roundups (and put 200,000 miles are her aging truck!) is what gives her standing in the court’s eyes as an expert on what BLM does.

Laura Leigh on the job

Wild horses and burros are supposed to be protected by the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Wild Horses and Burros Act, passed by Congress at the will of the people. Unfortunately, since 1971, BLM has engaged in inhumane handling, propagated herd limits and population counts that cannot be supported scientifically, contributed to the loss of genetic viability and diversity in these herds, sponsored poorly managed, unsuccessful adoption events for these herds, warehoused unadoptable horses in unnatural settings, and blocked journalists from getting access to and information about the wild horses and burros.

Warehoused wild horses at Broken Arrow holding facility -Photo by Laura Leigh

Leigh has documented the abuse of wild horses sufficiently to convince several federal judges to approve restraining orders against BLM for inhumane treatment. Leigh and Wild Horse Education attorney, Gordon Cowan, were also able to convince the Ninth Circuit Court that the BLM , not liking the footage Leigh was sharing with the world, started preventing her from getting close enough to see the condition of horses following capture, and started denying her access to holding facilities previously granted to other observers acting on behalf of the public.

The Ninth Circuit court, in a ruling that has made legal history, known as the "Press Freedom Case" ruled that the case had merit and remanded it back to the federal district court where it is now awaiting judgment by Judge Hicks in Reno, Nevada.

Dragging a roped foal - Photo by Laura Leigh

The other cases, dealing with inhumane treatment of wild horses and burros, are coming up for hearing within the next 30 days. Most recently, Wild Horse Education won a Restraining Order against BLM for inhumane treatment of horses at the Owyhee Roundup in November of 2012.

Horses chased by helicopter run into barbed wire fence (see video below)

If successful, they may signal the implementation of a court ordered and enforced humane treatment standard for America’s wild horses and burros. This will still mean we have to be in the field monitoring and observing, but now any violation of the agreed-upon standards of conduct would immediately shut down an operation.

To learn more about Wild Horse Education and to sign up for ongoing updates on these court cases, please visit their http://wildhorseeducation.org/

Thank you Marta for this update and all Wild Horse Education is doing to help those without a voice.

Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry

Video of horses run into barbed wire during Owyhee Roundup-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWxxbyoCnrI

Links to previous Coffee Clutch Blogs about Laura Leigh and Wild Horse Education http://dutchhenry.blogspot.com/2012/11/feature-friday-laure-leigh-wild-horse.html

http://dutchhenry.blogspot.com/2012/11/laura-leigh-wild-horse-education-wins.html

http://dutchhenry.blogspot.com/2013/01/whe-and-laura-leigh-win-another-one-for.html

Monday, January 7, 2013

"WHE and Laura Leigh Win Another One For The Wild Horses–Owyee BLM Roundup Stopped"

Laura Leigh on the job.

Howdy Folks,

Wild Horse Education (WHE) through its founder Laura Leigh has been documenting in film, dialog and photographs the persistent and flagrant inhumane treatment by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of America's Wild Horses during roundups, I call "Kidnappings" at, among other places, the Owyhee Complex in Northern Nevada for more than 3 years.

Isn't it ironic that the agency charged with insuring humane treatment and management of America's Wild Horses is in fact obviously and repeatedly "Inhumane" in their own actions ... So much so that last week, Federal Judge Miranda Du issued an emergency restraining order in a legal action filed by WHE in Reno Federal District Court against conduct at the BLM wild horse roundup operation in northern Nevada.

Terrified horses trample a horse

The order states: "Defendants shall immediately cease and halt all wild horse gathers at the Owyhee Complex, including the one currently ongoing at the Owyhee Horse Management Area (HMA), and the BLM shall not transport horses from the Owyhee HMA, until the court has had an opportunity to hear this matter."

Being a horse advocate I write often about the good horses do to help people and the good that people do to help horses. It is most difficult for me to understand how people supposedly there to oversee the well being of America's Wild Horses can commit the atrocities Laura has caught on film ... Such as running horses into barbed wire, routine hotshotting, crowding them in pens so forcefully they break their legs and trample foals, running frenzied horses in freezing temps and harassment with helicopters to the point of ramming them with the helicopter skids.

Horses fleeing helicopter get tangled in barbed wire

The Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued last week by Federal Judge Miranda Du will at least temporarily protect from such savagery the horses at Owyhee.

“I can tell you that the effort to obtain the documentation and craft these cases is monumental,” Laura Leigh stated “It really does seem insane to have to fight for a humane care standard with an agency tasked by Congress to manage animals humanely. That said, I will sleep better tonight knowing the wild horses at Owyhee are not being stampeded this weekend."

In the past forty years BLM, the agency tasked with managing these protected American heritage animals on federal land, has failed to implement any humane treatment standard for animal care and handling.

Every day this TRO is in effect is a day that the horses are not harassed, injured and possibly killed. If successful, this lawsuit, the third active suit WHE has against BLM, will probably force BLM to enact an enforceable humane treatment standard for the wild horses in the Owyhee Complex for the next ten years ... This in turn will most likely result in an equivalent standard of conduct being required for ALL BLM roundups. The only way to change BLM from the outside is to get a federal judge to rule against them. The judges can only rule on actions; they can’t just say, “BLM you have to go implement this policy.” So the public has to bring several actions to demonstrate a trend. With enough TROs and enough public pressure, BLM will have to change.

That's steam from hard run terrified horses.

Each win Wild Horse Education has in court sets a legal precedent and sets case law, establishing the framework to discuss and bring cases on other issues as well, such as appropriate management levels (AMLs) and the advisability of managing these animals on the range rather than "Kidnapping" them off of it. So eventually, in court Wild Horse Education could effect an end to the roundups.

"WHE now has four TROs, one injunction, three active cases in federal court, and a win in the Ninth circuit court against BLM. No other group has won against BLM and no other group has the kind of standing Wild Horse Education has. That standing is directly the result of the actions of founder and president of Wild Horse Education Laura Leigh, who has, for the past 3 years, basically lived on the road, following, investigating and documenting BLM roundups and holding facilities." States Marta Williams, Director Public Relations WHE.

Steam from hot, terrified horses running .

"Canned letter writing does nothing. If people are filling out a canned letter and thinking it is useful … BLM counts it as one letter, even if 10,000 people filled it out. The only way to get a letter to count is to copy it, redo the first paragraph and send from your own email. Letters, faxes, calls and protests are essential, but not enough to create change, as we have seen. We have to bring BLM to task in court since Congress is in collusion and will not respond to the public. This is why what WHE is doing is crucial and the only way we will get lasting change for the wild horses and burros." Advises Marta Williams.

We here at the Coffee Clutch celebrate the valiant, selfless efforts of all at the WHE. Thank you and keep up the hard work. The horses are counting on you and all the volunteers!

LINKS OF INTEREST-

Wild Horse Education website - Please have a look and see how you might help. http://wildhorseeducation.org/

Current video of Owyhee wild horse roundup very compelling Please Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK6WM1-xmv4

Previous Coffee Clutch Blogs featuring WHE-

"Feature Friday - Laura Leigh - Wild Horse Education -VOICES FOR THE VOICELESS" (Nov 16-12) http://dutchhenry.blogspot.com/2012/11/feature-friday-laure-leigh-wild-horse.html

"Laura Leigh & Wild Horse Education Wins ANOTHER STEP for the Wild Ones!" (Nov 22-12) http://dutchhenry.blogspot.com/2012/11/laura-leigh-wild-horse-education-wins.html

Gitty Up,

Dutch Henry

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The Tom Named by Horse Saga continues. Three years after the death of Tall Dog, Tom Named By Horse and Soft Cloud have turned the little soddy, the lands granted them by Red Cloud, and the lean-to barn into a thriving horse ranch, fulfilling Tom’s dream. The Plains Indians Wars, or Red Cloud’s war, is mostly behind them, and the lands have had their transformation as Red Cloud’s vision had warned years earlier. Trailing horses from the ranch to Denver city has become an annual event for Tom, Buck and the rest, and this is the story of that trail. In the spirit of a good old John Wayne movie, vengeance, cattle and horse thieves, a dirty sheriff and corrupt mayor, and a wedding make this year’s drive a ride you’ll want to tag along on.