Activists Push for Reform of Wild Horse Roundups

Activists are calling for immediate changes in the federal government’s management of the wild horse population in the Western United States after a number died following the Bureau of Land Management’s efforts to round them up.

“This,” Laura Leigh, founder of Wild Horse Education, told The Hill, “is probably the worst roundup I’ve seen in a very, very, very long time.

“This is July — this is a tense time on the range, even when there isn’t a helicopter flying. The stallions are more agitated, the mares are more agitated; they’re going to be more likely to try to escape. You’ve got the heat.”

According to the Bureau of Land Management, “up to 2,000 horses” will be rounded up and be “identified for removal.”

Afterward, the horses “will be transported to the Indian Lakes Facility, Fallon, Nevada, where they will be checked by a veterinarian and readied for the BLM’s wild horse and burro adoption program. Those that are not placed into a new home will be cared for in off-range pastures, where they live off the rest of their lives on grass pastures.”

Between July 9-24, Leigh and her team counted 19 wild horses that died during roundups; three horses, she said, suffered from broken necks, three broken rear legs, and several others from heat-related illnesses.

By Thursday, Leigh’s team said the death toll had risen to 21. 

Defending the roundups, BLM spokeswoman for the Nevada Wild Horse and Burro Program Jenny Lesieutre stated the agency prioritizes “the well-being and humane care of all wild horses during all gather operations.”

“The BLM,” she continued, “mourns any loss of life that occurs during gather operations, and we work to minimize such incidents as much as possible.”