Save the Wild Horses Letter

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Subject: Help save our nation's wild horses

I am writing to ask that you sponsor a repeal of a law passed in December that changes the Wild Horse and Burro Act and removes protection for many wild horses in our country.

The new law, called the Burns law, and passed as part of the omnibus appropriations bill changes the status of many formerly protected mustangs in our country from protected to being sold with no protection. With passage of this law, all wild horses over 10 years old and those who have not been adopted after three attempts will be sold with no restrictions. Initially, this will affect more than 14,000 horses and will open the door to thousands being sold in the future with no protection.

This new law changes protections that have been in effect for more than 30 years. This modification of the Wild Horse and Burro Act also was made without most members of Congress even having the opportunity to understand the ramifications of the change and without the American people having time to contact their elected representatives to express their concerns because the language was embedded in the more than 3000 page 2005 omnibus appropriations bill at the last minute.

This is an issue of Americans losing one of their great ties to their history. The wild horse, like the bald eagle, is a part of the very history of our country. The beginning paragraph of the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act states, "Congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people; and that these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene." The Burns law will put in jeopardy many of the wild free-roaming horses in this country. Their numbers already have dwindled from 60,000 in 300 herds to only about 35,000 in 160 herds.

Senator Burns also believes that 41 to 43 million dollars is too much to spend to preserve a national treasure, however, I believe it is minimal compared to money spent on most federal programs and it is money spent to preserve one of our great national symbols, that, if lost, is gone forever.

I believe a repeal of the Burns law should include language that permanently does the following:

* Sets aside a portion of federal lands permanently for wild horses so that the horses have a permanent home free of other interests such as cattlemen who want the federal land for cattle grazing rights.

* Allocates federal moneys to each State based on the number of wild horses each state has, so that states with the most horses get a proportional amount of federal support.

* Supports population control measures including gelding a certain number of the stallions and/or sterilization of certain numbers of mares to manage the herd sizes and development of other contraception methods.

* Makes any change to the Wild Horse and Burro Act in the future illegal unless it is introduced in a bill by itself and with the strictest guidelines to prevent one person from slipping in language that affects our entire nation.

Please sponsor and support legislation repealing the Burns law during the 109th Congressional session and to reinstate protection for all mustangs in this country before we lose one of the American people's true national treasures and historical icons. Some of these wild horses carry bloodlines that go directly back to the first horses brought by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 15th and 16th Centuries to America, many carried the early Native Americans, the first settlers, and the pony express riders, and all, like the famous mustang, Hidalgo, are an integral part of our history.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]