Oregon Muster Targets 1500 Wild Horses
Federal authorities in Oregon are preparing for one of the largest wild horse roundups in the state's history, drawing criticism from opponents who condemn the use of musters to control herd numbers. The operation targets the Beaty Butte Herd Management Area, where the current herd population is estimated at 1500, significantly exceeding the appropriate management level of 100 to 250 animals.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to gather all 1500 horses, returning only 60 stallions and 40 mares, with the mares receiving treatment with the birth control agent PZP. The operation, set to begin this week, will utilize four or five capture sites.
The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation) criticized the roundup. Its director, Suzanne Roy, stated that only 100 wild horses would remain on 400,000 acres post-roundup.
“Today, there are more wild horses and burros warehoused in government holding facilities than remain free in the wild. The Beatys Butte roundup will add 1400 wild horses to a holding system that is already collapsing with the BLM’s stockpiling of nearly 50,000 wild horses and burros in holding pens and pastures.”
Roy emphasized that more humane and cost-effective population management alternatives exist to maintain wild horse and burro populations on the range. Despite the distress and suffering of wild horses and the cost to taxpayers, the BLM continues to use roundups as the primary method of managing these populations in the West.
The group suggested that the roundup was conducted to appease local ranchers. They have been running a petition calling for the abandonment of the roundup, advocating for a humane fertility program to control and reduce wild horse numbers over time. They also propose a mechanism to compensate ranchers for voluntarily relinquishing grazing permits within the designated herd management area.
At the time of writing, the petition had gathered nearly 22,000 signatures. Roy expressed gratitude for the support, stating, “There are many times I am proud to be an American, but this is not one of those times. I am, however, grateful for the nearly 20,000 Americans who signed our petition and who are helping us to build an army of voices and action to defend the freedom of America’s iconic wild horses and burros.”