Hundreds of Cattle Starving in Nevada - They Need Your Help!

Letter to Responsible Officials:

To: Neil Kornze, Director, Bureau of Land Management
Brian Sandoval, Governor, State of Nevada
Regarding: Starving cattle at Gold Butte, NV

Dear Sirs:

I am horrified and dismayed that a thousand or more cattle are being left to fend for themselves and starve in the area known as Gold Butte in Nevada.

The area receives only 4 inches of precipitation a year and is the driest desert in North America, often experiencing temperatures above 105 degrees in the summer. These poor creatures were abandoned in the early 1990s and are spreading out over an ever increasing area in search of the sparse vegetation. What’s more, these cattle are competing with native wildlife in the area for food. Whatever vegetation the livestock eat, is vegetation that is not available for desert tortoise and other native wildlife for nourishment as well as for cover from predators.

It is not hard to visit the area and witness the poor plight of these animals as the attached pictures show. Besides starvation, these animals are also experiencing the debilitating effects of inbreeding.

The Bureau of Land Management has not satisfactorily addressed the welfare and plight of these animals over a 20+ year period. The state of Nevada has done even less, despite owning a majority of the animals and having legal responsibilities under state laws.

I join the multitude of voices calling for the end of suffering of these animals, and call for a gathering of them before the heat of summer strikes. The Bureau and State should work with animal welfare groups pursuant to Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 569.031 ("The Department may enter into a cooperative agreement for the management, control, placement or disposition of the [feral or estray] livestock with [a]....nonprofit organization.") who have already offered to help place the cattle at sanctuaries.

Sincerely,

Name