Pancake Complex wild horses rounded up in 2012. BLM Nevada file photo.
The Bureau of Land Management on Tuesday ended its “emergency” bait-and-trap roundup at the Pancake Herd Management Area.
BLM captured a total of 89 wild horses: 41 mares, 33 studs and 15 foals beginning on July 9, according to its gather reports. Three wild horses were put down:
- A foal after suffering a broken leg when kicked by a horse in the trap area;
- A 12-year-old sorrel stallion with a right rear club foot and a body composition score of 1.5 (between “thin” and “fair”) on a 10-point scale;
- A 4-year-old bay mare suffering from water toxicity.
The wild horses removed will be transported to corrals in Fallon, Nevada, where they will be readied for adoption or moved to off-range pastures, according to BLM.
With just three days’ notice, BLM set out in July to capture and remove 250 wild horses because of what the agency says is insufficient water on a 120,000 portion of the 855,000-acre Herd Management Area. Prior to the roundup, the wild horse population was estimated at 2,160 wild horses compared to a BLM-set appropriate management level of 240-493 wild horses.
Take Action
Wild horses captured at the Pancake HMA are at increased risk of going to slaughter because of a new BLM sales policy that allows a buyer to purchase up to 24 wild horses or burros, no questions asked, with no waiting period. Previously, buyers could purchase no more than four animals every six months without receiving special permission. Please click here to send a message to Congress calling on lawmakers to demand that BLM revoke the new policy.