Nevada's wild horses and burros could get a boost later this week when something new arrives on your breakfast table. Anderson Dairy is riding to the rescue of the horses with a first-of-its-kind outreach effort.
Those of us who like to read the cereal box while having breakfast will have something new to digest with our Cheerios later this week.
At the request of wild horse advocates, Anderson Dairy is adding an advertisement to the sides of its milk cartons, bringing attention to the Wild Horse and Burro Adoption program, a program that needs all the help it can get.
Jerry Reynoldson said, "In all the years I've been doing wild horse stuff, this is the most important thing I've worked on."
Wild horse advocate Jerry Reynoldson is beaming like an expectant father. The birth is scheduled for later this week when Anderson Dairy rolls out thousands of milk cartons bearing the majestic profile of a Nevada wild mustang in order to focus public attention on the need to find homes for horses and burros.
Bureau of Land Management holding facilities are bursting with nearly 30,000 animals that have been gathered from public land. Some 3,000 more are scheduled to be gathered in Nevada in the next few months. The taxpayers pick up the tab to feed, water, and warehouse these animals.
Jerry Reynoldson, with Wild Horses-4 Ever, continues, "We've got staggering numbers that need homes. That's why this is the direction the program has to move, to reach out to private partners."
The partner in this case is Las Vegas' hometown dairy. Landing space on Anderson Dairy milk cartons isn't easy. There's a long waiting list. Dairy Vice President Dave Coon listened to Reynoldson's pitch about the plight of wild horses and agreed to help spread the word on adoption programs.
Dave Coon said, "We have an interest in what takes place in our community, within Southern Nevada. This is very much a part of what the west is all about, what Nevada is all about. There will be hundreds of thousands that will see that for a week to ten-day period."
The cartons will direct consumers to check the links on the KLAS-TV web site, LasVegasNOW.com, or contact the BLM, which manages the wild horse program. BLM and wild horse advocates have often been at odds, but the bureau welcomes private efforts to help the public program.
BLM spokeswoman Kirstin Cannon said, "We sure hope it works. It reaches so many homes. It will advertise our 866-4-MUSTANGS number and our web site. If people aren't ready to adopt yet, they will at the very least learn more about the program."
"Think how many school kids will say mom, dad, look what's on the milk carton, a horse," Jerry Reynoldson added.
The first wild horse milk cartons will start rolling into stores at the end of this week. KLAS-TV's vice president for news, Bob Stoldal was on hand for Tuesday's announcement and says the station's web site will be ready to help direct people to many different sources of info about the horse and burro adoptions.
By the way, later this month, the I-Team is taking a very hard look at the BLM's budget and what it has put into horse adoptions. It took us seven months to pry the information out of the Reno office.
