Photo by Meg Frederick
The Bureau of Land Management this week completed a bait-and-trap roundup in which 1,001 wild horses were captured and 16 killed.
The roundup, which began in March, took place on the Antelope and Triple B Herd Management Area complexes near Elko, Nev. It was conducted using temporary traps made of corral panels baited with feed and water.
Of the horses killed, five died of “sudden/acute” causes, among them colic, a broken neck and a head injury from being kicked, according to the BLM’s gather report.
The remaining 11 horses killed were put down for what the BLM deemed “pre-existing/chronic” conditions. They included horses missing one eye and others with severe hernia, extreme swayback and club foot.
The BLM’s stated purpose of the roundup: bring the herd population on the two complexes, which total 2.82 million acres of public and private land, closer to the agency-assigned Appropriate Management Levels (AML), which is set at a combined maximum of 1,678 wild horses.
Before the roundup, the BLM estimated the combined populations for the Antelope and Triple B complexes was 6,911 wild horses, not including foals.
During the roundup, no wild horses were treated with proven, safe and humane fertility control that could reduce the size and frequency of future removals.
We strongly support the use of fertility control as a key tool to reduce the frequency and size of removals and replace them with minimally intrusive, on-range management.
Last year, 2,196 wild horses were captured and removed from the Triple B complex while just 23 mares were treated with fertility control and released.
Earlier this month, the BLM completed a bait-and-trap roundup on the 912,000-acre Caliente Complex in Nevada during which 382 “excess” wild horses were captured and 11 killed. Again, no mares were treated with fertility control.