Nevada, Don't Slaughter Wild Horses!
Wild horse advocates recently stepped up to rescue 23 horses that were taken from the Virginia Range outside of Reno, Nev., by the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDOA) and sent to an auction in Fallon to be sold for slaughter for human consumption.
The horses, now known as the "South Reno 23" were removed as "nuisance" animals. Since they're not on federal land managed by Bureau of Land Management, they are state property and the responsibility of the NDOA. However, Nevada has a fence-out law that requires property owners to put up fencing to prevent unwanted wildlife from entering.
Unfortunately, public outcry over the issue has been ignored and the NDOA is believed to have removed at least 60 more horses who are expected to show up at auction soon.
Please sign this petition urging Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval to stop ignoring the public and take action to stop the future auction of the remaining wild horses that have been removed and ensure that this does not happen again.
As someone who is concerned with animal welfare and wild horses, I was outraged to learn that, despite public outcry, wild horses are being removed and sent to auction where they'll likely be bought by kill-buyers and sent across the border for slaughter for human consumption.
Not only is the removal and eventual slaughter of our nation's wild horses unquestionably cruel, but taxpayers shouldn't have to foot the bill to remove animals in a state that has a fence-out law. Nor should rescues have to pay artificially inflated auction prices to save them.
The Nevada Department of Agriculture should be working to protect wild horses and keep them on state land by taking proactive steps to prevent the need for their removal at all and by working cooperatively with wild horse advocacy groups to solve problems that arise.
Wild horses are a national icon and deserve to be protected, not sent to slaughter; a practice that 80 percent of Americans are opposed to. I sincerely hope you will take action to stop the future auction of the remaining wild horses that have been removed and ensure that this does not happen again.
