The Wild Beauty Foundation on Instagram: "Thank you, @renogazettejournal for publishing our powerful op-ed about the horrors that unfolded in the Blue Wing Complex roundup in Nevada, where a young horse was caught being beaten on camera - and 42 horses and burros lost their lives. . . . A few sections below from the op-ed “Government Cruelty Breaks a Mustang’s Spirit” by Ashley Avis. Read the full text I can only imagine the panic that overtook the young wild horse this week in Nevada, as she attempted to outrace the helicopter. For her, this was a nightmare commissioned by the Bureau of Land Management, which intended to destroy her freedom. Having filmed roundups years ago in the state, I knew all too well what was likely to happe. It was beyond disturbing then, but left unchecked by the federal government, the systemic cruelty has become more horrific now. One of the advocates managed to capture the catastrophic policies of the BLM in real time, in a video of this terrified wild mustang evading the helicopter in 90-degree heat and then falling, exhausted, as two wranglers were unleashed. One dismounted and began to kick and strike her. When she didn’t move, they tied a rope around her neck and tail, and forced her to her feet. They then sandwiched her between their horses and proceeded to drag her– before she collapsed again, seemingly lifeless. The BLM’s helicopter operations are not just inhumane; they are a brutal testament to the callousness of the agency’s policies. Wild horses and burros, symbols of the untamed American spirit, are being sacrificed on the altar of private profit, targeted for removal simply because they compete for resources with the commercial livestock industry. Wild horses and burros deserve our grace and protection, not our brutality. At the end of the day, the BLM ironically continues to define roundups as “humane”– but kicking a downed horse is the antithesis of that promise to the American public."

190 likes, 29 comments - wildbeautyspirit on August 2, 2024: "Thank you, @renogazettejournal for publishing our powerful op-ed about the horrors that unfolded in the Blue Wing Complex roundup in Nevada, where a young horse was caught being beaten on camera - and 42 horses and burros lost their lives. . . . A few sections below from the op-ed “Government Cruelty Breaks a Mustang’s Spirit” by Ashley Avis. Read the full text I can only imagine the panic that overtook the young wild horse this week in Nevada, as she attempted to outrace the helicopter. For her, this was a nightmare commissioned by the Bureau of Land Management, which intended to destroy her freedom. Having filmed roundups years ago in the state, I knew all too well what was likely to happe. It was beyond disturbing then, but left unchecked by the federal government, the systemic cruelty has become more horrific now. One of the advocates managed to capture the catastrophic policies of the BLM in real time, in a video of this terrified wild mustang evading the helicopter in 90-degree heat and then falling, exhausted, as two wranglers were unleashed. One dismounted and began to kick and strike her. When she didn’t move, they tied a rope around her neck and tail, and forced her to her feet. They then sandwiched her between their horses and proceeded to drag her– before she collapsed again, seemingly lifeless. The BLM’s helicopter operations are not just inhumane; they are a brutal testament to the callousness of the agency’s policies. Wild horses and burros, symbols of the untamed American spirit, are being sacrificed on the altar of private profit, targeted for removal simply because they compete for resources with the commercial livestock industry. Wild horses and burros deserve our grace and protection, not our brutality. At the end of the day, the BLM ironically continues to define roundups as “humane”– but kicking a downed horse is the antithesis of that promise to the American public.".