The Secretary of the Interior has, for the second time in a row, selected an openly pro-horse slaughter person to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. Callie Hendrickson, an anti-wild horse activist, pro-horse slaughter proponent, has been selected to represent the interests of the 'General Public' on the board.
It is well known that Hendrickson supports horse slaughter, and the sale without limitation of all unadopted wild horses to the highest bidder (including kill buyers). She supports the removal of all the wild horses in the West Douglas Creek herd on Colorado's Western Slope. She has testified in support of anti-wild horse legislation and will speak at the second pro-slaughter conference (Summit of the Horse) in Oklahoma City this Spring.
And Ms. Hendrickson is out of step with the overwhelming majority of Americans who oppose horse slaughter. According to a recent national poll conducted by Lake Research Partners for the ASPCA, 80% of Americans from all walks of life and all areas of the country do not support the slaughter of American horses.
Take action today: Urge Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to rescind his appointment of Callie Hendrickson to the BLM’s National Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board.
Background:
The nine-member BLM Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board recommends management strategies to the BLM. Hendrickson would join Jim Stephenson (appointed June 2011) who openly advocates for horse slaughter. Other Board members include the former head of the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association and a wildlife representative who is a member of organizations advocating a hunting season on wild horses. Documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that BLM has discussed killing wild horses in holding since at least 2008. They have stacked the Board with anti-wild horse extremists who could advocate for the slaughter of wild horses that have been removed from public lands and are being stockpiled in government holding facilities.
We the undersigned oppose your appointment of a pro-horse slaughter person, Callie Hendrickson to represent the 'general public interest' on the BLM’s National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. A recent survey conducted by Lake Research Partners for ASPCA, shows that 80% of Americans do not support the slaughter of U.S. horses, wild or domestic.
Callie Hendrickson represents narrow private interests, not the interests of the general public. She supports the elimination of an entire herd of wild horses on Colorado’s Western Slope, and she endorses the sale of all unadopted wild horses to the highest bidder (including kill buyers).
For these reasons, we ask you to immediately rescind her appointment and select someone who actually represents the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Americans who do not support the slaughter of our wild horses.
