Humane Management: Recovery Is Not an Option

Participants in the one-time invitation-only pesticide roundtable are now preaching the gospel of never-ending fertility control.

A few days ago, Return to Normal (Before WHB Act), a signatory to the “Path Forward” and close supporter of the ranchers, reiterated its support for humane population reduction, a ploy to substitute chemical extermination for motorized removal.

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, a leader in mass sterilization and another participant in the roundtable, has jumped on the bandwagon with a ridiculous piece in PJ Media about the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program.

The writers pointed to the Callaghan roundup, noting that “Without on-range fertility management, herd populations will quickly recover, triggering another gather in just a few short years.”

That’s a good thing, an admission that helicopters, unlike fertility control, don’t cause irreparable harm.

They questioned why the agency relies on roundups instead of ovary-killing pesticides, which have “fiscal and moral advantages.”

Historically, the agency has opted for the lesser of two evils and we should be grateful for that.

That does not alleviate the need for other options, such as restoring lands now designated as HAs, purging the bureaucracies of ranchers and ranching sympathizers, and converting allotments to wild horse preserves as American Prairie has done for bison in Montana.

As for the advocates, they can be ignored.  They are stuck in a mental prison of their own making and have nothing to offer America’s wild horses.

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

Burgum Signs Order Expanding Grazing Opportunities

The diktat directs the BLM, FWS and BOR to identify lands that can be made available for livestock grazing according to the news release.

The BLM has 60 days to present a plan to eliminate its permit renewal backlog and 30 days to identify new lands for grazing.

The announcement did not indicate if aerial shooting of wild horses was an acceptable method for achieving the goals or if kissing rancher ass would sway the results of next week’s elections.

RELATED: BLM Launches Vacant Allotment Finder.

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

Red Desert Capture Goal Reached, Incident Not Over

Aerial operations may be winding down but there are 162 unaccounted-for animals as of Day 12.

1,035 – 860 – 0 – 13 = 162

Note that all but one of the deaths were intentional, animals euthanized for physical defects.

The advocates would have you believe that most deaths are due to helicopters so you’ll demand an end to roundups (which don’t inflict irreparable harm) and support their ruinous darting programs (which do).

PREVIOUS: Red Desert Roundup, Day 11.

UPDATE: The BLM has revised the death count which now stands at one accidental, attributable to the roundup, and 16 intentional, which would have occurred if a low-stress method such as bait trapping was used instead of a helicopter.

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

Red Desert Roundup, Day 11

The incident started on October 16.  Results through October 26:

  • FY: 2027
  • Scope: Green Mountain and Stewart Creek HMAs (two of five in Complex)
  • Target: Horses
  • AML: 475 (720 for Complex)
  • Pre-gather population: Unknown (2,278 for Complex)
  • Type: Planned
  • Contractor: Sampson
  • Contract amount: $393,488
  • Unit cost: $380
  • Method: Helicopter
  • Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
  • Better way: Snuff out life with PZP, pray for older horses to die (per advocates)
  • Capture goal: 1,035
  • Removal goal: Unknown
  • Captured: 1,013, up from 776 on Day 9
  • Shipped: 784, up from 588 on Day 9
  • Released: None
  • Deaths: 12, up from 11 on Day 9
  • Average daily take: 92.1
  • Unaccounted-for animals: 217
  • 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 sidebar at the gather page says 1,014 horses captured, 98% of the goal.

One horse was dispatched on Day 10 for a physical defect.

The death rate is 1.2%.

To date, all deaths are intentional.

The capture total includes 360 stallions, 429 mares and 224 foals.

Youngsters represented 22.1% of the animals gathered, a sign of genetic vigor.

Of the adults, 45.6% were male and 54.4% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

An unspecified number of mares will be treated with fertility control and returned to the range, prolonging the genetic bottleneck created by the roundup.

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

  • Forage: 12,156 AUMs per year
  • Water: 10,130 gallons per day

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

PREVIOUS: Red Desert Roundup, Day 9.

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

Critical Races Theory

The advocates like to lecture us about roundups and loss of freedom but next week on November 3 they’ll vote for totalitarians (candidates with a D by their name) who would enslave us to an all-powerful centralized government.

They want the commies to win—another reason why you shouldn’t give them a penny.

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

BLM Issues Muddy Creek Final Planning Documents

The DR, FONSI and EA were posted to the project folder on October 21.

The Decision Record authorizes Alternative B, the Proposed Action, discussed in section 2.2 of the Environmental Assessment.

  • Adoption of new HMAP
  • Removal of excess animals to low AML
  • Application of fertility control pesticides
  • Maintenance of 50/50 sex ratio
  • Introduction of horses from other areas

Table 2-1 compares management actions for the three alternatives considered in the analysis.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.

Table 3-2 gives livestock types, AUMs and seasons of use.

A roundup is on the schedule with a start date of December 1.

PREVIOUS: Muddy Creek EA Out for Review.

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

BLM to Scrap Plan for Riddle Mountain Horses?

The DNA for the roundup said all of the horses would be removed but some would be held for two growing seasons and returned to the HMA after the land recovered.

With most of them still on the range per court order, leaving the HMA at 5X AML, there is probably little if any interest in repatriating those in off-range holding.

PREVIOUS: Riddle Mountain Population Threshold Sustainable?

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

Price of Hay Going Up Again

A bale of alfalfa/grass mix sold for $30 last week, compared to $29 in August and $28 in April.

The price five years ago was $19.

A horse in private care would need around five bales per month, putting the cost of feed at $150 per AUM.

Forage on public lands sells for $1.69 per AUM.

The upward trend may correlate with the rising cost of diesel.

PREVIOUS: Price of Hay Coming Down.

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

Purveyors of Irreparable Harm

Which of the following characteristics can you associate with this dedicated practitioner of sustained fertility control?

a. Permanent infertility.

b. Destruction of breeding populations.

c. Loss of genetic diversity.

d. Irreversible decline.

e. Victory for ranchers.

The correct answer, not listed, is all of the above.

Which of the characteristics can you associate with low flying helicopters?

If your faithful public servants have a statutory responsibility protect free-roaming horses, why is fertility control an accepted management strategy?

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

Fighting to Protect Wild Horses

Who made the following statement?

“The aim is to reduce and control the wild horse population so that horses don’t have to suffer.”

a. A driller in Wyoming.

b. A miner in Nevada.

c. A bureaucrat in Oregon.

d. An advocate in California.

e. A permittee in Utah.

The correct answer is d, even though you thought it was c or e.

The advocates, obsessed with fertility control, want the horse populations beaten down permanently so the ranchers don’t have to suffer.

RELATED: Overpopulation and Protection: Not What You Think They Are.

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

Red Desert Roundup, Day 9

The incident started on October 16.  Results through October 24:

  • FY: 2027
  • Scope: Green Mountain and Stewart Creek HMAs (two of five in Complex)
  • Target: Horses
  • AML: 475 (720 for Complex)
  • Pre-gather population: Unknown (2,278 for Complex)
  • Type: Planned
  • Contractor: Sampson
  • Contract amount: $393,488
  • Unit cost: $380
  • Method: Helicopter
  • Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
  • Better way: Snuff out life with PZP, pray for older horses to die (per advocates)
  • Capture goal: 1,035
  • Removal goal: Unknown
  • Captured: 776, up from 666 on Day 7
  • Shipped: 588, up from 432 on Day 7
  • Released: None
  • Deaths: 11, up from 7 on Day 7
  • Average daily take: 86.2
  • Unaccounted-for animals: 177
  • 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 sidebar at the gather page says 777 horses captured.

Four horses were dispatched on Day 8 for physical defects.  To date, all deaths are intentional.

The death rate is 1.4%.

The capture total includes 278 stallions, 328 mares and 170 foals.

Youngsters represented 21.9% of the animals gathered, a sign of genetic vigor.

Of the adults, 45.9% were male and 54.1% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

An unspecified number of mares will be treated with fertility control and returned to the range, prolonging the genetic bottleneck created by the roundup.

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

  • Forage: 9,312 AUMs per year
  • Water: 7,760 gallons per day

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

PREVIOUS: Red Desert Roundup, Day 7.

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

North Complex Aftermath

The pre-gather population was thought to be 424 and the roundup removed 323, leaving around 100 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 cause irreparable harm?

A. No, fertility control programs do that.

Q. Why are the advocates obsessed with fertility control?

A. They want the ranchers to win.

PREVIOUS: North Complex Roundup Ends.

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

North Complex Roundup Ends

The incident concluded on October 22 with 323 horses captured, 322 shipped, none released and one dead.

There were no unaccounted-for animals.

Operations continued for six days and the average daily take was 53.8.

The death rate was 0.3%.

The capture total included 100 stallions, 145 mares, and 78 foals.

Foals represented 24.1% of the haul, a sign of genetic vigor.

There was some evidence of an abnormal sex ratio but not enough to provide a basis for action.

There were no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control and return them to the range, which means the 100 horses left behind should be able to repopulate the area and reverse the genetic bottleneck created by the roundup.

The incident liberated 3,876 AUMs per year for other mandated uses of public lands.

RELATED: BLM Announces North Complex Roundup.

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

Riddle Mountain Population Threshold Sustainable?

The management plan allows 56 wild horses on 28,331 public acres, or two wild horses per thousand public acres.

In an October 7 hearing about the emergency roundup, the plaintiffs testified that, based on the current literature, a minimum population of 278 is necessary for the herd to be genetically viable.

The court agreed, specifying that limit in its October 15 ruling.

A roundup this week took 140 off the range, leaving 278.

The court did not stipulate that the herd be protected from chemical extermination, sometimes referred to as sustained fertility control, so the order does not guarantee its future.

A population of 278 requires 3,336 AUMs per year.

The management plan offers 672.

The judge did not order the BLM to update the AML and forage allocations to sustain a herd of 278.

If that number is a minimum, the upper end of the AML would be around 500, allowing for a doubling of herd size every four to five years (a sign of genetic vigor).

Where are those resources coming from?

The Burnt Flat Allotment, which contains the HMA, offers 3,716 AUMs per year, which would support a herd of 278 but not 500.

The stocking rate would be 9.8 wild horses per thousand public acres, despite claims by your faithful public servants that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand acres.

Shifting AUMs from livestock to horses, a frequent request in EAs for roundups, is not easy:

“Changes to livestock grazing cannot be made through a wild horse gather decision and are only possible if BLM first revises the land-use plans to re-allocate livestock forage to wild horses and to eliminate or reduce livestock grazing.”

The allotment would have to be zeroed out and the HMA enlarged, triggering a lengthy NEPA review and strong opposition from ranching interests.

RELATED: Management Priorities at Riddle Mountain.

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

Foal-Free Friday, Irreparable Harm Edition

Roundups do not cause irreparable harm provided the remaining population does not fall below the threshold established by SMEs (278 in the Riddle Mountain order, 150-200 in the BLM handbook), and the remaining population is not subjected to PGS, which includes fertility control (chemical sterilization), sex ratio skewing and surgical sterilization.

Specifying a threshold without the PGS qualifier leaves the herds vulnerable to nonmotorized extermination, which is happening at the Salt River, Virginia Range and elsewhere under the guise of humane manegement.

Roundups create genetic bottlenecks, some more severe than others, but if the advocates are confined to their base properties, the herds will recover.

The best way to achieve “Stay Wild!” is for them to stay home.

PREVIOUS: Foal-Free Friday, Enemies from Within Edition.

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

Red Desert Roundup, Day 7

The incident started on October 16.  Results through October 22:

  • FY: 2027
  • Scope: Green Mountain and Stewart Creek HMAs (two of five in Complex)
  • Target: Horses
  • AML: 475 (720 for Complex)
  • Pre-gather population: Unknown (2,278 for Complex)
  • Type: Planned
  • Contractor: Sampson
  • Contract amount: $393,488
  • Unit cost: $380
  • Method: Helicopter
  • Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
  • Better way: Stop new life with PZP, pray for older horses to die (per advocates)
  • Capture goal: 1,035
  • Removal goal: Unknown
  • Captured: 666, up from 467 on Day 5
  • Shipped: 432, up from 250 on Day 5
  • Released: None
  • Deaths: 7, no change from Day 5
  • Average daily take: 95.1
  • Unaccounted-for animals: 227
  • 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 1.1%.

The capture total includes 236 stallions, 284 mares and 146 foals.

Youngsters represented 21.9% of the animals gathered, a sign of genetic vigor.

Of the adults, 45.4% were male and 54.6% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

An unspecified number of mares will be treated with fertility control and returned to the range, prolonging the genetic bottleneck created by the roundup.

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

  • Forage: 7,992 AUMs per year
  • Water: 6,660 gallons per day

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

PREVIOUS: Red Desert Roundup, Day 5.

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