On Monday August 3rd, 2015, the Tonto National Forest Services quietly made an unexpected announcement that expressed an immediate call to action of  a round up of the majestic Salt River Wild Horses, titling them as ‘unauthorized livestock’.  For almost 400 years, these mesmerizing horses, whose famous 17th Century spanish blood lines flood through their veins, have attracted tourists from around the world, just to simply reveal in their beauty and uniqueness as evolving as the first ever ‘aquatic’ horses. There has never been any reports of injuries or harm upon those who visited the Salt River in Mesa, Arizona, yet suddenly the Forest Services claimed they were a public safety hazard.

Schedulded for August 7 th and with mere days to rally up animal advocates, celebrities, petitions and politicians, the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group, in which The Animal Recovery Mission and Respect 4 Horses encompasses, were rewarded for their immense efforts to halt the roundup.

An injunction was filed against the US Forest Services due to a clear protocol violation that had been discovered in that no assigned area was designated to the Salt River Wild Horses that, by Federal law, is written under the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971.

At approximately 5.50pm on August 6th, an announcement was posted on the Tonto National Forest Services website to reconsider their decision. They Wrote;

STATEMENT RELATED TO SALT RIVER HORSES

We appreciate the local community’s feedback and we’ve decided to take another look at the proposed gathering of stray horses on the Tonto National Forest. The Forest Service will continue to engage with the local community, state and federal officials to explore potential alternatives for meeting our obligations for both land stewardship and public safety.

– Neil Bosworth, Forest Supervisor, Tonto National Forest, U.S. Forest Service

This announcement followed days of global public outcries urging politicians and the media to pay attention and put an end to the round up for no valid reason. Petitions reached well over 100,000 signatures on one change.org site alone in just 24 hours.

This has presented a clear message to both the Forest Services and society that not only are the wild horses of America treasured by millions of people, but that it is time to stop these roundups on wildlife that is nearing extinction.

A last minute injunction was filed view letter here

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