Private Roundup Targets Up to 3,000 Unprotected NV Wild Horses

In northeastern Nevada, a privately funded helicopter roundup is underway, targeting up to 3,000 wild horses on public and private checkerboard lands. This operation raises significant concerns about the fate of these unprotected animals.

We have just learned that the roundup is conducted under state feral/estray livestock laws governing wild horses in Nevada, in areas not federally protected by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or Forest Service. Reports indicate that the horses being rounded up originated from breeding stock from the Dann ranch, which was at the center of a decades-long land dispute over Shoshone tribal versus federal lands. It is also reported that the Dann family is behind the roundup.

The Barrick Gold Corporation owns land in the area, and some speculated their involvement in the roundup. However, American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) confirmed that Barrick has not requested the roundup, is not working toward the removal of any horses, and is not funding this operation. It appears that hundreds of captured horses are being taken directly to a kill buyer’s feedlot in northwestern Nevada.

We have been told that the BLM Elko District is allowing horses to be removed from the public portions of the checkerboard under Nevada feral/estray laws. It’s a tragic situation, and one that we’re seeing more frequently—the roundup of wild horses by private entities and some Native American tribes, which then sell the horses for slaughter. These horses will comprise a portion of the more than 140,000 American horses sent to Canada and Mexico for slaughter each year. This situation underscores the reason why our borders must be closed to this cruel industry. Tragically, we know of no legal options at this point to intercede on behalf of these wild horses. We will keep you posted on this developing situation.