Despite the Pandemic, the Bureau of Land Management Will Continue Wiping out the Wild Horses in the Red Desert Complex of Wyoming
August 3, 2020The Red Desert Complex Wild Horse Roundup – Freedom’s End
October 13, 2020On the Eve of the Red Desert Complex Wild Horse Roundup
Tonight my heart is very heavy because the wild horses I have grown to know over the last 4 years are on the brink of being chased by helicopters and removed from their homes and their families forever.
During a pandemic, the Bureau of Land Management is continuing an aggressive, punishing and devastating schedule of rounding up and removing wild horses off of our public lands. This roundup is going to be the largest in recent memory, with over 2400 wild horses scheduled to be removed. The Red Desert Complex is 5 Herd Management Areas that are contiguous: Green Mountain, Lost Creek, Crooks Mountain, Stewart Creek and Antelope Hills. In the middle is a Herd Area, Arapahoe Creek that is no longer managed for wild horses, which is ridiculous and inexplicable because the horses move though the area.
This roundup began in 2018, with 2670 wild horses targeted to be removed. However, after three weeks, removing 1444 horses, killing 10 and returning 25, the Bureau of Land Management stopped their roundup because they did not have any more holding facilities to put the horses in. Now, 7 new facilities have been approved and three have been expanded, so they have room for the horses.
Here is what I was given for the population totals from a flyover done in early August:
| HMA | AML |
Est. total population | Horses to remove |
| Stewart Creek | 125-175 | 511 | 361 |
| Lost Creek | 60-82 | 531 | 471 |
| Antelope Hills | 60-82 | 629 | 569 |
| Crooks Mountain | 65-85 | 884 | 819 |
| Green Mountain | 170-300 | 369 | 199 |
| Totals | 480-724 | 2,924 | 2,419 |
We were not told was this an actual count, or was it using the “statistical double-count” method that the BLM uses. I have a very hard time believing that there are that many horses left in the area after the 2018 roundup and removal of 1444 horses.
Notice the very low Appropriate Management Levels (AMLs) especially for Lost Creek, Antelope Hills and Crooks Mountain. These are not sustainable numbers – there needs to be a minimum of 150 adult horses in a herd to maintain genetic viability. This are has over 700,000 acres of public land, and yet they want to leave 480 wild horses.
There is enough room for wild horses here – many many more than 480. The horses this year are in extremely good condition, with some of the stallions so fat that they look pregnant. There is no lack of forage or water on the range. The ranchers with livestock leases have left their cattle out here since early May – most are still there – beyond what is their allotted time. These grazing leases should be retired and wild horses should be managed here where they live with their families, managed as the principle species where they are found as is written in the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming and Burro Act. Livestock grazing and energy and mineral extraction is driving our wild horses from their homes. This must stop.
Where will all of these horses go? I have heard that the plan is to send most to the facility in Canon City, Colorado, and the facility in Rock Springs, Wyoming. This is good for the horses because they are both facilities where members of the public can visit and adopt them, unlike in 2018 where over half of the horses were sent to a private facility in Axtell, UT that the public may not visit except 1x per year.
Warehousing 15,000 – 20,000 more wild horses each year, after already over 45,000 are in holding facilities that are mostly feedlots and some pastures at the cost of millions to the American taxpayer each year is not sustainable. The long term inevitable outcome will be a recommendation to destroy these horses, and then the tragic implementation of this.
I am planning to be there to observe, document and photograph the horse during most of the roundup. It is important that people are there to witness what is happening to the horses and to make sure that if there are abuses and problems that they will be addressed. It is a horrible experience for me, but does not even come close to what these wonderful wild beings will endure. Follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WildHoofbeats/, on Instagram @wild_hoofbeats and www.WildHorseFreedomFederation.org and subscribe to my blog here, and I will keep you informed about the progress of this roundup. These wild horses will be seen and remembered. I will make sure of it.
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Here is the official Bureau of Land Management site for the roundup:
32 Comments
So sad!!!
Hate the BLM!!!
This horrible roundup doesn’t need to happen. The ranchers need to remove their cattle. How sad to RIP apart families for no reason other than greed of the ranchers. It is obvious that these horses are thriving and should be protected.
Please, we keep sending petitions. Letters, phone calls and writing about our outrage and desire for the law to be followed and our precious wildlife and especially wild horses and burros to be saved,protected and cared well for!!!! But those paid to protect, care for and properly manage them continue to torture and kill them!! It is wrong and wholly unnecessary!!! Please stop hurting them and leading them to extinction!!!!
Please, we keep sending petitions. Letters, phone calls and writing about our outrage and desire for the law to be followed and our precious wildlife and especially wild horses and burros to be saved,protected and cared well for!!!! But those paid to protect, care for and properly manage them continue to torture and kill them!! It is wrong and wholly unnecessary!!! Please stop hurting them and leading them to extinction!!!! I did not post this before.
This country with its corrupt self-serving politicians is an absolute disgrace. We have allowed it to happen and it is we the people that have to stop it. Some people believe anything an authority figure says..they need to wake up…and those of us who know the truth must get louder. It is our duty and our right.
BLM are money hungry bastards and don’t give a dam what happens to our poor wild horses. We have to stop them and dam rancher cattle and sheep have to get off the wild horses land.
Has our President Trump been invited to come and see these round up.If not someone should invite him and let him see for his self what they do.What the mares goes through getting sterilized so she can’t have no more babies or put in kill pens..
Thanks you
Inviting Trump won’t help he could care less about animals . My hope is that in 2021 things will swing in a different direction and the BLM will be held accountable for what has been done to the Mustangs .
I don’t believe that is true, this mess is really more the responsibility of our state and local level. Our state reps are the ones taking money from lobbyists to support the cattle industry. I have written to many from my state and other states and almost to a letter, they have the same response, overpopulation and they need to be managed. They are ignorant of the issues as they have money in their pockets to look the other way. We need to get a majority of them listening first. Too easy to blame the ‘administration’ when other elected officials need to do their part.
This is not a state issue. The wild horses are federally managed by the federal agency the Bureau of Land Management. They make the decisions, pay the contractors to round up the horses. Lobbiests for the livestock industry to Congress are the ones with the power and money. Contacting representatives and senators is our recourse.
KEEP OUR WILD HORSES WILD..
STOP THE ROINDUPS ????????????
Why then did he sign a bill making animal cruelty a federal felony, the question is why aren’t these horses protected under this law.
The Bureau of Land Management is in charge of managing our wild horses. They do not consider what they put them through at roundups to be animal cruelty.
Raise bloody hell with your lawmakers in your state…they can stop this. Call, email, text better yet …write! all letters have to be kept. Do this.
Contact your Senators and Representatives. Congress has the power.
Hi all,
According to the BLM press release posted on Sept 29, 2020, on its website (https://www.blm.gov/press-release/bureau-land-management-award-contracts-seven-new-wild-horse-range-pastures), it is about to award contracts to the first seven private pastures where rounded up horses will be taken. Additionally another four “public ranches” were identified in the press release. This is just the start. My question regarding this is how BLM proposes to transfer all the horses to these various locations? Double deck trailers were outlawed for transporting horses to slaughter several years ago (2011), but there is no existing law for transport of other equines. H.R. 7095: Invest in America Act , which became H.R. 2: Moving Forward Act, passed the House and is in the Senate. But if it is not law, then this cannot be enforced. And why would we expect anyone to do the right thing in these matters? Does anyone know if there any discussions among advocacy groups about how the transport of our wild horses will be monitored?
They are not transported using double deck trailers. But the wild horses once they are rounded up are transported to short term holding for processing – shots, freeze branding, gelding the stallions then those over 5 will be shipped to the private long term holding corrals or pastures. There is no public oversight of the transport of the horses, where and when they go unless advocacy groups file FOIA requests.
we should be ashamed of ourselves the ranchers need to feed their own cattle and sheep on their lands and not on public land s the wild horses belong their not the cattle , maybe its time that that the the blm starts to actually manage the land and keep the cattle off of it . save the natural wild life and the wild horse
TRO is being filed b y Craig Downer, Pamela True and Marybeth Devine with help from FoA.
The roundup started today. It is incredibly difficult to get a TRO. Just about never works.
There are so many people who are horrified by the BLM’s irresponsible actions; yet it continues. There’s got to be a new strategy, or more publicity that has to happen where we all create more public outcry to stop this from happening. How can we bring everyone together and maybe more people should show up with you at the roundups in protest? No matter who’s in power in 2021 the past shows that the ranchers seem to win these battles. I feel like we must all come together and do more. Thank you for your sacrifices and for working to help our national treasures of wild horses!
We do not want people going to roundups to protest, nothing would make the Bureau of Land Managemeny and the contractor more happy than having this as an excuse to ban all public observation. It is important for people to be there observing the condition of the horses, and abuses or problems, anything that could be an issue for or a danger to the horses.
This is very devastating, so many beautiful wild horses to be rounded up like this, helicopters should not be used, very terrifying, especially for the little ones. A lot of these horses end up in kill pens and some are wounded or die during this process. People come from all over to view our magnificent wild horses. Horses are a huge part of America’s history and should be protected, they do not ruin land any more then cattle and they can co-exist with each other. Of course, the cattlemen want to continue using public land for free and want all the land themselves. There needs to be more caring people working for the BLM then maybe saving these wild horses would be top priority.
leave these horses alone they belong there notcattle stop the greed these oare our wild horses they bother no one
These round ups are CRUEL & UNNECESSARY. These MUST BE STOPPED. Separating horse herds and families , FOALS form their families and mothers, Sending INNOCENT HORSES ultimately to SLAUGHTER is MEDIEVAL. Please STOP THESE NOW.
I have donated to different wildlife groups so get newsletters about the BLM. It seems to me that General public has no idea what goes on. No matter what administration, Democrats or Republicans, is in office animals are not treated with the respect they deserve. Many different species are killed and relocated for reasons the BLM gives. Maybe there aren’t enough groups to speak up. People are so busy with trying to live their lives. Those who volunteer are special folks, for sure! I just wish Presidents would make this a bigger priority. There again, it’s about congress and who has compassion too. Think about it, do you ever hear the media talk about these round ups? NEVER! And why not! Sadly, the Natural World is never a priority!
Who do we write to ???
Your Senators and Representatives, and make sure you vote!
Destest our politic!
Cattleman greed to wipe out wild horses has been fought as far back as the 1950’s. The BLM caters to them. Bottom line is all about money. God gave the wrong species “intelligence.”
Purely heartbreaking. Such gorgeous animals subjected to these heinous corrupt forces. No words, just pain.
There are so many injustices, not only with the spectacular mustangs, who should be allowed to roam free, but many other issues as well…no roundup would be preferred, however, to remove some? But they took too many! There doesn’t appear to be a solution… nobody is stepping in, I mean to alter this terrible removal, and ultimate, probable death off many of these precious horses, Is unthinkable…Carol, I do not know how you hold up! God’s speed to you!