Clan Alpine Roundup, Day 15

The incident began on November 8.  Results through November 22:

• Scope: Clan Alpine HMA
• Purpose: Pest control, resource enforcement, rancher protection
• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly*
• Better way: Sterilize mares with pesticide-laced darts*
• Captured: 1,198, up from 1,062 on Day 13
• Average daily take: 79.9
• Capture goal: 1,594
• Removal goal: 1,381
• Returned: 1, no change from Day 13
• Deaths: 18, up from 13 on Day 13
• Shipped: 964, up from 922 on Day 13

Three horses were dispatched on Day 15 for blindness.  A stallion was put down because of a club foot and another for a fractured knee, lifting the death rate to 1.5%.

The capture total includes 481 stallions, 555 mares and 162 foals.

Youngsters represented 13.5% of the animals gathered, suggesting the herd is growing at a rate of eight to nine percent per year.

Of the adults, 46.4% were male and 53.6% were female.

Body condition scores on Days 14 and 15 ranged from 3 to 4.

The HMA and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Day 15 ended with 215 unaccounted-for animals.

To date, 81 mares have been treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.

They will be returned the range with up to 121 stallions.

Other statistics:

• Forage liberated to date: 14,364 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 11,970 gallons per day
• Horses allowed by plan: 979
• Pre-gather population: 1,661 plus this year’s foals
• Forage assigned to horses: 11,748 AUMs per year
• Forage assigned to livestock: 6,796 AUMs per year
• Horses displaced from HMA by permitted grazing: 566
• True AML: 1,545
• Stocking rate at new AML: 5.2 wild horses per thousand public acres
• Horses displaced by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

RELATED: Clan Alpine Roundup, Day 13.