At the 2025 Chincoteague pony swim with Peter Finocchio.

There was no news release but the gather page says Final report July 30.

• 1,100 burros captured
• 1,093 shipped
• None released
• Seven dead

There were no unaccounted-for animals.

The capture and removal goals were 1,100 and 1,000, respectively.

The death rate was 0.6%.

The average daily take was 21.1.

Foals represented 8% of the animals captured.

Of the adults, 53.5% were male and 46.5% were female.

The name of the contractor was not given.

The disposition of 100 jennies treated with PZP is unknown.

The incident supported three tenets of rangeland management.

RELATED: Three Rivers Wild Burro Roundup Announced.

Data from Superior Productions, a division of Superior Livestock Auction:

2023

• 71 foals offered at auction
  • 35 colts
  • 36 fillies
• 6 buy backs returned to island
  • 3 colts
  • 3 fillies

2024

• 88 foals offered at auction
  • 38 colts
  • 50 fillies
• 7 buy backs returned to island
  • 2 colts
  • 5 fillies

2025

• 94 foals offered at auction
  • 39 colts
  • 55 fillies
• 6 buy backs returned to island
  • No colts
  • 6 fillies

Observations

• The number of foals offered at auction is going up
• The number of colts returned to the island is going down

Hypothesis

• The saltwater cowboys are skewing the sex ratio in favor of females, turning the island into a puppy mill for wild horses, to increase revenue from auctions

RELATED: Miracles and Wonders on Assateague Island.

The incident started on July 15.  Results through July 31:

• Scope: Adobe Town HMA
• Target: Horses
• AML: 536 (was 800)
• Pre-gather population: Not given, 2,382 according to 2025 population dataset
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
• Better way: Sterilize the mares with PZP (according to advocates)
• Capture goal: 1,675
• Removal goal: 1,675
• Captured: 1,675, up from 1,517 on Day 15
• Shipped: 1,508, up from 1,291 on Day 15
• Released: 2, up from zero on Day 15
• Deaths: 9, up from 6 on Day 15
• Average daily take: 98.5
• Unaccounted-for animals: 158
• 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 sidebar at the gather page says 1,677 horses captured, including a mule, and 1,510 shipped.

The capture goal has been reached.

The sidebar indicates that two stallions were released but this is not documented in the daily reports.

A foal died of capture shock and a stallion was euthanized on Day 16.

A foal was dispatched on Day 17.

The death rate is 0.5%.

The capture total includes 601 stallions, 720 mares and 354 foals, not counting the mule.

The sidebar says 603/719/355.

Youngsters represented 21.1% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 45.5% were male and 54.5% were female.

The location of the trap site is not known.

The name of the contractor was not given.

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

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

• Forage: 20,100 AUMs per year
• Water: 16,750 gallons per day

The map shows the Rock Springs HMAs before the RMP amendments, which were halted by an appeals court ruling on July 15.  Click to enlarge.

RELATED: Adobe Town Roundup, Day 15.

Bids ranged from $31,500 to $100,000 according to the auction results.

A story by WBOC News says the total for all foals exceeded $1 million.

The six buy backs are the only foals, out of 100, allowed to return to the Virginia side of Assateague Island, along with the adults.

RELATED: Compensatory Reproduction in Chincoteague Herd?

The Chincoteague ponies make their return swim today, minus all but six of the foals.

If you were to visit the island this weekend, you’d think the advocates were poisoning the mares with PZP.

But that would not be the case.

RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Irony and Hypocrisy Edition.

The incident started on June 9.  Results through July 30:

• Scope: Alamo, Big Sandy, Havasu HMAs
• Target: Burros
• AML: 160 + 139 + 166 = 465
• Pre-gather population: Not given, 2,644 according to 2025 population dataset
• Type: Planned
• Method: Bait
• Capture goal: 1,100
• Removal goal: 1,000
• Captured: 1,093, up from 979 on Day 46
• Shipped: 1,093, up from 963 on Day 46
• Released: None
• Deaths: 7, up from 6 on Day 46
• Average daily take: 21.0
• Unaccounted-for animals: -7
• 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.  More animals have been processed than trapped.

There is a discrepancy in the Day 51 results.

The capture goal has been reached according to the sidebar at the gather page.

One animal was dispatched on Day 51 for pre-existing conditions.  The death rate is 0.6%.

The capture total includes 536 jacks, 470 jennies and 87 foals.  The sidebar says 541/471/88.

Youngsters represented 8.0% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 53.3% were male and 46.7% were female.

The location of the trap site is not known.

The name of the contractor was not provided.

On Day 51, 22 jennies were treated with PZP, bringing the total to 100.

With 1,100 captured, 1,093 shipped and seven dead, according to the gather page, the number of animals available for release is zero.  Where are the treated jennies?

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

• Forage: 6,558 AUMs per year
• Water: 5,465 gallons per day

RELATED: Three Rivers Roundup, Day 46.

The pony swim guide indicates that roughly 50 adult ponies and their foals live at the southern end of the island while 100 adult ponies and their foals reside a little farther to north, putting the total at 150 adults and 60 to 70 foals born in the spring.

But the list of this year’s foals published by DSC Photography includes 100 animals.

In the wild, a population of 150 adults could be expected to produce 20 to 30 foals, maybe a few more.

An article by WBOC News indicates that six will make the return swim to the island with the adults.

The remainder will be sold at auction.

What does that tell you about current management practices?

What is the long-term effect on genetic diversity and viability of the herd?

Given that the event is a fundraiser for the Chincoteague Fire Department, there is little if any reason to change course.

The more foals the better.

RELATED: Chincoteague Pony Swim Set for July 30.

A story by KPNX News does not indicate if the herd would be nonreproducing but the answer is clear, given that the advocates have ruined the mares with PZP.

RELATED: More Options for Salt River Horses?

The incident started on July 15.  Results through July 29:

• Scope: Adobe Town HMA
• Target: Horses
• AML: 536 (was 800)
• Pre-gather population: Not given, 2,382 according to 2025 population dataset
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
• Better way: Sterilize the mares with PZP (according to advocates)
• Capture goal: 1,675
• Removal goal: 1,675
• Captured: 1,517, up from 1,276 on Day 13
• Shipped: 1,291, up from 1,076 on Day 13
• Released: None
• Deaths: 6, up from 5 on Day 13
• Average daily take: 101.1
• Unaccounted-for animals: 220
• 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 sidebar at the gather page says 1,519 horses captured (including a mule) and 1,293 shipped.

A foal died of capture shock on Day 14.  The death rate is 0.4%.

The capture total includes 543 stallions, 649 mares and 325 foals, not counting the mule.

The sidebar says 545/648/326.

Youngsters represented 21.4% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 45.6% were male and 54.4% were female.

The location of the trap site is not known.

The name of the contractor was not given.

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

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

• Forage: 18,204 AUMs per year
• Water: 15,170 gallons per day

The map shows the Rock Springs HMAs before the RMP amendments, which were halted by an appeals court ruling on July 15.  Click to enlarge.

RELATED: Adobe Town Roundup, Day 13.

The article says the BLM, in partnership with the Forest Service, planned and installed five virtual fence towers in a jointly managed grazing allotment in the Agua Fria National Monument but did not give the name of the allotment.

A link to the NEPA review was not provided.

A keyword search of ePlanning for “Agua Fria” turned up nine results but nothing for this project.

A search for “virtual” yielded 62 results including three in Arizona but none for a fencing project in Agua Fria.

Maybe the Forest Service did the environmental review.

Or maybe it wasn’t done at all.  Not even a CX.

The ArcGIS Viewer shows two allotments stretching eastward into Forest Service land, Horseshoe and EZ Ranch.

The allotment master report identifies the permittees.

A page at the JH Cattle Company website confirms the connection with Horseshoe.

Another page describes the Vence virtual fencing system, which matches the description in the BLM article.

Presumably, JH Cattle will benefit from the new equipment, but who paid for it?

The allotment offers 4,572 AUMs on 29,851 public acres, equivalent to 12.8 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Your faithful public servants claim that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand acres (25,500 animals on 25.6 million acres).

The Proposed Action would also increase the grazing season by a factor of two.

Table 1 in the Draft EA, developed with no public input, summarizes the changes.

The project folder also contains an aerial image of the allotment.

The topic of increased forage usually appears in planning documents for wild horse roundups.

The customary response is that it can’t be accomplished through a wild horse gather decision and is only possible if the agency first revises the land-use plan to reallocate forage.

Refer to item 27 in the Lohanton comment summary for an example.

In this case, forage will go up with no changes to the LUP.

The allotment master report puts Granite Springs in the custodial category, condition unknown.

The EA claims the allotment has been underutilized.

The report shows no AUMs in the suspended column so the incremental forage has gone undetected for many years.

If the project is approved, the permittee will receive 383 AUMs on 982 public acres, equivalent to 32.5 wild horses per thousand public acres.

The target stocking rate across all HMAs is one wild horse per thousand acres (25,500 animals on 25.6 million acres).

On the Salt River with Walking with a Wookie.

The incident concluded on July 26 with 105 horses captured, 104 shipped, none released and one dead.

There were no unaccounted-for animals.

The capture and removal goals were 100 each.

The death rate was 1.0%.

The average daily take was 35.0.

The capture total included 41 stallions, 50 mares and 14 foals.

Youngsters represented 13.3% of the total.

Of the adults, 45.1% were male and 54.9% were female.

Ther were no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range so the number of animals removed was 105.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.  The operation liberated 1,260 AUMs per year.

The roundup supported three tenants of rangeland management.

RELATED: Pancake Emergency Roundup Starts July 22.

The incident started on July 15.  Results through July 27:

• Scope: Adobe Town HMA
• Target: Horses
• AML: 536 (was 800)
• Pre-gather population: Not given, 2,382 according to 2025 population dataset
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
• Better way: Sterilize the mares with PZP (according to advocates)
• Capture goal: 1,675
• Removal goal: 1,675
• Captured: 1,276, up from 1,036 on Day 11
• Shipped: 1,076, up from 791 on Day 11
• Released: None
• Deaths: 5, up from 4 on Day 11
• Average daily take: 98.2
• Unaccounted-for animals: 195
• 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 sidebar at the gather page says 1,278 horses captured (including a mule) and 1,078 shipped.

A stallion was dispatched on Day 13 for pre-existing conditions.  The death rate is 0.4%.

The capture total includes 457 stallions, 544 mares and 275 foals, not counting the mule.

The sidebar says 459/543/276.

Youngsters represented 21.6% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 45.7% were male and 54.3% were female.

The location of the trap site is not known.

The name of the contractor was not given.

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

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

• Forage: 15,312 AUMs per year
• Water: 12,760 gallons per day

The map shows the Rock Springs HMAs before the RMP amendments, which were halted by an appeals court ruling on July 15.  Click to enlarge.

RELATED: Adobe Town Roundup, Day 11.

The incident started on June 9.  Results through July 24:

• Scope: Alamo, Big Sandy, Havasu HMAs
• Target: Burros
• AML: 160 + 139 + 166 = 465
• Pre-gather population: Not given, 2,644 according to 2025 population dataset
• Type: Planned
• Method: Bait
• Capture goal: 1,100
• Removal goal: 1,000
• Captured: 979, up from 811 on Day 39
• Shipped: 963, up from 745 on Day 39
• Released: None
• Deaths: 6, up from 4 on Day 39
• Average daily take: 21.3
• Unaccounted-for animals: 10
• 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 gather page says 982 captured.

Two animals were dispatched on Day 44 for pre-existing conditions, boosting the death rate to 0.6%.

The capture total includes 471 jacks, 434 jennies and 74 foals.  The sidebar at the gather page says 476/431/75.

Youngsters represented 7.6% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 52.0% were male and 48.0% were female.

The location of the trap site is not known.

The name of the contractor was not provided.

No jennies were treated with PZP since the last report, leaving the total at 78.

The July 1 schedule indicates the designated pesticide was GonaCon Equine.

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

• Forage: 5,874 AUMs per year
• Water: 4,895 gallons per day

These numbers will go down if burros are returned to the range.

RELATED: Three Rivers Roundup, Day 39.

The incident started on July 15.  Results through July 25:

• Scope: Adobe Town HMA
• Target: Horses
• AML: 536 (was 800)
• Pre-gather population: Not given, 2,382 according to 2025 population dataset
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
• Better way: Sterilize the mares with PZP (according to advocates)
• Capture goal: 1,675
• Removal goal: 1,675
• Captured: 1,036, up from 858 on Day 9
• Shipped: 791, up from 588 on Day 9
• Released: None
• Deaths: 4, no change from Day 9
• Average daily take: 94.2
• Unaccounted-for animals: 241
• 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 0.4%.

The capture total includes 377 stallions, 433 mares and 226 foals.  A mule caught on Day 7 is not included in the total.

Youngsters represented 21.8% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 46.5% were male and 53.5% were female.

The location of the trap site is not known.

The name of the contractor was not given.

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

Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals at Cañon City, Rock Springs or Wheatland.

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

• Forage: 12,432 AUMs per year
• Water: 10,360 gallons per day

The map shows the Rock Springs HMAs before the RMP amendments, which were halted by an appeals court ruling on July 15.  Click to enlarge.

RELATED: Adobe Town Roundup, Day 9.