Yesterday OWHO was alerted that there was a lawsuit allegedly filed by an organization claiming the Forest Service is rounding up wild horses in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. We immediately went to see if something had happened with the final wild horse management plan for the Heber wild horse territory. What we found out was that the alleged lawsuit (we have no docket number to verify it was indeed filed) was in regards to earlier attempts made by the Forest Service to round up wild horses in the Apache National Forest (an area of the Apache-Sitgreaves forest) in Alpine, Arizona.
OWHO President, Theresa Barbour, was volunteering for Citizens Against Equine Slaughter when that story first broke. The founder of CAES and a New Mexico nonprofit Wild Horse Observers Association (WHOA) worked with Forest Service for weeks after that announcement. What CAES and WHOA proved to Forest Service was that they do not have jurisdiction over these wild horses.
Further supporting the Forest Service not having jurisdiction over this herd in Alpine is the statement made by another wild horse advocacy group. The group had apparently contacted the Forest Service after finding some of the wild horses in Alpine shot. They were told that Forest Service would not investigate the matter because they do not have jurisdiction. Just as CAES and WHOA had voiced to the Forest Service which halted the plan to begin a gather of the herd back in the spring of 2022.
So why now is ISPMB suing them for allegedly gathering these horses? We are watching several organizations fundraising claiming it is for the legal battle for these horses. We would like to point out that CAES and WHOA have not ever posted a fundraiser for this. At this point we would like verification of claims ISPMB made about them being gathered according to a news article on KPNX-TV in Arizona. KPNX-TV
This is why we encourage people to make sure, as you like and share posts that seem to celebrate good news, you fact check everything, do a few minutes of research to learn the truth. As always, we'll try to bring the facts to you and allow you to make your own decisions. Please let us know what your thoughts are in the comments below.