East Pershing Roundup, Day 31

The incident began on December 28.  Results through January 27:

• Scope: Sonoma Range HA, East Range HA, Humboldt HA, Tobin Range HMA, North Stillwater HMA, Augusta Mountains HMA
• Purpose: Pest control, resource enforcement, rancher protection
• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly*
• Better way: Snuff out new life with PZP, let the herds die off*
• Captured: 1,967, up from 1,823 on Day 29
• Average daily take: 63.5
• Capture goal: 2,875
• Removal goal: 2,875
• Released: 3, no change from Day 29
• Deaths: 21, up from 20 on Day 29
• Shipped: 1,937, up from 1,794 on Day 29

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

A stallion was put down on Day 31 for arthritic knees.  He’d be alive today if there was no roundup.

The death rate is 1.1%.

The capture total includes 814 stallions, 906 mares and 247 foals.

Youngsters represented 12.6% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of seven to eight percent per year.

Of the adults, 47.3% were male and 52.7% were female, no evidence of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 5 on Days 30 and 31.

The name of the contractor was not given.

The Complex is managed primarily for animal agriculture.  The National Data Viewer shows habitat loss and grazing allotments.  Click on image to open in new tab.

*According to advocates.

Day 31 ended with 6 unaccounted-for animals.  This result should be zero based on the totals in the sidebar, suggesting there are errors in the daily reports.

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

Other statistics:

• Forage liberated to date: 23,568 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 19,640 gallons per day
• Horses allowed by plan: 555
• Pre-gather population: 3,375
• Forage assigned to horses: 6,660 AUMs per year
• Forage assigned to livestock: Not determined
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: Not determined
• True AML: Not determined
• Stocking rate at new AML: Not determined
• Horses displaced by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

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

The ability of the Complex to sustain wild horses has been limited by the bureaucrats, who have assigned most of their food to the public-lands ranchers.

Refer to these reports for an indication of the problem:

• Sonoma Range HA
• East Range HA
• Tobin Range HMA
• Augusta Mountains HMA
• North Stillwater HMA

RELATED: East Pershing Roundup, Day 29.