Sand Wash Basin Roundup Concludes with Final Day of Operations

Sand Wash Basin Roundup Continues Outside Herd Management Area

50 captured horses to be released as 6th orphaned foal confirmed

The Sand Wash Basin roundup is concluding today, with significant developments occurring outside the Herd Management Area (HMA). The operation has seen the capture of numerous wild horses, with a focus on humane management and preservation efforts.

• Eight wild horses were captured yesterday on private land outside the Sand Wash Basin HMA, including two families and a lone stallion, bringing the capture total to 649 with two deaths. Of those, 529 were captured within the HMA, and 220 outside the HMA boundaries. Roundup report here.
• Fifty captured horses (25 mares and 25 stallions) within the HMA are scheduled for release today, reducing the total net removals from within the HMA to 479, down from the original target of 633.
• The roundup continues today outside the HMA. Observers must choose whether to witness today's helicopter roundup or the release of 50 horses within the HMA.
• Another foal (baby horse) has been confirmed orphaned in the roundup, marking the sixth confirmed foal left alone on the range without their mother. See post.
• Operations within the HMA were halted early thanks to the intervention of Colorado Governor Jared Polis, allowing 154 additional wild horses to remain free.
• Governor Polis posts a public statement hailing public outpouring against the roundup and pledging to work to “chart a new course for humane management for the state’s beloved wild horses.” First Gentleman Marlon Reis posts a statement as well.
• American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) files a formal complaint on animal welfare violations at the roundup and calls for oversight hearing on BLM roundup abuses and mismanagement of wild horses/burros and public lands.

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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