BLM announced yesterday that it will remove 652 excess wild horses from the Warm Springs HMA in southeastern Oregon, beginning in early October, to thin the herd and collect test subjects for sterilization research. Refer to the news release issued by the Burns office.
Helicopters will be used to drive the horses into the traps and the operation will be open to public observation.
The HMA covers 475,460 acres and has an AML of 202, for an aimed-at population density of 0.42 animals per thousand acres. The average density across all HMAs is one animal per thousand acres. (The lower the density the higher the wild horse dispersion, which pleases the public-lands ranchers, their cheerleaders, and overlords in the livestock industry.)
The news release stated that the AML was 178, which differs from the figure at the HMA description.
The new AML means even greater wild horse dispersion (0.37 animals per thousand acres, almost nothing). The announcement did not indicate if livestock were present on the HMA or surrounding lands but a reduction in AML, if true, would further pacify the government dependents and will probably be overlooked by the public.
Captured animals will be taken to the Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines, OR, where they will be prepared for adoption, or in the case of some of the mares, placed into the hands of the on-site Mengeles, who have been tasked with removal of their ovaries.
Gather stats and daily reports can be found on this page.
This so-called research sets a low-water mark for the BLM, an unelected bureaucracy acting against the wishes of the American people. They have their fanboys however, who see this effort as another step in the process of nullifying the WHB Act.
Western Horse Watchers Association 