Back in 2012 our Horse of the Week was a wild mustang named Champ who came to fame when he rescued a filly from being swept down the river in Arizona. The rescue was photographed by Becky Standridge and can be watched in the above video.
Champ is one of the Salt River Wild Horses that live along the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest, an area about the size of the state of Connecticut and five times the size of Rhode Island, it's approximately a one hour drive east of Phoenix, Arizona.
"This rare and beautiful Wild Horse Herd has lived along the banks of the Salt River for over 400
years, long before the area was designated the Tonto National Forest and long before the Phoenix
area was settled. The origin of the Salt River Wild Horses can be found in historical documents
that indicate the Spanish Missionary, Father Eusebio Kino, brought horses to the area in the 17th
century.
In the year 1900 there were over 10,000 wild horses reported roaming the plains of Arizona, some
on the Indian reservations and some in Coconino, Yavapai and Maricopa Counties. Ever since
then, and up until 1971, they have all been shot and killed in yearly roundups by both the US
government and by ranchers who saw them as a nuisance.
These last 80 or so Wild Horses along the Salt River were the ones that survived the shootings
throughout the century because they found refuge in the dense vegetation along the river.
Today the entire state of Arizona has less than 500 Wild Horses remaining in the wild. The BLM
manages approximately 200 of them in the Cerbat Mountains close to Kingman. The Pima Indian
Reservation owns and cares for approximately 100 Wild Horses and the Forest Service has
jurisdiction over another 100 of them close to Heber.
The US Forest Service does not acknowledge that the" Salt River"horses are wild and are labeling them “feral” or “trespass” horses. Therefore the agency does not take responsibility for managing them under the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act and can do what they wish without the public having any knowledge or say about it."
Back in 2012 "Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by the Conquistador Equine Rescue and Advocacy Program (CERAP), indicate that the US Forest Service may remove these horses from the Tonto National Forest without a period for public comment or an environmental study, and sell them at the Pacific Livestock auction where they will likely end up in kill buyers’ hands.
These are the ONLY Wild Horses left in Arizona that are easily accessible for viewing by the public and also the ONLY Wild Horses left anywhere near the Phoenix metropolitan area! Tubers that float down the Salt River often witness these happy horses playing in and around the river." http://www.respect4horses.com
They were saved then by the mass of public opinion but once again the Forest Service are attempting to annihilate this well loved herd of wild horses.
THIS IS THE OFFICIAL NEWS FROM THE SALT RIVER WILD HORSE FB PAGE TAKEN FROM THE HORSE AND MAN BLOG TODAY
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE RAISE A RACKET AND PUT THE PRESSURE ON THE GOVERNMENT TO KEEP OUR HORSES FREE.
* * * Salt River Wild Horses To Be Eliminated * * *
– – – EVERYONE AROUND THE WORLD – PLEASE HELP – – –
The Forest Service has issued a Public Notice (publicnotices.azcapitoltimes.com/search/detail.aspx…) stating the Salt River Wild Horses will be permanently removed beginning August 7, 2015.
These horses were virtually unknown until 2012 when a photographer documented a wild stallion named Champ (www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SXbVw4qojg) rescuing a filly from drowning. Since then, this act of compassionate heroism has been viewed over 1.5 million times on YouTube and the Salt River Wild Horses have become one the most famous group of wild horses on the planet – with fans residing at least 45 different countries.
The Forest Service classifies the horses as feral and unauthorized (which legally permits them to be removed) because they were not included in the Census that followed the passing of the 1971 Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The Mesa Ranger District had three years to complete the Census. This period began with management that had decided to create a wild horse territory and ended with new management that redacted the decision and stripped the horses of their legal rights. Never the less, photographic evidence places the horses on the Tonto National Forest in the 1950s and printed documentation archives their presence back to the 1800s.
It has been said, “the horses have been there forever.” Forever may mean they are the descendants of the noble steeds that once belonged to the Spanish Jesuit Priest Father Eusebio Kino or of the U.S. Cavalry mounts that General George Crook and Fort McDowell soldiers used during their campaign to capture Geronimo. Either way, generation after generation after generation has been born, lived and died wild – they have a right to remain this way.
Recently, a rumor has been circulating that some of the Salt River Wild Horses have not been able to access water. This rumor is being used as one of the justifications for removing the horses, however, the premise is not true so the conclusion is invalid. These horses know where to find water; at the furthest extent of their home range they are only a few miles away from water, they have many routes to reach any location and they can travel distances in a short period of time. These horses have existed for a very long time without the intervention of man.
Rumor has it that concern over the horses becoming injured or dying is justification for their removal. This is absurd. Domestic horses are also at risk or being injured or dying. So are we. It is a fact, that in living we are all at risk but we don’t lock ourselves away or give up. It is wrong to eliminate the wild horses under the false pretense of helping them.
The Forest Service’s Public Notice states the horses may be “condemned and destroyed, or otherwise disposed of.” The removal effort alone will place the horses under undue risk of injury that may result in death. All the horses will suffer tremendous fear and all will loose their freedom. Despite the fact that horses do not have the facial muscles to express themselves as we do, they still experience emotions, suffer pain and cling to life just dearly as we do.
– – – EVERYONE AROUND THE WORLD – PLEASE HELP – – –
We need all interested individuals, regardless where you live in the world, to call, email and/or mail the three individuals listed below. Also please contact as many Congressmen (www.contactingthecongress.org), Senators (www.contactingthecongress.org), Forest Service personnel (www.fs.fed.us/about-agency/contact-us), Arizona Department of Agriculture personnel (azdirect.azdoa.gov/AgencyView.aspx?Agency_ID=239), Arizona Game and Fish personnel (www.gf.state.az.us/inside_azgfd/agency_directory.shtml), BLM personnel (www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/directory.html) and the Media regarding your desire to preserve the Salt River Wild Horses. If you can think of anyone else that should be contacted then please do.
Neil Bosworth – Supervisor for the Tonto National Forest
602-225-5200
[email protected]
2324 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix, AZ 85006
Clay Templin – Forest Fire Chief/Fire Staff Officer
602-225-5220
[email protected]
2324 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix, AZ 85006
Gary Hanna- District Ranger
For assistance please contact, Louise Congdon at [email protected] or 480-595-3300.
[email protected]
5140 E. Ingram Street, Mesa, AZ 85205
We need to contact everyone possible as quickly as possible. We need to contact so many people that even the people we contact in other agencies and states will begin calling the three individuals above to encourage them to resolve the issue.
We do not have all the contact information readily available for everyone so if anyone obtains helpful references then please add them to the facebook page for others to reference.
Please refrain from sharing emotional comments on this post so that the contact comments will not become lost in the comments.
Now is the time to act on behalf of the Salt River Wild Horses. Time is of the essence. Champ’s life is at stake and so are the lives of all the Salt River Wild Horses. We can do this if you help.
Please be polite when expressing your comments and contacting people. Please express yourself using your own thoughts and words. Feel free to reference information in this post but please be sure to use your own words.
Please share this post with as many people as you can and know how very much we, and the Salt River Wild Horses, appreciate your support.
PLEASE, IF YOU HAVE EVER WANTED TO HELP AN ANIMAL, PLEASE HELP THESE!
Champ
There's a petition over at Change.org here and another here at Forcechange.com please go and sign them both.
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