NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Sheryl Crow is urging people to get involved in saving America's wild horses.

"I think it will be a real shame when we look back and we don't have these incredible species, and I guess my best hope would be that people, individuals, step up at this point and really protect these animals," the 46-year-old Grammy-winning singer says in an upcoming documentary, "Saving the American Wild Horse."

The program airs 9 p.m. EST Monday on the Documentary Channel. Directed by James Kleinert, it's narrated by Peter Coyote and features Viggo Mortensen.

Crow, who lives in Tennessee and owns a wild mustang named Colorado, says the animals are part of American history but are being sacrificed in big business' drive for Western lands.

"We're starting to get really, really far away from our heritage and what this country is based on," she says.

The documentary examines the Bureau of Land Management's policies regarding wild horses on public lands and includes interviews with ranchers, historians, animal rights activists, environmentalists and others.

"If any of these politicians visited these sites where our indigenous animals are being slaughtered in an inhumane way and being sold for meat, I feel that there would be a different take and a different approach to what's happening," Crow says.

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On the Net:

http://www.sherylcrow.com