Wild horses being driven towards trap at the Salt Wells Creek HMA in Wyoming during September 2017. RTF file photo by Steve Paige.
The Bureau of Land Management captured 36 wild horses on Saturday, Feb. 3, during the fourth day of the helicopter drive trapping at the Triple B Complex, in Nevada. The helicopter roundup only lasted for half a day, according to the BLM.
The 1,682,998-acre Complex consists of four separate Herd Management Areas including the Triple B HMA (Ely), Maverick-Medicine HMA (Elko), Antelope Valley HMA (Elko), and Cherry Springs Wild Horse Territory (Elko).
The 36 horses captured include 16 mares, 14 studs, and 6 foals. One horse died and was reported as an “acute death” by the agency.These 36 wild horses bring the total number of horses captured from the Trible B Complex up to 240. 159 of these horses have been shipped to the Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Center in Reno, Nevada.
The cumulative agency set Appropriate Management Level for all of the HMA’s within the Triple B Complex is 472 – 884 wild horses. The current population estimate for the Triple B Complex is approximately 3,842 wild horses. In total, the BLM plans to capture 1,500 wild horses and permanently remove 1,000 from the Trible B Complex. As of now, no horses have been and released back into the HMAs.
The agency plans to release approximately 250 mares that will have been treated with the PZP fertility control vaccine. Additionally, approximately 250 stallions will be selected to be returned to the HMAs.
The horses selected will be prepared for adoption at the Palomino Valley Wild Horses and Burros Adoption Center.
Attending:
Those who wish to view the roundup should contact Gregory Deimel at (775) 388-7078 or gdeimel@blm.gov. Participants must provide their own transportation, water and good.
You can help:
Please consider a contribution to the Wild Horse Defense Fund, which makes it possible for Return to Freedom to have humane observers on the ground at roundups. Having an active voice has proven valuable for holding BLM and contractors accountable for the humane handling of wild horses, pressing for improvements to humane standards, and educating policymakers and the public about how tax dollars are being used.