Dear Gov. Hobbs and AZDA officials,
It is with both urgency and clarity that I write to express my deep concern regarding the current bid to manage the iconic Salt River Wild Horses. One of the bidders makes a living rounding up wild horses in Arizona and sending them to auctions in Texas where slaughterhouses from across the border are frequent bidders. The most recent example is the fate that befell hundreds of the Alpine, Arizona wild horses.
It is thanks to the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group that the Salt River horses have a stabilized population of 280 and only an average of two foals per year, which keeps them in balance with their habitat. Without the current management group, these horses would have been long gone. The group’s leadership fought the planned removals nine years ago and successfully lobbied for the Salt River Horses Act to protect them.
The management group is highly regarded and appreciated. I believe the new bidder has engaged in a smear campaign to gain traction for their argument to remove our beloved wild horses. The current management group has 175,000 followers on their main page, more than 95,000 on their Advocates page, where photographs of the horses are posted, and more than 6,000 followers on a separate page featuring the rescued horses they have in their care.
I am not a member nor a volunteer of the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group, but a photographer who spends three days a week out there. I can see how kind the group’s volunteers are to the public and to the horses and how hard they work. The horses look fabulous in spite of the drought.
The other bidder, the Wild Horse Transition Team, wants to transition these historic horses from wild to not wild. Recently, the Daily Independent published a letter from the group spokesman about some emotionally charged public responses to the idea that this U.S. Forest Service roundup contractor could be entrusted with the guardianship of the wild horses that the public love so much.
With thousands of outraged comments about the horses’ possible dark future, there were a few that were uncalled for. Those promptly get deleted by the management group because they ask everyone to stay polite.
The central problem is not public reaction — it is public memory. To claim the huge response and reactions of the public on social media equals “unethical behavior” or “pressuring officials” is not only insulting to the intelligence of Arizona’s citizens, but also deeply hypocritical.
The transition team spokesman accuses others of lacking decorum while ignoring the rhetoric and atmosphere on the transition team’s social media. He has not, to my knowledge, attempted to correct or moderate the comments posted by their supporters — or by the leaders themselves.
She openly refers to her competitors using insults such as “Botox Barbie” and has ridiculed followers with childish monikers like “flip-flop crew.” Inflammatory and often cruel jabs about appearance, citizenship, and imagined conspiracies against the AZDA are left uncorrected.
Consider the following — none of which I saw denounced by the group’s spokesman:
- “AZDA is allowing her to break the very same laws.”
- “My guess is that (AZDA staff member) gets a kickback from her to turn his head.”
- “Send her back to where her citizenship really is… because it isn’t the USA.”
- “Your new Botox, hair extensions, your eyelash extensions…”
- “And all the rest of you that may or may not be US citizens.”
This is the language of vendetta, hate, conspiracy, and contempt. The same group that demands transparency and respect from others engages in anonymous attacks, bullying dissenters, and responding to questions with taunts and sarcasm.
And yet, they feign shock when the public responds in defense of the Salt River herd with justified concern and impassioned protest?
By contrast, the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group has consistently demonstrated professionalism, transparency, and measurable success. Their communication is civil and informative. Their humane and scientifically supported birth control program has kept the herd population in balance without resorting to cruel and costly roundups. They have earned the trust of both the community and the state through service, not spectacle.
I urge you to look not just at what this group says in public letters, but at how it behaves when it thinks no one is watching. Arizona’s wild horses — and the people who love them — deserve leadership that is honest, humane, and above all, honorable.
The Salt River Wild Horses are not “feral,” “disadvantaged,” or “unauthorized livestock.” They are historic, iconic, and beloved symbols of our state. The current management group is proven, professional, and overwhelmingly supported by the public.
Please stay the course with the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group. The horses — and the people of Arizona — deserve no less.
Respectfully,
Susie Bell
Gilbert, Arizona
July 20, 2025