Coalition Asks Court to Stop Pryor Roundup

The plaintiffs requested a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction according to a story by the Billings Gazette.

A hearing is set for October 19 in U.S. District Court.

The incident is on the schedule with a start date of October 1 but no activity has been reported.

Recent changes to the management plan have set the herd up for extermination.

The new AML implies heavy use of fertility control, with the inevitable result of permanent infertility, loss of genetic diversity and herd collapse.

AMLs should allow a doubling of the populations every four to five years, with removals as needed.

A minimum population of 50 breeding animals (total of 150 to 200) is required.

The advocates, on a mission to destroy the breeding populations, are the greatest threat to long-term viability of America’s wild horses.

PREVIOUS: Pryor Roundup Announced.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Reminder About Salt River Advocates and Supporters

The liars and frauds on socialist media far outnumber the kayakers and paddleboarders on the river.

The only way to save the herd is to bring in mares from other areas, which will invalidate the $325,000 genetic study, now in the planning stages.

RELATED: Board of Regents Authorizes Salt River Genetic Research.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Barren Valley Roundup, Day 31

The incident started on September 4.  Results through October 4:

  • FY: 2026
  • Scope: Sheepshead/Heath Creek HMA
  • Target: Horses
  • AML: 302
  • Pre-gather population: 1,200
  • Type: Emergency
  • Contractor: Cattoor
  • Contract amount: $269,383
  • Unit cost: $540
  • Method: Helicopter
  • Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
  • Better way: Beat the numbers down with PZP (according to advocates)
  • Capture goal: 499
  • Removal goal: 499
  • Captured: 314, up from 277 on Day 29
  • Shipped: 249, no change from Day 29
  • Released: None
  • Deaths: 2, no change from Day 29
  • Average daily take: 10.1 (includes two-week lull for helicopter repairs)
  • Unaccounted-for animals: 63
  • Snippet from statute: It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death
  • Snippet from manual: To protect wild horses and burros from unauthorized capture, branding, harassment or death

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

The death rate is 0.6%.

The capture total includes 116 stallions, 130 mares and 68 foals.

Youngsters represented 21.7% of the animals gathered, a sign of genetic diversity and large enough to support a herd growth rate of fifteen to twenty percent per year.

Of the adults, 47.2% were male and 52.8% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio (usually found in herds where the advocates are involved).

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range, which would prolong the genetic bottleneck created by the roundup.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.

The area is closed to the public with no allowance for observers and reporters.

PREVIOUS: Barren Valley Roundup, Day 29.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Sulphur Roundup, Day 3

The incident started on October 2.  Results through October 4:

  • FY: 2027
  • Scope: Sulphur HMA
  • Target: Horses
  • AML: 250
  • Pre-gather population: 560
  • Type: Planned
  • Contractor: Cattoor
  • Contract amount: $287,650
  • Unit cost: $959
  • Method: Helicopter
  • Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
  • Better way: Destroy the breeding population with PZP (according to advocates)
  • Capture goal: 300
  • Removal goal: 300
  • Captured: 73, up from 23 on Day 1
  • Shipped: 42, up from zero on Day 1
  • Released: None
  • Deaths: 2, up from zero on Day 1
  • Average daily take: 24.3
  • Unaccounted-for animals: 29
  • Snippet from statute: It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death
  • Snippet from manual: To protect wild horses and burros from unauthorized capture, branding, harassment or death

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

Two horses died on Day 3, one was accidental and the other was intentional.

The death rate is 2.7%.

The capture total includes 30 stallions, 33 mares and 10 foals.

Youngsters represented 13.7% of the animals gathered, too low to support a herd growth rate of 15 to 20 percent per year.

Of the adults, 47.6% were male and 52.4% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control and return them to the range, which would prolong the genetic bottleneck created by the roundup.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.  Resources liberated to date:

  • Forage: 876 AUMs per year
  • Water: 730 gallons per day

Public lands within two miles of active trapping locations and temporary holding facilities are closed to the public, with the exception of observers escorted by BLM staff.

PREVIOUS: Sulphur Roundup Begins.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Barren Valley Roundup, Day 29

The incident started on September 4.  Results through October 2:

  • Scope: Sheepshead/Heath Creek HMA
  • Target: Horses
  • AML: 302
  • Pre-gather population: 1,200
  • Type: Emergency
  • Contractor: Cattoor
  • Contract amount: $269,383
  • Unit cost: $540
  • Method: Helicopter
  • Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
  • Better way: Sterilize the mares with PZP (according to advocates)
  • Capture goal: 499
  • Removal goal: 499
  • Captured: 277, up from 251 on Day 11
  • Shipped: 249, up from 240 on Day 11
  • Released: None
  • Deaths: 2, no change from Day 11
  • Average daily take: 9.6
  • Unaccounted-for animals: 26
  • Snippet from statute: It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death
  • Snippet from manual: To protect wild horses and burros from unauthorized capture, branding, harassment or death

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

Operations were delayed for two weeks due to problems with the helicopter.

The death rate is 0.7%.

The capture total includes 103 stallions, 116 mares and 58 foals.

Youngsters represented 20.9% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 47.0% were male and 53.0% were female.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.

PREVIOUS: Barren Valley Roundup, Day 11, Barren Valley Roundup Resumes.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Overpopulation and Protection: Not What You Think They Are

Here are today’s headlines in Bing for wild horses:

The original news release is #4 in the list.

Overpopulation means more horses than allowed by plan, not more horses than the land can support.

Your faithful public servants typically assign 80% of the authorized forage to privately owned livestock, so the population targets for wild horses are low relative to the available resources.

Telling the truth—that they’re getting rid of the horses to help the ranchers, who pay almost nothing for the forage they consume and the services rendered on their behalf by the government—might shift public opinion.

Protection is a codeword for wild horse removal, by long-term use of ovary-killing pesticides (preferred by the advocates) or by motorized equipment (preferred by hunters, ranchers and bureaucrats).

The difference is recovery: Helicopters don’t sterilize mares, destroy breeding populations and eliminate genetic mixing.

Are you surprised that the advocates favor the greater of two evils?

RELATED: Sulphur Roundup Announced.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Chincoteague Filly Ends Two-Month Dry Spell

No new foals have been born since the pony swim and auction but the count increased from 88 to 89 at the end of September.

Last year’s record was 103.

You might think that genetic diversity is good but most of the foals are sold after the swim, leaving only a handful to replace the horses that died.

PREVIOUS: Chincoteague Pony Auction Falls Short of Last Year.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Sulphur Roundup Announced

The news release was published on the day the incident was set to begin.

The capture and removal goals are 300 each.

The target is horses.

The pre-gather population is thought to be 560.

A helicopter will push the horses into the traps.

The contractor is Cattoor and the contract amount is $287,650.

The unit cost is $959 per animal captured, at the high end of the pay scale.

The area will be closed to the public except for observers escorted by BLM staff.

Captured animals will be taken to the Sutherland off-range corrals.

There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control and return them to the range, which would prolong the genetic bottleneck created by the roundup.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.

PREVIOUS: Sulphur Roundup Pending, Hola FY27.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Foal-Free Friday, Breaking the Mold Edition

Which option sterilizes the mares, destroys the breeding populations and stops genetic mixing?  Which one do the advocates prefer?  Hint: It’s a dead end for wild horses.

Why aren’t there any buttons for

  • Managing HMAs principally for wild horses
  • Restoring HAs and managing them principally for wild horses
  • Purging the bureaucracies of ranchers and ranching sympathizers
  • Purging the advocacy groups of ranchers and ranching sympathizers
  • Zeroing out allotments and converting them to wild horse preserves
  • Purchasing base properties and flipping the preference to wild horses

Stop listening to the broken record.  The advocates have nothing to offer America’s wild horses.

PREVIOUS: Foal-Free Friday, Indulging Their Obsession Edition.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

NDA Sends 11 Virginia Range Mustangs to California Auction?

That’s the allegation in a complaint filed on behalf of Skydog Sanctuary according to a story by KLAS News.

Two bands of wild horses identified in a kill pen were rescued days before they were set to ship out of state.

  • A stallion and seven mares
  • A stallion and two mares

No foals were reported.

The case was brought by the disgraced former leader of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses and kingpin of the Virginia Range darting program.

That’s why there are no foals.

How were they able to identify the horses?

Through their darting database.

The advocates want you to think they’re the good guys but nobody’s getting rid of more wild horses except for the federal government.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Jackson Mountains Aftermath

The pre-gather population was almost 700 and the roundup removed 500, leaving around 200 to repopulate the area.

Q. Did the helicopter sterilize any mares?

A. No, fertility control programs do that.

Q. Was the breeding population destroyed?

A. No, fertility control programs do that.

Q. Did the roundup stop genetic mixing?

A. No, fertility control programs do that.

Q. Did the incident attract women?

A. No, fertility control programs do that.

Q. Did the contractor create a genetic bottleneck with no possibility of recovery?

A. No, fertility control programs do that.

Q. Why do the advocates strongly support fertility control?

A. They want the ranchers to win.

PREVIOUS: Jackson Mountains Roundup Ends, Adios FY26.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Jackson Mountains Roundup Ends, Adios FY26

The incident concluded on September 28 with 505 horses captured, 497 shipped, one released and seven dead.

There were no unaccounted-for animals.

The daily reports yielded 506 captured and 498 shipped.

There is a math error in the final day’s results:

The death rate was 1.4%.  All deaths were intentional.

The capture total included 210 stallions, 197 mares and 99 foals according to the daily reports.

Youngsters represented 19.6% of the animals gathered, enough to support a herd growth rate of 14% to 15% per year.

No mares were treated with fertility control and returned to the HMA.

The roundup liberated 6,060 AUMs per year for other mandated uses of public lands.

The pre-gather population was almost 700 and the roundup removed 500, leaving around 200 to repopulate the area.

The herd should recover from the genetic bottleneck created by the roundup.

This was the last scheduled roundup of FY26.

RELATED: Jackson Mountains Roundup Announced, No Lead Time.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

RTF Praises Fertility Control ‘Investment’

The Roundtable participant and signatory to the “Path Forward,” a 2019 plan for ranching superiority in the lawful homes of wild horses (sometimes referred to as achieving and maintaining AMLs), said yesterday in a news release that it will keep pressing for greater action to keep herds on public lands—without acknowledging that long-term use of fertility control leads to permanent infertility, loss of genetic diversity and herd collapse.

To date there has been no discussion of what the USDA had in mind when it authorized the $30 million expenditure.

Why would it want the money spent on PZP, favored overwhelmingly by the advocates, when it produces GonaCon?

RELATED: Sustained Fertility Control: Dead End for Wild Horses.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

BLM Issues Cedar Mountain Final DNA

Four documents have been added to the project folder.

The DNA Worksheet asserts that a 2022 EA fully covers the Proposed Action, which is to remove up to 500 wild horses from the HMA, and constitutes the agency’s compliance with the requirements of the NEPA.

The Decision Record said the incident would begin on or after November 1.

The news release is silent about permitted grazing and forage allocations in the HMA.

PREVIOUS: Cedar Mountain DNA Out for Review.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.