10,000 Citizens Urge Interior to Halt Roundup as Captures Exceed 600
Media Update 9/9/21
5th foal (baby horse) orphaned in roundup, then euthanized for symptoms associated with capture shock, but BLM calls death "non-gather related"
Photo by Living Images by Carol Walker
The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) reports that over 10,000 citizens have contacted the Interior Department and BLM, demanding an immediate halt to the ongoing wild horse roundups. Concerns have been raised following the capture of over 600 horses since September 1, with reports of foal deaths attributed to capture shock.
- Yesterday, 107 horses were rounded up and removed after being chased by helicopters and trapped, bringing the capture total to 608 since Sept. 1.
- A 6-month old colt left alone on the range after Tuesday’s operation was found Wednesday morning near the trap site. BLM euthanized the foal, claiming he had “difficulties in movement and coordination,” which were “pre-existing” and "non-gather related." However, the American Wild Horse Conservation asserts that these symptoms are consistent with capture myopathy or “capture shock”, a condition in which muscle damage results from “extreme exertion, struggle or stress.” (Public observers have noted horses being run over long distances in 90+ degree heat and coming into the trap at gallop speed. It is a common cause of death of young foals at roundups.)
- This is the fifth foal reported to have been left on the range all alone during this roundup. Problems with foals being left behind on the range also plagued the contractor, Cattoor Livestock Roundups, at last month’s BLM roundup in Nevada.
- Yesterday, nearly 10,000 citizens contacted the Interior Department and BLM to demand a halt to the roundup in response to an American Wild Horse Conservation action alert.
- Sand Wash Basin wild horse population is now well below the BLM’s approved population limit of 362 horses on 155,000 acres of land.
- Yesterday’s operation, observers noted horses being driven over long distances in 90+ degree temperatures. The operation concentrated on the southern portion of the HMA, which is now cleared of wild horses. Today’s operation will focus on the north.
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About AWHC
The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) is the nation's leading wild horse protection organization, with more than 700,000 supporters and followers nationwide. AWHC is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse and burros in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. In addition to advocating for the protection and preservation of America's wild herds, AWHC implements the largest wild horse fertility control program in the world through a partnership with the State of Nevada for wild horses that live in the Virginia Range near Reno.
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