Stress. Something BLM never accounts for caused a beautiful black stallion that has had a helicopter descend in his home for 2 days in row, roundups every other year, to colic. Did they leave him to rest and recover? No, the chopper and wranglers descended on the distressed horse, applied multiple ropes all around his body and legs.
When asked “Why?” the answer was “to meet management objectives.”
Then BLM made the decision to shoot him.
His life ended with these words on the BLM update: “12-year-old Black stallion humanely euthanized due to acute intestinal compromise.”
RIP Beauty. You were a joy to know on range and in your prime. For the last 9 years your life has been nothing but avoiding capture year after year after year… Run in Peace.
The death of this stallion prompts the following discussion. Death rates on range due to natural causes is considered so minimal it is not part of how BLM determines population growth rates. From capture through the first six months in BLM care, 1 in 9 will die.
Stress caused by helicopter roundups is very real (even if it is not accounted for by BLM). There is absolutely no place, in any step in the process, where BLM analyzes anything to do with welfare. The BLM CAWP team is NOT an enforcement of review board. Motorized Vehicle Hearing, gather plan, nowhere. (We are continuing to address this issue in the courts.)
Just a simple “Google” can return significant results.
Stress responses to repeated captures in a wild ungulate
Wild Horses: The Stresses of Captivity,
For over 15 years our team lead has seen wild horses colic during helicopter pursuit. Many times BLM does not capture an adult horse that is in colic leaving it on the range to work through the pain (colic is extremely painful). Roping an adult wild horse was once limited to things like a mare whose foal had been captured. Colic deaths happen happen during and after capture.
During recent helicopter captures our welfare team members have been documenting increasing capture of single horses “to meet management objectives” (meaning “capture numbers so they can add the fertility control GonaCon in a retreat that will leave mares sterile for their lifetime). Our team members see roping of adult horses now routinely to “meet objectives.”
Wild horses are in good shape on ranges where cattle and sheep are being turned out. This indicates range conditions are not the root cause of a stressor so severe that it is causing death. Where there are no roundups, BLM says the death rates are negligible when determining population growth. Things like the colic the black Beauty suffered from are roundup related and not infrequent (we just saw it this time).
The increase in events such as roping of single horses begs a larger question: Why?
If there are so few wild horses in an HMA that operations are running as if BLM were “zeroing out” an area requiring the roping of solo adults to make capture quotas, it is logical to conclude BLM is removing below legally allowable limits.
Conduct indicates a reality where BLM is removing every horse in targeted areas.
In this case, where the new Limo mine was approved and active livestock grazing. The last trap for the Bald Mountain Mine expansion and associated permittee. The area BLM showed a judge where horses suffered another repetitive “water emergency” have not been prioritized at all.
Our team remains onsite and working hard behind the scenes on litigation and policy change to stop this madness. Our wild ones and their habitat must be protected.
You can find our ongoing team reporting from Triple B HERE.
We felt the death of this horse needed a new stand-alone article and not simply to be added to the running daily update from the Triple B roundup.
Our wild horses and burros need some protection as we move forward into the next round from broad threats that are coming that place them and their habitat in grave danger.
We need Congress to take action NOW. We need YOUR help.
Click HERE to send your letter directly to your representatives
End of year funding is critical to keep our team in the field reporting to you and all of the other work we do like investigations and litigation. Without your support, none of our work is possible. Thank you!
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Categories: Wild Horse Education
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