Join Return to Freedom and the Rickman Family to preserve an American legend

Wild horses galloping across the Western plains is an image that has long been associated with the spirit and freedom of America, and in 2004 Americans fell in love with a legendary mustang, thanks to the Disney film Hidalgo.

The film featured the story of Frank Hopkins, a man who devoted his life to protecting wild horses, and his famous mustang Hidalgo. Descendants of Hidalgo still range free in Blackjack Mountain near Finley, OK, along side original strains of the Choctaw Indian Horse. Owned and overseen by Bryant Rickman, the horses have been able to range in hundreds of thousands of acres, until now. Having endured centuries of change, the survival of this herd is now threatened. They are facing their last stand.

The Oklahoma Land and Timber Company has, with very little warning, terminated the grazing leases on Blackjack Mountain. They have just sent a final notice demanding that the mustangs be removed by March 31st 2008 and then it will be handed over to the local Sheriff’s department who will take the horses to auction.

In an effort to preserve this historical herd, John Fusco, Bryant Rickman, Dr. Phillip Sponenberg (geneticist), Return to Freedom Founder Neda DeMayo, and other conservation groups have joined forces to launch an urgent rescue operation.

The IMMEDIATE and URGENT need is to safely relocate the horses to a 300 acre tract of land owned by the Rickman family, and to provide feed and veterinary care for the herd. More...

Reiki Certification Classes

Return to Freedom, American Wild Horse Sanctuary near Lompoc, is hosting Reiki Certification Classes at the Sanctuary:
Reiki Level I & II - March 1st and 2nd, 2008
Reiki Master Class – 3 day intensive, February 29th, March 1st and 2nd, 2008
All classes are scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.

Facilitator: Cindy Rackley, Reiki Master and Teacher. Cindy has many years of experience in teaching and utilizing Reiki for creating health and balance in both animals and humans. More information is available at her website: www.cindyrackley.com. Read More...

Tuesday, Jan. 9 2006: Cavalia Gallops To Orange County

FAREWELL NORTH AMERICAN ENGAGEMENT
Opening Night To Benefit Return To Freedom
Grand –scale show, featuring 54 magnificent horses and 37 artists, makes its Orange County debut, opening Tuesday, January 9, 2007 with 100 “A” level tickets made to benefit Return to Freedom, Wild Horse Sanctuary of Lompoc, California.

The acclaimed Cavalia, the spectacular equestrian odyssey, will have its farewell North American engagement Tuesday, January 9, 8 PM - presented under its majestic White Big Top on the grounds at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine. Cavalia has chosen Return to Freedom as beneficiary of their farewell opening night with 100 specially priced tickets. After this limited engagement Cavalia will beging their European tour. More info...

February 7, 2006

USDA Bows to Pressure from Horse Slaughter Industry, Ignores US Congress & American Public

The USDA announced on Tuesday that they will allow horse slaughter for human consumption to continue, despite passage of an amendment designed to ban this practice for one fiscal year. Last year, Representatives Sweeney and Spratt, and Senator Ensign, introduced an amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill that sought to ban horse slaughter by cutting funding for USDA inspectors at horse slaughter plants. Without USDA inspection, the meat cannot legally be exported thereby shutting down the industry.

The amendment received massive support from the American public, with the House of Representatives alone reporting some 25,000 calls, emails and letters on the subject. It passed both chambers of Congress with bi-partisan support by landslide votes – passing in the House 249-159, and in the Senate 68-29.

Yet despite overwhelming opposition to horse slaughter in the U.S., the foreign owned slaughter industry has successfully lobbied our USDA to allow a “fee-for-service” plan whereby the slaughter plants will pay inspectors for their services. This announcement is a slap in the face to Americans, and the U.S. Congress.

Wild horses, long considered icons of the West and living symbols of freedom, are also threatened with slaughter thanks to legislation introduced by Senator Conrad Burns of Montana. In late 2004, Senator Burns slipped a rider into a 3300 page budget bill, amending the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act by making it legal to sell wild horses to slaughter. In April of 2005, 41 wild horses were slaughtered under the Burns provision.

The USDA is accepting public comment on this until March 10th, 2006. You can submit comments to:

Docket Clerk
Docket Number 05-036IF
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
300 12th Street, SW
Room 102 Cotton Annex
Washington, DC 20250
E-mail: fsis.regulationscomments@fsis.usda.gov

January 6, 2006

USDA Considering Loophole to Skirt Recent Horse Slaughter Ban
With landslide votes in the both the House and Senate, the US Congress passed an amendment banning horse slaughter in the US for one fiscal year. Bi-partisan support of this amendment was underscored by a massive outpouring of letters, phone calls, and emails from American citizens urging the Congress to end this abhorrent industry. Yet despite the clear message that both US citizens and Federal lawmakers have sent, the USDA is considering a proposal from European owned slaughter facilities to skirt this new law. Read More...

November 29 - 30, 2005

Another step forward in the national effort to preserve America's wild horses
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) met in Santa Fe, NM on November 29 and 30, 2005 to discuss fertility control measures in wild horse populations. After this meeting, the BLM and HSUS agreed to develop a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) that could mean fewer round ups of wild horses! Read More...

November 2005

Local and National Victories in the Fight to End Horse Slaughter
Last Thanksgiving Senator Conrad Burns sent the wild horse community into an uproar when he attached his infamous rider to the Federal Appropriations bill, gutting the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act and making it legal to slaughter America’s wild horses. Return to Freedom and the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign worked tirelessly alongside a national coalition of organizations and the American public to reverse this devastating legislation. Read More...

August 16, 2005

Starved wild horses from historic neglect case ready to move to their new home

In September 2003, in what is now deemed the largest animal abuse case ever, some 167 wild horses were removed from a private ranch in Buellton, CA after County investigators found the animals nearly starved to death. The County seized the horses, and 125 of the most critical cases were taken in by Return to Freedom, American Wild Horse Sanctuary, where they were rehabilitated and held as criminal evidence.

The horses that arrived at Return to Freedom were severely mal-nourished and suffered various health problems. Already at full capacity on their 300 acre ranch, the sanctuary struggled to meet their needs for food and veterinary care. Over the past 2 years Return to Freedom has secured a safe and permanent home for all of the horses and now the final 27 are on their way to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota.

“I knew that we would eventually need to find a permanent home for these horses – our limited acreage simply cannot sustain the number of horses that we currently have at our sanctuary. Still, it is a little sad for me to let these horses go. I have watched them become strong and healthy again here and we have a special bond of trust and friendship. But they will stay together and will be going to an 11,000 acre sanctuary in South Dakota, where they will remain forever. These horses have been through a lot and I know that they will be happy and well cared for there”, commented Neda DeMayo, founder of Return to Freedom.

Dayton Hyde of Black Hills commented that "We are excited that we can offer a permanent sanctuary to theses horses and we will work hard to find funding to make sure that they live out their lives here. Recently 52 wild mustangs were saved from slaughter and brought to our Sanctuary by Ford Motor Company. Despite the fact that no monetary contributions were made for the support of these animals, we welcomed the truckloads of weary and confused wild horses into our corrals and their new home. Funding always comes second when the call comes in that horses’ lives are on the line. Sometimes our efforts bring gifts far beyond our expectations or monetary rewards, and help us to understand why we have devoted our lives to giving wild horses a place to run free.”

“I am happy that we were able to help these horses and that they will have a happy ending. But until the Bureau of Land management changes its aggressive wild horse removal policy, horses will continue to be threatened. Once they are privatized, there is nothing we can do to prevent situations like what happened in Buellton in 2003. What’s worse, we now have the added threat of wild horses being slaughtered, thanks to legislation introduced by Senator Conrad Burns last fall amending the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act” DeMayo notes.

By the end of the criminal investigation, more than 400 wild horses were seized from the private ranch in CA. The individual who owned the horses and the ranch is now serving an 8 month sentence under house arrest.

June 20th, 2005

Congress and BLM selling our wild horses short once again

With the recent easing of public land grazing restrictions for private cattle, and a new bill that would allow the government to sell all rounded up horses, the fate of our remaining wild herds is more uncertain than ever.

Late last week, in a stunning display of hypocrisy, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that they would be easing the regulations on private cattle ranching on public lands. These regulations, put in place by the Clinton Administration to protect wildlife and the eco-system of our public lands, allowed the BLM to restrict harmful grazing practices. Private ranchers, who lease public lands at below market rates, will now have expanded access to public lands. In addition the BLM must produce sufficient data before they can remove cattle and other livestock. If the health of the range or other wildlife that share those public lands requires the removal of more than 10% of a ranchers’ stock, then the BLM must phase in the removal over 5 years under the new rules. Yet, the BLM continues to tout over-grazing and poor range health as the reason that they are removing thousands of wild horses from public lands. 41 of which ended up at an Illinois slaughterhouse this past April.

Approximately 31,000 wild horses remain on public lands. Yet there are more than 4 million privately owned cattle in the public lands grazing program. Neda DeMayo, Founder of Return to Freedom, American Wild Horse Sanctuary, commented that “The Bureau of Land Management is charged with the stewardship of our public lands. For them to say that the vast acreage of America’s public lands cannot sustain some 30,000 wild horses, while millions of cattle graze that land is a shameful double standard. What’s even more outrageous is that they have the gall to announce that they are easing grazing restrictions on cattle, just weeks after the slaughter of wild horses that were removed purportedly because of poor range health and overgrazing. It is like a slap in the face to all Americans who cherish the wild horse as an enduring symbol of freedom and the American spirit.”

Adding insult to injury, Nevada Lawmakers Senator Harry Reid and Congressman Jon Porter announced the introduction of the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Sale and Adoption Act. This bill is a stark contrast to the similarly named bill from 1971 - The Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act – which sought to protect our wild horses and guaranteed them a home on our public lands. This new bill upholds the sale authority that was introduced in November 2004 by Senator Conrad Burns, but goes a step further by broadening the definition of what constitutes an “excess” of wild horses. Under Burns sale authority roughly 8,400 wild horses were at risk of slaughter. That number will increase to 22,000 if this new wild horse bill passes.

The bill attempts to provide a safety net from slaughter by requiring that the purchaser wait one year before gaining title to the horse. However, if purchased in large enough quantities and maintained in feedlot conditions, buyers could still turn a profit by selling wild horses to slaughter. The fact is that this bill simply increases the number of wild horses that could go to the feedlot. “What is sad is that these horses should not be removed in the first place. Overpopulation is a myth” DeMayo further comments.

Return to Freedom supports HR 297 and S 576, legislation that will reverse the Burns rider and reinstate the Federal protections that prohibit the sale and slaughter of wild horses.