Bible Springs Roundup, Day 19

The incident started on August 2. Results through August 20:

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: Destroy the breeding population with PZP (according to advocates)
Capture goal: 800
Removal goal: 800
Captured: 747, up from 650 on Day 17
Shipped: 720, up from 493 on Day 17
Released: None
Deaths: 7, up from 4 on Day 17
Average daily take: 39.3
Unaccounted-for animals: 20
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.

Three horses were euthanized on Day 18 for preexisting conditions.

The death rate is 0.9%.

The capture total includes 268 stallions, 322 mares and 157 foals.

Youngsters represented 21.0% of the animals gathered, enough to support a herd growth rate of 16% per year.

Of the adults, 45.4% were male and 54.6% 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.