Advocates Driving Wild Horse Removals Underground?

Helicopter roundups are the fastest and most effective way to shift resources from wild horses to the public-lands ranchers.

The optics aren’t great, especially when injuries are caught on film, but at least they are seen and understood by the public.

Have you ever seen video of horses being shot in the head by wranglers because of blindness, swayback or club feet?

It happens at most roundups but is concealed from the public, even the observers who are stationed a mile or more from the trap site.

The advocates have a better way.

Don’t even let them be born.

Crime in the Wild Horse World 05-26-22

Snuff out new life and let the herds die off.

Let the ranchers have all of their food and water.

Put the legacy contractors out of business.

Replace motorized removals with removal by pesticides.

The public won’t notice, won’t even care, and that’s a problem.

They’re taking wild horse removals out of the spotlight.

We need to keep the pressure up, keep the bureaucrats and politicians on the hot seat.

That’s what Velma did.

Pay no attention to the advocates. They’re protecting the ranchers, not the horses.

Pesticides R Us 09-26-23

Alamo Roundup, Day 71

The incident started on July 19. Results have been sporadic, typical for bait trap removal.

The sidebar at the gather page shows 85 burros captured and 85 shipped through September 27.

The daily reports yield 87 captured and 83 shipped, with four missing in action.

No deaths were reported.

The capture total includes 75 jacks, 10 jennies and two foals.

Youngsters represented 2.3% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 88.2% were male and 11.8% were female.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.

The comment period for the new pest control plan closes on October 11.

RELATED: Alamo Roundup in Progress.

New State Law Threatens Reche Canyon Burros?

SB 371, signed on September 1 by California Governor Gavin Newsom, allows an officer or employee of a local animal control agency, or a nonprofit organization that contracts with a county to provide services to undomesticated burros, to

Remove an undomesticated burro that strays onto private land
Remove an undomesticated burro that strays onto a public roadway
Provide medical care to undomesticated burros, including euthanasia
Relocate an undomesticated burro to an appropriate facility or private adopter

The bill gives the local animal control agency the sole discretion to declare the burros unfit for return to the range and to deem them fit for re-release to an appropriate facility or private adopter.

An undomesticated burro is a burro that has not been tamed or domesticated for a period of three years after its capture and is not protected by the federal government under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

What You Won’t Hear at Wild Horse Lobby Day

If the delegation is led by pesticide pushers and ranching sympathizers, the predominant constituency in wild horse advocacy, there will be no requests to

Publish forage allocations and other pertinent data showing how wild horse and burro areas are managed by federal agencies
Return all lands identified in 1971 to wild horses and burros
Confine the ranchers to their base properties in a year-round off season, a practice they are already doing on a part-time basis
Revise the RMPs to shift the forage in said lands back to the horses and burros
Manage said areas principally for wild horses and burros as specified in the original statute
Prohibit inconspicuous methods of removal, such as bait trapping and on-range darting with fertility control pesticides

Instead, you’ll hear complaints about

Drilling and mining, which affect anywhere from a few acres to a few thousand acres, while permitted grazing devours entire HMAs and beyond
Helicopter roundups, if used for forcible removal but not for catch-treat-release
Violations of CAWP
Lack of HMAPs

The advocates will call for an end to the roundups but not the removals, pushing instead for innocuous methods that achieve the same results as helicopters.

Advocates are the Predators 11-30-21

New Cattle Guard to Contain Little Book Cliffs Horses?

The new guard will tie into an existing fence to deter wild horses from moving from the WHR onto other grazing allotments, according to the project description.

The CX, signed on September 22, says the 16-foot guard will be installed on the V2/10 dirt road open to all modes of transportation.

The road has no movement restriction, allowing wild horses to leave the WHR.

The National Data Viewer puts it in the Red Rock Allotment, between the WHR and Redrock Point. Click on map to open in new tab.

By the time the horses reach the device, they will be far off the reservation.

The CX was copied to the project folder on October 6. There were no opportunities for public comment.

Virginia Range Darting Update for September 2023

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses indicated in the September update that 89 mares received 89 doses of Zonastat-H during the month, 26 given as a primer and 63 as a booster. If you can’t access the document, click here.

Over the life of the program, 1,949 mares have received 8,116 doses of the pesticide.

The report will be submitted to the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

Of the 163 foals born this year in the primary target zone, 80 have died.

The causes of death were not discussed but predation is likely a factor.

As for the long-term population goal and how many horses they intend to eradicate, the advocates are silent.

No comments about herd demographics.

No discussion of sterility and the growing risk thereof.

The current population is thought to be 3,513 with 356 listed as missing, compared to 3,559 in August, including 395 listed as missing.

A goal for October is to maximize booster treatments, allowing for continued population reduction, equivalent to bait trap removal or helicopter roundups.

Pesticide Pushers 07-17-23

Wild Horse Lobby Day Set for Next Week

Sponsored by the Save Our Wild Horses Coalition, participants will have an opportunity meet with lawmakers and urge them to support legislation that protects wild horses and burros.

Sounds great.

But terms in the news release such as humane treatment, living treasures and magnificent animals should raise suspicions.

Pesticides R Us 09-26-23

If the announcement referred to cherished/beloved/innocent wild horses, you could be sure their goal has little to do with protection and much to do with permitted grazing, to be achieved with fertility control programs, not helicopter roundups.

For Your Innocent Ants and Roaches 10-23-22

Calico Roundup, Day 5

The incident began on October 1. Results through October 5:

Scope: Black Rock Range, Calico Mountains, Granite Range, Warm Springs Canyon HMAs
Purpose: Pest control, resource enforcement, rancher protection
Target: Horses
Type: Planned
Method: Helicopter
Category: Cruel and costly*
Better way: Poison mares with ovary-killing pesticides*
Captured: 212, up from 144 on Day 3
Average daily take: 42.4
Capture goal: 761
Removal goal: 380
Returned: 31, no change from Day 3
Deaths: 6, up from 1 on Day 3
Shipped: 115, up from 63 on Day 3

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

The location of the trap site on Days 4 and 5 was not given.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 4 on both days.

Three horses were put down on Day 4 because of injuries and infections, followed by two more on Day 5.

The death rate is 2.8%.

The capture total includes 81 stallions, 115 mares and 16 foals.

Youngsters represented 7.5% of the animals gathered, suggesting that the herd is growing at a rate of two to three percent per year.

Of the adults, 41.3% were male and 58.7% were female.

Approximately 85% of the captured mares have been shipped, with only 4% of the captured stallions, consistent with a plan to skew the sex ratio in favor of males.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Day 5 ended with 60 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.

Other statistics:

Forage liberated to date: 2,172 AUMs per year
Water liberated to date: 1,810 gallons per day
Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
Horses displaced from area by permitted grazing: Undetermined
True AML: Undetermined
Stocking rate at new AML: Undetermined
Horses removed because of drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

You can have your wild horse and burro program as long as it doesn’t interfere with the grazing program.

RELATED: Calico Roundup, Day 3.

Advocates Bawling about Loss of Frost?

How many of them spend their free time poisoning the Virginia Range mares with Zonastat-H or provide material support to those who do?

Where’s the justice for the hundreds of foals that should be there but aren’t?

Tracy “You need to manage the numbers to fit what’s available for the horses” Wilson, defeatist, pesticide pusher and ranching sympathizer with the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, appears at 1:34.

CAAWH, a leader in nonmotorized removal, operates the VR darting program.

Foal-Free Friday, Safer in Town than on the Range Edition

As the advocates push their darting effort into Fernly, NV, northeast corner of the Virginia Range, the horses may spend more time in town where they can’t be hunted without homeowner approval.

The bureaucrats and ranchers now realize that the advocates are as eager to get rid of wild horses as they are, and nobody complains when it’s done with pesticides.

Advocates Protest as VR Stallion Killer Appears in Court

“Justice for Frost” was the theme today in Dayton as the suspect faced charges of malicious killing of a wild horse and torturing, overdriving, injuring or abandoning animals, according to a story by KTVN News of Reno.

Tracy Wilson, defeatist and pesticide pusher for the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, coordinator of the Virginia Range darting program, told the reporter “We really want to see this prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

Wilson and her band of merrymen are getting rid of hundreds of Virginia Range mustangs every year with Zonastat-H, an ovary-killing pesticide, and nobody’s pushing for their arrest.

Calico Roundup, Day 3

The incident began on October 1. Results through October 3:

Scope: Black Rock Range, Calico Mountains, Granite Range, Warm Springs Canyon HMAs
Purpose: Pest control, resource enforcement, rancher protection
Target: Horses
Type: Planned
Method: Helicopter
Category: Cruel and costly*
Better way: Poison mares with ovary-killing pesticides*
Captured: 144, up from 26 on Day 1
Average daily take: 48.0
Capture goal: 761
Removal goal: 380
Returned: 31, up from zero on Day 1
Deaths: 1, up from zero on Day 1
Shipped: 63, up from zero on Day 1

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

The location of the trap site on Days 2 and 3 was not given.

A mare was euthanized for a pre-existing injury on Day 3.

The death rate is 0.7%.

The capture total includes 51 stallions, 80 mares and 13 foals.

Youngsters represented 9.0% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 38.9% were male and 61.1% were female.

Approximately 78% of the adults shipped were female, while 100% of those released were male, suggesting that the contractor is skewing the sex ratio in favor of stallions.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Day 3 ended with 49 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.

Other statistics:

Forage liberated to date: 1,356 AUMs per year
Water liberated to date: 1,130 gallons per day
Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
Horses displaced from area by permitted grazing: Undetermined
True AML: Undetermined
Stocking rate at new AML: Undetermined
Horses removed because of drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

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

RELATED: Calico Roundup in Progress.

More Conflicts of Interest at WHBAB?

A keyword search of the Operator Information Report for Nevada turned up five instances of “Higbee,” all with addresses in Alamo.

EDWIN E HIGBEE, JR, Authorization 2705030
HIGBEE CHILDREN’S TRUST, Authorization 2705033
VARLIN S HIGBEE, Authorization 2700038
VAUGHN M HIGBEE, Authorization 2703324
HIGBEE BROTHERS, Authorization 2705122

Varlin Higbee, third permittee on the list, was recently appointed to the WHBAB representing livestock management organizations. He joins Tammy Pearson, a permittee from Minersville, UT, who was seated in early 2021.

The Allotment Information Report ties Authorization #2700038 to three allotments in the Basin and Range National Monument:

South Coal Valley
Black Bluff
Black Horse

The Allotment Master Report puts all three in the Custodial category, condition unknown.

Allotments are usually placed in Custodial if public lands represent less than 10% of the total acreage and/or 10% of the available forage.

In this case, public lands provide all of the acreage and all of the forage.

The National Data Viewer indicates that most of Black Bluff lies within the Seaman Range HA, the lawful home of wild horses, along with the eastern third of South Coal Valley. Click on map to open in new tab.

Higbee shares the allotments with others, including relatives, so his personal financial interests and those of his family will likely outweigh any concern for wild horses.

RELATED: WHBAB Vacancies Filled.

Calico Roundup in Progress

The incident started October 1, with 26 horses captured, none shipped, none released and no deaths.

Four HMAs in northern Nevada are affected.

Another WHBAB Nomination Cycle Begins

With three openings filled last week, the BLM and USFS seek candidates representing natural resource management, public interest (with special knowledge of equine behavior) and wild horse and burro research, according to yesterday’s news release.

The positions become vacant on January 11.

The WHBAB advises both agencies on the management and protection of free-roaming horses and burros on public lands.

Ideally, nominees will support three principles associated therewith:

Pest control
Resource enforcement
Rancher protection

Nominations will be accepted through November 6.

Socialist Media Update for September 2023

Traffic from Facebook jumped unexpectedly last month due to a post about the carrying capacity of the North Lander Complex.

The report enjoyed an international audience, with most views occurring during the first week, followed by a few hits each day for the balance of the month.

The advocates generally avoid such discussions because they’re not compatible with their fertility control narrative.

WordPress no longer reports traffic from X (Twitter).

Traffic from Socialist Media September 2023 10-02-23

WHBAB Vacancies Filled

The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service selected two new members and re-appointed a third, according to a news release dated September 29.

The two new members represent wildlife and livestock management organizations.

The Board advises both agencies on the management and protection of wild horses and burros on public lands.

With two of the nine seats occupied by permittees, you now have the equivalent of two Palestinian advisors setting policy direction toward Israel.

RELATED: WHBAB Nomination Update.

Desatoya Roundup Cut Short?

The incident ran from September 25 through September 30, with 59 horses captured, 12 shipped, 26 released and one dead.

The capture and removal goals were 122 and 24, respectively.

There were 20 unaccounted-for animals.

The death rate was 1.7%.

The capture total included 14 stallions, 39 mares and 6 foals.

Youngsters represented 10.2% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of 5% per year.

Land managers often use growth rates of fifteen to twenty percent per year to predict herd sizes and management actions.

Of the adults, 26.4% were male and 73.6% were female, outside the expected range of variation of a simple random process with p-bar = .5 and n = 53 adults.

How to Compute p-chart Limits 02-10-22

Put differently, the percentages of stallions and mares don’t look like they came from a population with 50% males / 50% females.

Abnormal sex ratios are commonly found in herds treated with Zonastat-H, a fertility control pesticide favored by most wild horse advocates.

But the BLM has been treating the Desatoya mares with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide that may act as a sterilant.

The gather page says 33 mares were treated and 12 were released.

If the mare that died on Day 5 had been treated before the injury occurred, 20 mares could still be in the pen awaiting a second dose, which must be given at least 90 days after the first according to the 2017 labeling amendment.

Gonacon 90-Day Requirement 07-01-23