Horse News

Burros to be removed in Spring Mountain Ranch State Park

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Source: Lasvegasnow.com
See the news video HERE.

By Caroline Bleakley | cbleakley@8newsnow.com, Vanessa Murphy | vmurphy@8newsnow.com

LAS VEGAS

Burros who have made their home in the Spring Mountain Ranch State Park are being captured by the Bureau of Land Management and will soon be transported to California for adoption.

According to the BLM, the burros are being gathered because they pose safety hazards on the park’s roadways and are damaging the park’s restoration efforts. Currently, there are from 90 to 108 burros in the park.
In the past, moving the burros has been controversial.  A BLM spokeswoman says it’s out of the public’s view to make sure the process runs smoothly.

She explained corrals are set up for bait and trap, so the animals go to an area to eat or drink; a gate closes behind them, and she calls this process “low stress” for the burros.

Alan Levinson who co-owns Bonnie Springs Ranch next to the park says he is concerned about the heat and the affect it can have on the younger and older burros.  Levinson says he believes the BLM should be more transparent with the process.

“Anything in the government these days is such a problem that I think that if they’re rounding them up — if they’re baiting some corrals in the area — the news crews should at least be able to go in and get video of what’s going on and check it out so they can make the public feel at ease,” Levinson said.  “That it is being done humanely, nobody is being chased around with helicopters which has happened in the past.”

Approximately 40 will be gathered using a bait and water trap method to lure them into temporary corrals. No helicopters will be used.

You can call (702) 515-5095 for an update on the burro gather or visit:  http://on.doi.gov/2aUTacxRead the rest of this article HERE.

 

Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros

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19 replies »

    • My comment on their news report is also in moderation … and yet I see some idiot posted a comment about a job offer scam. Ridiculous.

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  3. This horrible truth is from a few years back but this sort of thing still happens when the public is not watching.

    A single photo slipped through by a concerned citizen revealing yet another accounting of brutal round up practices in their shocking expose, “Death of a Mojave Burro”. Here, an eyewitness exposed how yet another lone burro was run for miles via helicopter until it collapsed. If this weren’t enough, contractors then proceeded to jump up and down on the helpless burros rib cage and belly, grabbed its ears and repeatedly slammed its head into the ground until, finally satisfied, walked away to leave the burro to die a long and agonizing death.
    http://americanherds.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html

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  4. They continue to get away this the abuse and killing. NOT being accountable for any of this. When are they going to get stopped. No notification of the round up, getting an opinion from no one who wants this done. They are uncaring, greedy, inhumane & ugly.

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  5. PHOTO
    This article shows the Burros in the trap at Spring Mountain State Park

    BLM rounding up Burros to protect the land and the herd
    By Denise Rosch Tuesday, August 9th 201
    http://news3lv.com/news/local/blm-rounding-up-burros-to-protect-the-land-and-the-herd

    They’re very, very important to all of us. We love seeing them come here and graze,” said Michele Schaffer, a Blue Diamond resident

    Schaffer tells us she isn’t convinced the gather is necessary.

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    • A report presented to the National Academy of Sciences Committee to Review the
      Management of Wild Horses and Burros
      Prepared by: Animal Welfare Institute
      October 2012

      Click to access FinalWildHorseandBurroReportWithStateMaps10-26-12.pdf

      The BLM should consult with population modelers, equid biologists, and persons
      with expertise in burro population demographics and behavior to develop a burro
      population model. At present, no model is available to predict the impact of management actions on burros.

      Management incompetency, agency structural inadequacies, and procedural failings:
      BLM has demonstrated a lack of competency to be the primary agency responsible for wild horse and burro management

      The procedure used by the BLM to allocate forage between wild horses and burros and livestock is, at best, unclear, and, at worst, ILLEGAL.

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  6. My wife and I have spent many holidays in the USA over the past 16 years from the UK. Vegas is a regular stop for us as We are very keen Western riders and one of the highlights for us is riding at Bonnie Springs Ranch. The area is absolutely beautiful and catching a glimpse of the wild burrows in the area is a marvellous site. I think the BLM should carefully consider the potential effect on tourism in the area if the burrows are removed. We as tourists would be very sorry to see them gone.

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. WILD BURROS..will they disappear forever?

    Dr. Lori Eggert, University of Missouri – Genetic Diversity
    BLM Advisory Board meeting Sept 9-11, 2013
    Genetic diversity of burro populations well below what you would see in healthy populations.
    12 burro HMAs with populations between 2 and 49 animals.
    Burro populations do need priority for genetic management.
    Maintenance of genetic diversity over time is going to require higher population size than even the largest HMA now has.

    Liked by 1 person

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  10. I don’t understand Mr. Levinson’s comment. Is he concerned about burros in the wild, or burros in the traps? Burros seem to be among the most desert adapted of all species, so in either case his comment is curious. If he means those in traps, aren’t they required to be checked daily? How long can a trapped burro be unnoticed? Isn’t this yet another reason to demand webcams on trap sites?

    “Alan Levinson who co-owns Bonnie Springs Ranch next to the park says he is concerned about the heat and the affect it can have on the younger and older burros.”

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  12. They have already killed one Burro

    Spring Mountain Ranch State Park Burro Gather
    News release announcing gather

    The Bureau of Land Management began gathering burros August 8, 2016 in Spring Mountain Ranch State Park utilizing a bait and water trap method. The burros are being gathered because they pose safety hazards on the park’s roadways and are damaging the park’s restoration efforts. Spring Mountain Ranch State Park has contacted the BLM on several occasions, regarding the wild burro issues, since December 2014. Over the last several years, several burro vs vehicle collisions have resulted in severe property damage.

    The burros that will be gathered are located within the 160,000-acre Red Rock Herd Management Area which extends from Kyle Canyon Road to Goodsprings. The Appropriate Management Level for burros is 29-49 and the estimated current population is 90-108.

    The gather will only take place within the Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.
    The public is reminded that feeding wild horses and burros is dangerous as wild animals can be unpredictable. Feeding also affects the animals’ behavior and can be hazardous to their overall health and safety as well as increased public safety concerns.
    Gather Update

    Updates will be posted on August 12 and will take place every Tuesday and Friday until the gather is completed.
    August 12 Update
    Animals Gathered Animal Deaths Animals Transported to Ridgecrest for Adoption

    23 Burros Captured
    1 Burro Death
    22 Burros Shipped to Ridgecrest

    A mature gray jenny had to be euthanized. She had a pre-existing injury to her leg which was impairing her ability to walk.

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    • Why the’hell can’t they just leave them alone … that Jenny apparently was getting along fine in the wild where she should have lived and died as nature demands … not some BLM idiot who probably enjoyed shooting her.

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  14. QUESTION:
    Has anyone ever discovered the “location” (whose wallet?) of the millions of dollars that were found to be unaccounted for in the Gunnison Utah Prison Wild Horse and Burro inmate program???

    “According to an audit conducted by U.S. Office of Inspector General, $2,004,553 in funding from the BLM to the state’s Department of Corrections were found to be either questionable or unsupported — meaning Utah failed to adequately document or justify how such monies were used.”
    http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/sltrib/politics/58379405-90/program-blm-utah-wild.html.csp

    More info: “BLM contractor Gunnison prison caught with “hands in the cookie jar.”
    https://ppjg.me/2014/09/06/blm-contractor-gunnison-prison-caught-with-hands-in-the-cookie-jar/

    Kerry Despain worked for the Utah Department of Corrections and ran the state’s first and only inmate wild horse gentling program at the Gunnison State Prison. . https://www.ksl.com/?sid=36524982&nid=148

    Despain retired in 2012 – right about the time the $millions were discovered unaccounted for.

    We tax-payers have paid Kerry Despain $5,970,547 in the past few years for holding our wild burros (and now horses too) in feedlots on his private land. usaspending.gov
    See for yourself on google earth – about one mile north of the town of Axtel, Utah.

    Does anything SMELL stinky?

    More info: https://rtfitchauthor.com/tag/kerry-despain/

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