BLM to Begin Rounding Up Wild Horses in Utah on August 15
Representatives from American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) Will be On Hand for Comment
AUGUST 11, 2017 (Cedar City, UT) – Emboldened by the Interior Department’s lethal plan to kill tens of thousands of federally-protected wild horses and burros, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is moving forward with plans to remove nearly 10,000 wild horses from their homes in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Oregon, and Colorado. These massive helicopter roundups will decimate wild populations.
The BLM remains silent on the impacts of this unprecedented roundup on the thousands of wild horses who will be captured and removed from public lands. These horses face grave danger of being killed or sold for slaughter if Congress grants the BLM’s request to lift the current prohibition on destroying healthy wild horses and burros or selling them for slaughter. A provision allowing this practice passed the House Appropriations Committee in July and awaits Senate action.
Several roundups are planned, including the largest in recent history. The first event will begin on August 11 in the BLM's Bible Springs Complex, outside Cedar City, UT, where 100 horses are slated for removal. If Congress grants BLM authority to destroy “excess” horses, most of these animals could be brutally slaughtered.
Suzanne Roy, Executive Director of the American Wild Horse Conservation, and Simone Netherlands, AWHC’s national spokesperson and president of the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group, will be present at the Bible Springs roundup and available for comment on August 15 and 16.
Interested media seeking additional information or interviews can contact Andrew Ricci at [email protected] or by phone at 202-973-1334.
Additional information on other roundups is available at https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/media/upcoming-wild-horse-roundups-what-you-need-know.
About the American Wild Horse Conservation
The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly known as the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign) is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. Its grassroots mission is endorsed by a coalition of more than 60 horse advocacy, humane, and public interest organizations.