Wild horses flee from a contractor’s helicopter. RTF file photo.
The Bureau of Land Management captured 2,708 horses and killed 15 in a pair of roundups that ended this week in Nevada — a continuation of the agency’s failed, decades-old practice of managing herd numbers through capture and removal.
A total of 2,005 wild horses lost their freedom on the Callaghan Complex of Herd Management Areas in the largest roundup in agency history.
Compounding the tragedy: The BLM’s decision not to treat any mares with proven, safe and humane fertility control means helicopters will likely be back in the same areas, removing still more horses sooner rather than later.
Return to Freedom has long advocated for the use of fertility control as a key tool for ending removals. The public, public lands stakeholders and Congress now all support its use.
The BLM insists it will use fertility control on a larger scale, but only once it reaches the population targets that the agency itself sets.
Studies by ecologists show that it’s possible to stabilize herd populations and replace roundups as the BLM’s main management tool — keeping wild horses on the range, where they belong — but fertility control must be implemented now, not later. Now.
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More about the roundups
Callaghan Complex — In the largest roundup in the BLM’s history, on the 1.2 million-acre Callaghan Complex of Herd Management Areas (HMAs), 2005 wild horses were captured.
Causes of 11 deaths included a head injury, a broken neck, and a broken leg, as well as horses put down for “chronic” conditions, like having one eye. Four causes of death were listed only as “undiagnosed.”
The agency’s stated purpose for the roundup, which began July 10: lower the population closer to a total agency-set “Appropriate Management Level” of 323–552 wild horses and improve traffic safety. The BLM estimated there were 4,489 horses there in 2025.
By comparison, the agency allows seasonal grazing on the complex for privately owned cattle and sheep for an annual equivalent of 5,132 cow-calf pairs.
Lahontan HMA — In and around the 9,687-acre HMA, 703 wild horses were captured starting July 20. Two horses died from broken necks and one from a broken leg. One was put down for having a clubbed foot.
The agency’s reasons for the roundup included reducing what it says is range degradation caused by horses and a lack of water.
The Lahontan HMA has an Appropriate Management Level of just 7-10 wild horses. The agency estimated there were 809 in and around the HMA. It allows up to the annual equivalent of 10 cow-calf pairs to graze there.
Captured horses from the roundups were shipped to off-range corrals for possible sale or adoption. They joined more than 58,000 captured wild horses and burros already warehoused in government facilities.