Roundup Update (& a bad trap)

By Laura Leigh on August 19, 2023

On 8/17 BLM squeezed the trap to get a few wild horses they had not captured the day before. The ongoing low number of foals remains a concern.

Update from the Antelope Complex 8/17 and 8/18.

We are trying to get the answer to the questions: How many horses were in each HMA (and not just an overly broad number for the 1.4 million acre complex)? How many did BLM target HMA-by-HMA for removal? What number of wild horses does BLM plan to leave in each HMA?

Questions that seem simple enough and should be easy to answer. These types of questions would be answered in a specific gather plan for this operation and/or the associated Decision of NEPA Adequacy (DNA) that BLM did not do for this operation.

We have been trying to find answers to these questions since before the roundup began. BLM on-site still wont answer and, unfortunately, it appears that the only time we will answer these questions is as the court case (that includes the failure to disclose basic information in a DNA along with the ongoing fight to gain enforceable welfare standards).

Why is it always so hard to get a straight answer? Why is it always so hard to get BLM to make a single change to prevent injury and death? If BLM cannot do the “simple stuff,” no wonder there is ZERO public trust.

On 8/18 BLM revisited a bad trap. The area is littered with old barbed wire and fence posts. The trap is set in a manner that wild horses had collided with the panels thinking there was an escape route, including a young foal.

Above: This time we see a wild horse apparently hit a t-post as it escapes. We have two videographers on site and edit both version and include a slowed “instant replay” as we are about 1.3 miles away.

If the video above wont play for you, here is a screenshot of what we are talking about in the video.

BLM says the sorrel is “ok.” We have an observer at loading (and trap) today. Unfortunately, we cannot follow-up once this horse ships from the range as all are being sent into off-limits to the public facilities.

Again, the low number of foals remains a concern as BLM revisits traps in this valley. BLM has hit wild horses that live and move through this valley with 5 different traps.

A sorrel stallion, BLM says was over 20-years old, was killed. BLM said he had no teeth but has conformed they did not photograph the horse as required by current welfare policy.

In an earlier run, the grey mare with the beautiful palomino baby almost collided with panels that had been at issue when this trap was used before, but pulled herself up sort on initial impact.

All wild horses from the north crew are being sent to the off-limits facility Broken Arrow (Indian Lakes) since July 9 and we cannot assess condition or help you with adoptions.

The Antelope Complex 2-crew operation of 2023 has resulted in 37 deaths since July 9, onsite. We are following up on illness and death in facilities and will report when we have more info. Our 2022 report showed that the average death toll comes in at about 12%. (More HERE) We expect Antelope to hit 18-20%.

BLM paperwork (the 2017 Gather-EA) authorized roundups through 2026. Each year since that EA was approved, BLM has hit these areas every single year. This is not one roundup of over 3,000 horses. When this operation completes, just shy of 10,000 wild horses will have been captured here since 2017. This is the largest single removal plan in the nation.

Our litigation remains active.

We will not forget these horses when the chopper lands for the last time in 2023… the fight to protect one of America’s last large herds will continue.

You can show your support and help us keep our team in the field through the purchase of a “Stop Abuse” t-shirt. We have brought these shirts back for the next 2 weeks by request. Click HERE or on the image below.