Nevada WHR Roundup, Day 5

The incident began on December 8.  Results through December 12:

• Scope: Nevada WHR
• Purpose: Pest control, resource enforcement, rancher protection
• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly*
• Better way: Beat their numbers down with ovary-killing pesticides*
• Captured: 298, up from 123 on Day 3
• Average daily take: 59.6
• Capture goal: 350
• Removal goal: 138
• Returned: 1, no change from Day 3
• Deaths: 2, no change from Day 3
• Shipped: 97, up from 58 on Day 3

The death rate is 0.7%.

The capture total includes 88 stallions, 180 mares and 30 foals.

Youngsters represented 10.1% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of 5% per year.

Of the adults, 32.8% were male and 67.2% were female.  These figures don’t look like they came from a simple random process centered at 50% males / 50% females.

Body condition scores were not given.

The WHR is not subject to permitted grazing but surrounding lands are.

*According to advocates.

Day 5 ended with 198 unaccounted-for animals.

Up to 106 mares will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide, before being returned the range with up to 106 stallions.

Operations will likely conclude this week.

Other statistics:

• Forage liberated to date: 3,564 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 2,970 gallons per day
• Horses allowed by plan: 500
• Pre-gather population: 438
• Forage assigned to horses: 6,000 AUMs per year
• Forage assigned to livestock: None
• Horses displaced from HMA by permitted grazing: None
• True AML: 500
• Stocking rate at new AML: 0.4 wild horses per thousand acres
• Horses displaced by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

RELATED: Nevada WHR Roundup, Day 3.