ENOUGH IS ENOUGH & WE WANT ACTION NOW!
Another Heber wild horse shot, and this time it is Ild Buck, the iconic, favorite stallion known to thousands of people who have visited or regularly go to see the herd.
~~the shooting was ILLEGAL and FS still has done nothing to apprehend the killers of what is now nearing 2 dozen wild horses in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
~~the FS has not made arrests in 2 cases of horse theft from the forest despite being provided photographic evidence and the names of the 2 men involved.
~~the 2 men we have photos of with formerly wild horses are known to the community (according to more than 3 dozen anonymous tips) for taking horses out of the wild herd anytime they can to sell and train, and are likely the ones who are also shooting the wild horses.
Contact Congressmen Grijalva and O’Halleran who we have kept updated on this situation all along and RESPECTFULLY ask them to:
- Demand Forest Service arrest and charge the shooters
- Demand that these 2 men are arrested and charged for theft of our resources
- Demand that FS release all information on the investigation and necropsies of the dead horses because it is a matter of public interest and safety.
- Demand that the FS stop turning their head the other way while horses are stolen from the Forest and enforce the laws!
- Demand those at FS are held accountable, (i.e. FS LEO John Lopez FIRED for dereliction of duty.
E-Mail, Write or call:
Congressman Raul Grijalva
Email:
az03services@mail.house.gov
Write:
101 W. Irvington Road 1511 Longworth HOB
Tucson, AZ 85714 Washington, DC 20515
Call or Fax:
ph (520) 622-6788 ph (202) 225-2435
fax (520) 622-0198 fax (202) 225-1541
Congressman O’Halleran:
Email:
keith.brekhus@mail.house.gov
Write:
405 N. Beaver Street 324 Cannon House Office Building
Suite 6
Flagstaff, AZ 86001 Washington, DC 20515
Call:
Phone: 928-286-5338 Phone: 202-225-3361
Post & Photos from our AZ Office the Heber Wild Horse Freedom Preservation Alliance:
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These killings and theft of our horses MUST be stopped and the Forest Service must DO THEIR JOB to enforce the law and protect this herd!
Excerpt from our latest letter to both Congressman re the situation with the Heber wild horse herd:
Per our phone conversation yesterday here is a summary of what is happening with the Forest Service in the Apache-Sitgreaves, Heber-Overgaard area.
New Proof Stolen Horses
Since the court order of 2007 there have been no legal roundups or adoptions/sales of these wild horses. However, here we see two horses removed and up for sale and/or in private hands apparently illegally. Moreover, the population has remained flat and though there are some predators, we fear that these men are the main predator and are enabled by the USDA FS.
Middle Palomino in the Heber with other known wild horses.
Seeley with his daughter
Black Stallion in the wild, with Pinto which was shot in Jan 2019
Also with Stallion which has a halter showing a previously attempted capture.
The halter fell off after two years. He is still in the forest.
Black Stallion was sold by Jay R. Joslin.
…..
Most of the people who called us, all ages, said the men were ‘likely’ the ones who shot the horses. One said they would go take horses out of the forest and if they could not load the wild horse, or if it got away, they would shoot it to get the halter and ropes back of. Calls anonymous because he would hurt them if he found out.
Back Ground: In January of this year, 14 wild horses from the Heber herd were shot and killed, that we know of. And we feel Forest Service is not investigating this or making arrests.
Earlier in October 2018, 2 horses were shot. We couldn’t get Forest Service (FS) to investigate so we called their national Law Enforcement and offered to send our own veterinarian to retrieve bullets and retain evidence. They went later that day and buried the horses. In January when several of the bodies were found the FS was on furlough, so we called the Navajo County Sheriff and were given a number at FS to call. That number went to a fire dispatcher, who rightfully was not happy getting calls at her home about wild horses. She told me she would give the FS Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) my contact information.
Feeling we were going in circles our organization (Citizens Against Equine Slaughter) put up a reward, as we had in October with a phone number for people to call with information. We also felt maybe a number outside the area (our Oregon office number) would make people in that area more comfortable calling. I received those calls and there were more than 3 dozen. Every one of them implicated one or both, of the men seen in the forest the day most of the January 14 were killed and the ones our ground crew originally thought might be involved. When FS came back from furlough we still could not get them to return our calls for the tips we had been getting, the sheriff department would put me through to voicemail for then sheriff KC Clark, who didn’t return the calls. So I turned to the Phoenix FBI. And I copied you and Congressman O‘Halleran.
* Congressman O‘Halleran issued a letter to the FS asking them to investigate this and to contact people who have information. We to this day have not received contact from the FS.
*Phoenix FBI after the third round of information and tips were sent to them via email asked for us to put it together in hard copy, along with 40 years of past incidents involving the inappropriate or illegal activity of FS, and bring it to their office in person…
After Congressman O‘Halleran wrote the letter to FS asking them basically to do their job and to also collect our tip information, FS LEO John Lopez went out the next day with a veterinarian and did necropsies. FS presence and other area LE was stepped up for 3 days, and it all seems to have stopped again.
Another person said he would testify against one of the men for reward money, and that he was out there several times to steal horses with one of these men, and that he was told the guy had a permit from FS to do it.
At this point we feel, at a minimum, FS knew and did nothing, but we are wondering because of the lack of action if some FS employees are involved. We want the corruption investigated, we want LEO John Lopez fired, and we want Richard Madril fired because he was involved since October when he said: “We aren’t law enforcement, what do you expect us to do?”
Here are the 2 men involved:
John P. Seeley (JP) –
who Is an approved adopter and trainer of BLM mustangs…even though he is a convicted felon with animal cruelty convictions for dragging a horse behind his truck.
Jay R Josin –
who was on the working group, commissioned by FS, to make recommendations for the herd’s management plan. He also issued a death threat against me online, I turned that over to the Douglas County, Oregon sheriff.
SUMMARY
When a community is afraid of law enforcement, these men, and the USDA Forest Service, it takes an outside effort. We need your help. More than 3 dozens callers have testified. When we, without training or resources can establish trust and evidence, there is a huge problem for these horses and these people.
Again, They and we need your help. We need corruption STOPPED in this area of the FS, we need John Lopez and Richard Madril fired for obstruction of justice, and we want our horses protected, and people/taxpayers to be safe in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest without retaliation, without gunshots. etc.
CAES is a national non-profit run entirely by volunteers and with members all over the world. We are proud to be a strong advocate ‘group’ (Grassroots, Resolute, Organized, Unified, Proficient) that fight for the Essential 4H’s (Horses, Habitats and Humane Handling). Have you joined the Group?
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We are a national 501c3 non-profit corporation. We are at the legislative level, in the courts and on grassroots levels. We are fighting to stop slaughter or transport to slaughter of our United States equines. We are fighting to save our endangered, native, wild horses from continued inhumane treatment, and removal from our public lands.
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