1
00:01:01,261 --> 00:01:02,730
<i>I'll never forget</i>
<i>the first time</i>

2
00:01:02,764 --> 00:01:04,632
<i>that I saw a wild horse.</i>

3
00:01:08,836 --> 00:01:12,306
<i>It was right</i>
<i>at the edge of dawn,</i>

4
00:01:12,339 --> 00:01:15,409
<i>when the sky was</i>
<i>in that special</i>
<i>shade between blue and purple.</i>

5
00:01:18,846 --> 00:01:21,783
<i>And I thought,</i>
<i>in that moment,</i>

6
00:01:21,816 --> 00:01:23,785
<i>they looked like ghosts</i>
<i>of the desert.</i>

7
00:02:25,980 --> 00:02:28,683
<i>It was a journey</i>
<i>none of us expected to go on.</i>

8
00:02:31,619 --> 00:02:34,522
<i>Encountering</i>
<i>such extraordinary beauty...</i>

9
00:02:36,691 --> 00:02:38,860
<i>and traversing</i>
<i>the vast Western US.</i>

10
00:02:43,698 --> 00:02:46,768
<i>We were searching</i>
<i>for the answer to one question.</i>

11
00:02:48,736 --> 00:02:50,905
<i>Why are wild horses</i>
<i>disappearing?</i>

12
00:02:57,812 --> 00:03:02,349
<i>At first, what we discovered</i>
<i>sounded like a conspiracy...</i>

13
00:03:05,452 --> 00:03:08,956
<i>until we realized it was.</i>

14
00:03:24,772 --> 00:03:29,409
<i>Anyone who says magic is gone</i>
<i>from the world</i>

15
00:03:29,443 --> 00:03:31,913
<i>hasn't been in the wild</i>
<i>with horses.</i>

16
00:03:38,786 --> 00:03:40,454
<i>There's a famous quote</i>

17
00:03:40,487 --> 00:03:42,422
<i>that I'd love</i>
<i>for you to think about,</i>

18
00:03:42,456 --> 00:03:44,224
<i>as we take you</i>
<i>through this journey.</i>

19
00:03:47,628 --> 00:03:52,299
<i>"We need</i>
<i>the tonic of wildness.</i>

20
00:03:52,332 --> 00:03:57,739
<i>We require that all things</i>
<i>be mysterious and unexplorable.</i>

21
00:03:57,772 --> 00:04:00,641
<i>That the land and the sea</i>
<i>be indefinitely wild.</i>

22
00:04:02,944 --> 00:04:06,614
<i>Unfathomed by us,</i>
<i>because they are unfathomable.</i>

23
00:04:09,550 --> 00:04:11,919
<i>We can never have enough</i>
<i>of nature."</i>

24
00:04:19,727 --> 00:04:22,462
<i>Most people don't know...</i>

25
00:04:22,496 --> 00:04:25,733
<i>that wild horses even exist</i>
<i>in our country.</i>

26
00:04:28,903 --> 00:04:31,304
<i>Representing purity,</i>

27
00:04:31,338 --> 00:04:33,708
<i>and power, and freedom.</i>

28
00:04:40,681 --> 00:04:42,984
<i>We originally began</i>
<i>this project</i>

29
00:04:43,017 --> 00:04:45,586
<i>as a love letter</i>
<i>to wild horses.</i>

30
00:04:47,655 --> 00:04:49,322
<i>And to gather footage</i>
<i>for a film</i>

31
00:04:49,356 --> 00:04:51,458
<i>that I was directing</i>
<i>at the time.</i>

32
00:04:51,491 --> 00:04:53,928
<i>A modern-day retelling</i>
<i>of</i> Black Beauty.

33
00:04:56,063 --> 00:04:59,332
<i>It's little known</i>
<i>that Anna C. Wells' classic</i>

34
00:04:59,366 --> 00:05:02,003
<i>wasn't necessarily written</i>
<i>as a children's book.</i>

35
00:05:03,571 --> 00:05:05,807
<i>It was an animal welfare plea,</i>

36
00:05:05,840 --> 00:05:07,842
<i>to protect</i>
<i>the horses of her time.</i>

37
00:05:11,012 --> 00:05:14,447
<i>Like most people,</i>
<i>we had no idea</i>

38
00:05:14,481 --> 00:05:19,520
<i>that wild horses were being</i>
<i>rounded up in mass numbers,</i>

39
00:05:19,554 --> 00:05:22,489
<i>taken away from their homes</i>
<i>and their families...</i>

40
00:05:24,625 --> 00:05:26,928
<i>put into government</i>
<i>holding facilities,</i>

41
00:05:26,961 --> 00:05:28,529
<i>never to gallop again.</i>

42
00:05:30,998 --> 00:05:33,801
<i>So, after the credits rolled</i>
<i>on</i> Black Beauty,

43
00:05:33,835 --> 00:05:35,435
<i>we decided to keep going.</i>

44
00:05:37,104 --> 00:05:38,840
<i>But little did we know,</i>

45
00:05:38,873 --> 00:05:42,043
<i>beyond the extraordinary beauty</i>
<i>of wild horses,</i>

46
00:05:42,076 --> 00:05:44,377
<i>they had an enemy.</i>

47
00:05:44,411 --> 00:05:45,947
<i>One that was well-funded</i>

48
00:05:45,980 --> 00:05:49,984
<i>and full of lies,</i>
<i>deceit, and corruption.</i>

49
00:05:52,153 --> 00:05:55,957
<i>We had no idea</i>
<i>we were about to enter a war.</i>

50
00:05:55,990 --> 00:05:57,692
We just got to Delta.

51
00:05:57,725 --> 00:06:00,528
We're not allowed
to view the holding facility,

52
00:06:00,561 --> 00:06:02,930
even though
it's a BLM holding facility.

53
00:06:02,964 --> 00:06:04,966
There's Kai,
we've got officers,

54
00:06:04,999 --> 00:06:06,601
I'm not sure
what we're about to encounter.

55
00:06:09,136 --> 00:06:10,938
The famous Onaqui Horses
were just rounded up,

56
00:06:10,972 --> 00:06:14,008
and they said that
we couldn't come observe.

57
00:06:14,041 --> 00:06:16,544
So, we came anyway.

58
00:06:16,577 --> 00:06:18,713
The horses are just being
unloaded from the trucks.

59
00:06:20,715 --> 00:06:23,618
This is...

60
00:06:23,651 --> 00:06:24,886
...this is really hard to see.

61
00:06:32,093 --> 00:06:34,996
<i>I think one of the worst things</i>
<i>in doing all of this...</i>

62
00:06:36,864 --> 00:06:38,766
<i>...was watching their freedom</i>
<i>get taken away.</i>

63
00:06:38,799 --> 00:06:40,601
- Gosh, that sound is--
- I know, it's terrible.

64
00:06:40,635 --> 00:06:43,004
And we've been listening to it
for hours now,

65
00:06:43,037 --> 00:06:45,606
for two hours, it's horrible.

66
00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:47,608
<i>And our question was...</i>

67
00:06:47,642 --> 00:06:49,844
<i>why?</i>

68
00:06:49,877 --> 00:06:52,179
<i>Why is this happening</i>
<i>to wild horses?</i>

69
00:06:54,548 --> 00:06:58,085
<i>Aren't they living symbols</i>
<i>of America?</i>

70
00:06:58,119 --> 00:07:01,454
<i>Aren't they supposed to be</i>
<i>federally protected?</i>

71
00:07:01,488 --> 00:07:04,025
<i>And if wild horses</i>
<i>live on public land,</i>

72
00:07:04,058 --> 00:07:05,492
<i>which they do...</i>

73
00:07:06,727 --> 00:07:07,995
<i>...don't the people have a say?</i>

74
00:07:08,029 --> 00:07:09,797
Stop the choppers!

75
00:07:09,830 --> 00:07:12,600
<i>Isn't this our land?</i>

76
00:07:12,633 --> 00:07:13,868
Stop the choppers!

77
00:07:13,901 --> 00:07:15,236
Stop the choppers!

78
00:07:15,269 --> 00:07:17,004
<i>But before we go forward,</i>

79
00:07:17,038 --> 00:07:19,240
<i>let's go back.</i>

80
00:07:19,273 --> 00:07:23,945
<i>To understand where</i>
<i>wild horses really came from,</i>

81
00:07:23,978 --> 00:07:26,580
<i>and why they,</i>
<i>like other species,</i>

82
00:07:26,614 --> 00:07:28,883
<i>such as wolves, coyotes,</i>

83
00:07:28,916 --> 00:07:31,552
<i>trout and sage-grouse,</i>

84
00:07:31,585 --> 00:07:33,621
<i>are being scapegoated</i>

85
00:07:33,654 --> 00:07:38,893
<i>and knowingly eradicated</i>
<i>from our public lands.</i>

86
00:07:38,926 --> 00:07:42,129
<i>Because unless</i>
<i>we do something...</i>

87
00:07:42,163 --> 00:07:44,464
<i>wild horses will disappear...</i>

88
00:07:45,199 --> 00:07:46,634
<i>forever.</i>

89
00:07:55,843 --> 00:07:58,045
My name is
Dr. Yvette Running Horse Collin

90
00:07:58,079 --> 00:08:01,048
and I'm an Oglala Lakota
researcher and scientist.

91
00:08:01,082 --> 00:08:02,783
And I'm an administrator

92
00:08:02,817 --> 00:08:05,720
for the He'Sapa Unity Alliance
Council of Elders.

93
00:08:05,753 --> 00:08:08,723
So, Western science
and academia now agrees

94
00:08:08,756 --> 00:08:11,726
that the horse originated
in North America.

95
00:08:11,759 --> 00:08:14,595
However, they say
that all the horses died out

96
00:08:14,628 --> 00:08:18,632
in North and South America
during the last Ice Age,

97
00:08:18,666 --> 00:08:22,003
which is around 13,000
to 11,000 years ago,

98
00:08:22,036 --> 00:08:24,905
until Columbus
reintroduced them

99
00:08:24,939 --> 00:08:27,074
in the late 1400s.

100
00:08:27,108 --> 00:08:30,177
Many, many, many species
survived the Ice Age.

101
00:08:30,211 --> 00:08:32,713
For example,
the elk, the antelope,

102
00:08:32,747 --> 00:08:36,050
of course, we had the wolf,
the bear, the bison.

103
00:08:36,083 --> 00:08:37,918
So, I find it
very interesting,

104
00:08:37,952 --> 00:08:40,788
why they would focus
on the horse.

105
00:08:40,821 --> 00:08:44,592
Contrary to what Western
academia has put forward,

106
00:08:44,625 --> 00:08:47,728
our people say,
we always had the horse.

107
00:08:47,762 --> 00:08:50,197
History is often told
by the conqueror.

108
00:08:50,231 --> 00:08:53,000
There were many accounts
in the Spanish chronicles

109
00:08:53,034 --> 00:08:56,771
of multiple quadrupeds, right,
four-legged animals

110
00:08:56,804 --> 00:08:58,939
everywhere,
all over the place.

111
00:08:58,973 --> 00:09:03,778
There were also accounts
where Native peoples and horses

112
00:09:03,811 --> 00:09:06,080
were reported
as living together

113
00:09:06,113 --> 00:09:08,749
in a domestic-type situation.

114
00:09:08,783 --> 00:09:11,919
There is a great deal
of fossil evidence

115
00:09:11,952 --> 00:09:13,954
to prove that the horses

116
00:09:13,988 --> 00:09:15,823
did not go extinct
in the Americas

117
00:09:15,856 --> 00:09:18,325
and that they indeed
had a relationship

118
00:09:18,359 --> 00:09:20,194
with different Native peoples.

119
00:09:20,227 --> 00:09:24,765
This issue has not been properly
scientifically researched.

120
00:09:24,799 --> 00:09:27,168
What would happen...

121
00:09:27,201 --> 00:09:30,604
if it's understood
and widely accepted

122
00:09:30,638 --> 00:09:32,339
that the horse
survived the Ice Age?

123
00:09:32,373 --> 00:09:36,077
And, in fact, some of that blood
is still in the wild horses

124
00:09:36,110 --> 00:09:39,713
that roam these lands today.

125
00:09:39,747 --> 00:09:42,917
If the United States
follows its own laws,

126
00:09:42,950 --> 00:09:47,188
they would then be protected
by the Endangered Species Act.

127
00:09:47,221 --> 00:09:49,957
Not only
would they be protected,

128
00:09:49,990 --> 00:09:53,194
it also protects the lands
that they call home.

129
00:09:53,227 --> 00:09:57,131
They wouldn't be available
for extraction, uh, for mining.

130
00:09:57,164 --> 00:09:59,867
They would have to be kept pure

131
00:09:59,900 --> 00:10:01,836
and allowed
to live in balance.

132
00:10:10,911 --> 00:10:13,380
<i>The wild horse war</i>
<i>has been going on</i>

133
00:10:13,414 --> 00:10:16,217
<i>for a long time.</i>

134
00:10:16,250 --> 00:10:21,122
<i>In 1971, President Nixon</i>
<i>stepped in to help.</i>

135
00:10:21,155 --> 00:10:22,857
<i>The president had been moved</i>

136
00:10:22,890 --> 00:10:25,359
<i>by the plight</i>
<i>of wild horses and burros</i>

137
00:10:25,392 --> 00:10:27,962
<i>after he received</i>
<i>thousands of letters</i>

138
00:10:27,995 --> 00:10:30,197
<i>sent in by children,</i>

139
00:10:30,231 --> 00:10:32,766
<i>a campaign organized</i>
<i>by Velma Johnson,</i>

140
00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:36,270
<i>better known</i>
<i>as "Wild Horse Annie."</i>

141
00:10:36,303 --> 00:10:38,973
<i>The president opened</i>
<i>his remarks on the bill</i>

142
00:10:39,006 --> 00:10:42,076
<i>by quoting</i>
<i>Henry David Thoreau.</i>

143
00:10:42,109 --> 00:10:45,412
<i>"We need the tonic</i>
<i>of wildness," he began.</i>

144
00:10:46,981 --> 00:10:49,350
<i>Congress unanimously passed</i>

145
00:10:49,383 --> 00:10:55,089
<i>the Wild and</i>
<i>Free-Roaming Horses</i>
<i>and Burros Act of 1971.</i>

146
00:10:55,122 --> 00:10:57,258
<i>Which stated</i>
<i>that they should be protected</i>

147
00:10:57,291 --> 00:11:03,430
<i>from capture, branding,</i>
<i>harassment, and death.</i>

148
00:11:05,332 --> 00:11:08,869
<i>It became</i>
<i>starkly black and white to us</i>

149
00:11:08,903 --> 00:11:12,740
<i>how much</i>
<i>that law was being violated,</i>

150
00:11:12,773 --> 00:11:14,875
<i>and how little had changed.</i>

151
00:11:17,044 --> 00:11:19,079
<i>We did not embark on this</i>

152
00:11:19,113 --> 00:11:21,248
<i>to become</i>
<i>investigative reporters.</i>

153
00:11:23,150 --> 00:11:26,854
<i>But we also refused</i>
<i>to stand idly by,</i>

154
00:11:26,887 --> 00:11:30,024
<i>after witnessing</i>
<i>such antiquated cruelty</i>

155
00:11:30,057 --> 00:11:32,226
<i>still happening today.</i>

156
00:11:32,259 --> 00:11:35,129
We very calmly asked
and we said it is our right...

157
00:11:35,162 --> 00:11:36,430
-Yep. Yeah.
-...as journalists,

158
00:11:36,463 --> 00:11:37,865
as public observers,
to go over there

159
00:11:37,898 --> 00:11:39,433
and point our camera--

160
00:11:39,466 --> 00:11:41,001
And-- and we feel that
for the safety of everybody,

161
00:11:41,035 --> 00:11:42,903
and the coordination
of this group,

162
00:11:42,937 --> 00:11:45,005
we want to keep you here,
so that's what we're gonna do.

163
00:11:45,039 --> 00:11:46,508
A minute ago,
it was for our safety,

164
00:11:46,541 --> 00:11:49,210
now you're saying
it's 'cause we're emotional.

165
00:11:49,243 --> 00:11:51,111
Well, emotion runs into that.

166
00:11:51,145 --> 00:11:53,414
If people are getting emotional,
how do you control people?

167
00:12:07,529 --> 00:12:10,965
<i>Today,</i>
<i>wild horses are under attack,</i>

168
00:12:10,998 --> 00:12:14,134
<i>perhaps more</i>
<i>than ever before.</i>

169
00:12:14,168 --> 00:12:16,370
<i>The law</i>
<i>President Nixon championed</i>

170
00:12:16,403 --> 00:12:18,806
<i>is being ignored.</i>

171
00:12:18,839 --> 00:12:20,874
<i>And even worse,</i>

172
00:12:20,908 --> 00:12:23,911
<i>the Bureau of Land Management</i>
<i>is currently trying to reduce</i>

173
00:12:23,944 --> 00:12:26,247
<i>wild horse populations down</i>

174
00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:29,183
<i>to what President Nixon</i>
<i>considered to be...</i>

175
00:12:29,216 --> 00:12:31,553
<i>extinction level.</i>

176
00:12:31,586 --> 00:12:36,423
<i>The president's policy</i>
<i>contained one fatal flaw.</i>

177
00:12:36,457 --> 00:12:38,926
<i>The Wild Horse</i>
<i>and Burro Act grants</i>

178
00:12:38,959 --> 00:12:42,263
<i>the Bureau of Land Management</i>
<i>sole authority</i>

179
00:12:42,296 --> 00:12:45,065
<i>to determine</i>
<i>the amount of wild horses</i>

180
00:12:45,099 --> 00:12:47,268
<i>that can roam free</i>
<i>on public land.</i>

181
00:12:48,269 --> 00:12:50,070
<i>Since 1971,</i>

182
00:12:50,104 --> 00:12:53,941
<i>the BLM has set</i>
<i>the appropriate amount to zero</i>

183
00:12:53,974 --> 00:12:57,011
<i>in nearly 50%</i>
<i>of herd management areas</i>

184
00:12:57,044 --> 00:13:01,215
<i>initially protected</i>
<i>at a federal level.</i>

185
00:13:01,248 --> 00:13:03,951
<i>But to get</i>
<i>to the bottom of all of this,</i>

186
00:13:03,984 --> 00:13:08,188
<i>we felt like we needed</i>
<i>to start with the horses.</i>

187
00:13:08,222 --> 00:13:11,058
<i>We needed to go out</i>
<i>into the wild.</i>

188
00:13:14,928 --> 00:13:18,198
<i>Our journey began in Utah,</i>

189
00:13:18,232 --> 00:13:20,834
<i>with the famous Onaqui horses.</i>

190
00:13:29,109 --> 00:13:31,478
<i>You come</i>
<i>to a place like this</i>

191
00:13:31,513 --> 00:13:35,416
<i>and the horses</i>
<i>are right off the road.</i>

192
00:13:35,449 --> 00:13:37,484
<i>And that's probably why</i>
<i>they're arguably</i>

193
00:13:37,519 --> 00:13:39,521
<i>the most famous horses</i>
<i>in the country.</i>

194
00:13:42,423 --> 00:13:44,124
<i>The more time</i>
<i>we spent with them...</i>

195
00:13:46,226 --> 00:13:48,228
<i>we began to learn about</i>
<i>their families.</i>

196
00:13:54,168 --> 00:13:56,136
<i>There were the curious foals,</i>

197
00:13:56,170 --> 00:13:57,938
<i>the watchful mothers...</i>

198
00:14:00,007 --> 00:14:03,977
<i>the playful adolescents,</i>
<i>and the bachelors.</i>

199
00:14:06,013 --> 00:14:07,481
<i>There were stallions</i>

200
00:14:07,515 --> 00:14:09,450
<i>that battled</i>
<i>for mares and dominance...</i>

201
00:14:12,953 --> 00:14:14,589
<i>And the more</i>
<i>quirky personalities.</i>

202
00:14:21,362 --> 00:14:23,897
<i>It was clear</i>
<i>how much they were</i>
<i>just like us.</i>

203
00:14:31,438 --> 00:14:33,941
<i>We got to know</i>
<i>the rhythm of their lives</i>

204
00:14:33,974 --> 00:14:36,276
<i>and how</i>
<i>they had been given names,</i>

205
00:14:36,310 --> 00:14:39,046
<i>like Stargazer</i>
<i>and Moon Drinker.</i>

206
00:14:41,014 --> 00:14:45,018
<i>The cremello</i>
<i>and his best friend, the black.</i>

207
00:14:45,052 --> 00:14:48,155
<i>The powerful bay roan</i>
<i>who is very protective</i>

208
00:14:48,188 --> 00:14:50,924
<i>over his mares,</i>
<i>the perlino sisters.</i>

209
00:14:52,594 --> 00:14:55,929
<i>There was one stallion</i>
<i>with piercing blue eyes,</i>

210
00:14:55,963 --> 00:15:00,401
<i>that someone called Norman,</i>
<i>and the name stuck.</i>

211
00:15:00,434 --> 00:15:03,705
<i>Norman was part</i>
<i>of what's called bachelor band,</i>

212
00:15:03,738 --> 00:15:05,573
<i>which means</i>
<i>a group of young stallions</i>

213
00:15:05,607 --> 00:15:08,275
<i>who hang out together.</i>

214
00:15:08,308 --> 00:15:13,581
<i>His two best friends</i>
<i>were Rowan and Rudy.</i>

215
00:15:13,615 --> 00:15:16,216
<i>Our favorite family</i>
<i>didn't have any names,</i>

216
00:15:16,250 --> 00:15:19,687
<i>so we called</i>
<i>the stallion, Wind Knot,</i>

217
00:15:19,721 --> 00:15:22,624
<i>and his chestnut foal,</i>
<i>Suncatcher.</i>

218
00:15:25,125 --> 00:15:29,963
<i>When we first saw them,</i>
<i>there were over 500 horses,</i>

219
00:15:29,997 --> 00:15:34,301
<i>but the most famous</i>
<i>proved elusive.</i>

220
00:15:34,334 --> 00:15:39,674
<i>He was a legendary</i>
<i>white stallion called Old Man.</i>

221
00:15:39,707 --> 00:15:41,643
<i>The Gandalf of the mountains.</i>

222
00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:48,248
<i>This place</i>
<i>was like a fairytale.</i>

223
00:15:50,284 --> 00:15:53,220
<i>And it was right here</i>
<i>for all of us.</i>

224
00:15:55,189 --> 00:15:58,992
<i>But only two months</i>
<i>after we first visited them,</i>

225
00:15:59,026 --> 00:16:02,095
<i>we found out the Onaqui were</i>
<i>going to be rounded up, too.</i>

226
00:16:04,699 --> 00:16:06,467
<i>We realized at that point,</i>

227
00:16:06,500 --> 00:16:11,405
<i>as filmmakers,</i>
<i>we had a duty to protect them.</i>

228
00:16:11,438 --> 00:16:16,043
<i>Not only the Onaqui,</i>
<i>but all wild horses.</i>

229
00:16:16,076 --> 00:16:21,081
<i>But this issue</i>
<i>has been going on</i>
<i>for over 100 years.</i>

230
00:16:21,114 --> 00:16:22,650
<i>How were we gonna</i>
<i>make a difference?</i>

231
00:16:25,553 --> 00:16:27,522
<i>As they usually did,</i>
<i>the horses guided us.</i>

232
00:16:30,190 --> 00:16:33,360
<i>Right to the good people</i>
<i>that could help.</i>

233
00:16:33,393 --> 00:16:35,128
Hi, I'm Kimerlee Curyl,

234
00:16:35,162 --> 00:16:37,632
and I am a wild horse
photographer and advocate

235
00:16:37,665 --> 00:16:40,535
for keeping our wild horses
on our public lands.

236
00:16:40,568 --> 00:16:43,136
My name is Erik Molvar,
I'm a wildlife biologist,

237
00:16:43,170 --> 00:16:45,072
and I'm also
the Executive Director

238
00:16:45,105 --> 00:16:46,574
of Western Watersheds Project,

239
00:16:46,608 --> 00:16:48,342
a conservation group
dedicated to protecting

240
00:16:48,375 --> 00:16:50,043
and restoring wildlife
and watersheds

241
00:16:50,077 --> 00:16:51,345
throughout the American West.

242
00:16:51,378 --> 00:16:52,747
So, I've been coming out

243
00:16:52,780 --> 00:16:55,783
to the Onaqui Range
since 2000-- 2009.

244
00:16:55,817 --> 00:16:57,785
But my first visit out here,
of course,

245
00:16:57,819 --> 00:17:00,454
was beyond magical
and life-changing.

246
00:17:00,487 --> 00:17:02,456
To drive out here,

247
00:17:02,489 --> 00:17:06,260
I did not expect to be immersed
in such a large herd of horses.

248
00:17:06,293 --> 00:17:07,762
To walk amongst them,

249
00:17:07,795 --> 00:17:09,664
feel like I became part
of the herd that week.

250
00:17:09,697 --> 00:17:13,500
And unfortunately, that fall,
there was an "emergency roundup"

251
00:17:13,535 --> 00:17:16,303
and they stripped
these horses down to--

252
00:17:16,336 --> 00:17:18,740
the last I read,
was somewhere between 50 and 75,

253
00:17:18,773 --> 00:17:21,174
and that was in 2009.

254
00:17:21,208 --> 00:17:23,310
Here we are in the--
in the middle of the Red Desert,

255
00:17:23,343 --> 00:17:27,214
and it's one of the largest
unfenced tracts of public land

256
00:17:27,247 --> 00:17:28,816
anywhere remaining
in North America.

257
00:17:28,850 --> 00:17:32,554
The Red Desert is one
of the real biological hot spots

258
00:17:32,587 --> 00:17:34,388
in the American West.

259
00:17:34,421 --> 00:17:36,456
One of the places where
the ecosystems are healthiest,

260
00:17:36,490 --> 00:17:38,526
where the biodiversity
is greatest.

261
00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:41,128
And this is an area
that used to have

262
00:17:41,161 --> 00:17:42,797
thousands and thousands
of wild horses,

263
00:17:42,830 --> 00:17:45,667
but has been subjected
to heavy roundups

264
00:17:45,700 --> 00:17:47,367
by the Bureau
of Land Management,

265
00:17:47,401 --> 00:17:49,436
and now,
they're getting quite rare.

266
00:17:49,469 --> 00:17:50,805
In the Western United States,

267
00:17:50,838 --> 00:17:54,207
there are less
than 100,000 wild horses.

268
00:17:54,241 --> 00:17:57,545
There are two million cattle
that are set loose

269
00:17:57,579 --> 00:17:59,714
on Western Public Lands
every year,

270
00:17:59,747 --> 00:18:01,616
and who knows
how many million sheep.

271
00:18:01,649 --> 00:18:04,886
The Bureau of Land Management
recently did an analysis

272
00:18:04,919 --> 00:18:06,754
and determined
that pretty much

273
00:18:06,788 --> 00:18:08,856
all of the wild horse areas
in the Red Desert

274
00:18:08,890 --> 00:18:11,693
are meeting the thriving
natural ecological balance

275
00:18:11,726 --> 00:18:13,460
that's required by federal law.

276
00:18:13,493 --> 00:18:16,463
And yet,
the agency wants to take away

277
00:18:16,496 --> 00:18:17,832
thousands of these horses,

278
00:18:17,865 --> 00:18:19,366
even though the land
is in great shape.

279
00:18:19,399 --> 00:18:21,268
It's also frustrating that

280
00:18:21,301 --> 00:18:23,771
if you were to look at a graph
of the, what is it,

281
00:18:23,805 --> 00:18:27,140
245 million acres
of public lands that we have

282
00:18:27,174 --> 00:18:30,344
and you look at how much
is allotted for cattle,

283
00:18:30,377 --> 00:18:34,515
and then you look at the very
small fraction for horses,

284
00:18:34,549 --> 00:18:36,416
you just got to
do the math on that.

285
00:18:36,450 --> 00:18:39,419
Wild horses forage
a lot more like bison.

286
00:18:39,453 --> 00:18:42,757
Horses can forage ten,
20 miles away from water.

287
00:18:42,790 --> 00:18:44,358
So, they have
a lighter impact

288
00:18:44,391 --> 00:18:47,227
on the overall health
of the vegetation.

289
00:18:47,260 --> 00:18:51,498
Whereas cattle will forage
right next to water sources.

290
00:18:51,532 --> 00:18:53,668
And these
are the biodiversity hot spots,

291
00:18:53,701 --> 00:18:55,937
the oases
out here in the arid lands.

292
00:18:55,970 --> 00:18:59,272
So, if you have
really heavy overgrazing,

293
00:18:59,306 --> 00:19:00,608
close to water,

294
00:19:00,642 --> 00:19:02,409
you're wiping out
the biodiversity

295
00:19:02,442 --> 00:19:04,679
not just of the vegetation,
but of all the animals,

296
00:19:04,712 --> 00:19:09,282
the insects, the birds,
that depend on that.

297
00:19:09,316 --> 00:19:11,351
Wild horses have always been
an easy scapegoat

298
00:19:11,385 --> 00:19:12,620
for the livestock industry,

299
00:19:12,654 --> 00:19:14,488
because
they don't want to admit

300
00:19:14,522 --> 00:19:17,190
that their cattle and sheep,
and the huge numbers of them,

301
00:19:17,224 --> 00:19:19,493
that are overgrazing
chronically, year after year,

302
00:19:19,527 --> 00:19:21,763
are the problem with land health
in the American West.

303
00:19:21,796 --> 00:19:24,966
This is a-- a simple case
of the federal government

304
00:19:24,999 --> 00:19:27,300
doing the bidding
of a handful of privileged

305
00:19:27,334 --> 00:19:30,972
livestock permitees
that want the horses gone.

306
00:19:31,005 --> 00:19:34,776
They're pointing
to basically an innocent victim

307
00:19:34,809 --> 00:19:36,644
in all of this.

308
00:19:36,678 --> 00:19:39,446
Perhaps the biggest issue
facing Bureau of Land Management

309
00:19:39,479 --> 00:19:42,884
is the agency's
incompetence itself.

310
00:19:42,917 --> 00:19:46,453
<i>We left the Red Desert</i>
<i>with two new allies.</i>

311
00:19:46,486 --> 00:19:50,858
<i>And in 2019, we experienced</i>
<i>our first roundup.</i>

312
00:19:50,892 --> 00:19:54,562
<i>Which was a massive removal</i>
<i>of over 800 horses</i>

313
00:19:54,595 --> 00:19:57,865
<i>in the Triple B area</i>
<i>of Nevada.</i>

314
00:19:57,899 --> 00:19:59,767
<i>But before we get</i>
<i>into the darker stuff,</i>

315
00:19:59,801 --> 00:20:02,537
<i>I think it's probably time</i>
<i>to introduce our team.</i>

316
00:20:02,570 --> 00:20:03,971
Uh,
Wyoming cell service

317
00:20:04,005 --> 00:20:06,507
isn't the best cell service
in the world.

318
00:20:06,541 --> 00:20:08,442
That's why we're
listening to Alanis Morissette.

319
00:20:08,475 --> 00:20:10,410
<i>The driver is my husband, Ed.</i>

320
00:20:10,444 --> 00:20:13,748
<i>He's my partner</i>
<i>in all things.</i>

321
00:20:13,781 --> 00:20:15,550
That's a lot of sand.

322
00:20:15,583 --> 00:20:18,318
<i>The sarcastic one</i>
<i>is my younger brother, Richard.</i>

323
00:20:18,351 --> 00:20:20,755
<i>There's Kai,</i>
<i>our brilliant cinematographer,</i>

324
00:20:20,788 --> 00:20:22,990
<i>and our two first ACs,</i>

325
00:20:23,024 --> 00:20:25,292
<i>who rotated</i>
<i>during different trips,</i>

326
00:20:25,325 --> 00:20:27,695
<i>Brianna and Rocio.</i>

327
00:20:27,729 --> 00:20:30,330
<i>There was our set</i>
<i>photographer, Marcello,</i>

328
00:20:30,363 --> 00:20:33,868
<i>and our puppy, Whiskey,</i>
<i>who grew up along the journey.</i>

329
00:20:33,901 --> 00:20:36,336
This ferocious
snarling hell hound right here.

330
00:20:36,369 --> 00:20:37,905
<i>As for me,</i>

331
00:20:37,939 --> 00:20:39,540
<i>I was usually editing</i>
<i>from the front seat,</i>

332
00:20:39,574 --> 00:20:43,811
<i>or running off</i>
<i>to find the horses.</i>

333
00:20:43,845 --> 00:20:46,047
<i>A film crew</i>
<i>is like a family,</i>

334
00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:49,050
<i>and we are fortunate to have</i>
<i>such a passionate</i>
<i>team of people</i>

335
00:20:49,083 --> 00:20:50,985
<i>who endured long hours</i>

336
00:20:51,018 --> 00:20:53,554
<i>and sometimes</i>
<i>questionable motel rooms</i>

337
00:20:53,588 --> 00:20:56,557
<i>to tell this story.</i>

338
00:20:56,591 --> 00:20:58,559
<i>We drove through the night</i>
<i>to get to Ely,</i>

339
00:20:58,593 --> 00:21:01,328
<i>and braced ourselves for what</i>
<i>was to come the next day.</i>

340
00:21:04,031 --> 00:21:06,366
We say goodbye
to the...

341
00:21:06,399 --> 00:21:07,835
historic Hotel Nevada

342
00:21:07,869 --> 00:21:10,337
and Gambling Hall
and Denny's today.

343
00:21:11,639 --> 00:21:12,940
Now we are officially

344
00:21:12,974 --> 00:21:14,876
in the middle
of absolutely nowhere.

345
00:21:14,909 --> 00:21:17,344
I want to know
who even found these horses

346
00:21:17,377 --> 00:21:18,746
and decided
they need to be rounded--

347
00:21:18,780 --> 00:21:19,981
- Exactly.
- Look around.

348
00:21:20,014 --> 00:21:22,083
Like,
you can't even see them.

349
00:21:22,116 --> 00:21:25,987
But, guys,
look how overpopulated it is.

350
00:21:26,020 --> 00:21:31,058
<i>The Triple B HMA</i>
<i>is over 1.2 million acres.</i>

351
00:21:31,092 --> 00:21:33,995
<i>An HMA means</i>
<i>Herd Management Area,</i>

352
00:21:34,028 --> 00:21:36,097
<i>basically the amount of land</i>

353
00:21:36,130 --> 00:21:39,366
<i>wild horses</i>
<i>are allowed to be free.</i>

354
00:21:39,399 --> 00:21:41,102
<i>The BLM justified</i>
<i>this roundup,</i>

355
00:21:41,135 --> 00:21:43,871
<i>where they planned</i>
<i>to take up to 800 horses</i>

356
00:21:43,905 --> 00:21:45,740
<i>away from their homes,</i>

357
00:21:45,773 --> 00:21:48,609
<i>by citing unnecessary</i>
<i>degradation to the land</i>

358
00:21:48,643 --> 00:21:50,912
<i>and wanting to restore</i>
<i>a thriving,</i>

359
00:21:50,945 --> 00:21:55,116
<i>natural ecological balance</i>
<i>for multi-use.</i>

360
00:21:55,149 --> 00:21:58,085
<i>There were an estimated</i>
<i>3,000 horses</i>

361
00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:00,721
<i>across all of this land.</i>

362
00:22:00,755 --> 00:22:03,356
<i>But the BLM wanted to</i>
<i>reduce them down</i>

363
00:22:03,390 --> 00:22:06,359
<i>to as low as 474.</i>

364
00:22:06,393 --> 00:22:07,895
<i>To give you an idea,</i>

365
00:22:07,929 --> 00:22:11,833
<i>that's one horse</i>
<i>per roughly 2,500 acres</i>

366
00:22:11,866 --> 00:22:15,102
<i>or 1,900 football fields.</i>

367
00:22:15,136 --> 00:22:17,939
<i>This is what's called an</i>
<i>Appropriate Management Level,</i>

368
00:22:17,972 --> 00:22:19,941
<i>or AML.</i>

369
00:22:19,974 --> 00:22:22,543
<i>Essentially,</i>
<i>the amount of wild horses</i>

370
00:22:22,577 --> 00:22:26,446
<i>the Bureau of Land Management</i>
<i>states the land can sustain.</i>

371
00:22:26,479 --> 00:22:27,849
<i>But in 2013,</i>

372
00:22:27,882 --> 00:22:30,383
<i>the National Academy</i>
<i>of Sciences,</i>

373
00:22:30,417 --> 00:22:33,588
<i>a group of independent</i>
<i>bipartisan scientists,</i>

374
00:22:33,621 --> 00:22:35,556
<i>stated that the AMLs</i>

375
00:22:35,590 --> 00:22:38,458
<i>were not supported</i>
<i>by scientific information,</i>

376
00:22:38,491 --> 00:22:41,062
<i>but the BLM</i>
<i>is still using them</i>

377
00:22:41,095 --> 00:22:45,933
<i>to round up thousands</i>
<i>of wild horses every year.</i>

378
00:22:45,967 --> 00:22:49,904
<i>Also stating that they're</i>
<i>starving and overpopulated,</i>

379
00:22:49,937 --> 00:22:51,606
<i>a repetitive narrative</i>

380
00:22:51,639 --> 00:22:53,741
<i>that we kept hearing</i>
<i>in the media,</i>

381
00:22:53,774 --> 00:22:55,408
<i>which was also supported</i>

382
00:22:55,442 --> 00:22:56,744
<i>by some of the ranchers</i>
<i>in the area.</i>

383
00:22:56,777 --> 00:22:58,546
It's going to get bumpy.

384
00:22:58,579 --> 00:23:00,648
<i>Now,</i>
<i>if you dig a little deeper,</i>

385
00:23:00,681 --> 00:23:04,118
<i>wild horses shared that land</i>
<i>with livestock,</i>

386
00:23:04,151 --> 00:23:07,788
<i>with up to 7,300</i>
<i>privately owned cattle</i>

387
00:23:07,822 --> 00:23:10,423
<i>and 36,000 sheep,</i>

388
00:23:10,457 --> 00:23:12,492
<i>which are authorized to graze</i>

389
00:23:12,526 --> 00:23:16,664
<i>in the wild horse complex</i>
<i>every year.</i>

390
00:23:16,697 --> 00:23:18,065
<i>Now, you might assume</i>

391
00:23:18,099 --> 00:23:20,433
<i>it's just</i>
<i>mom and pop ranchers,</i>

392
00:23:20,467 --> 00:23:23,470
<i>who get to graze</i>
<i>their livestock</i>
<i>cheaply on public lands,</i>

393
00:23:23,504 --> 00:23:25,640
<i>but they're not.</i>

394
00:23:25,673 --> 00:23:29,810
<i>A large number of them</i>
<i>are millionaires, billionaires,</i>

395
00:23:29,844 --> 00:23:33,514
<i>and billionaire corporations</i>
<i>on Forbes Rich List.</i>

396
00:23:39,854 --> 00:23:41,055
Okay.

397
00:23:46,794 --> 00:23:48,229
Way over there.

398
00:23:48,262 --> 00:23:50,998
We've got
ten minutes to be set up.

399
00:23:51,032 --> 00:23:54,135
We just brought
about 400 pounds of gear.

400
00:23:54,168 --> 00:23:56,604
Oh, God.

401
00:23:56,637 --> 00:23:59,140
Quarter mile.

402
00:23:59,173 --> 00:24:02,076
- They are far away.
- Oh, my God.

403
00:24:02,109 --> 00:24:03,544
Do you think they see us?

404
00:24:03,577 --> 00:24:05,079
- Yeah. We're on.
- Okay.

405
00:24:06,881 --> 00:24:08,816
<i>We were placed</i>
<i>on top of a mountain,</i>

406
00:24:08,849 --> 00:24:12,485
<i>miles away from where</i>
<i>the helicopters began.</i>

407
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:14,789
<i>If we didn't have</i>
<i>a massive zoom lens,</i>

408
00:24:14,822 --> 00:24:18,125
<i>we wouldn't have been able</i>
<i>to see anything.</i>

409
00:24:18,159 --> 00:24:20,227
<i>We also weren't allowed</i>
<i>to put up umbrellas,</i>

410
00:24:20,261 --> 00:24:22,863
<i>even though</i>
<i>the heat was over 100 degrees,</i>

411
00:24:22,897 --> 00:24:25,800
<i>because they said</i>
<i>it would scare the horses.</i>

412
00:24:41,248 --> 00:24:43,250
<i>The horses were run</i>
<i>for miles.</i>

413
00:24:45,152 --> 00:24:46,821
<i>As they got closer,</i>

414
00:24:46,854 --> 00:24:50,157
<i>we saw their coats</i>
<i>glistening with sweat,</i>

415
00:24:50,191 --> 00:24:52,593
<i>and babies</i>
<i>at the point of exhaustion.</i>

416
00:24:54,662 --> 00:24:57,098
<i>The helicopters then drove them</i>
<i>into the trap site,</i>

417
00:24:57,131 --> 00:25:01,102
<i>which was purposefully</i>
<i>blocked from view.</i>

418
00:25:01,135 --> 00:25:03,838
<i>This is often</i>
<i>where the injuries happen.</i>

419
00:25:03,871 --> 00:25:06,907
<i>Where horses break their legs</i>
<i>or their necks,</i>

420
00:25:06,941 --> 00:25:10,044
<i>trying to escape,</i>
<i>or get back to their families.</i>

421
00:25:12,046 --> 00:25:15,716
<i>We wondered where</i>
<i>that many horses would go,</i>

422
00:25:15,750 --> 00:25:18,986
<i>and why the BLM had</i>
<i>a publicist.</i>

423
00:25:19,020 --> 00:25:21,722
Um, so,
that historical part,

424
00:25:21,756 --> 00:25:24,625
you know, obviously, they--
they weren't just here.

425
00:25:24,658 --> 00:25:26,127
Mm-hmm.

426
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:28,963
Something kind of came along
after the Ice Age.

427
00:25:28,996 --> 00:25:30,231
Yeah, right.

428
00:25:30,264 --> 00:25:32,767
To replenish--

429
00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:34,268
You know,
being able to survive

430
00:25:34,301 --> 00:25:36,837
in a natural
ecological balance.

431
00:25:36,871 --> 00:25:39,573
Green as this looks, you know,
they're not gonna eat the sage,

432
00:25:39,607 --> 00:25:41,208
they're not gonna eat--

433
00:25:41,242 --> 00:25:43,044
'cause there's not sufficient
foraged water for them.

434
00:25:43,077 --> 00:25:46,013
<i>It was the same</i>
<i>narrative again.</i>

435
00:25:46,047 --> 00:25:47,648
<i>And with all due respect</i>
<i>to Jenny,</i>

436
00:25:47,681 --> 00:25:49,250
<i>I'm a horse person,</i>

437
00:25:49,283 --> 00:25:51,252
<i>and the horses that we saw</i>
<i>getting rounded up</i>

438
00:25:51,285 --> 00:25:54,088
<i>were fat and healthy.</i>

439
00:25:54,121 --> 00:25:57,291
<i>This was just the beginning</i>
<i>of the string of lies</i>

440
00:25:57,324 --> 00:25:59,026
<i>that would be purported</i>

441
00:25:59,060 --> 00:26:01,362
<i>by Bureau of Land Management</i>
<i>publicists.</i>

442
00:26:01,395 --> 00:26:03,230
<i>But then,</i>
<i>all of a sudden,</i>

443
00:26:03,264 --> 00:26:05,866
<i>they asked us</i>
<i>to swing our camera around</i>

444
00:26:05,900 --> 00:26:08,736
<i>and point it</i>
<i>in the opposite direction.</i>

445
00:26:08,769 --> 00:26:10,371
<i>They said</i>
<i>horses were coming in.</i>

446
00:26:10,404 --> 00:26:12,640
<i>It wasn't true.</i>

447
00:26:12,673 --> 00:26:14,108
<i>Where we were looking,</i>

448
00:26:14,141 --> 00:26:16,210
<i>we noticed</i>
<i>that a foal had collapsed</i>

449
00:26:16,243 --> 00:26:20,314
<i>and a lone Wrangler</i>
<i>was riding out toward it.</i>

450
00:26:20,347 --> 00:26:22,817
<i>What happened next</i>
<i>is heartbreaking to see.</i>

451
00:26:24,718 --> 00:26:26,120
<i>But it's important to show</i>

452
00:26:26,153 --> 00:26:29,323
<i>the blatant disregard</i>
<i>for life,</i>

453
00:26:29,356 --> 00:26:33,828
<i>and the cruelty with which</i>
<i>these horses are treated.</i>

454
00:26:33,861 --> 00:26:35,930
<i>That baby</i>
<i>was maybe a month old.</i>

455
00:26:39,900 --> 00:26:44,004
<i>Five foals died</i>
<i>due to the roundup.</i>

456
00:26:44,038 --> 00:26:45,940
<i>One was reported by the BLM</i>

457
00:26:45,973 --> 00:26:49,110
<i>to have sustained injuries</i>
<i>during transport.</i>

458
00:26:49,143 --> 00:26:52,213
<i>Possibly meaning</i>
<i>the baby was trampled to death</i>

459
00:26:52,246 --> 00:26:54,348
<i>in the trailer.</i>

460
00:26:54,381 --> 00:26:57,818
<i>Another died due to</i>
<i>water toxicity in holding,</i>

461
00:26:57,852 --> 00:27:01,388
<i>which can medically indicate</i>
<i>fatal dehydration</i>

462
00:27:01,422 --> 00:27:05,826
<i>and muscle fatigue</i>
<i>from being run so hard.</i>

463
00:27:05,860 --> 00:27:09,029
<i>The outrage we felt</i>
<i>was indescribable.</i>

464
00:27:09,063 --> 00:27:10,764
And how expansive is that,

465
00:27:10,798 --> 00:27:12,433
that the helicopters
just appear for that long

466
00:27:12,466 --> 00:27:13,901
and then they're racing
these horses...

467
00:27:13,934 --> 00:27:15,369
- Yeah. Yeah.
- ...for miles.

468
00:27:15,402 --> 00:27:18,038
Driving them at a gallop
for miles?

469
00:27:18,072 --> 00:27:20,241
I-- I mentioned the family
dynamics at the Onaqui herd.

470
00:27:20,274 --> 00:27:22,443
And she basically stopped
at me and said...

471
00:27:22,476 --> 00:27:24,278
Yeah,
"A wild animal's a wild animal."

472
00:27:24,311 --> 00:27:25,880
Yeah, they just mate
with each other and--

473
00:27:25,913 --> 00:27:27,748
Some people
are animal lovers,

474
00:27:27,781 --> 00:27:29,350
but they don't respect how
intelligent they actually are.

475
00:27:29,383 --> 00:27:30,885
Yeah. They just can't.

476
00:27:30,918 --> 00:27:32,319
That's just-- that's just--

477
00:27:32,353 --> 00:27:34,455
that's ignorance,
that's willful ignorance.

478
00:27:34,488 --> 00:27:36,924
Look,
how could-- could those trucks

479
00:27:36,957 --> 00:27:41,028
filled with horses,
come all the way here...

480
00:27:41,061 --> 00:27:43,230
- And then come back.
- ...then come back that fast?

481
00:27:43,264 --> 00:27:47,868
That's some conspiracy--
conspiracy shit.

482
00:27:47,902 --> 00:27:49,770
Just keep rolling
the whole time, okay?

483
00:27:49,803 --> 00:27:52,039
Yep. Yep.

484
00:27:52,072 --> 00:27:55,976
They want to feed
and water these horses

485
00:27:56,010 --> 00:28:01,048
and let them settle before
we have a bunch of bodies again.

486
00:28:01,081 --> 00:28:03,817
Yeah.

487
00:28:05,352 --> 00:28:07,188
We do not have that on
horses.

488
00:28:09,823 --> 00:28:11,825
<i>We had to wait</i>
<i>for several hours</i>

489
00:28:11,859 --> 00:28:13,994
<i>before we got to see</i>
<i>the horses up close.</i>

490
00:28:21,869 --> 00:28:23,837
<i>When we were finally allowed</i>
<i>to go in,</i>

491
00:28:23,871 --> 00:28:28,742
<i>we were only allowed to set</i>
<i>the camera down a few times.</i>

492
00:28:28,776 --> 00:28:31,045
<i>A ranger with a gun</i>
<i>had been with us all day,</i>

493
00:28:31,078 --> 00:28:34,882
<i>and several other</i>
<i>BLM employees were armed.</i>

494
00:28:34,915 --> 00:28:37,851
<i>It seemed a little excessive</i>
<i>for a couple of filmmakers</i>

495
00:28:37,885 --> 00:28:41,523
<i>and a handful</i>
<i>of wild horse advocates.</i>

496
00:28:41,556 --> 00:28:43,390
<i>In the short time</i>
<i>that we had,</i>

497
00:28:43,424 --> 00:28:46,961
<i>we managed to capture</i>
<i>some very upsetting images</i>

498
00:28:46,994 --> 00:28:50,030
<i>of the horses of Triple B</i>
<i>who had lost their freedom.</i>

499
00:28:51,966 --> 00:28:53,968
<i>Once they got to holding,</i>

500
00:28:54,001 --> 00:28:56,870
<i>the Bureau of Land Management</i>
<i>euthanized multiple horses,</i>

501
00:28:56,904 --> 00:28:59,873
<i>including those</i>
<i>they deemed blind,</i>

502
00:28:59,907 --> 00:29:03,410
<i>even though they had survived</i>
<i>just fine in the wild.</i>

503
00:29:03,444 --> 00:29:06,847
<i>Euthanasia in this situation</i>
<i>usually isn't done</i>

504
00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:09,984
<i>with a humane injection.</i>

505
00:29:10,017 --> 00:29:13,821
<i>That's one of the reasons</i>
<i>the employees carry guns.</i>

506
00:29:13,854 --> 00:29:17,891
<i>They often shoot the horses</i>
<i>to put them down at holding.</i>

507
00:29:17,925 --> 00:29:20,461
<i>And we wondered</i>
<i>if this was one of the reasons</i>

508
00:29:20,494 --> 00:29:25,466
<i>we had to wait several hours</i>
<i>before we got to see them.</i>

509
00:29:25,499 --> 00:29:31,372
<i>Sixteen horses lost their lives</i>
<i>in the roundup of Triple B.</i>

510
00:29:31,405 --> 00:29:34,842
<i>Very few would ever see</i>
<i>their families again.</i>

511
00:29:37,344 --> 00:29:39,346
<i>It was heartbreaking to think</i>

512
00:29:39,380 --> 00:29:42,249
<i>that this was going to happen</i>
<i>to our beloved Onaqui herd,</i>

513
00:29:42,283 --> 00:29:46,854
<i>and that their families</i>
<i>would suffer the same fate.</i>

514
00:29:46,887 --> 00:29:51,191
<i>It also started to make us</i>
<i>ask deeper questions.</i>

515
00:29:51,225 --> 00:29:53,961
<i>Who are we to look down</i>
<i>on animals</i>

516
00:29:53,994 --> 00:29:57,031
<i>like they're lesser</i>
<i>or secondary?</i>

517
00:29:57,064 --> 00:29:58,832
<i>After all,</i>

518
00:29:58,866 --> 00:30:01,302
<i>humans are social animals,</i>
<i>just like horses.</i>

519
00:30:01,335 --> 00:30:03,137
<i>And there are plenty</i>

520
00:30:03,170 --> 00:30:06,974
<i>of other indisputable</i>
<i>similarities between us.</i>

521
00:30:07,007 --> 00:30:11,078
<i>To say wild horses don't have</i>
<i>feelings or families</i>

522
00:30:11,111 --> 00:30:15,115
<i>seemed like a form</i>
<i>of human exceptionalism,</i>

523
00:30:15,149 --> 00:30:18,319
<i>self-delusion, arrogance,</i>

524
00:30:18,352 --> 00:30:21,288
<i>especially given</i>
<i>we're the only species</i>

525
00:30:21,322 --> 00:30:24,425
<i>willfully destroying</i>
<i>our own planet.</i>

526
00:30:24,458 --> 00:30:28,862
<i>So, perhaps, that makes</i>
<i>animals superior to us.</i>

527
00:30:28,896 --> 00:30:31,131
<i>In rare places</i>
<i>in the United States</i>

528
00:30:31,165 --> 00:30:32,900
<i>that actually maintain</i>

529
00:30:32,933 --> 00:30:35,570
<i>a thriving,</i>
<i>natural ecological balance,</i>

530
00:30:35,603 --> 00:30:38,939
<i>such as Yellowstone,</i>
<i>or Glacier National Park,</i>

531
00:30:38,972 --> 00:30:42,510
<i>the animals</i>
<i>and habitat flourish.</i>

532
00:30:42,544 --> 00:30:44,278
<i>These are places</i>
<i>where predators,</i>

533
00:30:44,311 --> 00:30:46,347
<i>like wolves</i>
<i>and mountain lions,</i>

534
00:30:46,380 --> 00:30:49,450
<i>aren't killed</i>
<i>to make way for livestock.</i>

535
00:30:49,483 --> 00:30:54,288
<i>But balanced places like this</i>
<i>are few and fast-disappearing,</i>

536
00:30:54,321 --> 00:30:56,591
<i>just like wild horses.</i>

537
00:30:56,624 --> 00:31:00,494
<i>If we want to have a chance</i>
<i>at living in harmony,</i>

538
00:31:00,528 --> 00:31:05,199
<i>doesn't that mean protecting</i>
<i>and re-wilding our world</i>

539
00:31:05,232 --> 00:31:07,901
<i>instead of destroying it?</i>

540
00:31:07,935 --> 00:31:12,272
<i>All of these larger questions</i>
<i>started with the Onaqui.</i>

541
00:31:12,306 --> 00:31:14,241
<i>The protection of this herd</i>

542
00:31:14,274 --> 00:31:17,277
<i>began to represent</i>
<i>something greater.</i>

543
00:31:17,311 --> 00:31:19,681
<i>We decided to ask</i>
<i>for support.</i>

544
00:31:19,714 --> 00:31:21,583
<i>From not only the community</i>

545
00:31:21,616 --> 00:31:23,083
<i>fighting hard to protect them,</i>

546
00:31:23,117 --> 00:31:25,085
<i>but from children.</i>

547
00:31:25,119 --> 00:31:28,055
<i>And something</i>
<i>miraculous happened.</i>

548
00:31:28,088 --> 00:31:31,593
<i>We began receiving</i>
<i>thousands of letters</i>

549
00:31:31,626 --> 00:31:34,261
<i>from people all over the world,</i>

550
00:31:34,294 --> 00:31:39,166
<i>who joined us</i>
<i>in standing with wild horses.</i>

551
00:31:39,199 --> 00:31:42,537
<i>Perhaps there is hope</i>
<i>for the Onaqui yet.</i>

552
00:35:24,626 --> 00:35:27,695
<i>Our journey took us</i>
<i>over 20,000 miles</i>

553
00:35:27,729 --> 00:35:32,800
<i>across 13 different states</i>
<i>and diverse landscapes.</i>

554
00:35:32,834 --> 00:35:36,804
<i>The Red Desert turned</i>
<i>into lush forest.</i>

555
00:35:36,838 --> 00:35:39,674
<i>And there were a few places</i>
<i>that struck us most of all.</i>

556
00:35:43,811 --> 00:35:45,580
<i>They were the horses of Heber,</i>

557
00:35:45,613 --> 00:35:47,849
<i>living in the Sitgreaves</i>
<i>National Forest.</i>

558
00:35:50,217 --> 00:35:51,719
<i>And in the woodlands</i>
<i>of Oregon,</i>

559
00:35:51,753 --> 00:35:54,354
<i>these horses</i>
<i>had rare bloodlines</i>

560
00:35:54,388 --> 00:35:56,490
<i>thought to have died out</i>
<i>many years ago,</i>

561
00:35:56,524 --> 00:35:58,660
<i>until the Kiger were found.</i>

562
00:36:01,696 --> 00:36:03,430
<i>We also wanted to speak</i>
<i>with ranchers</i>

563
00:36:03,463 --> 00:36:05,298
<i>to get their side</i>
<i>of the story.</i>

564
00:36:05,332 --> 00:36:08,870
<i>Surely not every rancher</i>
<i>wanted wild horses gone.</i>

565
00:36:08,903 --> 00:36:12,272
I'm Stacey Davies, Manager
of Roaring Springs Ranches

566
00:36:12,305 --> 00:36:13,908
in French Glen, Oregon.

567
00:36:13,941 --> 00:36:16,944
We have, on those ranches,
three Herd Management Areas,

568
00:36:16,978 --> 00:36:20,548
South Steens, Beatys Butte,
and the Kigers.

569
00:36:20,581 --> 00:36:22,750
I am Kathy Gibson Boatman.

570
00:36:22,784 --> 00:36:24,819
I was born here
in Arizona.

571
00:36:24,852 --> 00:36:27,421
Um, I'm an eighth--
seventh generation

572
00:36:27,454 --> 00:36:29,757
involved in cattle ranching
in Arizona.

573
00:36:29,791 --> 00:36:31,491
I love horses.

574
00:36:31,526 --> 00:36:33,761
I-- I mean, I'm a rancher
because I love horses.

575
00:36:33,795 --> 00:36:35,997
And the wild horses
are such an icon.

576
00:36:36,030 --> 00:36:37,699
They keep the trails open,

577
00:36:37,732 --> 00:36:40,601
they utilize foraging areas
the cows won't go.

578
00:36:40,635 --> 00:36:43,336
And we feel like they're part
of the multiple use

579
00:36:43,370 --> 00:36:44,739
that should happen
on that range land.

580
00:36:44,772 --> 00:36:46,841
The government gave homesteads,

581
00:36:46,874 --> 00:36:49,276
encouraging people
to come and settle

582
00:36:49,309 --> 00:36:50,978
the wild western frontier

583
00:36:51,012 --> 00:36:53,915
because it was a wild,
wild western place,

584
00:36:53,948 --> 00:36:56,751
you know,
still had Indians doing battle,

585
00:36:56,784 --> 00:37:00,955
and the Historic Preservation
Act of 1966 requires

586
00:37:00,988 --> 00:37:04,525
that they consider
how their decisions impact

587
00:37:04,559 --> 00:37:08,596
our historic resources
and our cultural traditions.

588
00:37:08,629 --> 00:37:11,933
The Kiger HMA would be
somewhere around 30,000 acres.

589
00:37:11,966 --> 00:37:14,869
They generally keep it
right around 100 head of horses.

590
00:37:14,902 --> 00:37:16,637
How-- how do you count
every single horse

591
00:37:16,671 --> 00:37:18,371
on a single given day?

592
00:37:18,405 --> 00:37:21,676
I've heard there's anywhere
from 1,000 to 2,500.

593
00:37:21,709 --> 00:37:25,546
It all depends on what area
you're counting those horses in.

594
00:37:26,614 --> 00:37:29,282
7,000 that they know of.

595
00:37:29,316 --> 00:37:30,785
When they set these herds up,

596
00:37:30,818 --> 00:37:34,856
it was recognized
that any one herd below 300

597
00:37:34,889 --> 00:37:37,390
would not mean
enough genetic diversity

598
00:37:37,424 --> 00:37:39,326
to maintain
a healthy population.

599
00:37:39,359 --> 00:37:40,862
There was a big argument

600
00:37:40,895 --> 00:37:44,364
that we should not have herds
of less than 300.

601
00:37:44,397 --> 00:37:46,834
So, people,
especially advocates,

602
00:37:46,868 --> 00:37:50,037
are currently asking
for a look at AML.

603
00:37:50,071 --> 00:37:53,373
And that many of these
AMLs are too low,

604
00:37:53,406 --> 00:37:56,409
and that too much forage
was allocated to livestock

605
00:37:56,443 --> 00:37:57,678
and not enough to horses.

606
00:37:57,712 --> 00:37:59,046
And-- and I'm asking

607
00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:01,481
rather than have
that s-- small debate,

608
00:38:01,516 --> 00:38:04,519
that we have
a much bigger national debate.

609
00:38:04,552 --> 00:38:07,688
Let's look at the whole program
at the top and come down,

610
00:38:07,722 --> 00:38:11,592
and how many horses is enough
for the US government to own?

611
00:38:11,626 --> 00:38:15,096
I think it's wrong to-- to say
that every one of these HMAs

612
00:38:15,129 --> 00:38:17,330
should have
300 to 500 head,

613
00:38:17,364 --> 00:38:19,767
so you have enough
genetic diversity,

614
00:38:19,801 --> 00:38:21,434
because I don't think
the BLM needs

615
00:38:21,468 --> 00:38:23,905
200,000 horses
on the range.

616
00:38:23,938 --> 00:38:26,439
I think 20,000's
probably enough.

617
00:38:26,473 --> 00:38:27,909
And that wasn't really
the intention

618
00:38:27,942 --> 00:38:29,911
of the Wild Horse
and Burro Act.

619
00:38:29,944 --> 00:38:34,347
The intention of the Horse--
the Wild Horse and Burro Act

620
00:38:34,381 --> 00:38:36,416
was not to just set up
some creatures

621
00:38:36,449 --> 00:38:38,820
as though they were unicorns
for people to look at,

622
00:38:38,853 --> 00:38:40,588
who just magically appeared.

623
00:38:40,621 --> 00:38:42,623
There was just
an overpopulation.

624
00:38:42,657 --> 00:38:45,526
Therein lies the horse herd
that we are dealing with now.

625
00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:47,061
Ha-- have they tested
them genetically

626
00:38:47,094 --> 00:38:49,496
to show their lineage?

627
00:38:49,530 --> 00:38:51,966
There's talk of that,
but they say it's not--

628
00:38:51,999 --> 00:38:55,102
not feasible, not viable,
not a viable option.

629
00:38:55,136 --> 00:38:57,104
Congress has allocated
every dollar

630
00:38:57,138 --> 00:38:58,873
for the Wild Horse
and Burro program

631
00:38:58,906 --> 00:39:01,042
that BLM's ever asked for.

632
00:39:01,075 --> 00:39:03,110
So, you--
if you ask BLM that question,

633
00:39:03,144 --> 00:39:05,478
they'll say,
"We don't have enough money."

634
00:39:05,513 --> 00:39:08,749
BLM is not creative.

635
00:39:08,783 --> 00:39:11,418
They are bureaucratic,

636
00:39:11,451 --> 00:39:13,521
they don't think
outside the box,

637
00:39:13,554 --> 00:39:16,924
they are not innovative,
and I think they should be.

638
00:39:16,958 --> 00:39:19,961
The ranchers
are part of the solution.

639
00:39:19,994 --> 00:39:22,597
All of the good ground
is private land,

640
00:39:22,630 --> 00:39:24,532
all intermingled
with public land.

641
00:39:24,565 --> 00:39:27,101
So, if you take my public
grazing permit away from me

642
00:39:27,134 --> 00:39:29,036
and I fence off
my private land,

643
00:39:29,070 --> 00:39:31,672
I screw up
the HMA completely,

644
00:39:31,706 --> 00:39:33,473
'cause those horses
can no longer move

645
00:39:33,507 --> 00:39:36,177
throughout 40 acres
with a reservoir in the middle.

646
00:39:36,210 --> 00:39:38,980
We fence off the 40,
the horses die.

647
00:39:39,013 --> 00:39:40,781
So, what do we own?

648
00:39:40,815 --> 00:39:42,717
We own all the water.

649
00:39:42,750 --> 00:39:46,419
So, there's an interdependence
between public and private land.

650
00:39:46,453 --> 00:39:49,056
I hope that we can have
continued discussions

651
00:39:49,090 --> 00:39:52,193
about what wild horse-friendly
ranching looks like

652
00:39:52,226 --> 00:39:54,494
and it can include the BLM.

653
00:39:54,528 --> 00:39:56,797
We can have
that programmatic review.

654
00:39:56,831 --> 00:39:58,933
And if Congress really
wants to work on this issue,

655
00:39:58,966 --> 00:40:00,500
that's what they would do.

656
00:40:00,534 --> 00:40:01,936
<i>To date,</i>

657
00:40:01,969 --> 00:40:03,537
<i>there have been</i>
<i>no legal roundups</i>

658
00:40:03,571 --> 00:40:05,840
<i>of the Heber horses.</i>

659
00:40:05,873 --> 00:40:09,442
<i>Though the Forest Service</i>
<i>is currently pushing for one.</i>

660
00:40:09,476 --> 00:40:11,946
<i>However,</i>
<i>in the '80s and '90s,</i>

661
00:40:11,979 --> 00:40:14,882
<i>the Forest Service</i>
<i>colluded with ranchers</i>

662
00:40:14,916 --> 00:40:17,151
<i>to round up</i>
<i>dozens of Heber horses</i>

663
00:40:17,184 --> 00:40:20,888
<i>and sell them at auction.</i>

664
00:40:20,922 --> 00:40:24,792
<i>These places can often lead</i>
<i>to the slaughter pipeline.</i>

665
00:40:26,493 --> 00:40:28,029
Death is an interesting topic.

666
00:40:28,062 --> 00:40:32,199
So, humans, and especially
North American humans,

667
00:40:32,233 --> 00:40:34,635
don't deal with death
very well.

668
00:40:34,669 --> 00:40:36,871
To me, there's just
this total disconnect

669
00:40:36,904 --> 00:40:40,141
between what's humane
and not humane.

670
00:40:40,174 --> 00:40:42,643
Now, is the trader right
inhumane,

671
00:40:42,677 --> 00:40:44,477
or are they handled poorly
in the corral?

672
00:40:44,512 --> 00:40:46,080
We can have
a discussion around that.

673
00:40:46,113 --> 00:40:47,949
But the actual death?

674
00:40:47,982 --> 00:40:49,984
There's no better way
than to go with a stun gun.

675
00:40:51,085 --> 00:40:52,853
Done.

676
00:40:52,887 --> 00:40:54,889
But in Mexico,
some of those deaths

677
00:40:54,922 --> 00:40:56,824
in those slaughter plants
are just-- I--

678
00:40:56,857 --> 00:40:58,993
So, let's do it in the US,
where we can control it.

679
00:41:00,094 --> 00:41:02,129
Horse meat's great meat.

680
00:41:02,163 --> 00:41:04,832
There was great uses
for it before.

681
00:41:04,865 --> 00:41:06,600
So, let's do it
in the US,

682
00:41:06,634 --> 00:41:08,202
where we can control
the manner in which it's done.

683
00:41:08,235 --> 00:41:10,905
We can have humane
handling of the animals,

684
00:41:10,938 --> 00:41:12,673
right up until their death.

685
00:41:12,707 --> 00:41:14,175
Far more humane

686
00:41:14,208 --> 00:41:15,576
than what they're going through
on the range.

687
00:41:15,609 --> 00:41:17,244
I've had people tell me,

688
00:41:17,278 --> 00:41:18,713
"Well, the ranchers should get
their own private land,

689
00:41:18,746 --> 00:41:19,880
or go back to--
go to Texas."

690
00:41:19,914 --> 00:41:21,649
Well, I've been to Texas,

691
00:41:21,682 --> 00:41:24,051
and they're selling off
private ranches there.

692
00:41:24,085 --> 00:41:27,788
And they're selling them
to be game preserves, you know?

693
00:41:27,822 --> 00:41:29,156
I don't know
how you feel about it,

694
00:41:29,190 --> 00:41:31,926
but I don't really
want to eat zebra.

695
00:41:35,763 --> 00:41:37,631
<i>By this stage,</i>

696
00:41:37,665 --> 00:41:40,301
<i>we had gotten familiar</i>
<i>with the slaughter pipeline.</i>

697
00:41:40,334 --> 00:41:42,136
<i>And we had gotten to know</i>
<i>some of the players</i>

698
00:41:42,169 --> 00:41:44,872
<i>that run kill pens.</i>

699
00:41:44,905 --> 00:41:48,175
<i>Basically feedlots</i>
<i>or auctions,</i>

700
00:41:48,209 --> 00:41:51,579
<i>where kill buyers</i>
<i>purchase horses and burros</i>

701
00:41:51,612 --> 00:41:53,080
<i>to send to slaughter.</i>

702
00:41:54,615 --> 00:41:56,083
<i>In the United States,</i>

703
00:41:56,117 --> 00:41:58,085
<i>slaughtering horses</i>
<i>to sell their meat</i>

704
00:41:58,119 --> 00:42:01,622
<i>for human consumption</i>
<i>is not legal.</i>

705
00:42:01,655 --> 00:42:03,958
<i>However, it's not illegal</i>

706
00:42:03,991 --> 00:42:08,162
<i>to send them across the border</i>
<i>to Canada and Mexico.</i>

707
00:42:08,195 --> 00:42:12,800
<i>We wanted to get down to Texas</i>
<i>to take a look for ourselves.</i>

708
00:42:12,833 --> 00:42:15,136
<i>Of course, we couldn't bring</i>
<i>regular film cameras</i>

709
00:42:15,169 --> 00:42:19,807
<i>into places like these,</i>
<i>so we had to be covert.</i>

710
00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:22,276
- Which button is it?
- Top one.

711
00:42:22,309 --> 00:42:23,878
Oh, my God,
that is a freaking--

712
00:42:23,911 --> 00:42:25,713
- Yup.
- That's--

713
00:42:25,746 --> 00:42:27,181
Do you see
the screen here, though?

714
00:42:27,214 --> 00:42:28,716
Where?

715
00:42:28,749 --> 00:42:29,917
Right here in my hand?

716
00:42:29,950 --> 00:42:32,219
I can't move it too far.

717
00:42:32,253 --> 00:42:33,721
<i>My husband, Ed,</i>
<i>was in the middle</i>

718
00:42:33,754 --> 00:42:35,356
<i>of producing</i>
<i>another movie,</i>

719
00:42:35,389 --> 00:42:37,925
<i>so my dad joined</i>
<i>my brother and I on this trip</i>

720
00:42:37,958 --> 00:42:40,995
<i>for an added</i>
<i>layer of protection.</i>

721
00:42:41,028 --> 00:42:42,663
I was just
thinking of buying a horse.

722
00:42:43,364 --> 00:42:44,799
All right.

723
00:42:44,832 --> 00:42:46,067
<i>It was nerve-wracking,</i>

724
00:42:46,100 --> 00:42:48,002
<i>going into a place like this.</i>

725
00:42:48,035 --> 00:42:51,172
<i>My little camera</i>
<i>wasn't as covert as we thought,</i>

726
00:42:51,205 --> 00:42:54,975
<i>but Richard's button cam,</i>
<i>which we sewed into his shirt,</i>

727
00:42:55,009 --> 00:42:57,078
<i>was nearly undetectable.</i>

728
00:42:57,111 --> 00:42:58,946
<i>So, most of our footage</i>
<i>lives here.</i>

729
00:43:01,415 --> 00:43:02,950
Man, busy day.

730
00:43:13,360 --> 00:43:16,163
Rick.
They've got a zebra in here.

731
00:43:16,197 --> 00:43:17,798
It's a baby.

732
00:43:25,873 --> 00:43:27,108
Excuse me, sir.

733
00:43:27,141 --> 00:43:28,843
Where are the wild horses?

734
00:43:28,876 --> 00:43:30,111
They're over the hill.

735
00:43:30,144 --> 00:43:32,279
Oh, got you.

736
00:43:32,313 --> 00:43:35,249
There are probably 30, 40...

737
00:43:35,282 --> 00:43:37,284
Oh, my gosh.

738
00:43:37,318 --> 00:43:39,286
What are those?

739
00:43:39,320 --> 00:43:41,722
It's like a zebra
and a horse combined.

740
00:43:50,731 --> 00:43:53,134
Oh, my God.

741
00:43:53,167 --> 00:43:55,202
You can tell
they got the same blue eye.

742
00:43:55,236 --> 00:43:57,271
Yeah.

743
00:43:57,304 --> 00:43:58,739
You see her down there?

744
00:44:00,708 --> 00:44:02,376
<i>On our very first day,</i>

745
00:44:02,409 --> 00:44:05,346
<i>we got a glimpse into</i>
<i>the auction world of Texas.</i>

746
00:44:05,379 --> 00:44:08,682
<i>But the loose horses</i>
<i>that my dad was asking about,</i>

747
00:44:08,716 --> 00:44:10,151
<i>the wild horses,</i>

748
00:44:10,184 --> 00:44:13,120
<i>had already left</i>
<i>early in the morning.</i>

749
00:44:13,154 --> 00:44:16,323
<i>We'd be there</i>
<i>the next day to see them.</i>

750
00:44:16,357 --> 00:44:19,660
<i>This was part of the auction</i>
<i>not on the schedule.</i>

751
00:44:26,800 --> 00:44:29,937
I want to go
one or two more down.

752
00:44:29,970 --> 00:44:31,772
- Yeah.
- Down here?

753
00:44:31,805 --> 00:44:33,807
Yeah, let's get
a little closer, maybe.

754
00:44:33,841 --> 00:44:36,744
- We got good seats.
- Yeah.

755
00:44:45,520 --> 00:44:47,888
So, 2,550 down here?

756
00:45:17,184 --> 00:45:19,853
<i>It was all we could do</i>
<i>to keep from crying out.</i>

757
00:45:21,889 --> 00:45:23,991
<i>Especially when the mothers</i>

758
00:45:24,024 --> 00:45:28,028
<i>and their terrified babies</i>
<i>came through.</i>

759
00:45:28,062 --> 00:45:30,064
<i>I was also nervous</i>
<i>when I recognized</i>

760
00:45:30,097 --> 00:45:32,366
<i>a known kill buyer</i>
<i>in the audience.</i>

761
00:45:32,399 --> 00:45:34,868
<i>Thankfully, he didn't know</i>
<i>what I looked like.</i>

762
00:45:38,038 --> 00:45:41,175
<i>We were told that if the horses</i>
<i>were bought in big numbers,</i>

763
00:45:41,208 --> 00:45:44,044
<i>they were probably</i>
<i>being shipped</i>
<i>to slaughter in Mexico.</i>

764
00:45:44,078 --> 00:45:46,313
Where'd they--
Where'd they capture all those?

765
00:45:46,347 --> 00:45:48,782
- In the-- out in the range?
- Yeah.

766
00:45:48,816 --> 00:45:50,217
<i>We were also curious</i>

767
00:45:50,251 --> 00:45:52,554
<i>where the zebra</i>
<i>was from earlier.</i>

768
00:45:52,587 --> 00:45:55,089
I think that's him
in the red, in the-- yeah.

769
00:45:58,425 --> 00:46:03,797
<i>It was surreal seeing</i>
<i>zebras in a place like this.</i>

770
00:46:03,831 --> 00:46:06,333
<i>We couldn't imagine</i>
<i>where they might end up next.</i>

771
00:46:07,434 --> 00:46:09,270
<i>Especially given</i>

772
00:46:09,303 --> 00:46:12,806
<i>there are no limits on</i>
<i>exotic animal hunting in Texas.</i>

773
00:46:14,308 --> 00:46:16,511
<i>We also noticed</i>
<i>on social media,</i>

774
00:46:16,544 --> 00:46:20,114
<i>almost immediately after</i>
<i>the donkeys were purchased,</i>

775
00:46:20,147 --> 00:46:23,017
<i>they popped up</i>
<i>on a kill pen website...</i>

776
00:46:23,050 --> 00:46:25,419
<i>listed for sale</i>
<i>or slaughter.</i>

777
00:46:27,589 --> 00:46:30,424
<i>We ended up speaking to someone</i>
<i>in the know at the auction,</i>

778
00:46:30,457 --> 00:46:32,192
<i>who offered</i>
<i>to do an interview.</i>

779
00:46:32,226 --> 00:46:33,327
<i>If it's in somebody's budget,</i>

780
00:46:33,360 --> 00:46:34,962
<i>they go across the border,</i>

781
00:46:34,995 --> 00:46:36,463
<i>and once</i>
<i>they go across the border,</i>

782
00:46:36,497 --> 00:46:38,465
<i>they more than likely</i>
<i>don't come back.</i>

783
00:46:38,499 --> 00:46:40,301
<i>But when our camera showed up,</i>

784
00:46:40,334 --> 00:46:43,103
<i>he disappeared and stopped</i>
<i>responding to calls,</i>

785
00:46:43,137 --> 00:46:45,573
<i>text messages,</i>
<i>and voicemails.</i>

786
00:46:45,607 --> 00:46:47,941
<i>He did do a brief call</i>
<i>with me on the phone.</i>

787
00:46:47,975 --> 00:46:49,310
We were here
earlier this morning,

788
00:46:49,343 --> 00:46:50,844
and with the little donkeys

789
00:46:50,878 --> 00:46:52,980
and with some
of those wild horses,

790
00:46:53,013 --> 00:46:55,416
we did notice certain numbers
were bidding on a lot of them.

791
00:46:55,449 --> 00:46:58,452
Are they bidding on them
to send them down to Mexico?

792
00:46:58,485 --> 00:47:00,087
<i>Oh, more than likely.</i>

793
00:47:00,120 --> 00:47:01,623
<i>If you-- if you--</i>
<i>if you're there</i>

794
00:47:01,656 --> 00:47:03,123
<i>and you're paying attention</i>
<i>in the ring</i>

795
00:47:03,157 --> 00:47:04,626
<i>and the number of buyers,</i>

796
00:47:04,659 --> 00:47:08,062
<i>if there's a guy there</i>
<i>that buys over,</i>

797
00:47:08,095 --> 00:47:10,931
<i>you know, ten head,</i>
<i>he's buying for the killers,</i>

798
00:47:10,964 --> 00:47:12,866
<i>is what they--</i>
<i>they call them the killers--</i>

799
00:47:12,900 --> 00:47:14,134
<i>or sometimes</i>
<i>they're not killers,</i>

800
00:47:14,168 --> 00:47:15,469
<i>but he's buying for Mexico.</i>

801
00:47:15,502 --> 00:47:17,639
<i>Like, 90% of those donkeys,</i>

802
00:47:17,672 --> 00:47:19,273
<i>they probably all got bought,</i>

803
00:47:19,306 --> 00:47:20,575
<i>and they'll probably</i>
<i>go to Mexico</i>

804
00:47:20,608 --> 00:47:22,309
<i>and then on the horse side,</i>

805
00:47:22,343 --> 00:47:24,478
<i>yes, if you pay attention to it</i>
<i>and you listen</i>

806
00:47:24,512 --> 00:47:27,114
<i>and you see one number</i>
<i>and he's buying,</i>

807
00:47:27,147 --> 00:47:29,016
<i>you know, over ten horses</i>

808
00:47:29,049 --> 00:47:32,119
<i>and he's not paying</i>
<i>over $1,000 a piece for them,</i>

809
00:47:32,152 --> 00:47:35,155
<i>then, yes, ma'am, he's--</i>
<i>he's putting together a load</i>

810
00:47:35,189 --> 00:47:36,990
<i>and he's gonna send them</i>
<i>to Mexico.</i>

811
00:47:37,024 --> 00:47:38,892
<i>They'll send</i>
<i>anything down there.</i>

812
00:47:38,926 --> 00:47:40,595
<i>It's-- Whatever</i>
<i>doesn't get bought,</i>

813
00:47:40,628 --> 00:47:43,130
<i>a killer buyer will buy,</i>
<i>no matter how junky it is.</i>

814
00:47:43,163 --> 00:47:45,065
<i>If it comes in there</i>
<i>with a broke leg,</i>

815
00:47:45,099 --> 00:47:46,668
<i>it doesn't matter.</i>

816
00:47:46,701 --> 00:47:48,570
<i>They'll give a price for it</i>
<i>and it'll sell.</i>

817
00:48:00,715 --> 00:48:03,016
<i>There were low parts</i>
<i>in our journey,</i>

818
00:48:03,050 --> 00:48:06,353
<i>but this was definitely</i>
<i>one of them.</i>

819
00:48:06,387 --> 00:48:08,690
<i>Thousands of wild horses</i>
<i>and burros</i>

820
00:48:08,723 --> 00:48:11,526
<i>had ended up</i>
<i>in the slaughter pipeline.</i>

821
00:48:11,559 --> 00:48:13,927
<i>And as the</i> New York Times
<i>exposed,</i>

822
00:48:13,961 --> 00:48:18,432
<i>the Bureau of Land Management's</i>
<i>own adoption incentive program</i>

823
00:48:18,465 --> 00:48:22,436
<i>had led to duplicitous people</i>
<i>making thousands of dollars</i>

824
00:48:22,469 --> 00:48:24,606
<i>by adopting</i>
<i>wild horses and burros</i>

825
00:48:24,639 --> 00:48:27,074
<i>and then flipping them</i>
<i>at auctions,</i>

826
00:48:27,107 --> 00:48:28,510
<i>like the one</i>
<i>we were just at.</i>

827
00:48:31,579 --> 00:48:33,213
<i>The BLM's budget</i>

828
00:48:33,247 --> 00:48:34,716
<i>for the Wild Horse</i>
<i>and Burro program</i>

829
00:48:34,749 --> 00:48:36,584
<i>in 2021 alone,</i>

830
00:48:36,618 --> 00:48:40,622
<i>was over</i>
<i>115 million dollars.</i>

831
00:48:40,655 --> 00:48:44,191
<i>Where was all of that</i>
<i>being spent?</i>

832
00:48:44,224 --> 00:48:46,960
<i>When we looked,</i>
<i>we saw that more</i>
<i>than half of it</i>

833
00:48:46,994 --> 00:48:51,198
<i>was being spent on long-term</i>
<i>and short-term holding.</i>

834
00:48:51,231 --> 00:48:54,268
<i>Basically incarcerating</i>
<i>wild horses</i>

835
00:48:54,301 --> 00:48:58,238
<i>for the rest of their lives</i>
<i>at taxpayers' expense.</i>

836
00:48:58,272 --> 00:49:03,511
<i>We'd visited these facilities</i>
<i>and it was awful.</i>

837
00:49:03,545 --> 00:49:08,015
<i>The wild horses</i>
<i>were branded like cattle.</i>

838
00:49:08,048 --> 00:49:11,619
<i>Tags were strapped</i>
<i>tightly around their necks.</i>

839
00:49:11,653 --> 00:49:13,387
<i>Some were even spray painted.</i>

840
00:49:17,191 --> 00:49:19,226
<i>And worst of all,</i>

841
00:49:19,259 --> 00:49:21,495
<i>they were separated</i>
<i>from their families.</i>

842
00:49:25,399 --> 00:49:28,402
<i>You could just see</i>
<i>the betrayal in their eyes.</i>

843
00:49:30,471 --> 00:49:33,440
<i>Especially when they looked out</i>
<i>beyond the bars,</i>

844
00:49:33,474 --> 00:49:34,709
<i>toward the mountains.</i>

845
00:49:38,212 --> 00:49:41,448
<i>Many of these places</i>
<i>don't have shade...</i>

846
00:49:41,482 --> 00:49:44,351
<i>or any shelter</i>
<i>from the elements.</i>

847
00:49:46,286 --> 00:49:50,457
<i>All they can do is wait</i>
<i>and comfort each other.</i>

848
00:50:03,270 --> 00:50:05,707
<i>Unsurprisingly,</i>
<i>as it turned out...</i>

849
00:50:07,474 --> 00:50:09,611
<i>millions of dollars</i>
<i>were being spent</i>

850
00:50:09,644 --> 00:50:14,248
<i>on contracts</i>
<i>for helicopter roundups...</i>

851
00:50:14,281 --> 00:50:16,116
<i>and for livestock ranchers</i>

852
00:50:16,149 --> 00:50:19,621
<i>to use their pastures</i>
<i>to warehouse wild horses.</i>

853
00:50:21,523 --> 00:50:23,725
<i>Several of these contractors</i>

854
00:50:23,758 --> 00:50:26,493
<i>such as Cattoor</i>
<i>Livestock Roundup Inc.,</i>

855
00:50:26,528 --> 00:50:28,763
<i>better known</i>
<i>as the Cattoor family,</i>

856
00:50:28,796 --> 00:50:32,567
<i>were among the BLM's</i>
<i>contractors of choice...</i>

857
00:50:32,600 --> 00:50:38,205
<i>along with Shane F. Sampson</i>
<i>and Sun J Livestock.</i>

858
00:50:38,238 --> 00:50:41,676
<i>Sampson had earned</i>
<i>over four million dollars.</i>

859
00:50:44,111 --> 00:50:48,783
<i>Sun J Livestock</i>
<i>had been awarded</i>
<i>approximately ten million.</i>

860
00:50:48,816 --> 00:50:53,220
<i>And the Cattoors had earned</i>
<i>over 30 million dollars</i>

861
00:50:53,253 --> 00:50:56,156
<i>in contracts from</i>
<i>the United States Government.</i>

862
00:50:58,258 --> 00:51:00,762
<i>Let's reiterate</i>
<i>that these are contractors,</i>

863
00:51:00,795 --> 00:51:03,865
<i>awarded millions</i>
<i>by the American Government,</i>

864
00:51:03,898 --> 00:51:08,502
<i>funded by our tax dollars,</i>
<i>to round up wild horses</i>

865
00:51:08,536 --> 00:51:12,472
<i>which are supposed to be</i>
<i>federally protected.</i>

866
00:51:12,507 --> 00:51:17,210
<i>But shockingly, in 1992,</i>
<i>along with several others,</i>

867
00:51:17,244 --> 00:51:20,715
<i>Dave Cattoor was convicted</i>
<i>and pled guilty</i>

868
00:51:20,748 --> 00:51:23,417
<i>to breaking a federal law.</i>

869
00:51:23,450 --> 00:51:27,889
<i>For conspiring to use</i>
<i>his aircraft to</i>
<i>hunt wild horses</i>

870
00:51:27,922 --> 00:51:30,223
<i>for the purposes</i>
<i>of capturing them,</i>

871
00:51:30,257 --> 00:51:33,828
<i>killing them</i>
<i>and sending them to slaughter.</i>

872
00:51:33,861 --> 00:51:37,565
<i>He was only fined $500.</i>

873
00:51:37,599 --> 00:51:40,133
<i>And the BLM continues to hire</i>

874
00:51:40,167 --> 00:51:42,637
<i>Cattoor Livestock Roundup Inc.</i>

875
00:51:45,238 --> 00:51:46,808
My name is Scott Beckstead.

876
00:51:46,841 --> 00:51:49,242
I'm Director of Campaigns
for Animal Wellness Action

877
00:51:49,276 --> 00:51:51,178
and the Center
for a Humane Economy.

878
00:51:51,211 --> 00:51:53,213
And I'm also
an adjunct professor of law

879
00:51:53,246 --> 00:51:55,182
at Willamette University.

880
00:51:55,215 --> 00:51:56,718
There has been a push,

881
00:51:56,751 --> 00:51:59,654
an aggressive push
by the Bureau of Land Management

882
00:51:59,687 --> 00:52:01,589
to ramp up these roundups
and removals,

883
00:52:01,623 --> 00:52:04,358
and it's being fueled
by the huge sums of money

884
00:52:04,391 --> 00:52:06,694
appropriated to it by Congress.

885
00:52:06,728 --> 00:52:08,696
Congress
has been successfully lobbied

886
00:52:08,730 --> 00:52:11,365
by the beef industry
for the roundup and removal

887
00:52:11,398 --> 00:52:13,568
of huge numbers
of wild horses and burros

888
00:52:13,601 --> 00:52:17,337
to get the population down
to the low AMLs.

889
00:52:17,371 --> 00:52:20,474
The BLM has constructed
this false narrative

890
00:52:20,508 --> 00:52:22,944
about an overpopulation
of wild horses.

891
00:52:22,977 --> 00:52:25,312
It's a clever ploy
because it diverts

892
00:52:25,345 --> 00:52:27,447
the public's attention
away from the effects

893
00:52:27,481 --> 00:52:30,417
of overgrazing by millions
of commercial livestock

894
00:52:30,450 --> 00:52:33,855
that the BLM has allowed
to happen on our public lands.

895
00:52:33,888 --> 00:52:36,423
What makes these roundups
so difficult to stop

896
00:52:36,456 --> 00:52:37,859
is the huge amounts of money.

897
00:52:37,892 --> 00:52:39,927
Congress has really enabled this

898
00:52:39,961 --> 00:52:42,830
by appropriating 116 million

899
00:52:42,864 --> 00:52:46,634
in 2021 alone
to fund these operations.

900
00:52:46,668 --> 00:52:48,703
It pays
the helicopter contractors

901
00:52:48,736 --> 00:52:50,738
millions of dollars
to do their work,

902
00:52:50,772 --> 00:52:53,440
and then it also appropriates
millions more

903
00:52:53,473 --> 00:52:55,877
to these private entities,
mostly corporations,

904
00:52:55,910 --> 00:52:58,813
to build these off-range
holding facilities

905
00:52:58,846 --> 00:53:00,848
where tens of thousands
of our wild horses

906
00:53:00,882 --> 00:53:03,751
and burros will be kept.

907
00:53:03,785 --> 00:53:05,720
Hi, I'm Marty Irby,
I'm the Executive Director

908
00:53:05,753 --> 00:53:07,855
of Animal Wellness Action
in Washington DC.

909
00:53:07,889 --> 00:53:10,792
I'm one of the nation's
top lobbyists in the country

910
00:53:10,825 --> 00:53:13,695
and also the top lobbyist
on horse protection issues.

911
00:53:13,728 --> 00:53:16,296
One thing that most people
don't realize that occurs

912
00:53:16,329 --> 00:53:18,800
is that there are
lobbying dollars

913
00:53:18,833 --> 00:53:20,535
in Washington DC
that we're up against.

914
00:53:20,568 --> 00:53:22,369
It's a David and Goliath
situation

915
00:53:22,402 --> 00:53:25,973
because there are
actual federal funds

916
00:53:26,007 --> 00:53:29,744
called "USDA
Commodity Checkoff Programs."

917
00:53:29,777 --> 00:53:31,779
Those commercials, you see,
like, "Got milk,"

918
00:53:31,813 --> 00:53:33,715
"Beef,
it's what's for dinner,"

919
00:53:33,748 --> 00:53:35,683
"Pork, the other white meat,"
and "The incredible edible egg,"

920
00:53:35,717 --> 00:53:37,885
aren't really commercials
or ad campaigns,

921
00:53:37,919 --> 00:53:40,320
they're USDA checkoff programs,

922
00:53:40,353 --> 00:53:43,356
they're funded by dollars
paid in by producers

923
00:53:43,390 --> 00:53:44,826
to sell these products.

924
00:53:44,859 --> 00:53:47,762
These entities
are quasi-governmental entities,

925
00:53:47,795 --> 00:53:49,396
and they're utilizing the funds

926
00:53:49,429 --> 00:53:51,833
to illegally lobby for policies

927
00:53:51,866 --> 00:53:53,534
that we don't support,

928
00:53:53,568 --> 00:53:56,403
policies that put
small farmers out of business,

929
00:53:56,436 --> 00:53:58,472
policies that harm animals,

930
00:53:58,506 --> 00:54:00,641
policies that are pro-slaughter,

931
00:54:00,675 --> 00:54:03,410
total of $850 million a year

932
00:54:03,443 --> 00:54:05,479
for all of
the checkoffs combined.

933
00:54:05,513 --> 00:54:08,950
Basically, the National
Cattlemen's Beef Association,

934
00:54:08,983 --> 00:54:11,451
NCBA,
which is the beef checkoff,

935
00:54:11,485 --> 00:54:15,857
uses their money illegally
to lobby for horse slaughter.

936
00:54:15,890 --> 00:54:17,725
These horses
are going to become food

937
00:54:17,759 --> 00:54:21,328
for someone
in China, Japan or Europe.

938
00:54:21,361 --> 00:54:23,463
I think
one of the most glaring examples

939
00:54:23,497 --> 00:54:26,801
of this corrupt system
is with J. R. Simplot,

940
00:54:26,834 --> 00:54:29,637
uh, which is an Idaho-based
food company

941
00:54:29,670 --> 00:54:32,372
that grazes
tens of thousands of cattle

942
00:54:32,405 --> 00:54:34,041
at a taxpayer-subsidized rate

943
00:54:34,075 --> 00:54:36,944
of a dollar 35
per animal unit month

944
00:54:36,978 --> 00:54:40,347
on grazing allotments
across five western states.

945
00:54:40,380 --> 00:54:43,618
So, it's enriching itself
by grazing its livestock

946
00:54:43,651 --> 00:54:45,887
at taxpayer expense
on the front end,

947
00:54:45,920 --> 00:54:48,556
and on the back end
it's being paid millions

948
00:54:48,589 --> 00:54:52,627
by the BLM to hold onto
large numbers of wild horses

949
00:54:52,660 --> 00:54:54,929
that have been removed
from our public lands

950
00:54:54,962 --> 00:54:57,999
to clear the way for more
commercial livestock grazing.

951
00:54:58,032 --> 00:55:00,067
And it should terrify
every single American

952
00:55:00,101 --> 00:55:02,435
who cares about
wild horses and burros

953
00:55:02,469 --> 00:55:05,106
that a food company
is being paid

954
00:55:05,139 --> 00:55:08,576
to hold onto large numbers
of these wild horses and burros

955
00:55:08,609 --> 00:55:10,611
that have been removed
from our public lands.

956
00:55:14,148 --> 00:55:15,883
<i>When you think about it,</i>

957
00:55:15,917 --> 00:55:19,053
<i>you can barely buy</i>
<i>a single can of cat or dog food</i>

958
00:55:19,086 --> 00:55:21,689
<i>for a dollar 35.</i>

959
00:55:21,722 --> 00:55:23,691
<i>But big food corporations</i>

960
00:55:23,724 --> 00:55:26,027
<i>were getting</i>
<i>these massive tax subsidies</i>

961
00:55:26,060 --> 00:55:29,063
<i>to graze their cattle</i>
<i>on our public land</i>

962
00:55:29,096 --> 00:55:31,999
<i>for a little over</i>
<i>a dollar a month,</i>

963
00:55:32,033 --> 00:55:34,902
<i>when private ranchers</i>
<i>had to pay over 20</i>

964
00:55:34,936 --> 00:55:37,872
<i>using their own land.</i>

965
00:55:37,905 --> 00:55:40,007
<i>That didn't seem fair.</i>

966
00:55:40,041 --> 00:55:42,877
<i>And wild horses were being</i>
<i>rounded up because of it.</i>

967
00:55:44,579 --> 00:55:47,447
<i>In 2021,</i>
<i>we were about to experience</i>

968
00:55:47,480 --> 00:55:49,784
<i>this corruption for ourselves.</i>

969
00:55:59,627 --> 00:56:03,664
<i>The iconic horses</i>
<i>of Sand Wash Basin in Colorado</i>

970
00:56:03,698 --> 00:56:07,500
<i>are known for the legendary</i>
<i>paint stallion, Picasso.</i>

971
00:56:11,572 --> 00:56:15,743
<i>This place, just like Onaqui,</i>
<i>had its own magic.</i>

972
00:56:20,147 --> 00:56:24,451
<i>It was interesting to watch</i>
<i>the wild horse hierarchy...</i>

973
00:56:24,484 --> 00:56:26,954
<i>as each family</i>
<i>waited their turn for water.</i>

974
00:56:29,724 --> 00:56:34,762
<i>Often, the stallions would</i>
<i>scope it out first for safety.</i>

975
00:56:34,795 --> 00:56:37,698
<i>And in some bands,</i>
<i>a lieutenant stallion</i>

976
00:56:37,732 --> 00:56:40,101
<i>can be an extra set of eyes</i>
<i>over the family...</i>

977
00:56:41,769 --> 00:56:44,138
<i>until the band stallion</i>
<i>returns.</i>

978
00:56:59,120 --> 00:57:01,923
<i>At Sand Wash Basin,</i>
<i>there were watering holes</i>

979
00:57:01,956 --> 00:57:04,457
<i>that were filled naturally</i>
<i>by the elements.</i>

980
00:57:06,627 --> 00:57:08,829
<i>And there were also</i>
<i>manmade troughs,</i>

981
00:57:08,863 --> 00:57:11,098
<i>which local advocates</i>
<i>helped to maintain.</i>

982
00:57:17,204 --> 00:57:19,774
<i>Right at sunset...</i>

983
00:57:19,807 --> 00:57:23,711
<i>hundreds of horses</i>
<i>appeared before our eyes.</i>

984
00:57:40,027 --> 00:57:43,064
<i>And then, almost as quickly</i>
<i>as they came...</i>

985
00:57:44,665 --> 00:57:45,900
<i>they were gone.</i>

986
00:58:00,881 --> 00:58:04,552
It takes a lot of effort
and understanding

987
00:58:04,585 --> 00:58:07,822
and decades of data
to understand

988
00:58:07,855 --> 00:58:10,725
what the range condition
is like.

989
00:58:10,758 --> 00:58:12,293
Just don't go out there

990
00:58:12,326 --> 00:58:14,562
looking for
the beautiful horses,

991
00:58:14,595 --> 00:58:15,997
which they are very beautiful,

992
00:58:16,030 --> 00:58:19,133
and understand
what's in the.

993
00:58:19,166 --> 00:58:22,203
Okay, but could you just
tell us the reasoning

994
00:58:22,236 --> 00:58:24,038
behind the roundup at Sand Wash?

995
00:58:24,071 --> 00:58:27,575
So, the way we manage horses

996
00:58:27,608 --> 00:58:29,710
to be in harmony
with their habitat,

997
00:58:29,744 --> 00:58:32,213
so the habitat
and the horses are healthy,

998
00:58:32,246 --> 00:58:34,181
is by managing the numbers.

999
00:58:34,215 --> 00:58:37,284
Um, you know,
unlike other large grazers,

1000
00:58:37,318 --> 00:58:41,322
they're just kind of
more or less there all year.

1001
00:58:41,355 --> 00:58:45,659
Um, and so that means
that the numbers of animals,

1002
00:58:45,693 --> 00:58:49,196
the numbers of mouths
need to be appropriate

1003
00:58:49,230 --> 00:58:52,333
for what the landscape
is capable of producing.

1004
00:58:52,366 --> 00:58:54,135
So that's--

1005
00:58:54,168 --> 00:58:56,604
Let me jump in there and say,
"But why do we do it?"

1006
00:58:56,637 --> 00:58:59,340
We do it because
we're required by law...

1007
00:58:59,373 --> 00:59:01,075
Mm-hmm.

1008
00:59:01,108 --> 00:59:03,077
...to manage for a thriving
ecological balance.

1009
00:59:03,110 --> 00:59:04,979
How do you guys
feel about the fact

1010
00:59:05,012 --> 00:59:07,681
that the Governor has called
for a moratorium on this roundup

1011
00:59:07,715 --> 00:59:09,050
to be evaluated
through more of a fact

1012
00:59:09,083 --> 00:59:10,351
and science-based lens?

1013
00:59:10,384 --> 00:59:12,153
Uh, we appreciate
their interest,

1014
00:59:12,186 --> 00:59:14,755
and we're going to continue
to work with Colorado

1015
00:59:14,789 --> 00:59:17,024
to find creative solutions
to manage these horses

1016
00:59:17,058 --> 00:59:18,726
in a healthy way

1017
00:59:18,759 --> 00:59:22,163
and also resulting
in a healthy landscape.

1018
00:59:22,196 --> 00:59:26,967
That's-- that's what we are
going to do moving forward.

1019
00:59:27,001 --> 00:59:30,204
How do you feel about
the Governor's position?

1020
00:59:30,237 --> 00:59:32,373
Again,
we appreciate their position,

1021
00:59:32,406 --> 00:59:34,275
we appreciate them
wanting to work with us,

1022
00:59:34,308 --> 00:59:36,143
and we want to work with them.

1023
00:59:36,177 --> 00:59:38,979
And so we need to
by mandate, by law,

1024
00:59:39,013 --> 00:59:41,949
manage healthy horses
on healthy range lots.

1025
00:59:41,982 --> 00:59:43,651
Did they consult?

1026
00:59:43,684 --> 00:59:45,086
Because I know
the National Academy of Sciences

1027
00:59:45,119 --> 00:59:47,922
in 2013, I believe,
stated that the AMLs

1028
00:59:47,955 --> 00:59:49,857
were not based
on fact or science.

1029
00:59:49,890 --> 00:59:52,193
So, they're saying--
they're saying there was a--

1030
00:59:52,226 --> 00:59:55,696
a considerable, uh,
production data collected

1031
00:59:55,729 --> 00:59:57,765
all across Sand Wash
in the '90s,

1032
00:59:57,798 --> 01:00:00,768
and that went into setting,

1033
01:00:00,801 --> 01:00:02,369
uh, you know, for Sand Wash.

1034
01:00:02,403 --> 01:00:04,405
But from the '90s,
into the year--

1035
01:00:04,438 --> 01:00:07,274
into 2011, 2013, 2015,

1036
01:00:07,308 --> 01:00:09,376
obviously, there's a lot
going on with climate change

1037
01:00:09,410 --> 01:00:11,679
and why would data
that's that old--

1038
01:00:11,712 --> 01:00:15,649
The-- these rangelands change,
but they change very slowly.

1039
01:00:15,683 --> 01:00:18,786
You don't wait till
the range land has collapsed,

1040
01:00:18,819 --> 01:00:20,955
and then you find
poor body condition,

1041
01:00:20,988 --> 01:00:22,857
you don't wait for that.

1042
01:00:22,890 --> 01:00:24,692
So-- so,
you're rounding them up pro--

1043
01:00:24,725 --> 01:00:27,761
before they can reach a point
of poor body condition?

1044
01:00:27,795 --> 01:00:29,763
The BLM's role legally,

1045
01:00:29,797 --> 01:00:31,799
statutorily,
is to manage the habitat.

1046
01:00:31,832 --> 01:00:33,801
That, you know, the-- the state,

1047
01:00:33,834 --> 01:00:36,237
uh, you know,
they manage the animals.

1048
01:00:36,270 --> 01:00:39,406
Um, except
for the horses, you know,

1049
01:00:39,440 --> 01:00:42,376
uh, like, say the horse
is the only thing BLM manages

1050
01:00:42,409 --> 01:00:44,245
that has a heartbeat.

1051
01:00:44,278 --> 01:00:46,814
Every-- every other critter
out here is either the state

1052
01:00:46,847 --> 01:00:51,118
or if it's listed,
it's Fish and Wildlife Service.

1053
01:00:51,152 --> 01:00:54,121
<i>The BLM had announced</i>
<i>an emergency roundup</i>

1054
01:00:54,155 --> 01:00:57,958
<i>to permanently remove</i>
<i>nearly 90% of the wild horses</i>

1055
01:00:57,992 --> 01:00:59,894
<i>of Sand Wash Basin.</i>

1056
01:00:59,927 --> 01:01:01,829
<i>This emergency status</i>

1057
01:01:01,862 --> 01:01:04,265
<i>allowed them to move forward</i>
<i>with the roundup quickly</i>

1058
01:01:04,298 --> 01:01:09,069
<i>and didn't require the BLM</i>
<i>to assemble public comments.</i>

1059
01:01:09,103 --> 01:01:11,005
<i>They originally said</i>
<i>the roundup</i>

1060
01:01:11,038 --> 01:01:14,141
<i>was due to poor body conditions</i>
<i>of the horses and drought,</i>

1061
01:01:14,175 --> 01:01:17,178
<i>even though</i>
<i>the water holes were full.</i>

1062
01:01:17,211 --> 01:01:21,182
<i>But then the BLM's narrative</i>
<i>suddenly changed.</i>

1063
01:01:21,215 --> 01:01:24,251
<i>The BLM then said</i>
<i>they were removing the horses</i>

1064
01:01:24,285 --> 01:01:27,454
<i>because of negative impacts</i>
<i>to sage-grouse habitat</i>

1065
01:01:27,488 --> 01:01:29,290
<i>and for future starvation.</i>

1066
01:01:30,525 --> 01:01:32,393
<i>They also ignored the requests</i>

1067
01:01:32,426 --> 01:01:35,029
<i>of Colorado Governor</i>
<i>Jared Polis,</i>

1068
01:01:35,062 --> 01:01:38,766
<i>Western Watersheds project,</i>
<i>and the Sierra Club</i>

1069
01:01:38,799 --> 01:01:42,203
<i>to halt the unnecessary roundup</i>
<i>of Sand Wash Basin.</i>

1070
01:01:48,510 --> 01:01:50,311
- Yeah.
- Yeah.

1071
01:01:50,344 --> 01:01:52,346
We are direct right in the--

1072
01:01:52,379 --> 01:01:55,382
- in line of the wings.
- Sure.

1073
01:01:55,416 --> 01:01:56,984
So, we need to go--

1074
01:01:57,017 --> 01:01:58,252
Just over
the other side of this, right?

1075
01:01:58,285 --> 01:02:00,120
-Yeah, I don't know.
-Okay.

1076
01:02:00,154 --> 01:02:02,189
I'm just gonna go down here
and see if I can find a hole

1077
01:02:02,223 --> 01:02:03,891
-to get to.
-All right, absolutely.

1078
01:02:03,924 --> 01:02:05,159
So, yeah, we'll just move
the vehicles down

1079
01:02:05,192 --> 01:02:06,760
a little farther.

1080
01:02:06,794 --> 01:02:08,162
Uh, you could leave
your equipment here

1081
01:02:08,195 --> 01:02:09,863
if you'd like,
just right off this area.

1082
01:02:09,897 --> 01:02:11,165
It's actually safer
to be near a tree,

1083
01:02:11,198 --> 01:02:12,466
if the wild horses come near us.

1084
01:02:12,499 --> 01:02:14,935
Usually,.

1085
01:02:14,969 --> 01:02:17,838
- It's safer.
- I'm not arguing with you.

1086
01:02:17,871 --> 01:02:19,507
We'll comply,
but I'm just letting you know

1087
01:02:19,541 --> 01:02:22,076
that God forbid
a wild herd ga--

1088
01:02:22,109 --> 01:02:23,877
gallops over this mountain,

1089
01:02:23,911 --> 01:02:25,513
you're gonna want to scream
to everybody

1090
01:02:25,547 --> 01:02:27,281
to stand under this tree.

1091
01:02:27,314 --> 01:02:29,149
And I just-- I don't care

1092
01:02:29,183 --> 01:02:31,285
whose side of the issue
you're on.

1093
01:02:31,318 --> 01:02:33,187
This-- this is safer.

1094
01:02:33,220 --> 01:02:35,956
What Cattoor wants is for us
to not get a clear line of sight

1095
01:02:35,990 --> 01:02:37,291
as to what's about to happen.

1096
01:02:37,324 --> 01:02:40,027
So, here we are
at Sand Wash Basin.

1097
01:02:40,060 --> 01:02:44,365
We were asked to move
from that tree to here.

1098
01:02:44,398 --> 01:02:47,968
So, that the horses apparently
can see us.

1099
01:02:48,002 --> 01:02:50,037
And apparently we're hiding
behind this mountain.

1100
01:02:51,171 --> 01:02:52,473
However, we cannot see

1101
01:02:52,507 --> 01:02:57,077
the helicopter operation
at this point.

1102
01:02:57,111 --> 01:02:59,947
<i>From our vantage point</i>
<i>behind the hill,</i>

1103
01:02:59,980 --> 01:03:04,318
<i>we could barely see anything</i>
<i>the helicopter was doing...</i>

1104
01:03:04,351 --> 01:03:06,854
<i>until the horses were driven</i>
<i>into the trap site.</i>

1105
01:03:09,089 --> 01:03:11,526
<i>It was the first time</i>
<i>we had been this close to one.</i>

1106
01:03:12,993 --> 01:03:15,095
<i>And it was horrifying to see.</i>

1107
01:03:18,465 --> 01:03:21,268
<i>Numerous horses</i>
<i>had sustained injuries.</i>

1108
01:03:25,072 --> 01:03:26,608
Actually,
they're putting up--

1109
01:03:26,641 --> 01:03:30,077
Hovering on the area
where the foals were running,

1110
01:03:30,110 --> 01:03:31,579
which indicates that,
in fact,

1111
01:03:31,613 --> 01:03:35,215
the foals were
not in a good position earlier.

1112
01:03:35,249 --> 01:03:37,519
The paneling does--
the plastic fence,

1113
01:03:37,552 --> 01:03:39,920
it will prevent
the foals from--

1114
01:03:39,953 --> 01:03:42,423
and the horses from wanting
to run through the panel.

1115
01:03:42,456 --> 01:03:44,391
So, because they didn't have
that up earlier,

1116
01:03:44,425 --> 01:03:46,460
those three yearlings
were running around

1117
01:03:46,493 --> 01:03:48,962
and starting to test the pen.

1118
01:03:48,996 --> 01:03:50,632
So, the fact that
they're putting up now indicates

1119
01:03:50,665 --> 01:03:52,866
that they weren't doing it
correctly earlier.

1120
01:03:52,900 --> 01:03:54,468
Interesting,
and that's when,

1121
01:03:54,501 --> 01:03:56,904
apparently, that one--
that one yearling got hurt,

1122
01:03:56,937 --> 01:03:59,973
and his shoulder was bloody
or her shoulder was bloody.

1123
01:04:00,007 --> 01:04:02,476
Uh,
it seems to be, yeah.

1124
01:04:05,279 --> 01:04:06,947
<i>The Bureau of Land Management</i>

1125
01:04:06,980 --> 01:04:09,551
<i>made us wait</i>
<i>for almost two hours</i>

1126
01:04:09,584 --> 01:04:12,119
<i>before we were allowed</i>
<i>to approach the corrals.</i>

1127
01:04:13,253 --> 01:04:15,089
<i>Their reasoning was,</i>

1128
01:04:15,122 --> 01:04:18,325
<i>"People near the corrals</i>
<i>would upset the horses."</i>

1129
01:04:19,993 --> 01:04:21,395
<i>Apparently those rules</i>

1130
01:04:21,428 --> 01:04:23,497
<i>didn't apply</i>
<i>to roundup personnel.</i>

1131
01:04:25,667 --> 01:04:28,268
<i>It was cold,</i>
<i>and it was raining,</i>

1132
01:04:28,302 --> 01:04:31,004
<i>and it was almost like</i>
<i>they were trying to</i>
<i>wait us out.</i>

1133
01:04:31,038 --> 01:04:32,607
<i>Ah,</i>
<i>there's horse locations--</i>

1134
01:04:32,640 --> 01:04:34,308
<i>When we were finally</i>
<i>allowed closer</i>

1135
01:04:34,341 --> 01:04:36,611
<i>to the trap site...</i>

1136
01:04:36,644 --> 01:04:38,680
<i>that's when we saw</i>
<i>the injuries.</i>

1137
01:04:38,713 --> 01:04:41,583
- ?
<i>- Yep.</i>

1138
01:04:41,616 --> 01:04:45,185
<i>So, when do you think...</i>

1139
01:04:45,219 --> 01:04:48,155
<i>But as hard</i>
<i>as all this was to see</i>

1140
01:04:48,188 --> 01:04:51,559
<i>people kept on coming</i>
<i>to support the horses</i>

1141
01:04:51,593 --> 01:04:56,130
<i>and to hold the Bureau</i>
<i>of Land Management accountable.</i>

1142
01:04:56,163 --> 01:04:59,534
<i>We found it</i>
<i>exceedingly bizarre...</i>

1143
01:04:59,567 --> 01:05:03,437
<i>that Dave and Sue Cattoor</i>
<i>showed up to watch</i>

1144
01:05:03,470 --> 01:05:08,075
<i>as the horses of</i>
<i>Sand Wash Basin</i>
<i>lost their freedom.</i>

1145
01:05:08,108 --> 01:05:10,010
I'm Steve Leonard,

1146
01:05:10,043 --> 01:05:12,146
I'm the Wild Horse and Burro
Lead for the state of Colorado.

1147
01:05:12,179 --> 01:05:15,115
Roughly we're at 896 horses

1148
01:05:15,149 --> 01:05:18,520
between inside the HMA
and outside the HMA.

1149
01:05:18,553 --> 01:05:21,121
And we're trying to reduce
that population down

1150
01:05:21,155 --> 01:05:23,658
to the low AML of 163.

1151
01:05:23,691 --> 01:05:25,392
So, this is an emergency gather.

1152
01:05:25,426 --> 01:05:27,294
Um, we're conducting this

1153
01:05:27,327 --> 01:05:29,163
because of the lack of forage
and water for these horses.

1154
01:05:29,196 --> 01:05:32,700
Um, and so our objective here
is to reduce the herd to,

1155
01:05:32,734 --> 01:05:34,401
um, the appropriate
national levels.

1156
01:05:34,435 --> 01:05:36,170
The reasoning
seems to have changed

1157
01:05:36,203 --> 01:05:38,105
from an emergency roundup
due to drought,

1158
01:05:38,138 --> 01:05:40,073
and because
they were in poor body condition

1159
01:05:40,107 --> 01:05:41,609
to identifying that

1160
01:05:41,643 --> 01:05:43,578
they're not going to have
enough winter forage,

1161
01:05:43,611 --> 01:05:45,680
and there's something to do
with sage-grouse now,

1162
01:05:45,713 --> 01:05:48,015
that was-- didn't seem like
it was part of the conversation

1163
01:05:48,048 --> 01:05:49,517
until recently.

1164
01:05:49,551 --> 01:05:51,418
Well, um, so we always
take into consideration

1165
01:05:51,452 --> 01:05:53,555
the needs of all the users
on public lands when we're--

1166
01:05:53,588 --> 01:05:55,122
when we're managing
wild horses and burros,

1167
01:05:55,155 --> 01:05:56,558
so that includes wildlife.

1168
01:05:56,591 --> 01:05:58,292
Um, so the sage-grouse
were always gonna be

1169
01:05:58,325 --> 01:06:02,029
part of this decision
to manage this herd.

1170
01:06:02,062 --> 01:06:05,332
<i>Didn't the range land</i>
<i>specialist just state</i>

1171
01:06:05,365 --> 01:06:07,134
<i>that the Bureau</i>
<i>of Land Management</i>

1172
01:06:07,167 --> 01:06:09,369
<i>only manages wild horses?</i>

1173
01:06:09,403 --> 01:06:13,641
<i>That every other critter</i>
<i>falls outside of their purview?</i>

1174
01:06:13,675 --> 01:06:16,611
<i>Why were they suddenly</i>
<i>trying to scapegoat wild horses</i>

1175
01:06:16,644 --> 01:06:19,246
<i>for negative effects</i>
<i>to sage-grouse?</i>

1176
01:06:19,279 --> 01:06:21,549
I'm Megan Crawford,
I'm part of the SWAT team

1177
01:06:21,583 --> 01:06:23,350
here in the Sand Wash,

1178
01:06:23,383 --> 01:06:27,755
and I worked for the BLM
the season of 2016

1179
01:06:27,789 --> 01:06:30,390
doing, uh, sage-grouse surveys

1180
01:06:30,424 --> 01:06:34,228
and with the emergency gather,
it's honestly kind of a cop-out.

1181
01:06:34,261 --> 01:06:36,296
They don't have to do
an environmental assessment,

1182
01:06:36,330 --> 01:06:38,432
they don't have to, uh,

1183
01:06:38,465 --> 01:06:40,400
have a public scoping
comment period,

1184
01:06:40,434 --> 01:06:43,805
they-- they basically
can say we are doing this,

1185
01:06:43,838 --> 01:06:45,507
these are the numbers
we're gonna take,

1186
01:06:45,540 --> 01:06:47,809
this is the amount of horses
we're gonna leave,

1187
01:06:47,842 --> 01:06:50,277
and it kind of takes

1188
01:06:50,310 --> 01:06:53,748
all of the accountability
out of the system

1189
01:06:53,781 --> 01:06:57,317
because it's sort of
just a standing order,

1190
01:06:57,351 --> 01:06:59,687
and we're all just
supposed to bend to it.

1191
01:06:59,721 --> 01:07:02,824
And how they can say
it's solely the wild horses

1192
01:07:02,857 --> 01:07:04,391
that are the reason

1193
01:07:04,424 --> 01:07:08,228
that the sage-grouse
are not rebounding

1194
01:07:08,262 --> 01:07:10,130
seems a little bit absurd to me.

1195
01:07:10,163 --> 01:07:12,734
I'm not sure the exact number
of sheep that are out here,

1196
01:07:12,767 --> 01:07:15,570
but having
that many sheep compared

1197
01:07:15,603 --> 01:07:19,072
to the amount of horses, I--
I think it's a cop-out to say

1198
01:07:19,106 --> 01:07:21,375
that it's the wild horses
that are degrading the land.

1199
01:07:21,408 --> 01:07:23,711
Did any of your beliefs change

1200
01:07:23,745 --> 01:07:26,413
in how things were conducted?

1201
01:07:26,446 --> 01:07:28,482
Honestly,
I was a little surprised

1202
01:07:28,516 --> 01:07:32,720
about the brashness
of the BLM side.

1203
01:07:32,754 --> 01:07:34,421
I don't think
that they really care

1204
01:07:34,454 --> 01:07:35,857
for the horses out here.

1205
01:07:35,890 --> 01:07:38,158
You know,
even what they would say,

1206
01:07:38,191 --> 01:07:39,761
the advocates were,

1207
01:07:39,794 --> 01:07:42,429
which they kind of used
as a bad word around there.

1208
01:07:42,462 --> 01:07:44,866
<i>One of the advocates</i>
<i>on the ground pointed out</i>

1209
01:07:44,899 --> 01:07:47,602
<i>that there were babies</i>
<i>only a day old</i>

1210
01:07:47,635 --> 01:07:50,538
<i>being chased</i>
<i>by the low flying helicopters.</i>

1211
01:07:50,572 --> 01:07:53,240
<i>Though the BLM</i>
<i>continues to define</i>

1212
01:07:53,273 --> 01:07:55,409
<i>helicopter roundups as humane.</i>

1213
01:07:57,444 --> 01:07:59,647
<i>Something else</i>
<i>we found suspicious that day</i>

1214
01:07:59,681 --> 01:08:02,215
<i>was the Cattoor helicopter.</i>

1215
01:08:02,249 --> 01:08:05,485
<i>Our camera operator,</i>
<i>Jerry, was also a pilot</i>

1216
01:08:05,520 --> 01:08:08,488
<i>and he pointed out that</i>
<i>while there was</i>
<i>a United Flight,</i>

1217
01:08:08,523 --> 01:08:10,357
<i>30,000 feet above us,</i>

1218
01:08:10,390 --> 01:08:13,293
<i>we could not track</i>
<i>the Cattoor helicopter.</i>

1219
01:08:13,327 --> 01:08:14,796
<i>The potential accusation</i>

1220
01:08:14,829 --> 01:08:17,230
<i>was that they had blocked</i>
<i>their ADS-B,</i>

1221
01:08:17,264 --> 01:08:21,335
<i>which the FAA said a contractor</i>
<i>can do upon request</i>

1222
01:08:21,368 --> 01:08:24,706
<i>but can be dangerous given</i>
<i>other aircrafts in the area.</i>

1223
01:08:24,739 --> 01:08:27,642
<i>That, or the signal</i>
<i>simply wasn't</i>
<i>being picked up on</i>

1224
01:08:27,675 --> 01:08:29,309
<i>because of the terrain.</i>

1225
01:08:29,343 --> 01:08:30,745
<i>What we found suspicious</i>

1226
01:08:30,778 --> 01:08:33,715
<i>was that the BLM</i>
<i>repeatedly refused</i>

1227
01:08:33,748 --> 01:08:35,717
<i>to answer any of our questions</i>

1228
01:08:35,750 --> 01:08:39,353
<i>about why the helicopter</i>
<i>had vanished.</i>

1229
01:08:39,386 --> 01:08:42,189
<i>So, there was ultimately</i>
<i>no way for us to track</i>

1230
01:08:42,222 --> 01:08:46,527
<i>how many grueling miles</i>
<i>they were running these horses.</i>

1231
01:08:46,561 --> 01:08:49,396
Uh, the total contract cost
for this

1232
01:08:49,429 --> 01:08:50,898
is just under 300,000.

1233
01:08:55,402 --> 01:08:57,170
That doesn't include
holding, no.

1234
01:09:02,409 --> 01:09:06,313
<i>With the target</i>
<i>of 733 horses to capture</i>

1235
01:09:06,346 --> 01:09:08,783
<i>the approximate cost</i>
<i>to taxpayers</i>

1236
01:09:08,816 --> 01:09:12,854
<i>to warehouse</i>
<i>all of those horses</i>
<i>for the rest of their lives</i>

1237
01:09:12,887 --> 01:09:16,658
<i>was over $36 million.</i>

1238
01:09:16,691 --> 01:09:18,960
<i>Thankfully,</i>
<i>due to an intervention</i>

1239
01:09:18,993 --> 01:09:22,697
<i>by Governor Jared Polis</i>
<i>and Congressman Joe Neguse,</i>

1240
01:09:22,730 --> 01:09:24,565
<i>the roundup ended early</i>

1241
01:09:24,599 --> 01:09:27,702
<i>and the total captured was 479.</i>

1242
01:09:29,469 --> 01:09:30,938
This is how narrow
this stuff is.

1243
01:09:37,310 --> 01:09:39,379
These horses are in this.

1244
01:09:41,448 --> 01:09:43,383
<i>They were sent</i>
<i>to a holding facility</i>

1245
01:09:43,417 --> 01:09:47,354
<i>at Canyon City Federal Prison</i>
<i>where only months later,</i>

1246
01:09:47,387 --> 01:09:50,858
<i>when 145 horses</i>
<i>mysteriously died.</i>

1247
01:09:53,594 --> 01:09:56,229
<i>Only two months</i>
<i>after the wild horses</i>

1248
01:09:56,263 --> 01:09:57,699
<i>of Sand Wash Basin</i>

1249
01:09:57,732 --> 01:10:00,467
<i>were almost</i>
<i>completely eradicated,</i>

1250
01:10:00,500 --> 01:10:04,772
<i>thousands of sheep</i>
<i>were spotted in the basin.</i>

1251
01:10:04,806 --> 01:10:06,841
Stop the choppers.

1252
01:10:06,874 --> 01:10:10,611
Stop the choppers.
Stop the choppers.

1253
01:10:10,645 --> 01:10:14,347
Stop the choppers.
Stop the choppers.

1254
01:10:14,381 --> 01:10:17,618
Stop the choppers,
stop the cho--

1255
01:10:17,652 --> 01:10:19,654
Yesterday,
the Bureau of Land Management

1256
01:10:19,687 --> 01:10:21,923
issued a media statement

1257
01:10:21,956 --> 01:10:24,525
that said
this roundup is gonna happen.

1258
01:10:24,559 --> 01:10:26,259
It was a--

1259
01:10:26,293 --> 01:10:30,031
an absolute disregard
of the thousands of people

1260
01:10:30,064 --> 01:10:33,433
across the country
and across the world

1261
01:10:33,467 --> 01:10:36,336
who have called the BLM
and said,

1262
01:10:36,369 --> 01:10:39,306
"Please,
please stop this roundup."

1263
01:10:39,339 --> 01:10:41,542
My name is Erik Molvar,

1264
01:10:41,576 --> 01:10:44,612
and I'm the Executive Director
of Western Watersheds Project.

1265
01:10:44,645 --> 01:10:46,480
My name is Deniz Bolbol,

1266
01:10:46,514 --> 01:10:48,983
I'm with the Cloud Foundation,
I'm the Advocacy Director.

1267
01:10:49,016 --> 01:10:50,651
Hello, everyone,
I'm Marty Irby here,

1268
01:10:50,685 --> 01:10:52,653
Executive Director
of Animal Wellness Action

1269
01:10:52,687 --> 01:10:54,822
and chief lobbyist
in Washington DC.

1270
01:10:54,856 --> 01:10:56,758
I really appreciate
everyone turning out today

1271
01:10:56,791 --> 01:10:58,358
to support the Onaqui horses,

1272
01:10:58,391 --> 01:10:59,994
my name is Ashley Avis,
I'm a filmmaker.

1273
01:11:00,027 --> 01:11:02,997
Now I've been out to Onaqui.

1274
01:11:03,030 --> 01:11:07,535
And the BLM says
that 474 wild horses

1275
01:11:07,568 --> 01:11:10,505
are too many for the range.

1276
01:11:10,538 --> 01:11:13,306
Livestock industry
coined a term for that.

1277
01:11:13,340 --> 01:11:17,377
Bullshit.

1278
01:11:17,410 --> 01:11:19,580
Now,
the Bureau of Land Management

1279
01:11:19,614 --> 01:11:23,017
has authorized almost
20,000 animal unit months

1280
01:11:23,050 --> 01:11:25,318
of cattle and sheep
grazing on Onaqui.

1281
01:11:25,352 --> 01:11:28,890
On a wild horse
Herd Management Area

1282
01:11:28,923 --> 01:11:31,793
where they have
a congressional responsibility

1283
01:11:31,826 --> 01:11:33,895
- to conserve the wild horses.
- Exactly. Exactly.

1284
01:11:34,996 --> 01:11:37,832
This kind of injustice

1285
01:11:37,865 --> 01:11:40,467
is happening
all around the country.

1286
01:11:40,500 --> 01:11:45,072
It's not about a thriving,
natural ecological balance.

1287
01:11:45,106 --> 01:11:47,875
The BLM is creating a problem

1288
01:11:47,909 --> 01:11:51,846
with cattle and sheep
degrading the range.

1289
01:11:51,879 --> 01:11:54,782
And then, instead of addressing
the cause of the problem,

1290
01:11:54,816 --> 01:11:56,784
they're blaming
the convenient scapegoat,

1291
01:11:56,818 --> 01:11:58,052
the wild horse.

1292
01:11:58,085 --> 01:11:59,921
So they can keep on overgrazing

1293
01:11:59,954 --> 01:12:02,723
with as many cattle
and sheep as they always have

1294
01:12:02,757 --> 01:12:05,425
without
the American public noticing.

1295
01:12:05,458 --> 01:12:07,460
Well, guess what, the public
is starting to notice.

1296
01:12:07,494 --> 01:12:10,097
Yes!

1297
01:12:10,131 --> 01:12:12,365
Earlier this year,
we sent a letter,

1298
01:12:12,399 --> 01:12:15,870
I think it was 70 or so groups,
to Secretary Deb Haaland

1299
01:12:15,903 --> 01:12:19,073
asking her to put a moratorium
on the grazing permits

1300
01:12:19,106 --> 01:12:21,374
for these cattle and sheep
that they're bringing in.

1301
01:12:21,408 --> 01:12:22,844
We didn't get a response.

1302
01:12:22,877 --> 01:12:24,579
We're asking you,
Mr. President,

1303
01:12:24,612 --> 01:12:27,048
please stop the roundups.

1304
01:12:27,081 --> 01:12:29,116
Everyone here
has an opportunity

1305
01:12:29,150 --> 01:12:31,384
to let the president know
how you feel.

1306
01:12:31,418 --> 01:12:35,656
Call 202-456-1111,

1307
01:12:35,690 --> 01:12:38,659
202-456-1111.

1308
01:12:38,693 --> 01:12:41,428
And let's light up
the White House switchboard.

1309
01:12:41,461 --> 01:12:42,964
Let's light it up.

1310
01:12:42,997 --> 01:12:45,700
It's time to call the President.
This has to stop.

1311
01:12:45,733 --> 01:12:48,536
This is a government agency
that is broken.

1312
01:12:48,569 --> 01:12:51,639
It's not just sickened,
in need of reform,

1313
01:12:51,672 --> 01:12:54,141
it is broken,
in need of a complete overhaul.

1314
01:12:54,175 --> 01:12:56,644
We do need
leadership from above.

1315
01:12:56,677 --> 01:12:58,445
We need adult supervision

1316
01:12:58,478 --> 01:12:59,814
for the agency bureaucrats

1317
01:12:59,847 --> 01:13:01,582
who have been making
the same mistakes,

1318
01:13:01,616 --> 01:13:03,684
year after year after year.

1319
01:13:03,718 --> 01:13:05,686
I think it's so important

1320
01:13:05,720 --> 01:13:07,922
that not only
the people standing here

1321
01:13:07,955 --> 01:13:09,991
but the children
in our country

1322
01:13:10,024 --> 01:13:11,759
stand up
and raise their voices

1323
01:13:11,792 --> 01:13:13,761
because they too
can make a change.

1324
01:13:13,794 --> 01:13:16,931
I'd like to read two letters
from two ten-year-olds,

1325
01:13:16,964 --> 01:13:19,466
part of a Girl Scout troop.

1326
01:13:19,499 --> 01:13:20,801
Dear President Biden.

1327
01:13:20,835 --> 01:13:23,571
Dear Interior Secretary
Deb Haaland.

1328
01:13:23,604 --> 01:13:25,773
And dear honorable members
of Congress.

1329
01:13:25,806 --> 01:13:27,708
"I'm writing
to ask you to make laws

1330
01:13:27,742 --> 01:13:29,810
to help protect
the wild Mustang herds."

1331
01:13:29,844 --> 01:13:31,879
"If you were a horse
and you were rounded up

1332
01:13:31,913 --> 01:13:35,116
in a tiny pen and slaughtered,
how would that make you feel?

1333
01:13:35,149 --> 01:13:37,018
Scared.

1334
01:13:37,051 --> 01:13:39,153
That is how these horses feel,
and that is sad and wrong."

1335
01:13:39,186 --> 01:13:42,123
"Roundups of herds
like the Onaqui must be stopped.

1336
01:13:42,156 --> 01:13:43,758
The facts have shown

1337
01:13:43,791 --> 01:13:45,660
that these horses just end up
in kill pens

1338
01:13:45,693 --> 01:13:47,895
bound for a life of pain
and suffering."

1339
01:13:47,929 --> 01:13:49,630
"These majestic creatures

1340
01:13:49,664 --> 01:13:51,766
are caught in the system
of ranching monopolies,

1341
01:13:51,799 --> 01:13:54,101
encouraged
by government enablement

1342
01:13:54,135 --> 01:13:55,836
and distortion of the truth."

1343
01:13:55,870 --> 01:13:57,204
"President Biden,

1344
01:13:57,238 --> 01:13:59,472
please stop
the wild Onaqui roundups.

1345
01:13:59,507 --> 01:14:01,474
There are babies
and elderly horses

1346
01:14:01,509 --> 01:14:04,578
out on the range who will
not survive the helicopters.

1347
01:14:04,612 --> 01:14:06,681
You are the voice
that can stop this."

1348
01:14:06,714 --> 01:14:08,783
"Please help the Onaqui
stay where they belong."

1349
01:14:08,816 --> 01:14:11,752
"These horses
represent the story of America."

1350
01:14:11,786 --> 01:14:13,788
"What will you do
for the generations to come?"

1351
01:14:13,821 --> 01:14:16,691
"Have the courage
to see beyond profit,

1352
01:14:16,724 --> 01:14:21,028
and take a serious look
at America's long term values."

1353
01:14:21,062 --> 01:14:24,865
I'm Jocelyn, I'm ten years old,
and I stand with wild horses.

1354
01:14:24,899 --> 01:14:26,567
I stand with wild horses.

1355
01:14:26,600 --> 01:14:28,002
I stand with wild horses.

1356
01:14:28,035 --> 01:14:30,571
Hopeful and determined,
Jocelyn.

1357
01:14:44,051 --> 01:14:47,521
<i>After the rally</i>
<i>to save the Onaqui...</i>

1358
01:14:47,555 --> 01:14:49,724
<i>going out to the range</i>
<i>was cleansing.</i>

1359
01:14:53,627 --> 01:14:55,730
<i>All of our favorite families</i>
<i>were there.</i>

1360
01:14:57,298 --> 01:14:59,567
<i>The chestnut foal</i>
<i>Sun Catcher.</i>

1361
01:15:01,268 --> 01:15:03,004
<i>The powerful Stargazer.</i>

1362
01:15:05,573 --> 01:15:06,807
<i>The bay roan.</i>

1363
01:15:08,776 --> 01:15:11,078
<i>Norman and the three amigos.</i>

1364
01:15:27,728 --> 01:15:30,564
<i>It was as if they were</i>
<i>putting on a show for us.</i>

1365
01:15:36,003 --> 01:15:38,272
<i>Never had we been so close.</i>

1366
01:15:43,944 --> 01:15:46,347
<i>Stargazer was in full form,</i>

1367
01:15:46,380 --> 01:15:48,149
<i>battling</i>
<i>several of the stallions</i>

1368
01:15:48,182 --> 01:15:50,284
<i>right before our eyes.</i>

1369
01:15:59,894 --> 01:16:04,832
<i>A young stallion</i>
<i>sailed before us...</i>

1370
01:16:04,865 --> 01:16:09,270
<i>as he courted the affections</i>
<i>of his very first mare.</i>

1371
01:16:17,378 --> 01:16:20,114
<i>It was a harmony</i>
<i>only nature could know.</i>

1372
01:16:23,284 --> 01:16:27,321
<i>And we were given this</i>
<i>quiet glimpse into all of it.</i>

1373
01:16:29,890 --> 01:16:32,660
<i>And then...</i>

1374
01:16:32,693 --> 01:16:35,863
<i>the one horse</i>
<i>we'd hoped to see for years...</i>

1375
01:16:37,731 --> 01:16:40,868
<i>the legendary Old Man...</i>

1376
01:16:40,901 --> 01:16:44,338
<i>seemed to materialize</i>
<i>out of the mountains.</i>

1377
01:17:16,437 --> 01:17:19,073
<i>He walked beside us...</i>

1378
01:17:19,106 --> 01:17:22,076
<i>and stayed with us</i>
<i>until sunset...</i>

1379
01:17:24,078 --> 01:17:25,312
<i>when he was called home.</i>

1380
01:17:48,736 --> 01:17:53,841
<i>And that night, we were given</i>
<i>the spectacular gift...</i>

1381
01:17:53,874 --> 01:17:58,946
<i>of hundreds of Onaqui horses</i>
<i>galloping to water...</i>

1382
01:17:58,979 --> 01:18:00,981
<i>like ghosts of the desert.</i>

1383
01:18:05,920 --> 01:18:08,122
Well, uh, thank you everybody
for being here,

1384
01:18:08,155 --> 01:18:11,192
my name is Gus Warr,
I'm the BLM Wild Horse and Burro

1385
01:18:11,225 --> 01:18:13,194
Program Manager for Utah,

1386
01:18:13,227 --> 01:18:16,297
and I'll be the incident
commander on this gather.

1387
01:18:16,330 --> 01:18:19,433
Um, been a lot of publicity,

1388
01:18:19,466 --> 01:18:22,303
a lot of things associated
with-- with this gather.

1389
01:18:22,336 --> 01:18:25,039
Uh, we did have a litigation
case we were working through,

1390
01:18:25,072 --> 01:18:27,808
and we wanted
to allow Judge Moss

1391
01:18:27,841 --> 01:18:30,911
to make his ruling
without overstepping our bounds

1392
01:18:30,945 --> 01:18:32,279
and not doing something
we shouldn't,

1393
01:18:32,313 --> 01:18:34,081
and we did get a ruling

1394
01:18:34,114 --> 01:18:35,950
which gave us the green light
to be out here today.

1395
01:18:35,983 --> 01:18:37,519
This is Lisa Reid,

1396
01:18:37,552 --> 01:18:40,421
she's our lead
public affairs person out here

1397
01:18:40,454 --> 01:18:42,923
on this gather and, uh,

1398
01:18:42,957 --> 01:18:45,893
you're gonna hear her, uh,
what I call barking orders.

1399
01:18:45,926 --> 01:18:48,362
She's in charge of all of you.

1400
01:18:48,395 --> 01:18:51,332
I'm in charge
of everything out here,

1401
01:18:51,365 --> 01:18:55,002
meaning we got
an operations person over here,

1402
01:18:55,035 --> 01:18:56,370
we've got
a law enforcement branch,

1403
01:18:56,403 --> 01:18:58,005
we've got a public affairs

1404
01:18:58,038 --> 01:18:59,840
and so I'm trying
to keep it all in check,

1405
01:18:59,873 --> 01:19:02,943
but she's-- she's kind of trying
to corral the people.

1406
01:19:02,977 --> 01:19:04,512
You'll see us around,

1407
01:19:04,546 --> 01:19:06,447
we're gonna be scattered
throughout the operation,

1408
01:19:06,480 --> 01:19:09,049
and, uh, we're here for safety,
and we're gonna hope to prevent

1409
01:19:09,083 --> 01:19:10,918
any interference
with the operation.

1410
01:19:10,951 --> 01:19:13,988
Because if we start interfering
with gather operations,

1411
01:19:14,021 --> 01:19:16,558
then unfortunately,
we have to move further back,

1412
01:19:16,591 --> 01:19:20,794
further away or-- or, you know,
if worse comes to worse,

1413
01:19:20,828 --> 01:19:23,163
we may have to ask somebody
that's not cooperating

1414
01:19:23,197 --> 01:19:25,432
for law enforcement
to escort them out of the site.

1415
01:19:25,466 --> 01:19:28,202
It's a hike
but it's-- it's the best--

1416
01:19:28,235 --> 01:19:29,870
It's the best viewing
you're gonna get.

1417
01:19:39,146 --> 01:19:40,948
<i>We were no longer shocked</i>

1418
01:19:40,981 --> 01:19:43,317
<i>that the Onaqui roundup</i>
<i>was justified</i>

1419
01:19:43,350 --> 01:19:46,120
<i>much like the rest.</i>

1420
01:19:46,153 --> 01:19:49,123
<i>When an organization</i>
<i>called "Friends of Animals"</i>

1421
01:19:49,156 --> 01:19:51,125
<i>filed a lawsuit to stop it,</i>

1422
01:19:51,158 --> 01:19:55,429
<i>the BLM field manager</i>
<i>for Utah testified under oath</i>

1423
01:19:55,462 --> 01:19:58,232
<i>that the horses</i>
<i>were in poor body condition</i>

1424
01:19:58,265 --> 01:20:00,267
<i>due to being overpopulated</i>

1425
01:20:00,301 --> 01:20:02,903
<i>and needed to be rounded up</i>
<i>for their own good</i>

1426
01:20:02,936 --> 01:20:05,906
<i>to prevent future starvation.</i>

1427
01:20:05,939 --> 01:20:10,477
<i>This ended up being false,</i>
<i>even by the BLM's</i>
<i>own admission.</i>

1428
01:20:10,512 --> 01:20:12,346
<i>And three days</i>
<i>into the roundup,</i>

1429
01:20:12,379 --> 01:20:15,349
<i>the agency announced</i>
<i>that most of the horses</i>

1430
01:20:15,382 --> 01:20:17,985
<i>were in good shape after all.</i>

1431
01:20:18,018 --> 01:20:19,853
<i>But instead of pulling back</i>

1432
01:20:19,887 --> 01:20:23,123
<i>or releasing</i>
<i>the healthy horses...</i>

1433
01:20:23,157 --> 01:20:25,192
<i>they simply changed</i>
<i>the justification</i>

1434
01:20:25,225 --> 01:20:27,261
<i>for the roundup to drought.</i>

1435
01:20:32,966 --> 01:20:36,303
<i>We, along with</i>
<i>tens of thousands of people</i>

1436
01:20:36,337 --> 01:20:40,007
<i>and advocacy groups</i>
<i>across the world...</i>

1437
01:20:40,040 --> 01:20:43,977
<i>tried everything we could</i>
<i>to stop the roundup of Onaqui.</i>

1438
01:20:53,253 --> 01:20:57,391
<i>The night before it happened,</i>
<i>as they walked away...</i>

1439
01:20:57,424 --> 01:20:59,259
<i>it was like a funeral march.</i>

1440
01:21:00,394 --> 01:21:02,329
<i>It was as if they knew.</i>

1441
01:21:10,504 --> 01:21:14,341
<i>On the first day,</i>
<i>the helicopter kept a distance,</i>

1442
01:21:14,375 --> 01:21:16,611
<i>and only 14 horses</i>
<i>were captured.</i>

1443
01:21:18,479 --> 01:21:20,314
<i>None of the families</i>
<i>that we knew</i>

1444
01:21:20,347 --> 01:21:22,916
<i>lived in this remote area.</i>

1445
01:21:22,950 --> 01:21:26,487
<i>So, we were shocked</i>
<i>to see Old Man there</i>

1446
01:21:26,521 --> 01:21:28,255
<i>as if he were bearing witness.</i>

1447
01:21:30,625 --> 01:21:33,127
<i>The Associated Press showed up</i>

1448
01:21:33,160 --> 01:21:37,064
<i>along with advocates</i>
<i>and other media.</i>

1449
01:21:37,097 --> 01:21:40,635
<i>But we were surprised</i>
<i>at how few people turned out.</i>

1450
01:21:40,668 --> 01:21:42,604
<i>I think the BLM was too,</i>

1451
01:21:42,637 --> 01:21:44,471
<i>because in the days</i>
<i>that followed,</i>

1452
01:21:44,506 --> 01:21:48,108
<i>the roundup became</i>
<i>significantly more aggressive.</i>

1453
01:21:53,414 --> 01:21:57,217
Sweetheart, run.

1454
01:21:57,251 --> 01:21:59,086
So, the question was,
"Why can't we see the traps?"

1455
01:21:59,119 --> 01:22:01,121
They're over here,
we looked at the viewing area,

1456
01:22:01,155 --> 01:22:02,956
and all you could see
is the corrals.

1457
01:22:02,990 --> 01:22:05,426
You couldn't see
the gather area out here.

1458
01:22:05,459 --> 01:22:06,694
Can we go up
on that ridge,

1459
01:22:06,728 --> 01:22:08,462
like we did yesterday?

1460
01:22:08,495 --> 01:22:10,097
We were able to climb
the mountain to look down--

1461
01:22:10,130 --> 01:22:11,265
No, we-- we've
selected a viewing site,

1462
01:22:11,298 --> 01:22:12,634
we've alerted the contractor,

1463
01:22:12,667 --> 01:22:14,134
we've alerted
the helicopter pilot,

1464
01:22:14,168 --> 01:22:15,570
it's going to be
right out here.

1465
01:22:15,603 --> 01:22:17,271
That's where
we're going to be viewing from.

1466
01:22:17,304 --> 01:22:19,173
Unfortunately, we cannot
see the trap site today,

1467
01:22:19,206 --> 01:22:20,474
and there's plenty of space

1468
01:22:20,508 --> 01:22:22,376
to allow us
a clear line of sight,

1469
01:22:22,409 --> 01:22:24,411
but there are a lot more horses
that are being rounded up,

1470
01:22:24,445 --> 01:22:28,148
so that can lead to a lot more
injury in that area.

1471
01:22:28,182 --> 01:22:29,651
It's just--
it's really disappointing

1472
01:22:29,684 --> 01:22:32,720
that our observation rights
are being denied.

1473
01:22:32,754 --> 01:22:35,757
But I'm not surprised.

1474
01:22:35,790 --> 01:22:38,459
<i>What was heartbreaking</i>
<i>about that morning</i>

1475
01:22:38,492 --> 01:22:40,127
<i>was when we arrived,</i>

1476
01:22:40,160 --> 01:22:43,330
<i>dozens of Onaqui horses</i>
<i>were grazing</i>

1477
01:22:43,363 --> 01:22:45,098
<i>right near the trap site.</i>

1478
01:22:48,603 --> 01:22:51,371
<i>Stargazer sounded the alarm</i>

1479
01:22:51,405 --> 01:22:53,273
<i>before it even happened</i>

1480
01:22:53,307 --> 01:22:56,210
<i>and tried to move his family</i>
<i>over the mountain</i>

1481
01:22:56,243 --> 01:22:59,547
<i>before taking the lead</i>
<i>to try to guide them to safety.</i>

1482
01:23:00,648 --> 01:23:02,082
<i>But he was too late.</i>

1483
01:23:11,358 --> 01:23:14,261
<i>The horses were driven</i>
<i>back and forth</i>

1484
01:23:14,294 --> 01:23:15,597
<i>as the helicopter looped.</i>

1485
01:23:19,667 --> 01:23:22,135
<i>It was horrifying to see.</i>

1486
01:23:29,577 --> 01:23:31,546
Oh, my gosh.

1487
01:23:31,579 --> 01:23:33,146
It's going in really fast.

1488
01:23:37,184 --> 01:23:40,287
<i>The helicopter flew</i>
<i>so low to the horses</i>

1489
01:23:40,320 --> 01:23:43,357
<i>we were terrified</i>
<i>there would be a collision.</i>

1490
01:23:43,390 --> 01:23:44,626
Oh, my God.

1491
01:23:46,661 --> 01:23:48,362
Guys,
you've got to be kidding me.

1492
01:23:51,766 --> 01:23:55,068
<i>This was the worst</i>
<i>roundup we had ever been to.</i>

1493
01:23:55,102 --> 01:23:57,271
<i>And it was personal...</i>

1494
01:23:57,304 --> 01:23:59,273
<i>as we watched</i>
<i>our families stampeded.</i>

1495
01:24:02,309 --> 01:24:05,647
<i>The young foal</i>
<i>we called Sun Catcher...</i>

1496
01:24:05,680 --> 01:24:08,650
<i>The bay roans, perlino mares</i>

1497
01:24:08,683 --> 01:24:11,786
<i>and even Stargazer</i>
<i>and his family...</i>

1498
01:24:11,819 --> 01:24:14,187
<i>were among those</i>
<i>caught in the melee.</i>

1499
01:24:18,458 --> 01:24:20,728
<i>We felt like</i>
<i>we were being held captive,</i>

1500
01:24:20,762 --> 01:24:22,530
<i>stuck on top of the mountain...</i>

1501
01:24:23,898 --> 01:24:26,433
<i>unable to help them...</i>

1502
01:24:26,466 --> 01:24:29,604
<i>as the Onaqui disappeared</i>
<i>into a cloud of dust.</i>

1503
01:24:31,706 --> 01:24:33,641
<i>We felt like</i>
<i>we had failed them.</i>

1504
01:24:37,477 --> 01:24:39,681
<i>The bay roan</i>
<i>managed to escape.</i>

1505
01:24:41,415 --> 01:24:43,751
<i>But he didn't run away.</i>

1506
01:24:43,785 --> 01:24:45,887
<i>He went back for his family</i>

1507
01:24:45,920 --> 01:24:49,323
<i>and circled the trap site</i>
<i>crying for them.</i>

1508
01:24:52,192 --> 01:24:53,595
No,
he's going in, he's going in.

1509
01:24:55,462 --> 01:24:57,197
<i>As journalists,</i>

1510
01:24:57,230 --> 01:24:59,834
<i>it is our constitutional right</i>
<i>to observe.</i>

1511
01:24:59,867 --> 01:25:03,136
<i>But the BLM did not allow us</i>
<i>to see what they were doing</i>

1512
01:25:03,170 --> 01:25:04,772
<i>behind the mountain.</i>

1513
01:25:04,806 --> 01:25:08,141
<i>Unlike Sand Wash Basin,</i>
<i>we had no vantage point</i>

1514
01:25:08,175 --> 01:25:10,410
<i>to document</i>
<i>any of the injuries</i>

1515
01:25:10,444 --> 01:25:13,213
<i>or potential deaths</i>
<i>of these horses.</i>

1516
01:25:13,246 --> 01:25:14,649
Were any horses
injured yesterday?

1517
01:25:14,682 --> 01:25:16,183
None.

1518
01:25:16,216 --> 01:25:17,685
And who is the organization

1519
01:25:17,719 --> 01:25:19,419
-down there right now?
-Wild Horses of America.

1520
01:25:19,453 --> 01:25:20,888
And so why would you give
preferential treatment

1521
01:25:20,922 --> 01:25:22,456
- to an organization?
- There is no

1522
01:25:22,489 --> 01:25:23,925
preferential treatment,
only the fact

1523
01:25:23,958 --> 01:25:26,628
that they are part
of our dart team program.

1524
01:25:26,661 --> 01:25:28,428
That's clearly
preferential treatment,

1525
01:25:28,462 --> 01:25:31,465
when we want to document
what is going on down there,

1526
01:25:31,498 --> 01:25:33,333
and you're denying us
our right to observe.

1527
01:25:33,367 --> 01:25:35,903
There is nothing--
there is nothing obstructive

1528
01:25:35,937 --> 01:25:39,874
about us putting our camera
on a ridge just like yesterday

1529
01:25:39,907 --> 01:25:42,777
when there were
far fewer horses.

1530
01:25:42,810 --> 01:25:44,344
We're not--
we're not obstructing anything.

1531
01:25:44,378 --> 01:25:45,713
And we had looked
at other locations,

1532
01:25:45,747 --> 01:25:47,414
in fact, we were over
a mile and a half

1533
01:25:47,447 --> 01:25:49,216
to where we can get
straight on,

1534
01:25:49,249 --> 01:25:51,653
but we felt like this was closer
and you could see more

1535
01:25:51,686 --> 01:25:53,655
and get better identification
of the horses.

1536
01:25:53,688 --> 01:25:55,890
Can we go see
the holding facility

1537
01:25:55,923 --> 01:25:57,525
or the, uh, the corrals now?

1538
01:25:57,558 --> 01:25:59,259
We'd like to go
up on that ridge,

1539
01:25:59,292 --> 01:26:00,962
it's a similar distance
that we hiked yesterday.

1540
01:26:00,995 --> 01:26:02,897
So, we already talked about
you could go over here and look,

1541
01:26:02,930 --> 01:26:04,498
you can't see
the holding facility,

1542
01:26:04,532 --> 01:26:05,867
and no, you can't go
down there because--

1543
01:26:05,900 --> 01:26:07,869
We don't need to go down there,

1544
01:26:07,902 --> 01:26:09,671
we've got 1000 millimeter lens,
we could go over to that ridge,

1545
01:26:09,704 --> 01:26:11,405
which is actually
kind of shorter

1546
01:26:11,438 --> 01:26:12,674
than we hiked yesterday
and we're allowed to do.

1547
01:26:12,707 --> 01:26:14,408
We'd like to get a clear shot.

1548
01:26:14,441 --> 01:26:15,910
I think you should go over here
and look and--

1549
01:26:15,943 --> 01:26:17,411
because you don't believe us,
go over here--

1550
01:26:17,444 --> 01:26:18,412
I don't know
where the individual

1551
01:26:18,445 --> 01:26:19,847
that went over there.

1552
01:26:19,881 --> 01:26:21,214
I mean,
you've scouted this area,

1553
01:26:21,248 --> 01:26:22,684
you mentioned that this morning.

1554
01:26:22,717 --> 01:26:24,317
Can we get a clear shot
of the trap-- from--

1555
01:26:24,351 --> 01:26:25,653
-of the trap site from there?
-You can't,

1556
01:26:25,687 --> 01:26:27,354
you can't,
that's why I'm saying--

1557
01:26:27,387 --> 01:26:28,723
So, why would you
send us over there?

1558
01:26:28,756 --> 01:26:30,257
Because
that's where you asked to go.

1559
01:26:30,290 --> 01:26:31,358
I asked to go
on this ridge

1560
01:26:31,391 --> 01:26:33,260
to go see the trap site.

1561
01:26:33,293 --> 01:26:34,829
Yeah, you're not going to
be able to see that down there,

1562
01:26:34,862 --> 01:26:36,363
and, you know, we have to keep
people controlled.

1563
01:26:36,396 --> 01:26:37,732
We can see it down there.

1564
01:26:37,765 --> 01:26:39,499
What if I get you
part way down there

1565
01:26:39,534 --> 01:26:41,234
and all of a sudden
the helicopter takes off and--

1566
01:26:41,268 --> 01:26:42,570
I assume
that you're in communication

1567
01:26:42,603 --> 01:26:44,304
-with the helicopter.
-We are.

1568
01:26:44,337 --> 01:26:45,840
You're denying
our right to observe,

1569
01:26:45,873 --> 01:26:47,775
you're denying
our constitutional rights.

1570
01:26:47,809 --> 01:26:49,644
What did you mean by
you need to control the people?

1571
01:26:49,677 --> 01:26:52,547
We need to-- we need to
make sure people are safe.

1572
01:26:52,580 --> 01:26:54,247
- That's what I mean--
- There's no safety

1573
01:26:54,281 --> 01:26:55,817
unless you've got
some rogue helicopter pilot

1574
01:26:55,850 --> 01:26:57,484
who's going to take off,

1575
01:26:57,518 --> 01:26:59,286
and then you really hired
the wrong person,

1576
01:26:59,319 --> 01:27:00,822
it is perfectly safe for us.

1577
01:27:00,855 --> 01:27:02,523
We got the best helicopter pilot
in the business.

1578
01:27:02,557 --> 01:27:04,391
Wonderful. Great.
I thought he did--

1579
01:27:04,424 --> 01:27:05,793
I thought he kept a very
reasonable distance yesterday.

1580
01:27:05,827 --> 01:27:07,360
- What about today?
- I thought,

1581
01:27:07,394 --> 01:27:08,863
well, he got pretty
darn close today.

1582
01:27:08,896 --> 01:27:10,631
I would like to go over there,
so if you've got

1583
01:27:10,665 --> 01:27:11,933
the best helicopter pilot
in the distance,

1584
01:27:11,966 --> 01:27:13,735
he's not going to
take off on me.

1585
01:27:13,768 --> 01:27:15,870
...people are getting
a little bit, uh, emotional,

1586
01:27:15,903 --> 01:27:17,772
and, you know, we're going to
keep people here--

1587
01:27:17,805 --> 01:27:19,507
A minute ago,
it was for our safety,

1588
01:27:19,540 --> 01:27:21,374
now you're saying
it's because we're emotional.

1589
01:27:21,408 --> 01:27:23,376
Well, emotion runs into that.

1590
01:27:23,410 --> 01:27:25,813
If people are getting emotional,
how do you control people?

1591
01:27:25,847 --> 01:27:27,314
We weren't
emotional a minute ago.

1592
01:27:27,347 --> 01:27:28,850
No, we very calmly asked,

1593
01:27:28,883 --> 01:27:30,918
and we said it is our right
as journalists,

1594
01:27:30,952 --> 01:27:33,521
as public observers
to go over there

1595
01:27:33,554 --> 01:27:35,288
and point our camera
at the trap site.

1596
01:27:35,322 --> 01:27:36,591
...of everybody

1597
01:27:36,624 --> 01:27:37,859
and the coordination
of this group,

1598
01:27:37,892 --> 01:27:39,326
we want to keep you here.

1599
01:27:39,359 --> 01:27:40,728
So, that's what we're gonna do.

1600
01:27:40,762 --> 01:27:42,295
Can I go?
I'm not emotional.

1601
01:27:42,329 --> 01:27:43,731
We're gonna keep you here.

1602
01:27:43,765 --> 01:27:45,365
Yeah, no.

1603
01:27:45,398 --> 01:27:48,903
So, um, we made such a stink

1604
01:27:48,936 --> 01:27:51,606
and made some-- made some
pretty damn good points,

1605
01:27:51,639 --> 01:27:54,575
and they are now allowing us,
after a fight,

1606
01:27:54,609 --> 01:27:58,546
to go over
to a certain point

1607
01:27:58,579 --> 01:28:00,615
where we're allowed
to observe.

1608
01:28:00,648 --> 01:28:01,883
Are you filming this?

1609
01:28:03,084 --> 01:28:04,819
So, holy cow.

1610
01:28:09,657 --> 01:28:10,892
Wow.

1611
01:28:21,803 --> 01:28:23,037
This is nuts.

1612
01:28:26,473 --> 01:28:27,708
This is nuts.

1613
01:28:43,658 --> 01:28:46,761
There is a child that just
got out of the helicopter.

1614
01:28:46,794 --> 01:28:50,064
Why is a--
why is a kid riding around?

1615
01:28:50,097 --> 01:28:52,700
How is that
not a liability issue?

1616
01:28:52,733 --> 01:28:54,735
Well, that's because
it's daddy's helicopter.

1617
01:28:54,769 --> 01:28:56,403
Yeah,
but for a government roundup

1618
01:28:56,436 --> 01:28:57,839
of wild horses,
you've got a chi--

1619
01:28:57,872 --> 01:28:59,607
- you've got a child?
- Yeah.

1620
01:28:59,640 --> 01:29:02,543
That's not even a teenager.
That's a little girl.

1621
01:29:02,577 --> 01:29:04,011
No reason
that we couldn't--

1622
01:29:04,045 --> 01:29:07,048
Yeah, there's no--
this is absurd, yeah.

1623
01:29:07,081 --> 01:29:09,482
We can go low,
we can have the camera low,

1624
01:29:09,517 --> 01:29:12,620
we can have-- we could crouch
below those rocks.

1625
01:29:12,653 --> 01:29:14,622
- Absolutely.
- Zero issue.

1626
01:29:14,655 --> 01:29:16,389
We could sit right up here.

1627
01:29:16,423 --> 01:29:19,026
We could see the helicopter
operations from there.

1628
01:29:19,060 --> 01:29:20,828
All the way
around the mountain,

1629
01:29:20,862 --> 01:29:22,830
and then we could see
the trap site.

1630
01:29:22,864 --> 01:29:26,433
We could actually see the horses
running in, like this.

1631
01:29:28,636 --> 01:29:29,871
So, they run them
in from there.

1632
01:29:38,512 --> 01:29:39,814
And then
they're forced through here.

1633
01:29:39,847 --> 01:29:41,816
Can you imagine
if you were a horse

1634
01:29:41,849 --> 01:29:43,885
and you run?

1635
01:29:43,918 --> 01:29:45,186
Can you tell me
about the child

1636
01:29:45,219 --> 01:29:46,988
that was in the chopper
yesterday?

1637
01:29:47,021 --> 01:29:48,890
I have no idea
what you're talking about.

1638
01:29:48,923 --> 01:29:50,725
There was a little girl
that got out of the chopper,

1639
01:29:50,758 --> 01:29:52,193
we've got it on film.

1640
01:29:52,226 --> 01:29:53,961
Why is a child riding around?

1641
01:29:53,995 --> 01:29:55,428
-Is that legal?
-Couldn't tell you.

1642
01:29:57,497 --> 01:29:59,033
But after
the roundup is done

1643
01:29:59,066 --> 01:30:00,902
and the chopper is grounded,

1644
01:30:00,935 --> 01:30:02,904
why can't we go over to
the other side of the mountain

1645
01:30:02,937 --> 01:30:05,773
if we're half a mile away
on 1000 millimeter lens?

1646
01:30:09,076 --> 01:30:10,978
We discussed this yesterday.

1647
01:30:11,012 --> 01:30:13,648
Yeah, and I'd like to know why
what you said is changing again.

1648
01:30:16,617 --> 01:30:17,952
So, you're not gonna let

1649
01:30:17,985 --> 01:30:19,754
the Associated Press
over there either?

1650
01:30:19,787 --> 01:30:22,523
Yeah, come in.

1651
01:30:22,556 --> 01:30:24,225
<i>We were told we couldn't go</i>

1652
01:30:24,258 --> 01:30:27,161
<i>near the trap site</i>
<i>because it was a safety issue.</i>

1653
01:30:27,194 --> 01:30:31,098
<i>But a little girl not only rode</i>
<i>around in the helicopter,</i>

1654
01:30:31,132 --> 01:30:33,634
<i>but sat on the back</i>
<i>of a water truck</i>

1655
01:30:33,668 --> 01:30:35,502
<i>as the horses</i>
<i>were hosed down.</i>

1656
01:30:47,114 --> 01:30:48,549
This is just so unfair.

1657
01:30:50,518 --> 01:30:53,721
I can hear them crying.

1658
01:30:53,754 --> 01:30:54,989
This is just
really heartbreaking.

1659
01:31:02,763 --> 01:31:05,766
We're not allowed
to view the holding facility,

1660
01:31:05,800 --> 01:31:08,169
even though
it's a BLM holding facility.

1661
01:31:08,202 --> 01:31:10,271
There's Kai,
we've got officers.

1662
01:31:10,304 --> 01:31:11,973
I'm not sure
what we're about to encounter.

1663
01:31:58,953 --> 01:32:00,955
- That sound is--
- I know, it's terrible.

1664
01:32:00,988 --> 01:32:03,024
We've been listening to it
for hours now,

1665
01:32:03,057 --> 01:32:04,658
for two hours, it's horrible.

1666
01:32:16,370 --> 01:32:17,805
I'm so sorry.

1667
01:32:27,214 --> 01:32:30,684
<i>Three months later,</i>
<i>we went back to Delta.</i>

1668
01:32:34,755 --> 01:32:38,225
<i>Almost all of the families</i>
<i>we've gotten to know...</i>

1669
01:32:38,259 --> 01:32:40,694
<i>had been captured</i>
<i>and separated.</i>

1670
01:32:43,097 --> 01:32:46,100
<i>The beautiful perlino sisters</i>

1671
01:32:46,133 --> 01:32:49,336
<i>strode through</i>
<i>pools of water and mud.</i>

1672
01:32:51,672 --> 01:32:54,742
<i>And their brave stallion</i>
<i>who escaped</i>

1673
01:32:54,775 --> 01:32:57,111
<i>but gallantly</i>
<i>went back for them</i>

1674
01:32:57,144 --> 01:32:58,579
<i>was captured too.</i>

1675
01:33:00,181 --> 01:33:02,016
<i>The father</i>
<i>of the chestnut foal.</i>

1676
01:33:03,951 --> 01:33:05,953
<i>Even the powerful Stargazer...</i>

1677
01:33:07,888 --> 01:33:10,624
<i>who had been so resplendent</i>
<i>in the wild...</i>

1678
01:33:12,026 --> 01:33:13,994
<i>had been reduced to this.</i>

1679
01:34:32,139 --> 01:34:35,242
<i>A number of the horses</i>
<i>from roundups...</i>

1680
01:34:35,276 --> 01:34:38,012
<i>found safe landings</i>
<i>at sanctuaries.</i>

1681
01:34:40,014 --> 01:34:42,249
<i>The cremello</i>
<i>and the black from Onaqui</i>

1682
01:34:42,283 --> 01:34:47,188
<i>landed at Great Escape</i>
<i>Mustang Sanctuary in Colorado.</i>

1683
01:34:47,221 --> 01:34:49,390
<i>The Black</i>
<i>has joined the herd.</i>

1684
01:34:49,423 --> 01:34:51,959
<i>Though the cremello</i>
<i>wanders alone.</i>

1685
01:34:54,795 --> 01:34:57,831
<i>Norman remained</i>
<i>free on the range.</i>

1686
01:34:57,865 --> 01:35:00,367
<i>Though</i>
<i>one of the three amigos, Rowan,</i>

1687
01:35:00,401 --> 01:35:03,137
<i>was reported to be killed</i>
<i>by the BLM</i>

1688
01:35:03,170 --> 01:35:05,272
<i>only days before the roundup</i>

1689
01:35:05,306 --> 01:35:09,109
<i>for supposedly</i>
<i>having a pre-existing injury.</i>

1690
01:35:11,312 --> 01:35:15,316
<i>We never did find</i>
<i>the chestnut foal.</i>

1691
01:35:15,349 --> 01:35:18,719
<i>Although Stargazer's story</i>
<i>ended in a different way.</i>

1692
01:35:21,121 --> 01:35:25,059
<i>After the BLM auctioned off</i>
<i>the surviving Onaqui horses,</i>

1693
01:35:25,092 --> 01:35:28,862
<i>he and his favorite mare</i>
<i>were adopted together.</i>

1694
01:35:28,896 --> 01:35:31,332
<i>Although</i>
<i>they will never again be free.</i>

1695
01:35:33,467 --> 01:35:35,502
<i>Old Man was left wild...</i>

1696
01:35:37,238 --> 01:35:38,505
<i>though we never saw him again.</i>

1697
01:35:42,443 --> 01:35:45,412
<i>The fate of nearly 60,000</i>

1698
01:35:45,446 --> 01:35:47,414
<i>wild horses and burros</i>

1699
01:35:47,448 --> 01:35:51,553
<i>stuck in holding facilities</i>
<i>across the United States...</i>

1700
01:35:51,586 --> 01:35:53,120
<i>will never fully be known.</i>

1701
01:35:57,958 --> 01:35:59,960
<i>This film</i>
<i>is in honor of them...</i>

1702
01:36:02,196 --> 01:36:03,998
<i>and for all of their</i>
<i>mysterious...</i>

1703
01:36:05,199 --> 01:36:09,203
<i>unfathomable wild beauty</i>

1704
01:36:09,236 --> 01:36:10,938
<i>that they've brought</i>
<i>to the world.</i>

1705
01:36:54,915 --> 01:36:56,383
Unbridled and unbroken,

1706
01:36:56,417 --> 01:36:58,052
these symbols
of our nation's merits

1707
01:36:58,085 --> 01:36:59,987
embody the tonic of wildness

1708
01:37:00,020 --> 01:37:03,057
that Henry David Thoreau
so eloquently phrased

1709
01:37:03,090 --> 01:37:04,626
in his reflective piece,
<i>Walden.</i>

1710
01:37:04,659 --> 01:37:07,961
Wild horses and burros
have a place on these lands,

1711
01:37:07,995 --> 01:37:10,130
epitomizing
the tenacity and grit

1712
01:37:10,164 --> 01:37:11,465
this nation strives for.