Sulphur Roundup, Day 8

The incident started on August 13.  Results through August 20:

• Scope: Sulphur HMA
• Target: Horses
• AML: 250
• Pre-gather population: 606
• True AML: 1,105
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
• Better way: Shoot mares with pesticide-laced darts (according to advocates)
• Goals: Gather 420, remove 360
• Captured: 364, up from 258 on Day 6
• Shipped: 256, up from 212 on Day 6
• Released: None
• Deaths: 3, up from 1 on Day 6
• Average daily take: 45.5
• Unaccounted-for animals: 105

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

The sidebar at the gather page says 257 horses shipped.

Two stallions were dispatched on Day 8 due to knee fractures, lifting the death rate to 0.8%.

The capture total includes 119 stallions, 173 mares and 72 foals.

Youngsters represented 19.8% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of 15% per year.

Of the adults, 40.8% were male and 59.2% were female, outside the expected range of variation from a random process centered at 50% males / 50% females.

Body condition scores were not provided.

The location of the trap site is not known.

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

• Forage: 4,368 AUMs per year
• Water: 3,640 gallons per day

The July 31 schedule indicates that 30 mares will be treated with GonaCon Equine and be returned to the range with 30 stallions.

The roundup supports three tenets of rangeland management.

RELATED: Sulphur Roundup, Day 6.