BLM contractor Cattoor Helicopter - Photo by Terry Fitch
RENO, Nev. (AP) ― Wild-horse advocates are calling for an independent investigation after the deaths of nine mustangs so far in a government roundup of the animals on the range north of Reno.
Two advocacy groups — In Defense of Animals, based in San Rafael, Calif., and the Cloud Foundation in Colorado Springs, Colo. — criticized the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s handling of the roundup after two more deaths this past week.
A contractor is using two helicopters under BLM supervision to drive horses in the Calico Mountain Complex to corrals. Officials are then trucking the animals to a Fallon holding facility before placing them for adoption or sending them to long-term holding corrals in the Midwest.
BLM officials said the roundup is necessary because an over-population of mustangs is harming native wildlife and the range itself, and threatening the horses with starvation.
Horse activists maintain a colt was run so hard and long during the roundup that the hoof walls of its two hind feet came off, leaving exposed bones and nerves. The colt was euthanized Thursday at the Fallon facility.
The groups also contend a mare fell down in a trailer after being driven for miles on the range by helicopter and failed to receive any help on the four-hour drive to Fallon. The mare was still down on arrival in Fallon and died a short time later.
“These latest tragic and unnecessary deaths document beyond doubt that the BLM helicopter stampedes violate federal requirements for humane and minimally-intrusive management of wild horses,” said Dr. Elliot Katz, president of In Defense of Animals.
“(We) are calling for a full and independent investigation of these and other fatalities and injuries caused by the Calico roundup,” he added.
Katz’s group unsuccessfully sued to halt the roundup, claiming the use of helicopters to drive horses to corrals is inhumane and risks their injury and death.
BLM spokeswoman LoLynn Worley said less than 0.5 percent of wild horses gathered in such roundups die and the agency goes out of its way to minimize the risk to the animals. She disputed the groups’ accounts of the latest deaths.
Worley said the colt had no apparent health problems when it arrived in Fallon, but was placed on antibiotics a couple days later after it was observed with “acute lameness.”
“Apparently what happened is the colt’s two hind feet did develop abcesses and the pressure of that is what made the outer hoof area come off,” Worley said. “It was the veterinarian’s decision to euthanize him.”
Worley said it was speculation on the groups’ part that the mare stayed down in the trailer on the ride to Fallon.
“They stop the truck at various times to make sure animals are on their feet,” she said. “They make every effort to get horses back on their feet when they’re down.”
Worley said two horses have been euthanized and another horse died of a pre-existing condition at the roundup site.
Of six horses that have died at the Fallon facility, she said, five involved mares thought to have experienced difficulty making the transition to hay feed.
Another 20 to 25 horses at the facility are recovering after receiving treatment for various injuries or lameness.
Nearly 1,200 horses have been gathered from the Calico complex so far — about half of the mustangs the BLM plans to remove during the two-month roundup that began late December.
The government says the number of wild horses and burros on public lands in the West stands at nearly 37,000, about half of them in Nevada. It believes the number that can be supported on the range is about 26,600.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://i0.wp.com/img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png)
Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
According to the BLM report this foal was only treated TWO times. Laminitis requires aggressive , DAILY treatment but this was NOT done. This is clearly a case of neglect which combined with being driven over rocks for miles caused this poor ,little foal’s death. This is a clear case of cruelty but what else is new with the roundups.
LikeLike
Cruelty, neglect, lack of respect for our American wild horses. We are writing letters, speaking out, protesting, objecting. Who is listening? Sadly, not the administration I worked so hard for. Disappointing, depressing, distressing. Our poor wild horses. I will keep fighting, but it is hard not to be discouraged.
LikeLike
I know. It makes one wonder just what WOULD it take to get attention from anyone but us?
LikeLike
I know they hear us. Whatever their reasons for not responding it is not good enough. We continue to fight against time itself and that is how BLM wants it. They will do as much damage as possible and then sit back and one day just let go in order to avoid prosecution and suits. The horses And Burros always pay the price. The shame of our nation… mar
LikeLike
Suzanne & Mar- The Obama camp is so busy trying to change course on what it thought was “important” to the American people, they don’t have time to address anything as inconsequential as wild horses. I’m afraid they will find out the wild horsea ARE important to the American people, too late to save them.
LikeLike
kas, ….just what we are fighting to avoid. It will Have to stop. There will be horses, land, recovery and change. You got to believe it to do it. mar
LikeLike
Every day I get more and more (pardon the language) pissed off. Just opened this tripe from the Nevada Appeal:
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20100124/NEWS/100129753/1070&ParentProfile=1058
It makes this travesty sound like the horses are enjoying a retreat at some equine spa. No mention of the traumatic chaos at captures or during transport. Not a word about deaths or injuries. Just a couple of thousand horses relaxing in their spacious accommodations, enjoying the cuisine, receiving the best of veterinary care, and “showing their curiosity” as they are unknowingly readied for a one-way trip to wild horse hell.
The Dean Bolstad quote, “The BLM does not sell horses for slaughter.” and what follows is such misleading, predictable spin. They may not sell directly, but they know they sell to people who do. We all know they know it, but so many people don’t. I’d like to hook up every last one responsible for all this to a lie detector and see how they make out.
The Farmington (NM) Daily Times published three articles before Calico started, and then fell strangely silent except for two small AP stories about support for the BLM.
Now two pickup stories in Sunday’s paper:
This very article (finally SOMETHING in the Daily Times besides “GO BLM”!), and (my heart falls) “More horses face abandonment in wake of economy”/Amy Hamilton/The Daily Sentinel, which will undoubtedly add fuel to pro-slaughter fires here and around the country.
So sad, so frustrated, so ANGRY!!!
LikeLike
Linda, They are fighting us. Since so few newspapers can afford in depth pieces we get what is shoved under their noses. We need to submit more articles in favor of the moratorium and about what is really happening. That is a challenge to us all. Letters to the editors will help. To any paper that has printed anti wild horse and pro slaughter; letters to the editors. People read them. mar
LikeLike
I’m just wondering where the great animal protection people are, like PETA, that goes on and on about little fish, etc…. The people are suppose to run this country, you vote for something and a few years later, they reverse things.
I moved to a small town close to Neveda and do my shopping in Carson City (moved there in 1977) We use to see wild horses out grazing, with their young and not bothering anybody, now their all gone. They ate out in the scrub where even cattle didn’t graze, there is thousands of acres, they can forage on if people would leave them alone. Look at Madeline Pickens site on the wild horse, she is working hard to protect them.
LikeLike
In my opinion if Madeline is serious, should be taking all the wild horses that are now in rescues and putting them on her ‘proposed’ santuary near Elko. They are titled free and clear and I’m sure the rescues would be glad to send them.
This would allow those rescues that are at capacity to take in more horses and they could be funneling in and saving horses that may go to slaughter otherwise. Not that the rescues would be sending them, but if there were more room at the rescues some might not end up in slaughter.
Madeline could be funneling these horses into her santuary by other means including adopting as many as allowable, even getting the public involved to adopt and send them to her santuary. Her organization could and should be ‘doing’ something, rather than just collecting money from other wealthy people and putting it into a tax free 501 account and speaking out! I have a solid plan to make this a reality if she’s interested she can contact me.
Kathy I agree, where the hell is PETA and the HSUS? Funny how lately I have been seeing articles from Percell and the like, but only after IDA has put themselves on the line and got the lawsuits and the protests started, then Peta and HSUS spin it to make it sound like they had something to do with it? We can’t even get HSUS to introduce legislation to stop slaughter, or even change the estray laws, the only thing they care about is spaying and neutering everything and in fact back the use of PZP which has been proven to be detrimental to the horse.
You all do realize that Safari Club International is nothing but a bunch of ego manical wealthy people that include the likes of George W. Bush and Colin Powell. They get their kicks from killing endangered species and they have just joined in financially to help the BLM fight the lawsuits against IDA. They just had their annual convention in Reno NV at the hotel that work. I’ve seen this group come in year after year auctioning off no less than 5 elephant, lion, leopard, water buffalo, and up until this year even Rhino hunts, while the rest of us are trying to perserve them they grow them and donate to their ‘preserves’ so they can kill them! What gives them the right to kill what we preserve? They think they are better than the rest of us because they have money. Personally, I’d like to see them really hunt…like each other!
My tongue is still bleeding from having to bite it instead of telling these jerks what I think of them and their ‘right to hunt’ I can justify someone getting a tag and hunting for food non endangered and truly over populated species like deer, using all parts of that animal, however I have a problem with people making rugs out of leopard hide and killing the elephant for it’s tusks.
I gathered evidence of their ‘auction’ catalogs if anyone is interested in knowing your enemy? R.T. if you want I’ll send you some via email… gee for a mere 40,000 USD you get your opportunity to be driven to a place and set up your gun on a tripod while the locals herd the elephant your way and you can shoot them dead at 200 yards…yeah that is what I call sportsmanship NOT!
BTW, I wonder if anyone has sent the judge that allowed this horrific and barberic round up to take place a copy of the news updates? The blood of those horses is on his hands and he should know it is!
LikeLike
Kathy McC. How right you are. Their money does what ever they want. The rules are theirs with big bucks. What they put into ‘sportsmanship’ could save many. Greed and selfishness are their priorities. They don’t care who hates them or why, they just buy protection. mar
LikeLike
forgot to mention…the foal dying from having his hooves torn apart by lava rock is not the first time this has happened. Some of you may not have been involved in the movement back then, but in the mid 80’s the same herd area of the Calico complex a place called Buck and Bald, they, the Cattoors did the same to approximately 20 babies. Dawn Lappin of W.H.O.A. was witness and BLM and Cattoors outfit had to shoot them all on site due to the hooves being torn apart. To make matters worse during the same gather, the transport team loaded 150 horses on to a truck that was on a slanted hill, the trailer turned over and most of those horses were crushed killed or maimed and also had to be shot on site!
My point being is that Cattoors AND BLM need to be held accountable. They have been in this area before and are making the same mistakes as last time.
LikeLike
Kathy McCovey, If you have any documentation of this please put it up ASAP. If you must search, then get it to Laura Allen and EWA. All contractor’s deadly mistakes are the BLM’s mistakes. We can all use this information. Please find what you can. Thanks, mar
LikeLike
Marilyn; I have some BLM documentation on PDF file and also paper as per BLM inventory sheets with the status of those horses gathered i.e. adopted, sent to another facility, repossessed, destroyed or deceased.
I sent copies to Suzanne and Elliot at IDA, and Craig also has copies. I’ll be glad to share with Laura and yourself email me so I know where to send it if you want copies, I am on her mailing list so she has it. I can’t post it here since it is on a PDF file so I can’t copy it only forward it…sigh…sorry.
I am looking at those inventory sheets at I write this. The dates occured in Nov of 85 and March of 86. Most of the foals were 6 months of age or younger and are stamped with either destroyed or deceased. It’s just sickening.
I was not at the gather I don’t believe I could contain myself if I were… Dawn Lappin from W.H.O.A. however was. I remember the details she gave me of the babies having their hooves run off of them in the Slumbering Hills area run over lava rock for 14 miles or more. She also told me of the trailer overturning in Soldiger Meadows. Cattoors did that round up.
R.T. if you want to post these inventory sheets I’ll email them to you. Let me know.
LikeLike
Kathy, McC. It is not important for me to have these. Could you write a short piece with your friend who was there?? This is so powerful and frightening. Ask Dawn. Tell us about this. Or give Horse Back the info and let them do an article and interviews. In light of RT’s new post, this needs airing. I hope you can do this. People will help. mar
LikeLike
so why is it that when a dog or a pet someone owns is being neglected that help and action is given at once, but twhen a free animal, a symbol of the freedom of our country, is being misstreated no one takes action except against the animal. it is just wrong. it makes me sick,
LikeLike
This is so wrong.the poor innocent foal.We must stop the killer cattoors and the BLM from killing the remaining wild mustang and burros.This saddens me so deeply that this country will allow such illegal atrocities to continue.I have no words left as my heart ,soul and spirit cry for the natural inhabitants of the western states, our national treasure and heritage, the wild horses.God Bless and Protect all of our remaining wild mustangs and burros.
LikeLike