Bible Springs Roundup, Day 15

The incident started on August 2. Results through August 16:

Scope: Bible Springs, Four Mile, Tilly Creek HMAs, Blawn Wash HA
Target: Horses
AML: 170
Pre-gather population: 961
Type: Planned
Method: Helicopter
Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
Better way: Stop the transmission of life with PZP (according to advocates)
Capture goal: 800
Removal goal: 800
Captured: 515, up from 427 on Day 13
Shipped: 405, up from 361 on Day 13
Released: None
Deaths: 4, no change from Day 13
Average daily take: 34.3
Unaccounted-for animals: 106
Snippet from statute: It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death
Snippet from manual: To protect wild horses and burros from unauthorized capture, branding, harassment or death

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

The death rate is 0.8%.

The capture total includes 191 stallions, 219 mares and 105 foals.

Youngsters represented 20.4% of the animals gathered, enough to support a herd growth rate of 15% per year.

Of the adults, 46.6% were male and 53.4% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

The contractor is Sampson Livestock and the contract amount is $497,130 according to a report at USA Spending.

There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range, a huge disappointment to the advocates.

The HMAs are subject to permitted grazing. Resources liberated to date:

The Blawn Wash HA is unfit for wild horses, supposedly, and has no AML.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.