Onaqui Wild Horses in Peril: Advocates Rally to Protest BLM Roundup

Contact: Amelia Perrin, amelia@americanwildhorsecampaign.org, 919-619-4913

Press Conference and Rally to Save Local Onaqui Herd atBLMState Office Friday

SALT LAKE CITY(April 1, 2019)– A large herd of over 100 horse advocates, locals, and wildlife photographers will be gathering in front of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) State Office in Salt Lake City on Friday to protest the mass removal of the Onaqui wild horses—Utah’s most iconic and visited wild horse herd, located onpublic landsnear Tooele.

Leading the charge are theAmerican Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign)and theSalt River Wild Horse Management Group. Following the rally, the groups will meet with theBLMto urge them to cancel the planned roundup of the horses and instead give humane management a fair shot. The groups will encourage theBLMto expand the existing PZPfertility controlprogram to stabilize the Onaqui wild horse population humanely and at no cost to the federal government or taxpayers, as opposed to the expensive and cruel roundup that is planned.

WHO:Suzanne Roy, Executive Director, American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign)

Simone Netherlands, President, andFertility ControlExpert, Salt RiverWild Horse ManagementGroup

Local Wild Horse Advocates and Wildlife Photographers

WHAT:Rally and Press Conference

WHEN:Friday, April 5, 2019, 11 am to 12:30 pm

WHERE:BLMUtah State Office, 440 W 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

An estimated 586 wild horses live on more than 240,000 acres of designated public land outside of Tooele, known as the Onaqui Mountains Herd Management Area (HMA). Just an hour from Salt Lake City, this unique and accessible herd is the most visited and photographed wild horse population in the country. As such, it is an important ecotourism resource for the local area.

As early as July, theBLMintends to round up and remove 465 wild horses—or 80 percent of the Onaqui population—from their rightful home on ourpublic lands. These wild horses will be subjected to traumatic helicopter stampedes that cause injury and sometimes death. After the roundup, the horses will be separated from their families and sent to holding pens where they will be “processed” and put up for adoption. A small number will be adopted; most will spend the remainder of their lives in government holding pens and pastures.

"The unique herd dynamics and family bonds of this historic herd will forever be lost if theBLMgallops ahead with this roundup," states Simone Netherlands, President of the Salt RiverWild Horse ManagementGroup. "The Onaqui wild horse herd will be devastated, along with the public who loves them." The two organizations say there is a better way to manage wild horses, and that it is also cheaper for the taxpayer.

This roundup comes at a time when the number of wild horses and burros warehoused inBLMholding facilities has soared to 50,935, costing taxpayers about $50 million and consuming 61% of the $80 million budget for the entireBLMWild Horse and Burro Program. Meanwhile, the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) has offered a proposal for the expansion of afertility controlprogram for the Onaqui herd using its resources to support theBLMin making their current fertility program a success, supplying a team of qualified darters to administer the vaccine, equipment, supplies, and an online identification database. To date,BLMhas declined the offer, but the group stands ready and able to follow through.

TheAmerican Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign)is the nation’s leading wild horseadvocacyorganization, dedicated to defending America’s wild horses and burros to protect their freedom, preserve their habitat, and promote humane standards of treatment. AWHC’s mission is endorsed by a coalition of more than 60 horseadvocacy, public interest, and conservation organizations.

TheSalt River Wild Horse Management Groupis an Arizona non-profit organization established to protect, monitor, and scientifically study the Salt River Wild Horses. The SRWHMG has been spearheading the effort to secure lasting protections for this iconic and beloved wild horse herd in the Tonto National Forest.

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