Eagle Roundup 2020

By Laura Leigh on January 18, 2020

For background on the Eagle Complex, and past roundups, click the red text here.

Roundups are not management. BLM is required to manage, not remove. Yet BLM does not create management plans, only removal EAs. To find out how you can help go HERE.

Can you help us stay in this fight?

Winter roundups in this area are rough travel and can often begin in the single digits.

From BLM press release sent January 9, at 12:30pm, exactly 2 hours after WHE left the area: The BLM will gather up to 1,700 excess wild horses and remove up to 1,600 excess horses. The BLM will treat up to 50 mares with the fertility control vaccine GonaCon-Equine and release the mares with an equal number of stud horses. BLM states there are 2,484 wild horses (including foals). BLM states (in the old Land Use Plan) that 139-265 is the “appropriate” stocking level for 743,042 acres (1161 square miles). From BLM: The BLM is conducting the gather under the DOI-BLM-NV-L030-2018-0004-EA Eagle HMA Gather Plan Environmental Assessment decision signed on August 27, 2018. Access the Decision Record and determination of National Environmental Policy Act adequacy at https://go.usa.gov/xpVZr.

Eagle will begin January 16th. BLM has pushed the date back 3 days. The delay is due to wind expected in the area.

Latest updates at the top. Scroll for earlier reports. We are the only org to have observers at this roundup this year, or any year in this area for the last decade.

Operation Totals to Date: Wild horses captured, 1704 (762 Studs, 937 Mares, 5 Foals)

Any wild horse born in 2019 considered “weanable,” according to BLM, is being counted as an adult for this operation (about 3 months old).

23 dead.

6 deaths at this operation have been wild horses under 3 years old.

This is a long roundup. The running stats page (this page) is getting unwieldy. We are posting distinct pieces daily as well as updating this page You can see detailed journal entries and articles on each ongoing roundup and videos and more by scrolling through our main website at WildHorseEducation.org

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Feb 21 (Day 34)

BLM captured 48 (21 Studs, 27 Mares, 0 Foals).

Killed 4

1-year-old bay stud was euthanized, due to crooked back
25-year-old bay stud was euthanized, due to body condition score 2 (BLM said no teeth) and a poor prognosis for recovery.
20-year-old bay mare was euthanized , due to body condition score 2 (BLM said no teeth) and a poor prognosis for recovery.
18-year-old bay stud with blind left eye.

Feb 20 (Day 33):

99 (45 Studs, 54 Mares, 0 Foals) captured.

Another death: broken neck during sorting. The second broken neck during this roundup; this time a 5 year old bay boy.

We expect operations to be called as “over” tomorrow.

BLM pushed hard to squeeze every wild horse they could out of the area. This roundup was driven by large ranchers n the area and the fight over water. Water that the new land owners want to sell to Vegas.

BLM was NOT transparent. We will be bringing litigation before choppers fly again.

Euthanizing a wild horse at Eagle. You can see his companion still in the alley with head hung low.

Feb 19 (Day 32)

21 (9 Studs, 12 Mares, 0 Foals) captured. BLM continues to chase every wild horse they can find, hard. They are intent on making the 1700 target goal they were approved for.

Another death. A 6 year old was killed because it had a club foot.

Many people do not understand BLM will euthanize for club foot, a non life threatening deformity.

A wild horse with an overbite, “parrot mouth,” was also killed during this operation. An overbite is only considered life threatening in foals that can not figure out how to nurse. This one did and survived into adulthood, only to be killed after a helicopter hunted him down.

Feb 18 (day 31)

79 (34 Studs, 45 Mares, 0 Foals) captured.

During sorting a mare broke her neck and had to be euthanized.

Feb 17 (day 30)

72 (30 Studs, 42 Mares, 0 Foals) captured. Our observer was in a car accident when someone with an unrestrained dog in their vehicle ran a stop sign. She is ok.

Feb 16 (Day 29)

20 (10 Studs, 10 Mares, 0 Foals) captured. BLM is going allotment by allotment and, no exaggeration, running every single area to remove as many as they can, any way they can.

Observation is still an issue.

Feb 15 (Day 28)

40 (21 Studs, 19 Mares, 0 Foals) captured. Observation is still at issue.

Feb 14 (Day 27)

Observation is still an issue (please see post here)

37 (18 Studs, 19 Mares, 0 Foals) captured.

Feb 13 (Day 26)

23 captured, 3 roped.

Every wild horse we could see was soaking wet.

14 days at this site and we can not tell you the condition of a single wild horse directly after capture. Losing patience with the access game controlled by a contractor, not the federal government.

Day 25 (Feb 12) Only two wild horses were captured, a mare and her 2019 foal. Both were roped.

Day 26 (Feb 11) after arrival at trap, operations called off for the day due to wind. Our observer is the only member of the public onsite.

Day 25 (Feb 10)

28 wild horses captured. The two in the video below escaped. One other member of the public was present but left after one run. Our observer stayed the entire day.

Day 24 (Feb 9)

No trapping, winds. Our observer went to holding.

A 5 year old was euthanized for parrot mouth (overbite) bringing the death toll to 16.

Day 23 (Feb 8): 26 (9 Studs, 17 Mares, 0 Foals) wild horses captured, one more has died. A 1-year-old sorrel stud BLM said was blind in left eye was euthanized.

Day 22 Feb 7) 6 wild horses captured.

Day 21 (Feb 6): 47 (21 Studs, 21 Mares, 1 Foals). One run and then wind shut down operation for the day.

Day 20 (Feb 5): 81 (43 Studs, 38 Mares, 0 Foals) wild horses captured.

5-year-old bay mare euthanized, colic

Day 18 and 19 (Feb 3-4), high winds caused operations to be cancelled for the day.

Day 18, Feb 2: 88 wild horses shipped to PVC north of Reno. A 5 year old mare was euthanized for swayback. The helicopters took to the air but operations were called off due to hight winds. Winds are expected to last through Tuesday.

Day 17, Feb 1: 1061 (477 Studs, 594 Mares, 4 Foals) captured.

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Jan 30: 40 (17 Studs, 23 Mares, 0 Foals)

Jan 29: high winds, no capture

Jan 28: Wild horses capured 82 (43 Studs, 29 Mares, 0 Foals)

We went to holding to check on the condition of wild horses coming in from Eagle. As expected, body scores vary widely. 2 Eagle youngsters captured day 5 already tagged at PVC.

We went to holding where viewing of the body conditions of wild horses would not be obscured (after BLM reported euthanasia due to “emaciation”) . As we expected, body scores vary widely. The Eagle Complex contains a series of grazing allotments. The Complex is managed by the Ely district in NV and extends into Utah. (It should be noted that the Ely district is the same office that fired Craig Hoover, a BLM career employee, last year. Hoover has been vocal that the reason was that he continued to report livestock permittees in trespass. Hoover was vindicated in a legal settlement). Range conditions vary from allotment to allotment and multiple livestock fences impede free-roaming ability. In other words, several bands do get rather “stuck” in cow bashed lowlands each winter. When lowlands are overgrazed by domestic livestock and “bad weather” hits driving wild horses and wildlife into lowlands, often there is not much left for them to eat. When the weather shifts and they can move upland once more, residual forage from the year before is available as well as new growth. January and February are the leanest months for all free-roaming grazers (deer, elk, wild horse, etc.).

We will have sample comments for you to use in reference to the “Livestock Grazing Reform” scoping period shortly. Scoping began on Jan 21. (more here)

A lot of tired youngsters from the Eagle roundup (all captured this week)

We saw only three injuries, a mare with a cut, one limping stud and a foal with a cut on his rear leg. None of the injures we saw looked life threatening.

Eagle wild horses from week 1 (slideshow). (The two foals in the slideshow are in a pen off from the others. These two are the only ones we saw that indicated concerning body score and the bay has a left rear laceration and the pen is easily visible and can be observed.)

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Day 11 (Jan 27th)

41 (22 Studs, 19 Mares, 0 Foals) wild horses captured.

2 deaths: 6-year-old bay stud with swayback and 6-year-old bay stud BLM said was missing a right eye were both euthanized.

Slideshow below of wild horses that just arrived at facility on January 27. Wild horses are being processed (branded and tag) fast at the facility.

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Day 10:

82 wild horses captured (28 Studs, 50 Mares, 4 Foals)

2 deaths : 9-year-old Grey mare with swayback, 11-year-old Grey mare BLM reported as emaciated.

Day 9:

44 (21 Studs, 23 Mares, 0 Foals)

Day 8:

Wild horses captured: 21 (9 Studs, 12 Mares, 0 Foals)

Day 7:

Wild horses captured: 27 (13 Studs, 14 Mares, 0 Foals)

5-year-old Sorrel mare, BLM said was missing an eye, was euthanized.

Day 6:

Wild Horses captured: 53 (19 Studs, 34 Mares, 0 Foals)

2 deaths: according to BLM, 7-year-old Sorrel stud missing right eye and 8-year-old Bay mare with severe swayback were both euthanized onsite.

Day 5:

89 (38 Studs, 51 Mares, 0 Foals)

Day 4 began at 18 degrees.

56 wild horses captured (25 Studs, 31 Mares, 0 Foals)

1 death: 2-year-old Bay BLM stated was in extremely poor condition and weak.

Colts from Eagle showing body condition. Image taken at distance in low light.

Day 3 began at 14 degrees.

112 captured (49 Studs, 63 Mares, 0 Foals)

2 more died: 2-year-old Sorrel mare and 2-year-old Bay stud, BLM said both were emaciated.

Day 2:

BLM captured 103 wild horses 103 (42 Studs, 61 Mares, 0 Foals).

Two have died: 3-year-old Bay mare BLM said was missing right eye, 2-year-old Bay mare with swayback.

On the First day of 2020 operations BLM captured 80 wild horses. (40 Studs, 40 Mares, 0 Foals). Barbed wire is being used as a trap wing. The wire is flagged, but still presents a risk. The day became windier as the day went forward.

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Roundups are not management. BLM is required to manage, not remove. Yet BLM does not create management plans, only removal EAs.

To find out how you can help go HERE.