Today is a no fly day in the Antelope Complex. 

The South trap is determining if they will continue or if they have met their capture objectives.

The North is probably assessing how they will structure the rest of the operation. More resources are available to them if the south of the complex releases personnel and equipment after shipping today to processing facilities (short-term holding). 

We expect things to go “from really bad to even worse” like they did last year when crews from Blue Wing joined Triple B and the gas pedal will hit the floor instead of slowing down and implementing preventative measures addressing injury and death (that BLM has put off for years).

We are also in a “taking a moment to regroup” our small team and determine how we move forward. We also need to take a minute to clear the inbox. We have literally received thousands of emails over the last week and sorting through them.

We really appreciate everyone reaching out. A roundup starts long before a chopper flies. We are working on a “how do I get involved to help stop a roundup?” article and will have it out shortly. 

Once that chopper hits the air, we are in “focus” mode. We do not have staff (we are not that kind of an organization). Please be patient and we will get back to you when we come up for air. Our team is working very hard under some rough conditions.

Since July 9, 21 wild horses have died at the Antelope Complex onsite and at least 7 have been orphaned and gone into foster care.

We do not know how many have died after reaching processing facilities. 

Above: At the heart of concerns during July roundups are mares still pregnant and the young ones. A very fast clip of a tiny one that went through the panic of a drive (and probably roping). At the end you can hear BLM say “1-month old.” Horse owners, what is your guesstimate on age?

NORTH TRAP

41 (18 Stallions, 17 Mares, and 6 Foals)  wild horses were captured as BLM hit 2 traps to “sweep up” any wild horses left in the area of the last 2 trap locations.

39 (12 Stallions, 16 Mares, and 11 Foals) were shipped to the off-limits to public viewing facility in Fallon, NV.

Videos from the second trap of the day. We will load more shortly.

BLM says “1) Bay, 20+-year old Stud (Male); Death (Chronic/Pre-existing); Humanely euthanized due blindness in the left eye.”

Even though the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Policy (CAWP) states clearly that BLM is to file a vet report and visual documentation, they don’t. Of 99 deaths reported in 5 operations, only 4 vet reports were produced through FOIA. (You can see our FOIA report HERE)

So when you ask us “did this result from an injury” we can’t tell you for sure because BLM fails to document. BLM does not document (apparently) because no one told them they have to… even if it is written in a policy that they never read and relied instead on waiting for someone to tell them?

We can tell you we have been seeing catastrophic eye injuries AFTER a wild horse goes through the sorting chute for over a decade. We have a pretty solid theory about what causes these injuries (our team has sorted wild horses) and have been trying to address this with BLM for a long time.

5 wild horses have died at Antelope (this roundup) with “blind or missing” eye as the cause for BLM to euthanize.

You can learn more about the BLM euthanasia policy in a reaction piece from a WHE volunteer when BLM updated that policy in 2021. Click HERE. 

In the images below one injury is from this roundup and the other 2 are from roundups in this area (EA) from 2011 and 2018 (and we have dozens more. Our internet went a bit wonky and we are trying to load even more). Do these injuries look like they come from the same thing to you?

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SOUTH TRAP

Above: First, a few cows had to be moved out of the way… and then the wild horses came in. The Judas (the domestic horse released that runs into the trap) is placed further down the wing than the first day at this trap).

36 (18 Stallions, 14 Mares, and 4 Foals) wild horses were captured.

We believe BLM is going to close south trap operation and call it “goal met” by the end of the day.

In a moment of “another odd thing,” BLM posted the exact same description of a death at north trap: “20+ year old Bay stallion; Death (Chronic/Pre-existing); Humanely euthanized due to missing left eye.”

Our team is onsite today for loading on a “no fly day.”

We will have more for you soon.

We expect things to amp up out here and our team will update you soon.

Yesterday we published a piece that included some video clips sent to us by a member of the public from one of the processing facilities (short-term holding) wild ones are going to from Antelope. 

We want to thank all of you again that are taking action items and looking to get more involved in stopping the abuse of our treasured wild ones.

Our amazing wild horses and burros deserve so much more than what they are being handed by big corporate and our federal government.

Thank you for keeping us in the fight!

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