The largest roundup of the 2024 schedule is underway.
You can read our “Know Before the Roundup” article HERE with background
BLM plans to capture and remove 2,875 wild horses. None will be returned. BLM claims that the post-operation population will be 622 wild horses. The complex spans about 2.2 million acres. BLM says only 345-555 wild horses can live in the complex. BLM is targeting low AML and claiming “overpopulation” before reaching the 345 wild horse goal. This area is heavily coveted by both mining and livestock. The Complex includes three Herd Management Areas (HMA) (North Stillwater, Augusta Mountains, and Tobin Range) and four Herd Areas (HA) (Humboldt, East Range, Sonoma Range, and Augusta Mountains)
BLM Cumulative totals
Captured: 1,133 Wild Horses (480 Stallions, 532 Mares, and 121 Foals)
Shipped: 1,115 Wild Horses (467 Stallions, 529 Mares, and 119 Foals) to the off-limits facility in Winnemucca NV. BLM has never allowed any observation at this facility.
Deaths: 13 (captured day 1 and euthanized the next morning BLM said: 10 year-old Bay Stud – blind in left eye; 7 year-old Bay Stud – right front club foot; 16 year-old Bay Stud – blind in left eye; 14 year-old Bay Stud – blind in right eye; 14 year-old Bay Mare – blind in left eye; 20+ year-old Bay Stud – blind in left eye; 4 year-old Bay Mare, Euthanized – broken neck; 12 year-old Bay Mare, Euthanized – broken left rear leg; 7 year-old Bay Stud – previous injury, broken right front leg that healed on range crooked; 20 year-old Sorrel Stud – blind in right eye; Yearling Sorrel Colt – dislocated front right knee. On the same day: 20+ year-old Sorrel Stud – left front knee /cannon fracture; 17 year-old Bay Stud – left front knee / cannon fracture)
Released: 3 Wild Horses. Although BLM lists horses were released, no daily report notes releases. We can only assume they count a horse escaping from trap or temporary holding as “released” as has become BLM’s common soft wording for a horse jumping out and escaping after capture.
BLM Error: 2 Wild Horses are unaccounted for (as of 1-14). BLM listed gathered = 1,133. BLM listed shipped, released, deaths = 1,131.
The roundup began on December 28. You can see daily logs from week 1 HERE
Newer updates will appear at the top. Scroll for earlier reports. Dates listed numerically before each report.
Week 3 (01-12 through 01-14) began with 2 no fly days due to moving temporary corrals and weather. We will link week 3 here when they begin to fly)
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BLM is moving the temporary holding corrals east as the second week of the East Pershing Complex roundup ends and week 3 begins. That means they need to empty out the existing corrals and ship all the remaining horses to the off-limits to the public facility north of Winnemucca. Our team member drove out alone to watch. BLM loaded the remaining horses and euthanized 2 (20+ year-old Sorrel Stud – left front knee / cannon fracture; 17 year-old Bay Stud – left front knee / cannon fracture).
Below (exclusive video): Wild cows grazed around holding corrals in the freezing fog at dawn, BLM prepared to load wild horses onto semi trucks. As BLM pushed stallions out of the pen and into crowded alleys the stallions were (obviously) agitated. Many of these stallions are rivals on the range and simply being cramped together, without the chaos of humans, would cause irritation. As they pushed them down the alleys using baggy whips and other devices, one stallion saw his last chance. He jumped the panels and fled disappearing into an area more than 30 miles and multiple fence lines from the range where he was captured. We wish him well as he tries to find his way.
However, this does answer the question as to the horses BLM is listing as “released.” There must have been other escapes.
Tomorrow BLM has said will be a “no fly or ship” day as they move the corrals East.
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Our observer traveled with BLM to observation. But wind and incoming weather created a “no fly” day. BLM shipped mares and foals to an off limits to the public facility north of Winnemucca.
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It seems a bit absurd, but BLM seems to feel it is fine to land a helicopter next to trap… but an observer with a camera needs to be “still” when held a mile away so they don’t “scare” horses.
The only one at trap, our observer braved the cold to document. She is back onsite today, the third day she has been the only member of the public 3 out of the 13 days so far of the largest roundup operation on the 2024 schedule.
Wild horses were coming in wet
With the BLMs internal Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP) team present at trap, 145 (44 Stallions, 69 Mares, and 32 Foals) wild horses were captured. This represents the largest number of foals in one day since the operation began. Week 1, we were consistently disturbed by the number of foals (under 9 months) coming in to trap.
Observation at trap was better than it has been throughout the operation. 2 large runs came in.
There were no hotshot (electric prods) used during loading as had been during week 1 (that we could see) and no using the tarp to scare and move horses.
It was cold. In the video below you can see steam from horses and smoke from a fire the crew has been lighting near the pens presumably to keep themselves warm. We wonder how the horses feel being that close to a fire?
Our observer is back onsite today.
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54 (28 Stallions, 22 Mares, and 4 Foals) wild horses were captured. We are informed that BLM’s internal CAWP team has finally arrived.
Long form report with video from 1/8, click here.
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68 (31 Stallions, 27 Mares, and 10 Foals) were captured. The number of foals significantly higher than any day during week 1.
Observers were positioned far away. They were also positioned where they could not see wings. There was not much that could be assessed except that cows were on range and in the drive path. You can see the cows in the video.
You can also see the absurdly far distance we are placed for observation at temporary holding. No observation of handling at temporary corrals has been facilitated. Horses are then shipped to an off-limits facility where no assessment is possible.
BLMs internal welfare team arrives today. After the overstocking and routine hotshot use of the first week has (seemingly) ended. This is onbe of the problems with an internal team that announces their arrival and only stays 2 days to do an assessment. We will have more on that soon.
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34 (14 Stallions, 15 Mares, and 5 Foals) more wild horses captured as BLM squeezed out the last horses from this tra psite.
2 more have died: Stud – blind in right eye; Yearling Sorrel Colt – dislocated front right knee.
A mare and her colt escaped. The colt is now dead. Our observer is extremely far from trap. But the videos below illustrate clearly what happened. In our view, escape should have been allowed. This is not a zeroing out (all horses removed).
A mare and foal escape trap inside the HMA and fall. BLM approves roping of a mare and foal inside an HMA where a “zero out” is not the objective.
You can see the two start to run away and riders go out. Both mare and foal put up a fight.
As the colt was fighting, you can see that he injures his leg and goes down.
You can see in the videos above (even though it is really far away and not clear) the extent of the injury, that they try to walk the colt in even with the injury. The colt goes down for good. Then they load him on the back of an ATV, and he almost slides off.
Below: Mom is on the trailer. Two very different outcomes for wild horses roped in an operation where they could have been let go (this is not a zeroing out or outside of HMA situation).
Below: By the time observers got to temporary holding, snow and wind had hit.
Our observer remains onsite.
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. Together, we can bring this important case to a conclusion that brings about, once and for all, an enforceable welfare policy.
Thank you so much for keeping us in the fight to protect and preserve our wild horses and burros.
Categories: Wild Horse Education
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