11 Wild Horses Have Died So Far in 'Barbaric' Nevada Roundup
The death toll includes five young foals, four horses with broken necks, and a stallion with a snapped rear leg who endured a 35-minute chase by a helicopter as he tried to flee on three legs.
Credit: Wild Horse Education
Eleven wild horses have died in the first ten days of the ongoing roundups in Nevada, leading animal advocacy groups to call for an urgent ban on the use of helicopters to capture the animals.
The deaths include five young foals and four horses who broke their necks fleeing from the helicopters in Nevada’s Antelope Valley Complex.
A prominent stallion known as Sunshine, who had spent numerous years roaming freely in the Elko County area, was also among the casualties. According to witnesses, Sunshine broke his leg while attempting to evade a Bureau of Land Management (B.L.M.) helicopter. Despite his injury, he continued to run for over half an hour before being shot.
Laura Leigh, the founder of the Nevada-based nonprofit organization Wild Horse Education, and longtime observer and advocate of the mustangs documented the animal's struggle on video.
"After witnessing what was done to that beautiful stallion I have known for years, it made me feel physically ill," said Leigh. “He tried to buck off the searing pain and then struggled on three legs. He was then pursued to the far side of the valley and shot. The incident took longer than 30 minutes to resolve.
“These barbaric, cruel, intentional acts must end,” she added.
With 68,928 wild horses roaming federal lands in ten Western states from California to Montana, the B.L.M. estimated that nearly two-thirds of them were in Nevada as of March 1, 2023.
The B.L.M. began two roundups in the Antelope Complex, with plans to remove up to 3,107 wild horses from public lands.
To round up wild horses and burros, the B.L.M. collaborates with private enterprises, including helicopter companies, often subjecting the animals to stressful and potentially deadly situations over long distances.
The wild horses that survive the ordeal are sent to live in government-funded holding facilities, where they are in danger of deadly disease outbreaks.
Since the start of fiscal year 2006, the B.L.M.'s roundup contracts have spent approximately $57.4 million in taxpayer funds to helicopter companies, with at least $6.5 million paid solely since the commencement of fiscal year 2022.
Contrary to these practices, scientific research has demonstrated that there are more humane and cost-effective alternatives, such as fertility control, which prove to be equally effective in managing equine populations. However, the B.L.M.'s Wild Horse and Burro Program currently allocates less than one percent of its budget to these alternative methods.
Despite these ongoing efforts to ban the use of helicopters, the agency is refusing to change their stance, claiming they’re needed to reach remote herds. B.L.M. spokeswoman Heather O'Hanlon, said they only use helicopters during the foaling season that runs through the end of June in an “approved emergency situation.”
Lawmakers, including Nevada Representative Dina Titus, have voiced criticism over the use of helicopters in wrangling operations. Rep. Dina Titus has introduced legislation aimed at ending this practice.
“Nevada is home to more wild horses than any other state in our country. Tragically, these animals are subjected to taxpayer-funded helicopter roundups and removals that are all too often costly, ineffective, and inhumane,” said Titus. “Scientific research has shown that more humane and cost-effective alternatives, like fertility control, are equally effective in controlling equine populations.”
The agency claims the purpose of the roundups are to ‘prevent undue or unnecessary degradation of the public lands’, according to their website.
But wild horse advocates argue that the real reason is to protect ranchers who graze cattle and sheep on public lands for a hugely reduced rate and don’t want any wildlife that can pose as competition or harm their financial interests.
Take Action
Move to a plant-based food system: Choosing plant-based food instead of animal-based products is one of the most powerful things you can do to help protect the lands where wild horses should be roaming free. Sign up for the Species Unite 7-Day Vegan Challenge to help you get started.
Speak out against this heartless lack of empathy for the suffering of wild horses by tweeting John Raby, the Nevada State Director of the B.L.M. at @blmnv. You can also send an email to wildhorse@blm.gov or call the Nevada BLM at 775-861-6500. They are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (PDT). Monday through Friday.
Sign the petition: Please join Species Unite in urging Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to stop these roundups and find sustainable solutions to save these treasured and legally protected animals. You can sign the petition here.
Listen to podcast episode: Erik Molvar is a wildlife biologist and the executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, a nonprofit conservation group dedicated to protecting and restoring wildlife and watersheds across the American West. Erik came onto the show to help us better understand how and why these roundups continue to happen. Listen here.
Support organizations urgently fighting for horses, including Wild Horse Education, American Wild Horse Campaign, Animal Welfare Institute, and Species Unite.
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