As the largest roundup of wild horses on the 2024 schedule is underway in the East Pershing Complex in NV, the largest roundup of burros on that schedule begins. Our volunteer observer got caught in a winter storm plaguing much of the nation this week and was delayed by a day. Winter storms traditionally hit these “end of the roundup season.” BLM cannot capture wild horses with a chopper from the first day of March through the last day of June because they designate that time as “foaling season” without actual data to support it. Burros BLM designates no foaling season and uses choppers to capture burros all year.

BLM plans to capture 1000 burros and release 60 with Jennys treated with fertility control.

Before the roundup (L. Ford)

After planning to travel from my home in New Mexico to Kingman, Arizona, so that I could observe the first day of the Black Mountain burro roundup a winter storm reared its ugly head and detained me.

All I could think of was what happens to our wild horses and burros, after being captured, when they become imprisoned in a temporary holding pen by a winter storm leaving the roads impassable. No longer able to fend off the weather on their own they are left to the mercy of those who despise their very presence.

Once considered to be indispensable, by the 1930s our humble long ears had outlived their usefulness and became viewed only as varmints to be annihilated. Other than members of the public and organizations who advocate for their preservation this outlook continues to persist today – led by the Department of Interior and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in their efforts to reduce the national population of burros to 2900.

As the first wild burro roundup of 2024 is about to commence in the Black Mountains of Arizona – the fourth gather operation in less than 2 years – it only reminds us of how quickly forgotten are the contributions their ancestors made to the development and prosperity that continues to thrive throughout the west and benefit those who now want them gone.

Almost half of the country’s wild burro population calls Arizona home and the historic Black Mountain burros represent one of the last large, genetically-healthy burro herds – a stature that is quickly disappearing.

According to the Dec. 20, 2023, BLM press release, “The gather will remove up to 1,000 excess wild burros to address herd health and impacts to rangeland health, wildlife habitat and roadway safety concerns associated with herd overpopulation. “

It appears it is only the burros who pose a “threat to the long-term health of the land” as livestock grazing and all its infrastructure, big game hunting, sprawling urban development, exploding recreation and renewable energy projects increasingly dominate their designated habitat. As these other shared uses of our public lands continue to displace the burros and unnaturally divert them to areas they otherwise would not have travelled into has resulted in accusations of “overpopulation” in that area – later used to justify removals.

The 3/1/2021 estimated population of the Black Mountain HMA was 2012 yet, based upon a November, 2021, aerial survey, this number increased to 2976 on 3/1/2022.

Between 3/1/2022 and 3/1/2023 approximately 1708 burros were removed in three gather operations – a nuisance gather, a helicopter roundup and a bait and trap removal.

Using BLM’s own method to determine the 3/1/2023 estimated population, I subtracted 1708 (numbers removed) from 2976 (3/1/2022 estimated population) to get 1268 – which included 44 jennies treated with PZP – plus any new foals. On the other hand, the BLM came up with an estimated population of 1674 plus any new foals and in the recent press release claimed the population had increased to1925.

According to the USGS future abundance estimates are derived from the aerial survey data and the application of population growth rate formulas despite the limited knowledge existing on the average expected annual growth rate for most HMAs. There is even less information available on how these growth rates respond to changing factors such as annual variation in climate, population density, resource conditions, differences in sex and age-specific reproductive and survival rates as well as the use of fertility control and contraceptives  that can all impact population changes from year to year. Therefore; basing future estimates on past growth rates can be problematic and reduce their reliability even if current herd size estimates from aerial surveys are considered accurate.

Despite recommendations from USGS for post gather surveys to determine accuracy and continue analyzing trend characteristics so that reliable comparisons can be produced over time no intermittent aerial surveys were ever conducted.

In short, this means that in less than 2 years approximately 75% of the Black Mountain burros will have been removed in 4 gather operations with no intermediate aerial surveys having been conducted.

After gathers the BLM adjusts the pop size by “subtracting the number of adults and foals removed from the pre-gather population estimate to find the estimated number of animals that remain”. Remember, foals born in holding, although included in the same pre-gather population estimate, are NOT subtracted as foals rounded up are even though they all came from the same starting population.

According to the Black Mountain EA after reaching AML (478) there would be 91 fertile females in the HMA which should result in approximately 27 foals per year – that is assuming every one survives.  27 foals on 1.1 million acres.

The only research pertaining to wild burro fertility control – that I can find – was the Humane Society’s PZP field trial test (2016-2021) in the Black Mountain area with a brief status update stating some burros had abscesses at injection sites and transient lameness, which resolved. Apparent foaling rates were unknown.

A 2018 proposal by USGS to test PZP and GonaCon vaccine in burros was never approved by the BLM.

On a closing note, I visited the Black Mountain burros at the Florence holding facility after the 2022 roundup and saw nothing but beautiful, healthy burros. I have also discovered through FOIA requests that hundreds of more burros die during and after capture than from road collisions – something that could be addressed if the BLM invested in fencing improvements of HMAs as they do for livestock grazing allotments.

Reports from the roundup will be linked here.

After capture, burros face threats from sale into the Ejiao trade (donkey hides used in Chinese medicine) and even dangers from how BLM feeds and treats burros. Burros are more susceptible to death from capture stress. Burros are not horses. 

We need your support to stay in the field and in the courts. WHE is the only org to take abuse on in a courtroom and we have an active case now to gain an enforceable welfare standard. We also carry the only case in the nation to address the mismanagement and lack of data used for burros. Together, we can bring these important cases to a conclusion.

Thank you for keeping us on the frontline in the fight to protect and preserve our wild horses and burros.