Dear Mr. Pogacnik:
I am writing this letter in clarification of recent and ongoing publicity regarding Honey Bandit, the foal that I picked up at the BLM facility in Litchfield. I am hoping that BLM prints this letter in it's entirety on it's website, as I would like to make clear to America the reason for this story being so public.
- - -
An "Open Letter" to BLM
My name is Lauri "Palomino" Armstrong. I am the person who, with the support of other advocates, took in the special needs BLM foal known as "Honey Bandit." Honey Bandit was noticed by advocates at BLM's Litchfield Corrals and appeared to be in poor condition. There have been both facts and speculation surrounding this "rescue," and while not everything went smoothly, there was certainly cooperation by BLM and other advocates in support of the care and recovery of this foal.
This letter clarifies my personal feelings and some things that I want known. I want anyone who follows Honey bandit's story to clearly understand that the journals describing Honey Bandit's issues and care were not intended to be used as a tool to get people mad at BLM. This story is about people getting off their duffs to get involved in helping horses and the broader message is for concerned citizens to motivate Congress to change some outdated legislation.
I have never “bashed” BLM. I definitely do not agree with the roundups, especially how some are carried out and the way the horses are transported. But I also realize that the people working at BLM's holding facilities are not the people who make national policies.
The reason we are keeping Honey Bandit's story in the public and taking him to Washington DC next spring is not to promote bad feelings toward the BLM, but rather to get concerned Americans to contact their elected lawmakers in Congress to get laws passed that better protect our nation's wild horses and burros. The only way things are going to change is if WE, THE PEOPLE, insist on change, using sensible and factual arguments. I joined the call for a moratorium on the roundups because I believe that a moratorium is appropriate until the laws can be changed to better protect our horses and burros. I believe that we need to change the way horses and burros are rounded up, as present strategies produce far too many injuries and deaths. In reality, current laws prohibit a moratorium on roundups. However, our call for a moratorium, and BLM's response that it couldn't if it wanted to, clearly illustrates our point with respect to the outdated nature of America's wild horse and burro laws.
Equally important is that advocacy is about all the horses and burros, not just the ones out on the range. Therefore there are many areas where we have to work with the people at BLM so that a safety net is in place for at risk horses, before a problem is discovered. The next time a foal like Honey Bandit comes in, a process must be in place where BLM can call us or another qualified caregiver and we could pick up the foal immediately.
Honey Bandit somehow did "slip through the cracks." One reason for this was BLM not being aware of the help that was available to deal with these situations. Sometimes advocates have to stand up and say, "We're here to help and here is how we can help." Helping horses doesn't mean we agree with all the national wild horse policies. It means we're interested in helping horses.
To be fair to BLM, they did not hide Honey Bandit, or let him die. They turned him over to our rescue which specializes in orphan/critical care foals. Once BLM was made fully aware of the situation, the people at Litchfield took appropriate action and our "combined" decisions and actions saved the foal's life.
The fact that Honey Bandit's condition got overlooked in a facility that was experiencing an influx of about 900 horses is not OK, but what happened him afterwards is okay. By working together we were able to get him to a place where he could have the 24/7 care that a foal in his condition required. There will never be enough staff to provide that kind of care at any of the BLM facilities, so their "standard of care" must include assistance by qualified advocates.
Honestly, I have to say that there were situations and conversations I had with BlM that I found to be very frustrating, but what matters is that we resolved those situations so that everyone could work together in the future. Honey Bandit is alive and he will continue to get the message out that we, as the American people, need to make sure that the laws are changed.
The real issue here is not that the personnel at Litchfield don't care about the horses. They clearly do. What Honey Bandit's situation illustrated is BLM is stretched pretty thin in order to carry out its present "mandate." We are not likely to actually see a moratorium. Congress may change some laws but it will be a slow process. Meanwhile, horses coming off the range need homes, and in some instances special care, right now. We need to agree to disagree about range policies but work together wherever possible for the horses.
Also, we advocates need to recognize that BLM can and will correct problems, particularly when advocates step up in cooperative ways. At Litchfield, intervention in the case of at-risk foals will likely be much improved, mainly because the staff now knows that they have a place to send such foals. In Nevada, and with the cooperation of local horse groups, BLM will not be removing horses from the Pine Nut Range but trap-treat-release bands where found using time release fertility control. The local horse groups have agreed in principle to monitor the success of this "maintenance" approach to managing the herd. This evolution in herd management should be better for the horses.
There appear to be other "improvements" being considered.
If we as advocates can remember that this whole advocacy is about horses and burros, and our complaints about problems can't go so far as to undermine opportunities to achieve improvements for the horses, then we really are helping the horses. But then we have to be willing to step up when situations present themselves where we can help and make a difference.
That is Honey Bandit's real story.
Sincerely,
Palomino Armstrong
I am writing this letter in clarification of recent and ongoing publicity regarding Honey Bandit, the foal that I picked up at the BLM facility in Litchfield. I am hoping that BLM prints this letter in it's entirety on it's website, as I would like to make clear to America the reason for this story being so public.
- - -
An "Open Letter" to BLM
My name is Lauri "Palomino" Armstrong. I am the person who, with the support of other advocates, took in the special needs BLM foal known as "Honey Bandit." Honey Bandit was noticed by advocates at BLM's Litchfield Corrals and appeared to be in poor condition. There have been both facts and speculation surrounding this "rescue," and while not everything went smoothly, there was certainly cooperation by BLM and other advocates in support of the care and recovery of this foal.
This letter clarifies my personal feelings and some things that I want known. I want anyone who follows Honey bandit's story to clearly understand that the journals describing Honey Bandit's issues and care were not intended to be used as a tool to get people mad at BLM. This story is about people getting off their duffs to get involved in helping horses and the broader message is for concerned citizens to motivate Congress to change some outdated legislation.
I have never “bashed” BLM. I definitely do not agree with the roundups, especially how some are carried out and the way the horses are transported. But I also realize that the people working at BLM's holding facilities are not the people who make national policies.
The reason we are keeping Honey Bandit's story in the public and taking him to Washington DC next spring is not to promote bad feelings toward the BLM, but rather to get concerned Americans to contact their elected lawmakers in Congress to get laws passed that better protect our nation's wild horses and burros. The only way things are going to change is if WE, THE PEOPLE, insist on change, using sensible and factual arguments. I joined the call for a moratorium on the roundups because I believe that a moratorium is appropriate until the laws can be changed to better protect our horses and burros. I believe that we need to change the way horses and burros are rounded up, as present strategies produce far too many injuries and deaths. In reality, current laws prohibit a moratorium on roundups. However, our call for a moratorium, and BLM's response that it couldn't if it wanted to, clearly illustrates our point with respect to the outdated nature of America's wild horse and burro laws.
Equally important is that advocacy is about all the horses and burros, not just the ones out on the range. Therefore there are many areas where we have to work with the people at BLM so that a safety net is in place for at risk horses, before a problem is discovered. The next time a foal like Honey Bandit comes in, a process must be in place where BLM can call us or another qualified caregiver and we could pick up the foal immediately.
Honey Bandit somehow did "slip through the cracks." One reason for this was BLM not being aware of the help that was available to deal with these situations. Sometimes advocates have to stand up and say, "We're here to help and here is how we can help." Helping horses doesn't mean we agree with all the national wild horse policies. It means we're interested in helping horses.
To be fair to BLM, they did not hide Honey Bandit, or let him die. They turned him over to our rescue which specializes in orphan/critical care foals. Once BLM was made fully aware of the situation, the people at Litchfield took appropriate action and our "combined" decisions and actions saved the foal's life.
The fact that Honey Bandit's condition got overlooked in a facility that was experiencing an influx of about 900 horses is not OK, but what happened him afterwards is okay. By working together we were able to get him to a place where he could have the 24/7 care that a foal in his condition required. There will never be enough staff to provide that kind of care at any of the BLM facilities, so their "standard of care" must include assistance by qualified advocates.
Honestly, I have to say that there were situations and conversations I had with BlM that I found to be very frustrating, but what matters is that we resolved those situations so that everyone could work together in the future. Honey Bandit is alive and he will continue to get the message out that we, as the American people, need to make sure that the laws are changed.
The real issue here is not that the personnel at Litchfield don't care about the horses. They clearly do. What Honey Bandit's situation illustrated is BLM is stretched pretty thin in order to carry out its present "mandate." We are not likely to actually see a moratorium. Congress may change some laws but it will be a slow process. Meanwhile, horses coming off the range need homes, and in some instances special care, right now. We need to agree to disagree about range policies but work together wherever possible for the horses.
Also, we advocates need to recognize that BLM can and will correct problems, particularly when advocates step up in cooperative ways. At Litchfield, intervention in the case of at-risk foals will likely be much improved, mainly because the staff now knows that they have a place to send such foals. In Nevada, and with the cooperation of local horse groups, BLM will not be removing horses from the Pine Nut Range but trap-treat-release bands where found using time release fertility control. The local horse groups have agreed in principle to monitor the success of this "maintenance" approach to managing the herd. This evolution in herd management should be better for the horses.
There appear to be other "improvements" being considered.
If we as advocates can remember that this whole advocacy is about horses and burros, and our complaints about problems can't go so far as to undermine opportunities to achieve improvements for the horses, then we really are helping the horses. But then we have to be willing to step up when situations present themselves where we can help and make a difference.
That is Honey Bandit's real story.
Sincerely,
Palomino Armstrong