Reward Climbs to $13,200 in Brutal Horse Shooting Deaths

Tucson & National Animal Organizations Join AZ Residents to Stop the Killing of Wild Horses in Eastern Arizona's Rim Country Phoenix, AZ - Dr. Pat Haight, spokesperson for the Tucson-based Animal Defense Council (ADC), announced that a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the deaths of wild horses in Arizona's rim country has climbed to thirteen thousand two-hundred dollars. ADC joined with the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI); Humane Society of the United States (HSUS); International Society for the Protection of Mustangs & Wild Burros (ISPMB); Tucson horse advocates; residents across Arizona; and In Defense of Animals to offer the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons responsible for the recent shooting deaths of at least 7 wild horses in the Sitgreaves National Forest near Pinedale, Arizona. ¢ Telephone or email attorney, Anthony Merrill, with information about persons responsible for the shootings, Tel: 602-364-7174 or email anthony.merrill@bryancave.com In December 2005, a federal district court judge for the District of Arizona issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the United States Forest Service from removing or harming any of the horses in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. The horses killed near Pinedale fall under this injunction. In the December 2005 hearing, after reviewing the evidence and hearing arguments, the judge determined that the horses could be wild horses protected under the Wild Horse and Burro Act and that their removal could cause irreparable harm. All historical, affidavit, and pictorial evidence points to the fact that the recent victims of these brutal shootings and all unbranded, free-roaming horses in Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests are wild horses protected under the Wild Horse and Burro Act. The horses of the Heber Wild Horse Territory, or the wild horses of the Rim Country, as these horses have been called, have a rich and long history in the rim region going back to 1653 when Father Eusebio Kino, the Padre on horseback, wrote in a letter to the Viceroy of Mexico that he had visited the region as he searched the area for possible new mission sites. As historians for the area have reported, Kino's diaries verify that he took extra horses with him as he made these journeys, leaving the horses in grazing areas as fresh mounts for his return trip. Cowboys ran with these wild horses of the rim area who they called Broomies during the settlement period of the Mogollon rim in the 18th and 19th centuries. After passage of the Wild Horse and Burro Act in 1971, a 14-thousand acre wild horse territory, the Heber Wild Horse Territory, was set aside by Congress for protection of wild horses within this area. Bodies of 6 of the horses were discovered during the second week of January. All six horses had been shot. A seventh horse was observed limping with a wound in his side and also was believed to have been a victim of the same shootings. In August, a young wild chestnut stallion also was found dead in the Pinedale area; the stallion had been shot in the head. This brings the total deaths of wild horses in the area to at least 7 and perhaps 8 or more. All evidence points to the fact that the horses were killed deliberately by an unknown person or persons. Killing these horses may be a violation of US 95-192, the federal law governing protection of wild horses. Each violation is punishable by up to a $100 thousand dollar fine and one year in prison. Shooting a horse and causing that horse suffering also is a criminal act under ARS 13-2910, the Arizona Cruelty to Animals law. Persons convicted of animal cruelty can be sent to jail or to prison. Haight, AWI, ISPMB, and IDA are plaintiffs on the civil suit to protect the horses. Anthony Merrill is lead attorney on the suit.