The Air Quality Index (AQI) at the Blue Wing roundup has been in the unhealthy zone for two days. The PM2.5 particles (the “bad stuff” in wildfire smoke) are 13 times the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The current guidelines say to wear a mask outdoors and avoid all outdoor activity.

The entire area is dangerous today for both horses and humans

Blue Wing has slammed through two extended Heat Index rises and is pushing through Air Quality Index (AQI) warnings. Blue Wing is also operating at about 4 times the death ratio of other roundups during this 2024 season. (Death roster at the bottom of the page)

We wrote about how BLM policy, protocol, standards, completely ignore these two extremely important health risk factors that have gained more and more attention as climate change impacts gain center stage. BLM is supposed to analyze “climate factors.” Not only do they ignore climate factors in on range management planning, they ignore these factors when they can literally spell “life or death” during capture. (Learn more HERE)

BLM is also running an incredible number of ropings of solo horses. We cannot stress just how unusual this is and id employed when an area is being “zeroed out” (all removed) and not during an operation to get to or maintain a number of animals on the range

The wild horse roped in the video above spent over AN HOUR on that rope. The BLM Wild Horse and Burro Specialist in charge is the same one that was in charge during the Antelope roundup last year (where he not only approved the roping and choking down of a solo adult horse, he participated himself, that BLM kept absurdly claiming was “young, weak, starving” as the horse fought over an hour.)

Above: BLM repeatedly schedules the Blue Wing Complex (includes the Shawave HMA) for roundups in summer. This area gets hit hard every year from wildfire smoke blowing in from California into Central Nevada. BLM does NOT take into account safety of wild horses when approving the schedule OR carrying out operations. This video is Shawave 2020 when AQI was over 350… when they tell you “do not even go out of your house” the air is so bad.

We really need to point out that these roundups are DIFFERENT contractors, but the SAME BLM employee in charge. Many of you want us to publish the contractor names. In recent years, probably out of frustration, the public is desperately looking for someone to blame.

The ONLY person to blame, both legally and logistically, is the BLM Incident Commander (IC) and Contracting Officer Representative (COR). These terms of leadership during roundups are taken from fire. (Back in 2023 during the Advisory Board meeting Holle Waddel tried to make the After Action Review and leadership structure sound like something new. It is not new, it has been used in the WHB program for over a decade and came from fire protocols. More HERE)

BLM does not have an enforceable welfare policy. BLM does not have internal guidelines that create clear rules that align with current veterinary standards for roundups or in holding. There are no consequences for violation. BLM does not provide oversight (“policing”) of their own employees during roundups or in holding.

We are in court, right now, addressing the lack of an enforceable policy and how, in practice, there are no real guidelines. BLM in charge has the “discretion” to ignore everything and anything. You may have one district that sees the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP) as something serious and deserving of attention. But then you get other districts that see CAWP like an annoying high school principal they simply ignore. We need a transparent and open rulemaking to create an policy that is enforceable and cannot be ignored.

We are fighting in the courts. You can help.

Congress needs to stop acting like throwing money at fertility control (each year for the last 6 years) is somehow addressing abuse! It does NOT address abuse. In fact, in recent years as BLM expands the use of GonaCon (that they say is reversible fertility control) abuses have run rampant!

We need an enforceable welfare policy on range, during capture and in holding facilities.

Please make a call. If you have made the call, make another. Our wild ones desperately need an enforceable welfare policy that is crafted with transparency, public participation and complies with current welfare standards for equines.

The phone number for Congress is: (202) 224-3121. You should put it in your speed dial. Call the number tell the operator who your representative is (or where you live if you do not know) and you will be connected to an aide in the office. Ask to register your concerns and request. Ask that an amendment to the funding bill for the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program be crafted to simply create a line item for funding for “Rulemaking to create an enforceable welfare policy.”

Once more, there were more ropings in one day than at any small town rodeo. In the picture above one is going into the jute and the other is fighting to stay free (for over an hour). It makes us wonder if this horse was a mare that left a baby on the range in all the smoke?

For Blue Wing? 

You can  try to contact the NV state director. The district is ignoring all pleas and it seems the state office does not care either. (Sample letter and email address, Jon Raby is the state director, JRaby@BLM.gov 

Not only don’t they care about the horses, they do not care about the wranglers, either. Apparently, BLM is not responsible for any health issues that may develop in contract staff and that is as far as they seem to care about human health as well. 

We are in court on Blue Wing right now. The case has been fully briefed and we did notify the court that this roundup was going to take place. We are working with our lawyers to try to get the horses held in holding pending a census as we await justice.

The entire program shortchanges wild horses and burros. The system of capture and holding leaves 1 in every 9 horses and burros captured dead within 6 months.

We won an amazing victory earlier this year where the courts recognize removal is NOT management. We have three additional cases in the system now. We need your help to keep our teams in field and expand our litigation.

Thank you for keeping WHE running for the wild.

There have been 5 that have died on the trailer including a heart attack.

There have been 3 broken necks, 2 broken legs, 1 broken shoulder, 1 broken skull.

BLM reports 34

15-year-old, Gray jenny found deceased on trailer upon arrival at temporary holding. (She died during transport from trap to sorting corrals probably from heart failure or was fatally injured during capture or transport.) 2-year-old, Gray jack BLM put down due to a broken leg. 20-plus-year-old, Gray jack killed because it had club foot. 4-year-old, Brown jenny BLM killed because they said she had deformed front legs. 18-year-old, Brown jenny killed because BLM said she had deformed front feet. 20-plus-year-old, Gray jack put down due to severe arthritis in front right knee. 5-year-old, Gray jenny died due to Colic (a stress and heat related condition). 2-year-old, Pinto jenny found deceased on truck upon arrival at Indian Lakes Off-Range Corrals. A 5-year-old, Bay stallion broke his left hind leg.  BLM put down a 15-year-old Sorrel stallion for arthritis in front left knee. 5-year-old, Bay stallion put down for arthritis in front right knee. 20-year-old, Black stallion put down due to arthritis in front right knee. 16-year-old, Dun mare put down, BLM said due to deformed right front leg. 3-year-old, Grulla stallion due to club foot, right front. 11-year-old, Bay mare BLM said had a developmental deformity, right hind leg. 17-year-old, Bay stallion BLM said fractured front left shoulder. 12-year-old, Bay stallion due to lameness, BLM said “previous injury to right rear hock.” 20-year-old, Roan mare killed due to heart disease-failure (our commentary if you look for the old roan w/foal in video: if she had issues with her heart, it was probably capture stress). 9-year-old, Sorrel stallion killed due to lameness, BLM said “previous injury to front right knee.” 25-plus-year-old, Gray stallion put down BLM said “due to poor body condition (BCS 1) with a poor chance of recovery (this is a body score 1 horse, We saw no body score “1”. 12-year-old, Bay mare put down due to broken left hind leg. 16-year-old, Roan stallion killed due to lameness, BLM said, arthritis in right hip. Foal, Buckskin mare killed, BLM said congenital deformity front legs (baby with lax tendons, very common in domestics not run by helicopter). 1-plus-year-old, Bay mare  due to broken neck. 11-year-old, Bay stallion died due to broken neck at trap. 20-plus-year-old, Pinto mare killed because BLM said she was in poor body condition (BCS 1). 16-year-old, Bay mare died due to blunt force trauma caused by a horse kicking her in the head (BLM said this happened on trailer, but we cannot figure out how anyone saw it was a kick from another horse?). 30-plus-year-old, Sorrel stallion put down, BLM said having “no teeth and a poor chance of recovery.” 6-year-old, Bay mare humanely euthanized due to club foot. 17-plus-year-old, Black mare put down for having a sway back (Lordosis). 14-year-old, Roan stallion put down because BLM said he had blindness in right eye (this was assumed apparently because they said they had trouble getting him into trap). 11-year-old, Bay mare found deceased on truck upon arrival at holding. 11-year-old, Sorrel stallion, in right eye. 9-year-old, Brown mare died due to broken neck.