The battle for our wild horses will be won in the court of public opinion: the government needs to face a sustained public outcry over its wild horse management practices. Did you know that Congress counts each letter received as the opinion of ten people? Below
is a list of suggestions to help keep up the noise and spread the
word. In your advocacy work, we suggest using these Talking
Points. For Campaign updates and alerts, please
join our email list.
Please call and write your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators to protest the amendment to the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act introduced by Senator Burns as a rider to the 2005 Appropriations Bill, and to request a Congressional inquiry into the government’s wild horse management practices. Specifically:
Make sure to include your full name and address and to ask for a response on how your representative intends to address your concerns. Be firm but courteous. Click here for examples of eloquent support letters. Letters to Representatives should be addressed to: The Honorable [Name Here], U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. Letters to Senators should be addressed to: The Honorable [Name Here], U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510. Letters sent via U.S. mail make a stronger statement than emails but are subject to significant delays due to concerns over anthrax. Therefore, we suggest sending your letters in both formats (faxes are also a good alternative). Click here and enter your zip code to locate your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators. Please send copies of your letters to AWHPC, P.O. Box 926, Lompoc, CA 93438. Email copies are also acceptable and should be sent to letters@wildhorsepreservation.com. They will be collected and forwarded in bulk to relevant government officials.
Do not hesitate to let Bureau of Land Management officials know how you feel about their removal policy. Denounce the continued mismanagement of our wild horses and request an in-the-wild management program. Contact Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington DC 20240 - fax: 202.208.5048; and Ron Wenker, Nevada State Director, Bureau of Land Management, 1340 Financial Blvd., Reno, NV 89502-2055 – fax: 775.861.6606. Nevada Senator Harry Reid should also be urged to revise his position on wild horse management in his state. You can email him by clicking on his name above, or write him at 528 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510-2803 - fax: 202.224.7327. Americans, as well as the international community, should let Nevada know that continued mismanagement of its wild horse herds will hurt tourism in the state. Contact the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, 3150 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89109 – ph: 702.892.0711; fax: 702.892.2906, and the Nevada Commission on Tourism, 401 North Carson Street, Carson City, NV 89701 – ph: 800.638.2328. Foreign supporters of America’s wild horses should also contact George W. Bush, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500 – fax: 202-456-2461, and the U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism to let them know that they are very disappointed with the United States’ treatment of its wild horses and that they would be more likely to visit the country if they knew that healthy herds of wild horses still roamed the West.
Call your legislators’ district offices in your home area and ask to speak to the person handling the wild horse issue. If nobody is, tell staffers that you expect their office to look into this important issue. Check with the district staffers regularly for updates. Again, the idea is to keep up the pressure. Click here and enter your zip code to find phone numbers for your federal legislators’ local district offices. Our strength is in numbers. Below are suggestions on how to help spread the word about this Campaign and the plight of our wild horses:
Do
not let placating responses from government officials shake your
confidence. These Talking
Points will help you address and rebut common misconceptions.
The fact is that solutions need to be implemented to secure a place
for our wild herds in the American landscape. A Congressional inquiry
into this issue is long overdue. In
1971, it was an unprecedented letter-writing campaign conducted
by schoolchildren across the country that became instrumental in
securing the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act. Some of the
letters were eloquent in their simplicity, showing more wisdom and
common sense than all of the testimony of the scientists and wildlife
managers combined. One letter from Kathy Burns from west Greenwich,
Rhode Island, reasoned: "When
they say to you, What good are they?
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On behalf of the horses, thank you for your support.
Copyright
© 2004-2008 AWHPC. All rights reserved.
Reproduction authorized solely for educational purposes,
provided www.wildhorsepreservation.org
is credited as source.
