AANHCP Advocacy Bulletins
AANHCP Advocate Bulletins
Update by Jaime Jackson, May 2021
by Jaime Jackson, January 2017
Synopsis: America's wild horses have been a protected species in the U.S. Great Basin ever since the 1971 Wild, Free-Roaming Horses & Burros legislation was signed by President Richard M. Nixon. But today, more horses removed by government gathers are living miserable lives in long term government corrals than in the wild! Moreover, the political landscape has changed since the law was passed, and the enormous cost of sustaining horses in the corrals, as well as in the continuing gathers, is certain to come under close scrutiny by the forthcoming Trump Administration's analysts. Intense ranching and corporate pressure to remove horses so that land resources can be harvested has already begun, and the new administration has made it clear that it intends to pursue all avenues to make our country "energy independent." If all this is not enough, misguided fringe wild horse "advocates, humane societies, and celebrities" are pushing hard to subject wild horses in their range lands to birth control drugs, which tampers dangerously with the forces of natural selection. Against this ominous backdrop, AANHCP Director Jaime Jackson proposes the unthinkable, "We must dismantle the 1971 legislation before it is too late, and replace it with genuine wild horse preservation legislation. I propose a new paradigm for wild horse protection, one that will appeal to tax payers, politicians, ranching and corporate interests, BLM administrators, environmentalists, and anyone who genuinely cherishes this true American legacy. -- Jaime Jackson
Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward (2013) Report of the National Resource Council of the National Academy of Sciences -- AKA Bogus Science and Profiteering Stampeding Their Way into Wild Horse Country
by Jaime Jackson (June 9, 2013)
Synopsis: I’ve reviewed the entire 300+ page NRC report — clearly a major undertaking by all the scientists involved and a bit of a “heavy” read — including its academic findings and recommendations (“A Way Forward”) which are, in the end, woefully predictable. -- Jaime Jackson
by Jaime Jackson (Dec.17, 2012)
Synopsis: "This study involved 16 adult horses, ranging in age from 6 to 14 yr old (mean, 11 yr old). The horses were euthanized by using a penetrating captive bolt, as approved by the Report of the American Veterinary Medical Association's Panel on Euthanasia." [Hood, D.M., Grosenbaugh, D.A., Mostafa, M.B., Morgan, S.J. and Thomas, B.C. (1993) The role of vascular mechanisms in the development of acute equine laminitis. J. Vet. Intern. Med. 7, 228-234.]
I say it's time to end this type of harmful and unnecessary research. Animal cruelty! -- Jaime Jackson
Mechanical Laminitis: In Need of A Funeral
by Jaime Jackson, (Sept. 26, 2011)
Synopsis: The rationale for what is called "mechanical laminitis" is rooted in the bogus science of the conventional “hoof mechanism” model. It's been around as long as I can recall, but finally "put to death" by Dr. Christopher Pollit's research and genuine NHC. Unfortunately, it's official "funeral" hasn't taken place yet. That's where we come in — and I mean the AANHCP, because we're the only organization that I know of which disputes this transgression of common sense.
Natural Horsemanship: A Hoax of Near Mythical Proportions
by Jaime Jackson (March 24, 2010)
Synopsis: "Some people say that I am a 'natural horseman' because I practice certain philosophies and techniques. Others say I’m not 'natural' (oddly enough) for the very same reasons. If you ask me, I say that it seems pretty dang hard, if not impossible, to be - or not be - something that doesn’t even exist in the first place." [Mark Rashid, All Things Natural]
The rise of "natural horsemanship" in recent years as an equestrian discipline and philosophy has its origins, at least in good measure, in an understandable revulsion many horse owners possess for blatantly violent training and riding methods. And, for that matter, denigrating and abusive relationships with horses, generally speaking. -- Jaime Jackson
Showdown at Calico Mountain: Is the Future of the Wild Horse in Jeopardy?
by Jaime Jackson (January 11, 2010)
Synopsis: "Wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people; and that these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene." [Quote from PublicLaw 92-195]
Fifty one years have passed since wild horse advocate Velma Johnston ("Wild Horse Annie") instigated passage of Public Law 86-234 (Wild Horse Annie Act, 1959), which banned air and land vehicles from hunting and capturing wild horses on state land in Nevada. Johnston escalated a nationwide campaign and a decade later, the 92nd United States Congress unanimously passed the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, signed into law in December of that year by President Richard Nixon. Purportedly, this act prohibited capture, injury, or harassment of wild horses and burros and for their transfer to suitable areas when populations became too large. But in more recent decades, a new generation of wild horse advocates question whether that law has done
more to harm than protect American's wild horses.
Bungle In the Jungle: Has Pollit's Brumby Research Unit lost it's way in Australia's Outback?
by Jaime Jackson (September 11th, 2009)
Synopsis: Ever since issuing my memo earlier this year announcing the new research agenda of Dr. Chris Pollitt's Australian Brumby Research Unit, I, like a lot of hoof care professionals, have looked forward with much anticipation and enthusiasm to a great learning experience. But with the release of the Unit's most recent July newsletter, directed by Pollitt's research student, Brian Hampson, who ostensibly is also directing all of the Unit's field operations, I am beginning to wonder if enthusiasm is less warranted than skepticism.