photo: wildhorseeducation.org
(Reno, NV) Legal action has been filed against Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) today in federal district court. The suit makes two claims: Sheldon NWR fails to follow policy to protect horses removed from the range from entering the slaughter pipeline, and Sheldon violates the First Amendment by failing to provide the public meaningful access to horses.
Sheldon has stated in documents governing removals, as well as to the public, that they provide protections for the horses from being sent to slaughter and follow up on placements facilitated by their carefully chosen adoption agents. Only after a member of the public, co-Plaintiff Bonnie Kohleriter, gathered information that Sheldon horses were still being sent to kill buyers did Sheldon investigate. Even after an investigation, done by Brian Day manager of Sheldon and John Kasbohm the program Director, showed considerable risk to Sheldon horses, the contract was renewed with this same offending adoption agent, J&S Associates. Sheldon NWR plans to send as many as 252 horses, at a cost of more than a quarter of a million taxpayer dollars, back to J&S Associates of Mississippi, in early October. Read more>>