Horse News

BLM Set to Stampede and Remove 1,500 Wild Horses from their Rightful Range

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Unedited propaganda as published in BLM Press Release

2018 Triple B Complex Wild Horse Gather

The gather will tenatively begin on January 23.

photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Purpose of Gather:

The purpose of the operation is to prevent undue or unnecessary degradation of the public lands associated with excess wild horses, and to restore a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple-use relationship on public lands, consistent with the provisions of Section 1333(b) of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.  The BLM strives to be a good neighbor in the communities we serve, ensuring public safety is not at risk due to the overpopulation of wild horses and providing opportunities for economic growth with space for traditional uses.

Details of Gather:

The BLM plans to gather 1,500 wild horses and remove approximately 1,000 excess horses.  The BLM will release approximately 250 mares that will have been treated with the fertility control vaccine PZP-22 to slow the population growth rate of the animals remaining on public lands.  PZP-22 is a temporary fertility-control vaccine that can prevent pregnancy in wild horses for 1-2 years.  In addition, approximately 250 gathered stallions will be selected and returned back to the range.

Public Observation:

Members of the public are welcome to view the daily gather operations, provided that doing so does not jeopardize the safety of the animals, staff and observers, or disrupt gather operations.  The BLM will escort the public to gather observation sites located on public lands.  The BLM anticipates that viewing opportunities will begin on January 23, 2018, weather and logistics permitting.  Those wanting to view gather operations must notify Public Affairs Specialist, Greg Deimel at (775) 388-7078 prior to the desired viewing date to be added to the attendee list and receive specific instructions on meeting locations and times

Participants must provide their own transportation, water and food.  The BLM recommends footwear and clothing suitable for harsh field conditions and a four-wheel drive, high clearance vehicle.  Public restrooms will not be available onsite.

Background: 

The Triple B Complex is located in both the BLM Ely and Elko Districts and consists of the Triple B HMA (Ely), Maverick Medicine HMA (Elko), Antelope Valley HMA west of Hwy 93 (Elko), and Cherry Springs Wild Horse Territory (Elko).  The gather may also take place in areas outside of those HMAs where wild horses have moved in search of food and water and are creating a public safety hazard by traveling regularly across Jiggs Road.

The current population estimate for the Triple B Complex is approximately 3,842 wild horses.  The cumulative Appropriate Management Level for all the Herd Management Areas within the targeted gather area is 472 – 884 wild horses.  AML is the level at which wild horse populations are consistent with the land’s capacity to support them and other mandated uses of those lands, including protecting ecological processes and habitat for wildlife and livestock.

The decision record and determination of National Environmental Policy Act adequacy can be accessed at the national NEPA register. For more information on the Wild Horse and Burro Program, call 1-866-468-7826 or email wildhorse@blm.gov.

https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/herd-management/gathers-and-removals/nevada/2018-Triple-B-Complex-wild-horse-gather

Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Horses/Mustangs

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30 replies »

  1. Has anyone requested a moratorium on all roundups given Sec. Zinke’s announcement Saturday that he will be reorganizing the DOI into different regional alignments according to common watersheds and other consideration. It is conceivable that that another agency or group could be in charge of wild horse and burro management and preservation.

    BLM, FBI, DOJ withheld 3,000 pp of evidence in the Cliven Bundy matter establishing how duplicitous and fundamentally dishonest BLM and others working to remove livestock and wild horses and burros from public lands have been. I know there is no sympathy for Mr. Bundy in the rank and file of wild horse and burro community, but the applicable laws (even though fraudulent in the case of the horse and in the lack of experimental science or studies on almost all of the species listed as non-native.

    Liked by 2 people

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    • To add to that – just possibly, if those agencies had been forthcoming & upfront – maybe, just maybe, there would have been different end results!
      How is there ever going to be a change in the grazing program if there are crooks on both sides??????

      Liked by 1 person

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    • Lucas oil and protect the harvest interfered with the case. Dave Duquette waa testifying for the Hammonds and interfering with the bundy frial. Any guesses as to why?

      Liked by 1 person

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    • Just the photo above alone ought to be enough to start an abuse case Against the Bureau. As well it should be brought before ethical and logical thinking judges that their environmental damages story is in fact a lie in order to fraudulently kill horses. The past 2 years shows they have attempted this propaganda however, going back 10 years they did not they have other propaganda and 10 years preceding that. The attempts to slaughter the horses are outrageous. Requesting a lowered budget, inflated costs for helicopter roundups which you have photos to prove to a judge this is abusive and stop them. A Judge will see that damage cannot be caused by wild horses as they REQUIRE much less space to survive than millions of cattle. The lies about the failure of the adoption program meanwhile BUREAU openly bragging about best adoption years ever in history! They need to open the holding pen horses to adoptions 365 days a year. I know this has upset a few advocates however, it’s time and if we do not they will most likely die. The fact is if we don’t bring about massive changes in the horses favor this American crime will be carried out. The literal millions of cattle are damaging the environment but I personally think you need a legal admission of this from the courts. The facts are wild horses Need you to get back in the media with strong words combating the propaganda regarding the environment damage. People need reminded horses are only required to have 1 acre of land per horse for personal space and that horses intake of consumables is way less than daily intake of a bred back cow calf pair grazing for 3 in gigantic herds. We need to make certain the public absolutely understands no horses are not currently starving. Your allowing them to batter that into a myth. We need to be mythbusting more adamently. The exposes to each other are great but we need to be exposing more to the public immediately. The horses are depending upon it. There’s a connection between horse slaughter plants negatively talking about horses and it will lower horse prices again if not stopped, negative talk of wild horses is encouraging black market murder for meat of horses and it’s also brought about rampant cases of horses being shot on private properties across the states. THEIR PROPAGANDA IS destructive. That’s the way ProHorse Slaughter works. Just yesterday Duquette issued a press statement claiming Protect the Harvest doesn’t want to slaughter horses. The appearance they are attempting to give now is of neutrality to work unfettered to kill horses behind the scenes. The fact is sheep in wolf’s clothing is effective….so let’s continue to pull the wool off. However the stance your taking has to leave out explicatives and let’s chip away at their foundation lie now which is horses are starving due to environmental damages they caused. Because we All know it didn’t happen.

      Liked by 1 person

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      • What is the source of your “one acre” per horse information? In the West this would only be a dirt pen, a recipe only for starvation in most instances.

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      • Even here in the East – one acre would not support one horse! And we have a lot more grass – pasture wise.
        And as you said, there is a big difference between one horse (most under 1000 lbs) and an adult cow (bred) plus a growing calf. Kind of puzzling that the BLM does not understand that!!! Guess they don’t want to, either.

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    • Christie, I have been suggesting a moratorium for a while now as it seems more important than ever not to allow a mass murder with so much in flux both nationally and locally. The gene pool has already been significantly diluted by existing practices, and it has to be considered the furthest thing from ethical management to conduct random/mass exterminations. It’s a one way exit, no turning back!

      If this tide continues we could and should insist that the targeted wild horse genes first be collected and securely banked for the future, with funding ensured for all related and ongoing costs.

      Liked by 1 person

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  3. BLM seeks public comment on wild horse gather plan
    December 22, 2017
    ELY—The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public review and comment on a plan to gather wild horses for up to ten years in the Seaman and White River Herd Areas, which are located southwest of Ely, Nevada, in Lincoln and Nye counties.
    The Wild Horse Gather Plan Preliminary Environmental Assessment is being conducted by the BLM Ely District’s Bristlecone and Caliente Field Offices, and Basin and Range National Monument and will be available for public review and comment for 30 days. The 30-day public comment period concludes Monday, Jan. 22, 2018.
    The BLM is proposing to gather and remove all excess wild horses in and outside herd area boundaries. The Proposed Action is needed to improve watershed health and make significant progress towards achieving range health standards recommended by the BLM’s Mojave / Southern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council. The proposed gather plan would allow for an initial gather with follow-up gathers for up to 10 years from the date of the initial gather. The plan calls for transporting gathered horses to holding facilities where they would be offered for adoption.
    The BLM manages wild horse populations in designated areas of public lands where they were found in 1971 and which have enough available food and water to ensure healthy horses thrive on healthy rangelands in the long-term in balance with other legal uses of the land. The Seaman and White River Herd Areas are not designated for wild horses due to insufficient forage and water resources available within the HAs to maintain healthy wild horses and rangelands over the long-term. The BLM’s decision to not manage for wild horses within the Seaman and White River HAs is based on analysis in the November 2007 Ely Proposed Resource Management Plan, Final Environmental Impact Statement. As of March 2017, the estimated wild horse population is 365, which includes foals.The Preliminary Environmental Assessment for the Seaman and White River Herd Areas Wild Horse Gather will be available online for a 30-day review period beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017 at https://go.usa.gov/xnUwF.Hardcopies of these documents are available upon request from the Ely District. Substantive comment submission will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. All comments received during the public comment period will be fully considered and evaluated for preparation of the Final PEA. Questions and written comments should be directed to:Bureau of Land Management Ely District Office Attention: Ruth Thompson, Wild Horse and Burro Specialist702 N. Industrial Way, Ely, NV 89301 Comments can also be submitted electronically at blm_nv_eydo_seaman_white_river_ea@blm.gov. Email messages should include “Seaman-White River Herd Areas Wild Horse Gather” in the subject line.Commenters should be aware before including their address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in their comment, that their entire comment – including identifying information – may be made available to the public. Although people can ask the BLM in their comment to withhold personal identifying information from public review, the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so. Anonymity is not allowed for submissions from organizations or businesses and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses.

    http://www.elynews.com/2017/12/22/blm-seeks-public-comment-wild-horse-gather-plan-2/#comments

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    • “The proposed gather plan would allow for an initial gather with follow-up gathers for up to 10 years from the date of the initial gather.”

      It is my understanding that EAs have a finite lifespan much shorter than 10 years (some sites indicate only a year or so), so this extensive removal schedule should face tough scrutiny on those grounds alone. Also important to note that if approved once, they may never face public review or accountability for the next nine years if this passes as written.

      Liked by 1 person

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  4. We must FIRST have a TRUTHFUL and ACCURATE Census before ANY Wild Horses or Wild Burros are removed from Public Lands

    We must also keep reminding Congress and the Public that more than 22 MILLION Acres (a conservative estimate) have been taken from
    Legal Herd Areas, Herd Management Areas and from the Public.

    That land needs to be returned

    C-SPAN/VIDEO
    Rep. Dina Titus (NV-01) Stands Up For Wild Horses
    Rep. Dina Titus introduces her bipartisan amendment.

    https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4681540/rep-dina-titus-stands-wild-horses

    Liked by 3 people

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  5. ECOLOGY LAW CURRENTS
    A National Injustice: The Federal Government’s Systematic Removal and Eradication of an American Icon
    Bruce Wagman & Lisa McCurdy

    One area in which the BLM consistently relies on old data is in its determination of AMLs.
    The BLM’s error in using old figures is then compounded when those calculations are applied to the periodic inventories that are made of wild horse populations in an area.
    BLM’s reliance on outdated inventories is illustrated by the United States General Accounting Office’s (GAO) 1990 review of the Wild Horse Program.[33] The GAO found that a 1987 herd management plan set the wild horse target population in six Nevada herd areas at the estimated 1974 levels.[34]
    There is little indication that the BLM has improved on the quality of data upon which it relies since that time.
    http://elq.typepad.com/currents/2011/02/currents38-02-wagmanmccurdy-2011-0215.htm

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. GAO/REPORT TO THE INTERIOR-1990

    BLM decisions on how many wild horses to remove from federal rangelands
    have been made without benefit of solid information concerning
    range carrying capacity or the impact of wild horses on range conditions.
    Instead, its decisions have reflected either the desire to achieve
    perceived historic wild horse population levels or deference to advisory
    groups largely comprised of livestock permittees. As a result, BLM’S wild
    horse removals have not produced appreciable improvements in range
    conditions and have exceeded the disposal capacity of BLM’S basic adoption
    program. Future wild horse removal decisions need to be considered
    in the context of a broader strategy of range improvements based on
    accurate carrying capacity and range condition data.

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. GAO/REPORT TO THE INTERIOR 1990

    GAO found that despite congressional direction, BLM’S decisions on how
    many wild horses to remove from federal rangelands have not been
    based on direct evidence that existing wild populations exceed what the
    range can support. Moreover, wild horse removals often have not been
    accompanied by reductions in authorized livestock grazing levels or
    effective range management to increase the land’s capacity. As a result,
    range conditions have not demonstrably improved, and the number of
    wild horses removed has exceeded the capacity of the Adopt-A-Horse
    program. These conditions, in turn, led BLM to implement two mass disposal
    options that have resulted in either inhumane treatment and commercial
    exploitation of the horses or committed the government to longterm
    financial responsibility for the removed horses’ welfare. BLM’S
    halter training and gentling program also has not been as cost-effective
    as it could be. Many horses remain at prison training facilities much
    longer than necessary resulting in increased program costs and lost
    adoption opportunities.

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. Many thanks for so much information, Louie. I will share it.
    There needs to be a lawsuit to stop this latest atrocity.
    My dear Corina was from the Triple B roundup when she was in foal with Heidi. Other mares lost their foals as they were chased for 14 miles.

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  9. Unnatural Selection writ large here, and the timing means 250 ALREADY VERY PREGNANT MARES WILL BE TREATED WITH PZP AFTER BEING HARASSED BY HELICOPTER IN THE DEAD OF WINTER. I suppose if they abort that may be part of the population “management” intended. How is this humane or ethical, or even cost-effective, when the BLM steadfastly resists supporting citizen scientists whose darting programs have ensured all three?

    “The BLM plans to gather 1,500 wild horses and remove approximately 1,000 excess horses. The BLM will release approximately 250 mares that will have been treated with the fertility control vaccine PZP-22 to slow the population growth rate of the animals remaining on public lands. PZP-22 is a temporary fertility-control vaccine that can prevent pregnancy in wild horses for 1-2 years. In addition, approximately 250 gathered stallions will be selected and returned back to the range.”

    Liked by 1 person

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    • I stand corrected. It seems treating pregnant mares is not a problem, after doing some minimal research. This from P. Fazio (who does have some involvement with PZP development and marketing, to be clear):

      “This vaccine blocks fertilization in mares and other animals, such as bison, elephants and urban deer. It can be administered by a rifle-fired dart and doesn’t harm existing pregnancies or an animal’s health. Unlike earlier, hormone-based wildlife contraceptives, PZP breaks down in the mare’s body and will not pass into the surrounding environment, or to other horses. The vaccine is also reversible.”

      This still doesn’t address chasing heavily pregnant mares by helicopter, however.

      http://trib.com/opinion/columns/fazio-blm-must-rethink-wild-horses-contraception/article_e3a0b568-06f8-5678-a707-57ffb9fa4056.html

      Liked by 1 person

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      • It’s still not clear how the pesticide, Pzp, affects the fetus. Pruitt’s waving a magic wand and declaring it safe for deer and thereby wild horses doesn’t really make it so.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Nettles (1997) conducted a meta-analysis on wildlife contraceptives. He reviewed 75 studies available at that time on the subject. Among his findings regarding PZP-use across different species, including horses, were stillbirths. So, the apparent contraceptive effects of PZP may be, in part, feticidal.

        Nettles, Victor F. (1997) Potential consequences and problems with wildlife contraceptives. Reproduction, Fertility and Development 9(1) 137 – 144. Accessed full pdf text via purchase of a copy from Csiro Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/R96054.htm

        Liked by 1 person

      • From published work by the developers of PZP (take from it what you will). I doubt the BLM will be taking urine samples or documenting any stillbirths from either the roundups or the PZP injections:

        Q. How can you tell if a wild mare is pregnant, so you don’t treat her
        with PZP?

        A. In some cases, a fecal or urine sample is collected off the ground, or from
        yellow snow following urination. Reproductive steroid hormone metabolites
        are measured that tell us, with almost 100% accuracy, which mares are
        pregnant and which are not. A pregnancy can be diagnosed from 40 days
        post-conception until the day of parturition, and the animal does not have to be touched. That said, there is no danger to either the mother or the in utero foal, if the mare is treated with PZP during pregnancy [Kirkpatrick and
        Turner 2003].

        https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239593774_Immunocontraceptive_Reproductive_Control_Utilizing_Porcine_Zona_Pellucida_PZP_in_Federal_Wild_Horse_Populations

        Also: Remembering Jewell:

        “In memory of Jewell. She was a pregnant wild horse mare, chased relentlessly by BLM helicopters until she collapsed in the snow. She was then shot in the head. She didn’t deserve that. Our government consider that humane euthanasia. #ThursdayThoughts #wildhorses #BLM #NeverForget ”

        https://twitter.com/search?q=%23wildhorses&src=hash

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  10. Mares aborting after a roundup:

    Mares Abort Fetuses After BLM Roundup
    MARES ABORTING DUE TO COMPLICATIONS FROM ROUNDUPS

    Submitted by Flossie Sellers on Thu, 03/03/2011 – 4:29pm

    Newsdate: Thu, 3 Mar 2011 – 04:22 pm
    Location: RENO, Nevada

    At least 20 pregnant mares stampeded during Antelope roundup spontaneously aborted their foals at the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) Palomino Valley Adoption Center, the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) announced today.

    At least three other mares have given birth to tiny foals inside the crowded pens at the holding facility in the first week since the massive capture operation in northeastern Nevada concluded on February 25, 2011. The total number of spontaneous abortions, births and deaths is yet unknown as the Antelope horses were shipped to at least four different BLM holding facilities.

    A video shows a newborn foal whose mother was captured recently in the Antelope roundup, meaning that she was stampeded for miles by helicopter while she was heavily pregnant. Many other Antelope mares have aborted their late term foals.

    AWHPC is predicting that dozens more mares will spontaneously abort their foals over the coming weeks, and many newborn foals will not survive.

    News about the continued suffering of wild horses captured in BLM roundups comes as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and BLM Director Bob Abbey testify before Congress this week to justify a requested $12 million budget increase for the wild horse program.

    Last week, the BLM announced that it intends to remove an additional 15,000 mustangs from public lands over the next two years, boosting the captive holding numbers to well over 50,000 – a number that far exceeds the population of approximately 32,000 mustangs that remains in the wild.

    “The BLM knows that winter is the time of year when mustang mares are in their final months of pregnancy and are particularly vulnerable to the stress and trauma of a miles-long helicopter stampede,” said AWHPC’s Deniz Bolbol. “Yet the agency continues to conduct roundups at dangerous times of the year.”

    Bolbol added that it is against standard veterinary practice to transport pregnant mares near foaling time except to receive veterinary care. Her video of an exhausted Antelope mare who collapsed during a helicopter chase prompted a local law enforcement investigation and an admission by the BLM that agency procedures for ensuring humane treatment of mustangs need to be improved.

    “It is disheartening that while the BLM is talking about reform, inhumane wild horse management decisions continue to cause extreme and unnecessary suffering,” said Neda DeMayo, CEO of Return to Freedom American Wild Horse Sanctuary and AWHPC coalition member. “No professional ranch manager would treat their horses this way. It should be an embarrassment to the BLM and the wranglers who accept these contracts. The American people expect more from the agency charged with protecting and preserving the nation’s treasured wild horse herds.”

    Last year’s winter roundup in the Calico Mountains Complex in northwestern Nevada caused more than 40 mares to miscarry their late-term foals.

    Dr. Bruce Nock, a tenured faculty member at Washington University Medical School and an expert in the physiological effects of stress, has stated that such miscarriages are a direct result of the trauma of the roundup. “Expending resources to sustain and maintain a fetus. . . just isn’t physio–logical if it seems like you are about to die,” he wrote last year in a report for AWHPC.

    The BLM captured 1,368 mustangs in the Antelope roundup, just over 800 of which – mostly mares and foals – were shipped to the BLM’s Palomino Valley Center. BLM ended the roundup 500-900 horses short of its goal of removing 1,867-2,228 mustangs from this 1.3 million-acre public lands area.

    The agency then proceeded to ship Antelope mustangs to distant holding facilities despite philanthropist Madeleine Pickens’ offer to house captured horses on private lands adjacent to their home range, where they could become part of the Mustang Monument Eco-Sanctuary that her Saving America’s Mustangs Foundation is developing in the area.

    http://equimed.com/news/health/mares-abort-fetuses-after-blm-roundup

    http://equimed.com/news/health/mares-abort-fetuses-after-blm-roundup

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. Lots of good info here in comments Thanks to all as to a moratorium it’s been talked about for years now there’s all kinds of science out there that can be used in it need a 10 year one to gather all the info needed is going to take alot of work by alot of advocates I am all for it and can help out when needed to gather info

    Liked by 1 person

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  12. How can these people keep doing this????. So stupid, the horses are healthy, so things must not be that bad, so they put them into holding to waste away, most aren’t even given the chance to be adopted, this is so wrong. Something must be done. So sad wish we could gather the people up doing this horrible

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  13. So who is going to lead up the fight for a moratorium? Does anyone have a clear idea how we could proceed with this? The time truly is NIGH. It is obvious these buzzards are not going to stop, and that it is up to us to kick something into gear. Many new advocates would be behind this and our presence is increasing enormously on social media, but we must get strategic. Unfortunately we do lose a lot of people because nobody really seems to be carrying the torch of truth and doing something to stop this abuse, fraud, and who knows what other forms of criminality are being perpetuated with our tax dollars. So, how do we proceed and who can we get to lead us?

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