Arizona’s Heber Wild Horses by MICHELE ANDERSON • photography by MARY HAUSER
Service law enforcement is leading the investigation. However, the Na- vajo County Sheriff’s Dept as well as the FBI have received information including over thirty tips focusing on two individuals as being the possi- ble shooters. As of the date of this writing no arrests have been made. The Forest Service will not comment as it is an ongoing investigation.
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From the beginning the investigation was lackadaisical at best taking days before necropsies were conducted on the remains of the hors- es. Many of the people who called a tip hot line with information were never interviewed or contacted by any branch of law enforcement. Our hope is that a comprehensive investigation will be conducted and that the shooter(s) will be apprehended, charged, and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
*** BREAKING NEWS...8 MORE HEBER WILD HORSES FOUND SHOT DEAD ***
The mass killings of federally protected Heber wild horses continues. Just hours after the above article was written and submitted for pub- lication a Forest Service News Release came out that 8 more horses were found shot dead on January 10, 2020 in the Sitgreaves National Forest just outside of the communities of Heber and Overgaard, AZ. No more information is available at this time.
THE WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BURROS ACT OF 1971 (PUBLIC LAW 92-195)
It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; The WFHBA provides for criminal penalties of up to $2,000 and/or a year in jail for those convicted of a violation of the law. Penalties in- creased under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, as amended. Today,
6 FEBRUARY 2020 I HORSE & AG MAGAZINE
violation of the WFHBA is a Class a misdemeanor, and fines can run up to $100,000 for each offense.
Arizona Animal Cruelty laws and penalties would apply as well.
Please follow our Facebook page at ‘Heber Wild Horses’ for the latest announcements and developments.
n January 2019 approximately 18 federally protected wild horses were brutally gunned down in the Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. For no logical reason and through no fault of their own these American icons, some were mares in foal, were killed in what appeared to have been a several hour killing spree. The Forest
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