Our running daily reports for Buffalo Hills can be found HERE.
18 (7 Stallions, 9 Mares, and 2 Foals) were captured in fast and (what appeared to be) chaotic runs. Bands fractured and the foals were working very hard to keep up the pace. Temperatures ranged from 40-90. Trap moves tomorrow.
It has also been confirmed that the one wing, in fact, is partially barbed wire covered in jute. There was no flagging on any barbed wire on day one, or the start of day two. Our onsite team member urged BLM to flag the wire. Another horse hit the wire and then the wire was only flagged on the trap side, not the back side (behind the trap as seen in the “foal roping video” below).
There seems to be some confusion on the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Policy (CAWP) and where the responsibilities of “discretions” allowed in the policy lie. If the authority lied with contractor staff, the policy should say “contractor,” not BLM COR. According to the law (as written) BLM is the responsible party and (supposedly) approves every action. We will have an extended piece on this ongoing struggle to stop abuse soon.
Above: In run 3, a band that had been chased for over 30 minutes in view of trap (time-coded on video), saw one band come in and an adult horse escape and a foal end up on the wrong side of the barbed wire. It appears that the wranglers had become easily visible crouching behind the jute in the changing position of the sun. One horse takes full advantage of the escape route that can be seen and throws itself against the jute. (Note: t-posts holding the jute remain uncapped.)
In the chaos of the runs that saw band after band fracture, This foal ended up on the wrong side of the barbed wire and foal was roped.
The foal is seen still trying to get to the other side of the fence and appears to hit their head on a post or the wire. Then the foal appears to be hog tied (flipped twice) and then tied to the back of an ATV and brought into the trap.
They could have simply dropped the barbed wire and walked that colt to the pens. We do not know who approved this action and are actively investigating.
Observation at the temporary holding area is still being denied in an agreement with a permittee.
A 7-year-old mare was found dead in holding due to a rattlesnake bite. We have not been able to view the corrals to determine if the area was unsafe for placement of wild horses. We do not know if the permittee or BLM approved the location and if BLM staff are watching the corrals after the operation ends. We have been informed, observation at temporary holding will remain off-limits.
Please note: Death tolls listed for each day are those reported from around 6 p.m. to 6 p.m. If any horse died after 6 last night, we will report tomorrow.
Our running daily reports for Buffalo Hills can be found HERE.
Out teams are working hard. Remote locations can present challenges sending files. Our team set up a physical file relay to be able to report to you on this operation. We are working hard and fast.
Help Keep us in the field and in the fight.
You can take our latest actions on the budget bill HERE.
You can also support a bill to stop the choppers and gain an investigation HERE.
Do we litigate? Yes. You can see our litigation tracker HERE (we update as time allows).
Categories: Wild Horse Education
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